I have mentioned before that I was not much of a picture taker before I had kids. Now, I love taking photos. I want to capture as many special moments as possible, because they pass so quickly. Besides pictures for personal use and my blogs/writing, picture gifts have become one of my favorite things. I have given photo books to the grandparents “who have everything”; I gave my husband a photo mouse pad, etc. Most recently, I gave several of my closest friends (who don’t have kids yet) personalized holiday cards with pictures of them that I had taken throughout the year. The response was amazing.
I have a couple of great cameras, but I’m still not a great photographer. My philosophy is still to take a gazillion pictures – at least one is bound to be good. Sometimes though, I want an “extra special” picture outcome. That is when I turn to easy photo editing programs like picnik.com. I was able to play around with it a bit during my holiday break. First, I tried the free program (which you can access through Flickr or from the picnik.com site).
Most of all, I like that it is easy to access. You just use it in your web browser. There is no need to download another thing to my computer – yes! The site allows you to do simple editing (auto-fix; red-eye; cropping, etc.) of photos from your computer or other websites (including Facebook along with Flickr and other). Honestly though, the free tools are pretty standard. The fun really begins when you upgrade to a paid subscription. One of my favorite tools is the photo collage feature which I used for my holiday photos. I also like the different effects that you can add to your pictures (i.e. holiday themed borders, adding text to photos and such). For now, the prices are reasonable – $4.95 for one month, $19.95 for six months or $24.95 per year. If you try it out, let me know your thoughts.
(I received a complimentary three month trial subscription to picnik.com in a gift bag from some event or conference last year. I don’t remember which one, because it had been lying around for a while before I had a chance to “play” with it.)