Are you ready to turn your photographs into website worthy pieces of art?
I recently shared 11 Places to Find Free and Legal Photos for Your Blog. One comment I kept getting was, “There is no need to use a photo from a site when you have a camera at home!”
There is some truth to that, although I firmly believe that owning a camera does not turn you into a photographer. There’s a lot of time and talent involved.
Most of us take ugly photos because we don’t have the time or tools necessary to find the perfect white balance, f-stop, or shutter speed. We pull out our smartphone or digital camera and take a quick picture. Done!
…Or not.
Before you put your latest picture on your site, make sure that it’s in the best shape possible by editing it.
There’s no shame in using photo editing tools. Even the professionals use them to fix perceived flaws. If you don’t want to spend money on Photoshop, try one of these free online photo editors.
1. PicMonkey
Making its debut earlier this year, this cheeky photo editor was quickly embraced by hipsters, the young at heart, and pretty much everyone under the age of 30. You can make collages, add overlays, and bring more life to your photos though many fun options–including fabulous touch up tools, a huge variety of frames, and enough effects to give Instagram a run for its money.
2. FotoFlexer
Touted as “the world’s most advanced photo editor,” this site certainly has a wide variety of effects and editing tools. In addition, FotoFlexer allows you to edit photos from other sites (including Picassa, PhotoBucket, and Facbook), making this a very flexible option. It doesn’t have the “fun” feel that PicMonkey possesses, but it doesn’t need to–it’s a photo editing powerhouse.
Tweetables –
- 4 FREE photo editing tools! Hurray! – Click to tweet.
- Turn your photos into art before you post them online. – Click to tweet.
- I’m going to try some of these free photo editing tools. – Click to tweet.
3. BeFunky
I wish I had known about BeFunky years ago. This is the place to turn your photos into art. With hundreds of free editing options, there’s almost no reason for most bloggers to upgrade to a paid account. You can also get the BeFunky app for your smartphone so you can take (and edit) pictures on the go.
4. Citrify
This may be one of the most clean and simple programs for editing photos. If you feel like you need a degree in graphic design to navigate most photo editing websites, you will appreciate Citrify. It makes it easy to turn your raw photo into something that you will be proud to show off on your website. While it isn’t as glamorous as the other sites on the list, it is functional and a great starting point.
This is a great post–very helpful!. I am starting to blog and I was wondering does any know what software is easiest for creating mood | inspiration boards. Collage type things. I tried Picasa, but then when I post the pictures on my blog, the pictures show up SUPER small.
…Anyone got any good recommendations?
Thanks again for the informative posting!
Thank you for this, Caitlin! Just what I needed.