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Exploring the art of photo editing

     Hello everyone! Nice to stay home on a Wednesday (that's yesterday, a national holiday in the Philippines in commemoration of the birth of Andres Bonifacio, one of our national heroes). Yesterday, while browsing the Net, I incidentally explored the art of photo editing using free online photo editors. I have been so used to edit photos and do picture collage using Picasa but today I had a chance to use piZap, FotoFlexer, Photo Frames, Phixr and Paint.NET.
     After taking on the challenge, here are some of my creations... 



piZap

     The two photos above were edited using piZap Online Photo Editor on different frames. PiZap has a wide variety of choices for editing a photo, making a collage and choosing backgrounds. Making a collage is as easy as 1, 2, 3 given formatting categories that come in different colorful shapes and designs to choose from.
   Foto Flexer
 
     This one was edited using Foto Flexer. The sepia effect mounted on a gold frame creates a traditional and formal impression. Foto Flexer also offers a variety of editing choices (basic, effects, decorate, animations, beautify, distort, layer, geek).

     The next two photos were edited using Photo Frames Online. On the left side is a picture of Christian, the main character in John Bunyan's classic work, Pilgim's Progress. I chose that particular design from the flowers category because it seems to provide a good background for Christian's countenance as he entered the gloom and terror of the Valley of the Shadow of Death but where Psalms 23:4 was his comfort. 
     As its name suggests, Photo Frames Online specializes in framing photos with more than 10 categories of frames to choose from. 
    For my own photo on the right I chose a simple frame made of bundles of strings creating a wooden frame effect from afar which I thought is a perfect match for the lavender orchids in the picture. It simply moves my imagination to see the orchids hanging on a driftwood.



















Photo Frames Online


     To edit the next photo, I applied Phixr-Online Photo Editor. Take note that I used exactly the same photo of Bunyan's Christian in Pilgrim's Progress, the one I edited using Photo Frames above. This time I made some modifications by combining two designs (puzzle and green frame together), one after the other in a head-through-the-hole effect. And presto, I was able to come up with this greeting card!



     Now, for my own photo, still using the greeting card design of Phixr, I was able to come up with another presentation that has transformed the original photo into having a demure girlish effect in a puzzle frame. Oh, I love it!

 

     The next picture is a product of an experiment I did to an old picture (left side) of mine. Do you see the creases on my hairline towards the right and in the middle just under my eyelids? Now look at the picture on the right. Can you still see the creases? Magic? No, not really... that's simply what photo editing tricks... technology rather, can do. Wait, I must have focused so much on removing the creases to the extent of overdoing either the blurring or softening effect.
    This was done using Paint.NET. Featuring a variety of special effects (such as blurring, sharpening, red-eye removal, etc.) it is capable of making adjustments thereby enhancing and perfecting images, just like the other photo editors previously mentioned. Comparable with other popular editing software packages such as Adobe Photoshop and Corel, Paint.NET takes pride in its allegedly powerful tools, intuitive user interface and fast performance.


     I have tried using Adobe Photoshop in the past. Sad to say, I didn't have much practice with it. Instead I learned Picasa better and faster. Aside from editing, Picasa allows you to organize photos without opening the browser, upload or share your photos quickly and apply the Picnic editing magic. With Picasa, I was already able to edit a lot of pictures and make collages.
     Here are just some of the collage creations I made using Picasa.
 









 







      Picasa
  
     I have given these photo collage as gifts to my colleagues and it has always given me so much fulfillment to see the glow on their faces as they stare excitedly at their beautiful pictures.
      An amateur in photo editing, I wish I have given the different softwares justice in acknowledging their salient features. A real challenge it is, indeed, but something that I have begun to like and am enjoying more and more as I immerse myself into it. So here's another wish for mastery of the skill as I continue to explore the different applications, singly or in combination, in my desire to perfect this craft which is fast becoming my new hobby.
      Till next blog time! :)
     

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