Edit pictures online for free
Do you want to quickly modify a picture and you’re not in the mood to install a special photo editing software? It’s ok, because you can find a bunch of websites out there where you can process an image. And a lot of them are free! So, as a user who appreciates dedicated software I’ve thought of giving a try to those websites who’s solely purpose is to edit pictures online. Below there are three websites I’ve tried past days.
Picnik
http://www.picnik.com is the first website that captured my attention because you don’t even have to create an account to modify a picture. You simply access the website, upload the picture you want to modify, by clicking the Upload button and in a few seconds you’ll have it ready to process. From this out, only your imagination and aesthetic sense will dictate, because in rest, you have at hand a lot of effects like black and white on the picture or just on part of the picture, sepia, pixelation etc., you can modify color characteristics, contrast, you can take-off red eye in a portrait photo etc. Then you can apply a lot of writings, photo frames and decalcomania picture with all kinds of stuff. You can even whiten someone’s teeth in a picture.
Picnik photo editing website
All effects that I’ve mentioned can be found on the Create tab, not on the Edit one. Of course, there is the AutoFix function that only adjusts luminosity and contrast and it actually makes it pretty well. After you’ve finished processing a photo you can save it back on your hard disk. If you want to keep a copy on the website, they invite you to create an account in order to have them there every time you access the website. Some of the processing functions and effects can be found on the Premium category, which means you have to pay so you can use them, but I haven’t seen anything indispensable. I’ve liked this website the most, because it’s really user-friendly. And if you create an account, you can upload on Picnik any picture you have on those accounts where you keep pictures, such as myspace, flickr, facebook etc.
Advantages: easy and likable to use, has a lot of effects and options
Disadvantages: not all of them are free
FotoFlexer
www.fotoflexer.com doesn’t look that good graphically, meaning the website wants to look like a desktop software. All tools are militarily disposed, in order of utility and importance. The creators rave about FotoFlex, as if it is the coolest online website in this domain. Uploading your photo is made just as on Picnick, only a little bit slower. It puts up a menu that shows you it’s trying hard to join resources and other stuff. It took about 10 seconds before the picture was ready to process. The same thing happens when you want to save it. Admittedly, on FotoFlexer absolutely everything is free and also has some pluses for pros: working with layers and animations adding.
FotoFlexer is a nice alternative
The utilization is a little bit more complex, and the effects apply pretty intense. You must pay attention at their quantum. In another train of thoughts, nobody forces you to get into complicated things. You have the Basic tab for the main characteristics of the picture settings, and of course, Auto Fix. On FotoFlexer, you can also process pictures from another accounts of online photo album.
Advantages: everything is free and you have a bunch of options and effects
Disadvantages: pretty hard to use
Adobe Photo Express
Did you know that Adobe also has a free online photo editor? It’s called Adobe Photoshop Express, and you can find it at here and you must create an account to use it. I’ve heard it only works in the USA, but I’ve managed to create an account without any problems. After doing this, either you mention the accounts where from you want to take the pictures to process (Flickr, Facebook, Picasa or Photobucket), or you upload them directly from the hard disk, as I did.
Adobe Photoshop Express looks nice
Pictures will appear somewhere on the upside of the window, and below them there’s a menu that gets you to the Edit function. Big disappointment over here. You can only play with some basic effects, color adjustment, distort…pretty empty. Even though the website looks pretty professional and aesthetic, the content is mediocre. Of course, for a basic process you don’t need much, but after creating an account and confirming it, I was expecting something more spectacular, more complex.
Advantages: good for basic process, re-dimensioning, luminosity, color and contrast adjustments
Disadvantages: you have to create an account, there are a few tools you can access
I’ve only given you a few ideas about how to modify online a picture in a few seconds. Happy? Good luck and keep up the good work! Disappointed? Check out the free image processing software I’ve described over here or go for a more advanced photo management software.
