editing photos: "what should i use?"

with the announcement that picnik is closing up shop in april, many of those who use this site to edit their photos are wondering where they will go next. although picnik is a great place for beginners, i know several great photographers who just preferred to use it because it was easy, not to mention free (for the basic package). 

fyi to all picnik users:

picnik will be refunding all premium members a full refund as soon as possible. they have stated that even if you are on your last day of being a premium package member, you will still receive a full refund as a thank you. until april, when picnik will no longer operate, premium use of picnik will be available to everyone who wishes to use it.

so now that you are out to look for a new way to edit your photos, here are a few that i recommend. 

• google+ creative kit - i chose this one first because picnik is actually working with google and google+ to offer this to you. some of the features it offers are similar, if not the same as picnik. if you are a google+ member, you simply choose one of your photos and click on it to bring up the lightbox view and click on the creative kit icon at the top. that will bring up the google+ creative kit. it is pretty easy to navigate without a bunch of instructions. 

 

• fotoflexer - this is also very similar to picnik, however, it just doesn't have that pizazz that picnik has. 

• picasa - i think i was using this before i was using picnik, and way before i started using photoshop. 

• gimp - if you want something that is more like photoshop, this is what you should use. 

 

• pixlr - another great alternative to photoshop that a lot of people use.

i included free programs so that you can gain experience before moving on to the programs you must pay for. after all of the programs i listed above, you will pretty much be moving into the programs like lightroom, elements, and photoshop, which you must pay for. 

as far as advice when choosing between lightroom, elements, and photoshop, all i can really say is that it is based on what you like and what you feel comfortable with. there are always free trials of each program available for you to test before buying. i definitely recommend doing that before making a final decision.

all of these photos were edited in one or more of the free programs and sites i suggested above.

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry