I want to thank all of you for your kind words welcoming me home from my summer of traveling. While I'm very happy to be home (picture me drinking straight from the tap and eating peaches and plums with joy), it has taken me a bit to adjust to getting back into work, getting back into a new routine, and getting the house organized after a wild and crazy spring - okay and let's face it - getting back into cooking and cleaning because I didn't do that for the seven weeks I was away!
I love looking back at the photos I took in Bangladesh and India and I have spent countless hours making a photo book out of them. I've also been playing around with some of my favourite photos using Picnik, a free on-line photo-editing website which is a source of endless fun for me. I should say that a portion of the site is free and that is all I use because I'm cheap like that, but there are other wonderful features if you are willing to pay. In case you missed my earlier posts about the virtues of Picnik, you can read them here and here - and yes - even here.
Picnik has so many different ways to edit and apply effects that I love to try different combinations. What I do with each photo isn't always exactly the same, but in general I make the following edits:
What do you think? I'm in love with the last one and am thinking of printing it to put up in our family room. Anyone else tried on-line photo-editing programs like Picnik?
I love looking back at the photos I took in Bangladesh and India and I have spent countless hours making a photo book out of them. I've also been playing around with some of my favourite photos using Picnik, a free on-line photo-editing website which is a source of endless fun for me. I should say that a portion of the site is free and that is all I use because I'm cheap like that, but there are other wonderful features if you are willing to pay. In case you missed my earlier posts about the virtues of Picnik, you can read them here and here - and yes - even here.
Picnik has so many different ways to edit and apply effects that I love to try different combinations. What I do with each photo isn't always exactly the same, but in general I make the following edits:
- use auto-correct to do the initial adjustment
- lighten the exposure
- bump up the colour a few notches
- straighten the photo (my eyes must be crooked as so many of my photos are slanted - thank heaven for Picnik to fix them up)
And the following effects are my favourites. I have listed them in descending order from the one I like and use the most, to others that I try. I also sometimes do more than one effect on a single photo:
- Cinescope (you can uncheck the box so you don't have the letterbox effect with the black lines top and bottom)
- Cross-process (you can use the slide to decrease the amount of effect you want to apply to the photo)
- 1960's (you can uncheck the box so you don't have rounded corners)
- HDR-ish (I definitely move the slide over to minimize the effect of this one)
- Lomo-ish (again I move the slide over to minimize this one as well)
Have a look at the changes I made to my photos below. In each case the first photo is the original photo and the second shows the changes I made using Picnik.
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| PHOTO #1 ORIGINAL |
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| PHOTO #1 EDITED USING PICNIK |
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| PHOTO #2 ORIGINAL |
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| PHOTO #2 EDITED USING PICNIK |
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| PHOTO #3 ORIGINAL |
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| PHOTO #3 EDITED USING PICNIK |
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| PHOTO #4 ORIGINAL |
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| PHOTO #4 EDITED USING PICNIK |
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| PHOTO #5 ORIGINAL |
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| PHOTO #5 EDITED USING PICNIK |
Great pictures and great editing. I love picnik! Great job, and welcome home with all your memories!
ReplyDeleteHi Grace, I like using picnic too. It is reliable and gives great effect. Of course as you have well and truly demonstrated fabulous pictures are a wonderful start.
ReplyDeleteYep Grace, Picnik for me! I like using a drop shadow frame on mine. J x
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos from your trip and the editing is great. I have just read about another blogger using picnik. It looks like fun!
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome - I love the bottom one. I need to spend more time in Picnik!
ReplyDeleteHi Grace...I run my pics through Picasa and then I go to Picnik. I have learned how to use Vibrance and Exposure. I apply my watermark in Picnik too. I still have issues with some of my inside pics being slightly blurry. I have tried and tried, read my manual but I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I can only sharpen them so much before they start looking grainy. I'm just not ready to take the big step and get a new camera. If they were a little more reasonably priced I might think about it. It's always something!
ReplyDeleteGrace, wow you were gone a long time. Welcome home. Love the pictures. The edited ones are nice, but the originals look good, too. I use picasa most of the time to edit mine. What wonderful memories you will have of this trip.
ReplyDeleteYou took some fantastic photos on your trip, Grace. I have never used Picnik before. I use Photobucket. But your edited photos look so nice!
ReplyDeleteI am having great fun editing in Picnik as well! Love your shots and what an adventure you must have had! Happy editing!! Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteI use Picnik too. I have to straighten almost every photo I take. Your originals are great; way better than mine even after some adjustment :)
ReplyDeleteThese photos are amazing! Forget the family room - send them to National Geographic!
ReplyDeleteLove your photos - they're all frame-worthy! Especially that last one; it transports you right back there.
ReplyDeleteYou're photos are very stunning. Thanks for sharing your editing tips-I'll have to give Picnik a try! Thank you also for swinging by my blog and for your lovely comment :)
ReplyDeleteIn most cases, I preferred your original photo! I found the edited ones to be adding only more exposure as opposed to more intensity except the last one. It has an aura about it.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous shots Grace. I just love #2 with the little girls playing. So sweet.
ReplyDeleteI use PS Elements and it can be quite addicting and time consuming. Great fun!