Cooperative Living October 2015 - 23

CAUGHT IN THE WEB by Laura Emery, Field Editor
Photo Emergency?
Use These EASY
Online Editing Tools
Shhh! We Won't Tell.
H
er tutu has been fluffed, her stomach filled, her baubles
and beads delicately adjusted ― everything is ready
for the perfect photo, the kind you enlarge and hang on
your wall for years of ooh-ing and ahh-ing. And yet, as predictable
as stormy weather on a vacation day, tears begin to
stream down flushed cheeks, plopping down on the perfectly
primped pettiskirt below.
No desperate assortment of dancing or singing can calm the
irate 1-year-old until, as a second thought, a glorious brightyellow
container of banana puffs emerges from a nearby
purse. The miffed model is suddenly quiet, shoveling fistfuls of
puffs into her mouth. Drool and liquefied puff remnants drip
down the sides of her once camera-ready face.
And then it happens. She flashes it ever so quickly ― a
smile, the most perfect smile there ever was. As the tears sit
suspended on her cheeks, her eyes sparkle mischievously.
www.picmonkey.com
" Prepare your eyeballs " is its current
tagline. PicMonkey is a fun photo-editing
tool that allows you to do some fairly serious
photo editing without feeling like you're
doing serious editing. The best part, for
many people, is that it's easy on the wallet.
The basic features are free. For more function,
however, PicMonkey does have a premium
version for a small amount each
month. PicMonkey gives you hundreds of
ways to manipulate your photos that need a
little love.
www.picasa.com
Picasa is a photo-editing and management
program that also lets you take advantage
of Google+ integration to back up
your photos automatically. With a nice
array of editing functions and other features,
this program is a good photo-management
alternative for users of varying experience
levels. Picasa contains a nice selection of
editing tools that allows you to crop and
straighten images, eliminate redeye, add
contrast, and apply a variety of filters. Many
October 2015/www.co-opliving.com
She's certain she's ruined the perfect photo, and is seemingly
quite pleased with herself.
But she's wrong. So very, very wrong.
Adobe Photoshop remains, hands down, the best photoediting
software on the market, for everything from removing
tears to making drool magically disappear. But unless you've
undergone formal training, Photoshop is a difficult program to
master and is accompanied by a cringe-worthy price tag. Free
(and nearly free) photo-editing tools have come a long way,
and you really can do almost anything you could do in
Photoshop ―and sometimes more. A nearly exhaustive list of
free downloadable photo-editing tools dots the photo-editing
landscape; but here are a few worth checking out.
of the editing tools come with sliders to control
the intensity of the effect they deliver,
giving you the ability to find just the right
balance for each image. It is free to download
and use and includes 1 GB of storage
for no additional charge.
When it comes to organizing your photos,
Picasa makes it easy. Assign keywords
to your photos and then use Albums to
organize them just the way you want to.
Albums are virtual groupings of photos that
only exist in the Picasa software.
For editing, there are three convenient
tabs. Basic Fixes, Effects and Tuning. " I'm
Feeling Lucky " takes the guesswork out and
enhances photos automatically. For a quick
way to prep photos for sharing, Picasa is the
way to go.
www.BeFunky.com
If you're looking for a powerful photo
editor that doesn't carry a heavy cost and
can be accessed and used anywhere,
BeFunky is it. Check it out on the web, and
download it for Android or iOS. BeFunky
is " new school " software that gives everyone
the skills of a Photoshop expert in a
matter of seconds.
With all the photo effects you love and
many you won't find anywhere else,
BeFunky Photo comes stocked with powerful
photo-editing tools, a collage maker, tons of
fonts, photo frames, overlays, and stickers.
Plus, with BeFunky, you have the ability to
instantly and simultaneously share your
photo to your camera roll and BeFunky/
Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Flickr/ Tumblr.
No registration is required, there are no ads,
no watermarks, no limitations, and no forcing
to share.
Adobe Photoshop Elements
Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 is one
of the best photo-editing software for
beginners because it offers an impressive
selection of editing tools along with some
very nice online resources to help you learn
how to use all aspects of the software. A
user guide and video tutorials are a good
place to get started, but if you need a little
extra help, you can always contact Adobe
for assistance. 
21
NICOLE JOHNSON PHOTO
For direct links to suggested websites, visit
www.co-opliving.com.
http://www.co-opliving.com http://www.picmonkey.com http://www.picasa.com http://www.BeFunky.com
Cooperative Living October 2015

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