Adobe's Photoshop is the most well known photo editing software
program in the world. Professional image manipulators and digital
artists skilled in its use are capable of creating images that dazzle
and impress. But, for the casual user, using Photoshop can be daunting.
While the professional user needs access to the thousands of filters
available in Photoshop's repertoire, the casual user doesn't. For most
users, freely available online photo editors are all they need to touch
up photos and make them look their best. This article will examine and
compare the positives and negatives of my top three online photo
editors.
#1 - Adobe Photoshop Express
Adobe
Photoshop Express is a free online version of Photoshop created by
Adobe for casual users. While it lacks many of the filters available in
the full version of Photoshop, the Photoshop Express has all the
essentials covered.
The main features include:
Levels can be manipulated to ensure that black levels are consistent in a photo
Hue, saturation and colour can be changed to affect the mood of a photo
Red eye can be eliminated by using a special filter
Blur and sharpen filters
Crop and rotate tools to improve photo composition
Photoshop
Express also comes with a 'decorate' function that allows for speech
bubbles, titles and other text decorations to be added to a picture.
Photoshop
Express also has a newer, simpler interface that takes no more than a
few minutes to learn. The interface is quick, responsive and free of
advertising, with menus and functions laid out in a simple and intuitive
manner. Uploading photos to manipulate is a cinch while inbuilt social
networking features make it easy to share photos to websites like
Facebook, Picasa and Flickr.
#2 - Pixlr
Pixlr is a
powerful online photo editor with a number of tools and filters. While
Photoshop Express discarded certain filters and tools in favour of an
easier to use user interface, Pixlr features a wide range of tools and
filters designed to help make photographs look better.
As well as the tools and filters listed above (see Photoshop Express section), Pixlr also contains:
Filters, including vintage photo filters designed to age the look of a photograph
The ability to manipulate photos using layers
Typography and shape effects
Clone stamp
This added functionality comes at a cost, however.
Pixlr's user interface is not as intuitive and easy to use as Photoshop
Express, making it more difficult to learn to use. Pixlr also lacks
some of the social networking features that Photoshop Express has.
#3 - Picmonkey
Picmonkey
is a powerful online photo editor that features both an easy to use,
intuitive interface as well as a number of powerful effects and filters.
Effects and patterns can be applied to photographs, as can text
captions. Photo frames and clip art can also be added to photographs
while photographs can also be fine tuned using a number of menus.
Certain features such as the ability to alter levels, saturation and hue
are absent, however.
Like Photoshop Express, Picmonkey also has a
number of social media features built in that make it easy to share
photographs to friends and family.
Conclusion
All
three of these online photo editors are powerful and very capable at
manipulating photographs. Photoshop Express is ideal for those who are
looking for a simple, no-nonsense photo editor that'll allow minor touch
ups, while Pixlr allows more advanced users to make minute changes to
photographs. Picmonkey sits firmly in the middle of the two, offering
powerful features with an easy to use interface. Make sure to try all
three of these photo editors out to find out which one suits you best.