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!