Today, most of us have a camera in our phones, and that is a great thing. However, the camera in a phone isn’t that great. No DSLR or point and shoot camera comes with a phone, so we have to settle with what we have. But it gets better when you add an online photo enhancer. These services will take your image and create something far superior to what you can get on your own. In this post I review several of these services so you can choose the one that works best for you.
What to look for in a free photo editor
When you’re choosing a free photo editor, the first thing to consider is your level of confidence and experience. If you simply want to make a few adjustments (removing blemishes and improving colors, for example) then a simple online tool might be perfect, doing the job well without overwhelming you with options.
If, on the other hand, you’re interested in more advanced editing then you’ll want to focus on desktop software that offers tools such as layers and masks, giving you full control over the process.
Desktop software is also a good choice if you have several photos to edit, and some free photo editors can even edit photos in batches, which can save you an enormous amount of time.
It’s also worth considering what you’ll be using the exported photos for. Online photo editors can often only export images in JPG format, and only at relatively low resolutions. That might be fine for images you want to display online (and many such photo editors include tools for sending images directly to Facebook or Twitter) but if you want to print your work then you’ll be better off with a tool like GIMP or Paint.NET that will let you export in just about any format, in high resolutions.
- Here’s our pick of the best free stock photo sites
1. GIMP
The best free photo editor for advanced image editing
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows, macOS, LinuxLayers: YesExport formats: 40+TODAY’S BEST DEALSVIEW AT GIMP
REASONS TO BUY
+Advanced editing tools+Cross-platform support+No ads
REASONS TO AVOID
-Steep learning curve
GIMP (the GNU Image Manipulation Program) is the best free photo editor around. It’s packed with the kind of image-enhancing tools you’d find in premium software, and more are being added every day.
The photo editing toolkit is breathtaking, and features layers, masks, curves, and levels. You can eliminate flaws easily with the excellent clone stamp and healing tools, create custom brushes, apply perspective changes, and apply changes to isolated areas with smart selection tools.
GIMP is an open source free photo editor, and its community of users and developers have created a huge collection of plugins to extend its utility even further. Many of these come pre-installed, and you can download more from the official glossary. If that’s not enough, you can even install Photoshop plugins.
Read our full review: GIMP
2. Ashampoo Photo Optimizer
Fuss-free photo editing with automatic optimization tools
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: WindowsLayers: NoExport formats: JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFTODAY’S BEST DEALSVIEW AT ASHAMPOO
REASONS TO BUY
+One-click optimization+Fine manual controls+Clean interface
REASONS TO AVOID
-Auto optimization is hit-and-miss
If you’ve got a lot of photos that you need to edit in a hurry, Ashampoo Photo Optimizer could be the tool for you. Its interface is clean and uncluttered, and utterly devoid of ads (although you’ll need to submit an email address before you can start using it).
Importing pictures is a breeze, and once they’ve been added to the pool, you can select several at once to rotate or mirror, saving you valuable time. You can also choose individual photos to enhance with the software’s one-click optimization tool. In our tests this worked particularly well on landscapes, but wasn’t always great for other subjects.
If you want to make manual color and exposure corrections, there are half a dozen sliders to let you do exactly that. It’s a shame you can’t also apply the same color changes to a whole set of pictures at once, but this is otherwise a brilliant free photo editor for making quick corrections.
For more advanced editing, check out Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 7 – the premium version of the software with enhanced optimization tools.
Read our full review: Ashampoo Photo Optimizer
3. Canva
Professional-level photo editing and templates in your browser
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux (in browser); Android, iOS, iPadOS (mobile app)Layers: NoExport formats: JPG, PNG, PDFTODAY’S BEST DEALSCanva FreeCanva Pro$9.95/mthCanva Enterprise$30/mthVISIT SITEat Canva
REASONS TO BUY
+Great selection of templates+Includes free cloud storage+Mobile app available
REASONS TO AVOID
-No fine manual editing tools
Canva is a photo editor that runs in your web browser, and is ideal for turning your favorite snaps into cards, posters, invitations and social media posts. If you’re interested in maintaining a polished online presence, it’s the perfect tool for you.
Canva has two tiers, free and paid, but the free level is perfect for home users. Just sign up with your email address and you’ll get 1GB free cloud storage for your snaps and designs, 8,000 templates to use and edit, and two folders to keep your work organized.
You won’t find advanced tools like clone brushes and smart selectors here, but there’s a set of handy sliders for applying tints, vignette effects, sharpening, adjusting brightness, saturation and contrast, and much more. The text editing tools are intuitive, and there’s a great selection of backgrounds and other graphics to complete your designs.
Read our full review: Canva
What to look for in a free photo editor
When you’re choosing a free photo editor, the first thing to consider is your level of confidence and experience. If you simply want to make a few adjustments (removing blemishes and improving colors, for example) then a simple online tool might be perfect, doing the job well without overwhelming you with options.
If, on the other hand, you’re interested in more advanced editing then you’ll want to focus on desktop software that offers tools such as layers and masks, giving you full control over the process.
Desktop software is also a good choice if you have several photos to edit, and some free photo editors can even edit photos in batches, which can save you an enormous amount of time.
It’s also worth considering what you’ll be using the exported photos for. Online photo editors can often only export images in JPG format, and only at relatively low resolutions. That might be fine for images you want to display online (and many such photo editors include tools for sending images directly to Facebook or Twitter) but if you want to print your work then you’ll be better off with a tool like GIMP or Paint.NET that will let you export in just about any format, in high resolutions.
- Here’s our pick of the best free stock photo sites
1. GIMP
The best free photo editor for advanced image editing
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows, macOS, LinuxLayers: YesExport formats: 40+TODAY’S BEST DEALSVIEW AT GIMP
REASONS TO BUY
+Advanced editing tools+Cross-platform support+No ads
REASONS TO AVOID
-Steep learning curve
GIMP (the GNU Image Manipulation Program) is the best free photo editor around. It’s packed with the kind of image-enhancing tools you’d find in premium software, and more are being added every day.
The photo editing toolkit is breathtaking, and features layers, masks, curves, and levels. You can eliminate flaws easily with the excellent clone stamp and healing tools, create custom brushes, apply perspective changes, and apply changes to isolated areas with smart selection tools.
GIMP is an open source free photo editor, and its community of users and developers have created a huge collection of plugins to extend its utility even further. Many of these come pre-installed, and you can download more from the official glossary. If that’s not enough, you can even install Photoshop plugins.
Read our full review: GIMP
2. Ashampoo Photo Optimizer
Fuss-free photo editing with automatic optimization tools
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: WindowsLayers: NoExport formats: JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFTODAY’S BEST DEALSVIEW AT ASHAMPOO
Conclusions
Rejoice! There is a free online photo enhancer that does wonders. No need to pay for expensive Adobe Photoshop or Corel PaintShop Pro anymore. This little known secret is like a back up to all your photography equipment. Whatever happens, you can always rely on this editing software. It can help fix color deficiency, brightness, contrast and exposure issues associated to your photos.