Free Sample
The Purple Guide to Learning Photo Editing in 10 Days
A 10-day starter sprint in the basics of editing your own photos — no prior experience, no fancy gear required
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: First Day
Welcome. If you're reading this, you're likely in the same place I was when I first opened a photo editor: staring at the screen, feeling a little foolish, and wondering if everyone else just somehow knew what they were doing. They didn't. The truth is that photo editing, like any skill, is just a series of small, specific decisions, each one simple enough to learn on its own. Today is about making your first few of those decisions, getting a feel for the tool you're using, and ending with a single photo that looks genuinely better than when you started.
Let's start with what today's session actually is. It is not about learning all the buttons, not about memorizing shortcuts, and absolutely not about producing a masterpiece. Today is about two things: getting your hands dirty for the first time, and proving to yourself that you can edit a photo today, not in some vague future where you've read enough tutorials. You will spend about thirty to forty-five minutes total, and you will finish with one small edit you're happy with. That's the whole goal.
First, you need something to edit. You do not need a fancy camera or a "good eye." You need any photo you care about. Find a picture of your dog, your breakfast, your last vacation, your kid's birthday cake, anything that makes you feel something — even if that feeling is just "I remember when I ate that." Ideally pick one