Thursday, July 23, 2009

Picasa 3: Review

I know it sounds a little crazy, but now that I have a new Digital SLR camera I feel more like a "real" photographer. (I kind of think it has something to do with my camera now requiring both of my hands just to hold it, in fear of if I don't, I might drop and break it.) I'm not for sure why, (it very well could just be the "newness" of finally having this type of camera) but now I find it way more exciting to take pictures. =) And unfortunately for Brayden I find myself taking a lot more these days. He has already told me on several occasions things like "NO more pictures! I don't want my picture taken! or Your taking more pictures?!?" Who would have thought at such a young age, a sweet lil boy can already have such a lil attitude. =)

So now that I have my camera and numerous photos the next thing I needed (other than the lens I already have my eye set on) was a photo editing program. Now I know there are several great ones out there like Photoshop but at this time I am looking to take the cheaper route. I have always used Wal-Mart's online photo lab. It has a few basic editing tools and of course I love the convenience of having my pictures in an hour. Lately I haven't been to happy with my purchased photos, not quite for sure if its Walmart's lab or using my previous camera. I haven't had any my new pictures printed just yet. I did a little research on FREE photo editing software and the first link I came across was google's Picasa 3. After reading several reviews and message boards, I decided it was exactly what I was looking for and in the perfect price range. I downloaded the program and gave it a try.

Here are a few examples I did from my photo library showing the before/after of my Picasa transformations. I think you can easily see the color quality change; and hopefully it's for the better ;).


BEFORE: AFTER:

BEFORE: AFTER:
BEFORE: AFTER:

This one isn't quite as drastic as the others, but I still think the colors look just a little more vibrant.
BEFORE: AFTER:

BEFORE: AFTER:

BEFORE: AFTER:

So far this program has been very EASY to use!

Just a few of the features:
* It organizes and stores all of your photos for you.
* Easy to share your photos and you can create web-albums.
* Create slideshows and movies (although I haven't tried this out yet)
* Cropping and retouching
* Color changing: b/w along with filtered and focal b/w, sepia, and changing the tint color
* You can also add a glow or soft focus along with fine tuning the shadows and light.
* You can add text to your photos using any of the fonts on your computer.
* My FAVORITE feature: the UNDO button. You can even close the program, get back into a few days later and undo the changes you previously had made if needed.

The one thing I have noticed that it doesn't allow me to add borders to my photos, like I did on the Walmart site. But for enhancing color quality I think it does a great job! If you have a program that you use to enhance your photos that you enjoy more, I'd love to hear about it. If you don't already have a photo-editing program, I recommend downloading Picasa and giving it a try. The best part, it's FREE!

2 comments:

Jes said...

Don't know if you have heard of Shutterfly or not.. But you can upload your edited pictures to their site to add borders and different things like that. You can create a free account, and you can get your pictures shipped right to you door for a reasonable price. I've been using them for over 2 years now, and have never had any problems.

Enjoy Reading Your Blog.. Check mine out at http://drapes2my20s.bogspot.com

Christie said...

Thanks for the tip! I have heard of Shutterfly, I just haven't ever used it before. I'll have to look into it. =)

Post a Comment

Blog Widget by LinkWithin