The most common thought that comes to many users and clients when viewing a website, image, or photo is: excessive photo editing. Of course, no one examines the background of a site or the little images “here and there” on a page too closely. But when flaws in image editing are present, you don’t need to look hard. They’re immediately noticeable.
Is editing a good or bad thing? That’s a tough question. Usually, it goes like this: the designer builds a website, and then the client asks them to find some additional images (besides the necessary ones already in place). For the designer, that’s only half the trouble, since the site is being created with a certain content set. But sometimes web designers have to work with extra images . For example, editing and formatting image galleries of houses (on real estate sites), interiors, window examples, and more. They’re often handed a set of raw photos with the instruction: “ just make it look pretty. ”
And so designers, artists, and content creators start crafting and creating in whatever way they can. Some do it themselves, others outsource to artists, but... sometimes mishaps happen (partly due to the pursuit of uniqueness), where the images end up looking overly “Photoshopped,” turning almost surreal. Sure, they might look nice, but it’s glaringly obvious that they’ve become… too fantastical. A user might look at a cottage and subconsciously wonder, “ Does this house even exist? And this setting? And these colors?” Is that really the color scheme? Or is the roof tile actually more matte, darker, or a different shade altogether?
No, we’re not saying that photos in web design must be 100% photorealistic. They absolutely need to be edited and tweaked—turning dull, gray shots into vibrant and visually clear ones.
But minor flaws do happen, and that’s natural.
In the example below, everything seems fine—a sunny day—but the brightness is so intense it almost hurts the eyes, making it feel... unnatural.
So let’s take a closer look in this article at the common flaws that occur when editing photos or images in Photoshop. In our blog, we’ve mostly focused on how to edit and enhance images, but we haven’t talked about what happens when “overdoing it” kicks in. And no, we’re not referring to images that are intentionally designed to look fairy-tale-like. That’s a separate category of art altogether.
In a good photo, you won’t notice the editing. Good editing is subtle—it stays out of the way of the overall visual design.
Sharpness
Probably one of the most common mistakes people make is over-sharpening an image.
Why does this happen? Sharpness is often used to make a dull or slightly blurry photo appear high-quality, like it was taken with a digital camera. It also helps emphasize details and make them more defined and clear.
What’s actually needed? Just a bit of edge enhancement. Less is more. When you think you’re just sharpening one edge, you're often sharpening all edges equally—including the ones you shouldn’t, and using masks can create an unnatural border between edited and unedited areas. If your photos were taken with a digital camera and a sharp lens, the filter might not be needed at all. For smartphone photos, some sharpening is fine—but minimal.
Let’s compare two versions of fence photos. The first is overly sharpened—you can even see glowing halos around objects. The second is more matte, real, and unprocessed, even a bit compressed. Still, we applied a little sharpening to the second one, and it looks slightly better. It’s hard to make it look premium, but it’s definitely improved.
In the next photo, adding a bit of sharpness is appropriate, though the image looks fine without it. It’s up to the designer.
We’ve talked more about sharpness and the minimal amount typically needed (e.g., during toning) in our article about the Sharpener Pro 3 plugin.
Color overload and obsessive white
Color is a tricky and nuanced aspect of working with images. Just a little too much, and realism disappears. And even a good photo can lose its natural look easily.
Why do color errors happen? Artists and designers try to make the picture bright, cheerful, and beautiful. There’s a popular belief that the brighter the colors, the more joy and confidence an image conveys. This drive toward brightness often pushes creators to crank those saturation sliders to the max…
Why work with color at all? We’ve often discussed what boosting or muting color does to a photo. We’ve used it in practice ourselves. Just look at different blending modes or techniques for creating retro styles.
Color is subjective—it even depends on each user’s monitor or printer settings (if you're preparing the image for print). Some designers prefer realistic, soft hues, while others lean toward surreal and fantastical palettes. That’s totally fine—but be cautious not to go overboard. Saturated images draw attention but can quickly start looking fake. Always be careful when sliding that saturation up. If an image is a bit gray or foggy, a slight saturation boost can help.
Let’s take a look at silverscriptonline , opefac , and myersandchang , among others you may have already guessed. Opefac’s toning style is consistent but almost foggy—you feel like wiping your screen. Meanwhile, silverscriptonline’s photo is overexposed with fanatical white brightness. Not just sunlight—just raw brightness. Both styles grab attention and are valid. But a third option might be the most balanced—juicy, realistic, and grounded.
