With the influx in popularity of sites like Pinterest, Instagram and marketing materials like infographics, poppin’ pictures are a must – Plus, it’s been proven that images invoke more engagement (up to 20x more!) on social. Spicing up your images or photos could do wonders for your email or social media marketing. But where can you edit and enhance plain Jane images? Here are 3 free photo editing tools (that you don’t even have to download) that’ll give your pics some serious sham-wow:
Pixlr.com
Pixlr is excellent for your basic photo editing needs, and includes the following features: crop, rotate, erase, paintbrush, paint bucket, basic shapes, type tool, and red eye remover. There are also tools for more advanced adjustments like: brightness & contrast, hue & saturation, color balance, color vibrant, levels, curves, exposures, layers and history tool box (which we use a lot), and more.
*Pixlr Bonus: There’s a mobile Pixlr app and a filter editing site/app (Pixlr-O-Matic) that are also free. Pixlr-O-Matic does whimsical effects (filters), overlays, and frames.
If you’ve ever used Photoshop, Pixlr should be a snap. If you need some extra guidance, there’s a community-powered support site that can get you started.
PicMonkey
PicMonkey appears more basic than Pixlr, but does include more features. The great thing about PicMonkey, is that makes things super simple for people who are just getting started with photo editing. The tools are clearly marked and the editor uses very simple navigation. There are also classic filters like Sepia, in which you can adjust the tint and fade.
About half of the features on PicMonkey are free, anything labeled with a tiny white crown means you have to upgrade to $4.99 a month.
*PicMonkey Bonus: There’s a theme section (the jack-o-lantern icon in left menu) that allows you turn your photo into a Vampire, Zombie, Day of the Dead, Witch, Demons, Trick or Treat, Winterland, or Sweatheart scene with effects and objects.
FotoFlexer
FotoFlexer contains all of the basics seen above and also includes the following sections: Basics, Effects, Decorate, Beautify (with wrinkle cream), Distort, Layers, and Geek effects and tools. The editor is really easy to use with its labels and icons.
The only downside: It can take a while load inbetween editing. The other two programs are a little snappier.
*FotoFlexer Bonus: The animations tab lets you add GIFs (animated clip art) to your image – Fun! You can also import a photo from your computer or from a variety of image hosting sites like PhotoBucket, Facebook, and Flicker. Check out this patchwork effect:
All of these editors allow you to either save the edited image to your computer or share on social media sites right from the platform. Remember to save your images as you edit so you don’t lose your work – That’s always the worst!
Do you have any favorite free and/or cheap photo editing tools of your own? Share with us!
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