Going on a PICNIK

I’m sure this has happened to you:  you are talking with a friend (either in real life or online) and they mention something about your photos.  They ask about what camera you use and how they can make their photos look like yours. After explaining a little to them about taking good photos and then making them great with photo editing equipment, they then declare that they want you to teach them to use Photoshop.  You would be thrilled to share your love with them except that you know that they are technologically challenged and Phototshop would make their eyes glaze over. What do you do?  You want to help them make their photos look great but they need something EASY. There is a solution…go on a PICNIK.

PICNIK is a great little web-based photo editing program.  It is fast, easy, and actually has a lot of potential.  You can do everything from changing exposure and cropping images to adding text and fun color distortions. The premium membership adds even more potential.  I think even my mom could do this (and yes, that is saying a lot).

You can upload your photos straight from your computer or even from web based photo albums like photobucket and your Facebook page!  How cool is that?  (This is where I will sheepishly admit I have a secret obsession with downloading peoples Facebook photos, editing them, and then thinking to myself, “now that’s what your photos COULD look like!” – most often done with photos that are so dark you can barely tell there is a person there!)  The editor is extremely user friendly and with all the options you have, it really is a lot of fun.  Here is a picture I uploaded:

It has a pretty good AUTO fix:

And about 10 seconds of quick adjustments gets me this:

I can also crop and resize with  just  a click

I can change to black and white and add a vignette…

…create other cool effects

…and even make it snow

I can add a border or a drop shadow

…or even frame my creation

I can add text and stickers (there are even fonts in there by digiscrapper/fonter Kimberly Geswein)…

And if you upgrade to a premium account, you can do even MORE cool effects and have MORE control such as using levels and curves.

So come on…give it a try and then tell all of your {perhaps technilogically challenged) friends!