Here’s what can be done by adjusting saturation, exposure, and black-white levels.
Some people also overdo photo tinting. That’s the “Instagram effect.” For example, if all your images have a warm or reddish tone, they may become visually heavy. This isn’t always a bad thing, but it’s worth keeping in mind. A touch of toning can be very effective, but not every image should look reddish (for example). Always watch your white balance and play with it. See how the image looks without any tones, then gradually layer them and create duotones . It will also help train your eye to see and feel color more consciously. When toning, always reduce the layer’s opacity to adjust its strength.
Crazy Vignetting
Everyone loves vignettes—black, soft, or white—it doesn't matter. They're often essential and truly enhance photos by softening sharp edges and corners, blending them with the background, and helping highlight the main focus in the composition.
To understand why vignette issues occur—or don’t—let’s look at a few examples: botango, malelipy, and fj1857. Vignettes are present almost everywhere in different forms. Some are very noticeable, others are subtle—but they’re there. And you know what? They look great. But try mentally increasing or decreasing them. Not every option will look good or appropriate.
Some photographers intentionally use strong vignettes, and you’ll find many such examples on stock photo sites. But ask yourself: why do you, as a web designer, need a photo with a vignette? Take a look at malelipy (third screenshot), where there’s a great variety of photos. The photo of berries in hands is vignetted. Without the vignette, the whole set would appear sharper. The darkened edges softened this sharpness and helped the berries stand out.
If you look at the other two photos, you’ll notice color correction. Sharpness, color intensity, saturation, light toning—it’s all there. BUT! They still look real, not like a fantasy. And that’s what matters most.
Contrast
Another subjective thing—but one that’s easy to overdo. Probably everyone struggles with it, and it’s something you constantly have to remind yourself of: less brightness, less deep black, less saturation.
Let’s check out ciasamascotte, zielonamapa, fannymyard-design, letoile3d, bruco-ic. Some photos have high contrast, some lower, some have vignettes and boosted color. But not all of them are comfortable to look at. The car photo, for instance, makes you want to scroll past. Or on letoile, there’s too much white and pitch black. Sure, the site design is vibrant, but still.
Where’s the balance? There’s a very narrow range where contrast looks perfect. Too little, and your image looks flat and dull. Too much, and it feels artificial. High-contrast images are a common issue, especially with black-and-white photos.
Sometimes, instead of boosting contrast, you can simply convert the darkest grays to black by adjusting the Levels sliders. You’ll get the effect you want without overdoing the image.
Compare two versions of a not-so-great photo used in design. One uses just the Contrast adjustment; the other—Levels with three sliders (black, gray, white).
Finally, pay attention to light sources in your image—they determine how much contrast to add. If the sun is shining directly, you’ll need less contrast because natural light already provides it.
Example from zielonamapa and contrast boosting. Honestly, it’s too much. If you tone it down, the photo will still be impressive.
If the sun is behind the scene, you may need to darken the blacks or increase contrast to avoid a washed-out look. Be especially careful with wedding photos and sunny landscapes—this is where it’s easiest to overdo every possible retouching technique.
Original photo shown in the screenshot above.
Final Thoughts
Photo retouching, editing, “Photoshopping”—it’s all extremely subjective. It depends on the designer’s (or artist’s) goals, their vision of the final result, their ideas and thoughts, and the overall style of the website design. Basically, on many factors.
All the sites and examples we used in this article are good in their own way—they're not bad examples. But they vividly show the kinds of flaws professionals often make.
At first glance, these issues might seem small and barely noticeable. But from an outside perspective, they’re often the most obvious. Yes—bright, juicy colors and light foggy tints are trendy. But it’s very easy to go overboard—to create an image so bright and saturated that it becomes overwhelming. Or to fog things up so much it feels ancient… which may not fit the scene, the photo’s theme, the props, or the style.
To sum up: even if you’re “just” a web designer, it’s sometimes worth spending a little extra time on the photos you use in a site’s layout. Edit them, “play” with them in Photoshop. No need to overdo it or complicate things—just keep it simple but tasty (c). That way, your final content and design elements will be even better than before, and the design itself will feel more refined.