124 In photography, RAW is not an acronym; the term simply refers to the unprocessed image data captured directly by a digital camera s sensor, offering maximum flexibility for later editing. PHOTOGRAPHY SOFTWARE There are many software programs used to manipulate and enhance digital images, and photographers of all levels use them. They range from simple apps with basic effects to professionalgrade programs with powerful tools for processing individual images or batches. Photo editing Photo editing, also called image editing, post-processing, image/photo manipulation, or photoshopping, consists in changing the appearance of an image adjusting: photo shot; correcting imperfections, with red-eye removal or air brushing, for example, which can cover up skin imperfections or make people look slimmer; adding special effects, for example to make a photo look like an oil painting, sketch, or cartoon; restoration, to eliminate flaws or degradations; morphing, to distort the original image frame by frame until a predetermined final image is obtained. colours (balancing and saturation), contrasts, brightness, light, shadows, dimensions. More advanced techniques include: ONLINE RESOURCES Painting and drawing software batch: gruppo cropping: ritaglio to enhance: migliorare flaw: difetto cropping, to remove areas from an image, for example, to eliminate a person or the background if they are unnecessary or if the focus of the image must be undisturbed. This is one of the few photo manipulation processes allowed in modern photojournalism; extracting, hiding, or revealing elements; image enhancement, to highlight a particular aspect of the image or change its structure (for example pseudocolouring involves changing the colour of the whole image or assigning colours to certain parts); compositing, i.e. combining more photos together as if they were a single 280 PeoPLe aND INStrUMeNtS Editing possibly uses RAW pictures, in other words pictures in their original, unprocessed format, in order to achieve maximum quality. Other tools Among other functions photo editing software may offer are: image management: organisation and cataloguing of large quantities of images; batch processing: applying changes to multiple images simultaneously; file conversion: conversion of images between different file formats; AI support: automating tedious tasks, retouching and improving images, creating new content, and improving the workflow.