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SINGAPORE - Free online image editors let you conveniently tweak your images via a browser on almost any computer that’s hooked up to the Web. Sure, it might not give you the kitchen sink of features that Adobe’s Photoshop is known for, but if you fancy sprucing up your snaps for flickr or Facebook, these tools we’ve got lined up for you will be enough to get the job done.
Picnik: www.picnik.com
Picnik allows you to fine-tune your pictures with the usual selection of editing tools and creative embellishments like effects, fonts, shapes and frames.
But what makes this a winner is its big, user-friendly tabs and button-based layout that comes with tips to guideyou through the tools. If you know how to use a browser, editing a photo with Picnik is a snap.
Full-resolution Jpeg images from our DSLR uploaded fast but this Adobe Flash-based image editor might suffer in performance on slower computers. We like the previews of effects and edits that it provides, so you can easily pick one to apply to your images.
In the age of the Web, it’s also good to be able to share and edit photos across websites, and Picnik trumps the rest with its tight integration with social networking sites including Facebook and photo-sharing sites flickr, Photobucket and Google’s Picasa.
Connecting, say, Picnik to yourFacebook account will allow you to edit and save your Facebook photos in Picnik easily.
Flickr integration is especially seamless: You just need to click on “Edit” for Picnik’s tools to appear in flickr.
Photoshop Express: www.photoshop.com/express
Adobe’s fashionably late to the party with its online image editing application called Photoshop Express. Despite bearing the Photoshop name, the user interface bears little resemblance to the desktop version — which is a good thing for Photoshop newbies because it’s much easier to use for browser-based image editing.
Still, the grey interface with buttons and text and a palette of options can look a bit daunting.
Tsk tsk, less is more, Adobe.
Our main gripe with this online version of Photoshop is that uploads and applying effects can be a tad slow. But refinements to Express are expected — it’s still very much in beta.
What we do like are the animated 3D galleries and slideshows you can create to show off your images. The oh-so-slick feature rivals even some desktop-based image applications we’ve seen.
Putting it slightly ahead of the rest in this lineup is its 2GB of online storage for images and the option to upload multiple files. Photoshop Express also comes with flickr, Facebook, Photobucket and Picasa integration.
improveyourimages: improveyourimages.com
If your photo-editing skills amount to zilch, try improveyourimages — an online tool that enhances photos automatically by tweaking things like colours and contrast.
All you need to do is upload your photos and the web tool will instantly take care of everything else. It also provides a side-by-side comparison of the original image with the tweaked version as well as a link for you to download the edited photo.
We uploaded a 4MB image and the tool automatically downsized it to 1MB, making the photo more palatable for emails or file transfers over instant messaging.
It’s a pity there’s no option to crop or rotate photos to make this an all-in-one tool.
You can’t upload a batch of files either; you have to upload images individually.
You can edit an image from a website if you have the web address, but there isno integration with sites such as Facebook and flickr.
If you’re looking for no-fuss image enhancements, improveyourimages lives up to its namesake.
SplashUp: www.splashup.com
Photoshop aficionados will find SplashUp’s interface a tad familiar.
This online tool mirrors Photoshop with its looks and features, and aims to replicate desktop-like image editing on the Web.
SplashUp gives you the option to edit multiple photos simultaneously, letting you open them from Facebook, flickr, Picasa, or from a regular website. It can also capture images from any camera source or webcam that’s connected to your computer.
What sets this site apart from the rest of the online tools here is its layers feature, which allows you to, well, add layers of text, effects, filters and other visual elements to your photos.
However, there’s no magic wand — an automatic selection tool in Photoshop — and the performance of its pen and brush tools leaves much to be desired. It also has much fewer filters and effects, which reduces the fun factor somewhat.
Give this a shot if you need slightly more precise image editing but find yourself unwilling to fork out money for a copy of Photoshop. - TODAY/ar
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