Content may be king, but photos speak a thousand words, and when it comes to online publishing, it is important that you make use of enough visual aids to make your site look good. Whether your post is short or long, an image goes a long way in catching the attention of the reader. And for particularly long blocks of text, images breaking it up into smaller, more manageable chunks are desirable.
There are many online sources of free photos, but there is something to be said about using your own photos. What’s that fancy camera you bought for anyway? And when it comes to the point, editing your photos is something that will only bring you advantages. The possible issue is the high price that you have to pay for photo editing software like Photoshop.
For basic editing purposes, you don’t have to go the whole way and purchase Photoshop. There are some good photo editing tools out there that are available for free. Here are some of the best choices.
Pixlr
Pixlr is the most recognized brands in the free online photo editing realm. One thing it has going for it is that the layout somehow reminds you of Photoshop, so if you’re used to that, you won’t have to adjust a lot. Don’t be mistaken, though, as the features of Pixlr is really basic – a far cry from Adobe’s software. Still, it has gotten me through years of simple photo editing, so I think it will do for the average person.
BeFunky
BeFunky is for those times when your playful side is at its peak. You can use it via the web site or the Android/iOS app. If you like Instagram filters, plus the ability to do some more manipulations, this photo editor will make you happy.
PhotoScape
PhotoScape for Windows is one of the most full-featured free photo editing software out there. From filters to auto contrast to brightness to cropping to combining photos – there are so many things you can do with the software that you might not want any other program.
GIMP
GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, and it has been dubbed the free version of Photoshop. It is a very powerful piece of software, offering much of what Photoshop does. Of course, with that comes the learning curve that is necessary to bring the best out of the program. This is available for both Windows and Mac.
About the Author
Jehanna Thompson likes taking photos and playing around with them, but knows that she is far from being called a photographer. She thus spends a lot of time reading about photography online and learning from the work of others. For her Internet connection needs, she relies on http://www.hughesnetinternet.net/.
Image via Pixlr
One Comment
I’m trying to save some money to afford Photoshop – I really want to master it! In the meantime, Pixrl works perfectly for my editing. I also use PicMonkey a lot, especially when I want design some buttons for my blog!