How far you take optimization depends on the needs of the image and on how much time you are prepared to put into perfecting it. Even if you think you must do everything possible, in reality, there may simply not be enough time to work on every photograph.

In any case, optimizing is not always a necessary part and lengthy tweaking of details may not have a significant impact. Described here is the recommended procedure for a full optimization. This, however, is just a guide explaining what various controls can help you achieve and by no means, a rule list that must be followed. Like with shooting, every photo has its own requirements.

Raw adjustment. For anyone serious about good image quality, the first step is to shoot Raw format. The latest Photoshop Raw adjustment option offers a great deal of controls where it is possible to do almost all the work.

Assign profile. This is best seen as an alternative to Raw adjustment, and it is not a good idea to make full use of both. If color precision is important, you may want to adjust the tonal range when working in the Raw options and then assign a prepared profile.

Levels. Again, if you have made optimal use of Raw adjustment – specifically the Exposure and Shadows options – going to the levels option may not be necessary other than to check the histogram. The key procedure in Levels is to set the black and white points. Any adjustments to the tones between these points, though is better left to the Curves option. Moving the midpoint slider alters the brightness around the exact midtone only, while Curves allows you the flexibility of biasing the lightening or darkening toward the shadows or highlights.

Curves. This has long been the precision tool for adjusting tones. There are, however, two strong competitors –Raw adjustment and the Shadow/Highlight options.

Shadow/Highlight. This is an extremely useful control designed for photographs and actually exceeds the ability of Curves to manipulate contrast in the midtones. Because of its unique method of working, this is almost always worth looking at before finalizing an image.

Distortion correction and cropping. Distortion may occur because of tilting the camera in a situation that calls for vertical verticals, or through overt use of an extreme wide-angle lens. It can also be caused due to aberrations. Correction usually leaves some gaps that need cropping, so that if you plan to crop the image for compositional reasons in any case, it is best to run these two operations together. Photoshop’s distortion-correction tools are either those under Edit (Transform), or the Lens Correction filter. There are also some third-party plug-ins for dealing with lens distortion of the barreling and pin-cushion varieties.

Hue/Saturation. While saturation can be manipulated in Curves, the simplest control for it is the HSB dialog. Once again, however, Raw adjustment also allows great control over hue and saturation, and may make this step unnecessary.

H Retouch Finally, and there is little point in doing this before the above procedures, remove artifacts with the Healing or Clone Stamp tools. The main culprits are dust particles on the sensor, but you might then decide to move on to more elaborate image-editing, such as removing power lines from a landscapes, or skin blemishes on a portrait.