quickie photo edits.

For all my more serious, need-to-be-professional-looking photo shoots, I use Lightroom 3.0 (godsend) for all editing, organizing, creating art out of nothing.  But for everyday stuff, like most of the photos you'll see on this blog and anywhere else I guest post/contribute, it all lies in the magic of Picnik.

A free online service that optimizes your photos for the web and allows you to make the normal, everyday edits such as resizing, removing red eye, changing exposure settings, adding vignettes and playing which some sweet effects:

 

Plus you can add those coveted watermarks...that I'm phasing out because it just bothers me that it disrupts my everyday photos.  For the serious stuff it's a must, but really, who is going to 'steal' this picture?

 

Oh you were?  Was it going in your DIY handbook of how not to fix a dishwasher?  I expect a cut of the profits.

So there's my quick (and mostly free) secret to how I quickly take photos from camera to web.  The only downside to Picnik is that it isn't actually a photo-hosting site, so you can only access your last 100 uploads, but that's what my eight gazillion usb drives are for right?  Or am I the only one who's too lazy to consolidate everything onto our external drive.  Add that to the snowday to-do list.

Just as an FYI, this is not a compensated review in any sorts for Picnik, I just use the site regularly and thought others might want to use it too.  Plus I really like making myself look weird in photos using their effects.  Heatmap is not my best look, why does my nose have so much heat?  Must be this dang cold.

Comments

[Katy Mary]

ooh fun I may have to sign up. I used Photoscape which does a lot of the same and it's free too! That pic is too funny btw.

[nicole]

never heard of photoscape, i'll have to check it out!

[chris]

I'm pretty sure that the "heatmap" setting doesn't actually magically turn your regular camera, after the fact, into a infrared camera. Just saying....