Picnik

Getting good photographs has definitely been a challenge for me, particularly the close ups needed for my etsy shop. I was aware of Picnik, the online photo editing tool, but hadn't made the time to play with it. I was going through some photos we took in the city over the weekend (expect a post on that soon) and it was the perfect opportunity to see what it can do.

This first picture was taken in Indiana on a return roadtrip from Virginia a couple of weeks ago. The windmills go on and on as far as you can see.

Not a bad picture, right? But not a great one. A little crooked and a little bland. I pulled it into Picnik and started clicking away until I liked it better. This is the picture after straightening it and applying Boost, HDR and Lomo-ish. I still would have liked the blue to be more blue, but I'll keep practicing.

Here's another example. This picture was taken in the city from a moving vehicle as the sun was setting. You can see it's a little dark and doesn't do a good job of focusing on the street performers.

Here it is after cropping, adjusting the exposure and applying Cross Process (I think. It's easy to lose track.) and Lomo-ish.

Thumbs up to Picnik! It can be a little intimidating at first with so many options, but just get in there and start clicking to see what you like. You'll definitely find that you'll develop a few favorite go-to effects. There are also options to add frames, stickers, text and all sorts of fun stuff.

Now I want to go back and work on our wedding photos!