DIGITAL PHOTO TOOLS
A Central Library Research Guide
Digital photo software and online editors allow anyone to correct flawed photos and add creative touches. The editing and enhancing tools range from automatic quick fixes to advanced editing for professional photographers. Photo editing software can be pricey; however, with so many free options available, casual photographers won't find it necessary to buy. Free software and online services are noted in the lists below.
Photo Editing Software - software must be installed on your computer
- Adobe Photoshop CS3 - Advanced editing for professional photographers and serious amateur photographers
- Adobe Photoshop Elements - Automatic and advanced editing; tagging, scan multiple photos into individual files, tutorials, sharing options
- Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 - Automatic and professional processing, editing, and enhancing with creative options and tutorials
- Corel® PhotoImpact® X3 - Full-featured photo editing, photo projects, and digital art
- ACDSee Photo Editor - Enhance and combine photos with digital scrapbooking kits
- Corel® MediaOneTM Plus - Edit and organize photos and videos, create slide shows and scrapbooks, online backup
- Bellamax UpShot - Automatic and advanced editing, tutorials, and slide show feature
- Ulead® Photo Express® 6 - Organize, edit, add special effects, print or email photos
- Picasa - Google download; organize photos, edit and add effects or captions, share photos (Free)
- Kodak EasyShare Software - Download software to edit and organize photos (Free)
- Paint.net - Open source editing software, professional tools,special effects (Free)
- GIMP - Free, open source, advanced editing software (Free)
- Shutterfly - Download editing software, no registration to see photos, printing and gift options (Free)
Online Photo Editors - no installations on your computer required, just upload your photos to the site
- Smugmug - No ads, no registration to see photos, have you own url, customer support; editing, sharing
- Adobe Photoshop Express (beta) - Automatic editing and effects, 2 GB storage space, use My Gallery to display online (Free)
- Phixr - Simple interface, professional tools, 2 hour trial available, register for storage and sharing (Free)
- Snapfish - Registration required, basic editing, unlimited storage and sharing, printing and gifts (Free)
- Winkflash - Manage, edit, enhance, store, and print your digital photos (Free)
- Kodak Gallery - Online editing and sharing; order photo-related items (Free)
- Pixenate - Editing tools with professional effects (Free)
- Splashup - Similar to Photoshop with multiple-picture editing, layers, pixel level control, no login required (Free)
- Snipshot - Basic editing, intuitive interface, no login required (Free basic account or upgrade for monthly fee)
- Picnik - Editing, enhancements, and effects (Free or upgrade for monthly fee)
- FotoFlexer - Advanced editing features and effects; save, email, or create a url to the picture (Free)
Photo Sharing and Products
While it is possible to email a few photos to family and friends, large file sizes can cause long download times and full inboxes. Photo sharing sites allow you to upload large numbers of photos and group them into albums. Most sites allow you to add captions. After photos are uploaded to the sites, you can email an invitation to friends and family so they may view the photos. Often visitors must register with these sites to see photos. Many of these sharing sites also allow you to purchase prints, books, and a variety of gifts using your images.
- Flickr - Share and organize with tags and comments; map feature to show where picture was taken (Free)
- Facebook - Social networking site with unlimited photo storage (Free)
- Bubble Share - Unlimited storage, create photo albums with clipart, audio or video captions, and unique frames
(Free)
- Photobucket - Share through email, IM, and mobile phone; store thousands of photos and hours of video; order prints and gifts (Free)
- Photoworks - Share and store, host personalized Web pages and Storefronts, create quality photo-personalized products (Free)
- Mixbook - Design photo books to share online or order printed copies (Free)
- MyPublisher - Digital photo album publishing software; upload books to order and then share online (Free)
- Pixvillage - Unlimited photo sharing (Free)
- ImageShack - Image hosting service; provides url so others can view; create slideshows; 1.5 mb image limit (Free)
- Fotopic.net - Sharing and storage up to 250 mb; create your own url (Free basic account)
- Webshots - Photo sharing site, prints and gifts available; download Webshots desktop to manage photos (Free or upgrade for monthly fee)
- Buzznet - Social media site; users create profiles with photos, videos, etc. (Free up to 300 photos a month)
Specialized Sites
Finally, there are some sites that offer very specialized features. The list below highlights a few that allow you to quickly resize your photos or add special effects.
- Mypictr - Free picture resizing; no storage (Free)
- Shrink Pictures - Quickly resize pictures and apply grayscale or sepia special effects; also Shrink Avatars (Free)
- PictoBrowser - Display Flickr images on websites and blogs (Free)
- Bubblr - Add speech or thought bubbles to your Flickr photos to create a comic strip; searchable archive (Free)
- Dumpr - Unique special effects for photos; save, email, or print finished product (Free)
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