Simple Tech Series #5: Picnik -

UPDATE: Picnik will be closing in April 2012. You haven’t the slightest idea how much this pains me. I am so upset with Google that I almost want to close my Blogger account. But, anyway, instead of just getting upset, I am also looking for alternatives. Check here for alternatives to Picnik. I haven’t checked them out myself yet, but if you see one you like and want to know how to use it, let me know in the comment section below, and I will do a tutorial on it :)

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I get a lot of emails and messages asking for help on websites I frequent. In response, I thought like a teacher: if a few people have these questions, a lot of people might have the same questions! So, for your convenience, and mine too, I guess, I am writing a series of tutorials for popular websites. Over the course of this series, I will cure your ails with Pinterest, Twitter, Blogger, Google Reader and Picnik. I will give you the basics on the problems that are troubling you most, and if you have any other questions or sites you would like me to explain, please let me know in the comment section below.

Tutorial Five: Picnik

Picnik.com is a free photo editing service that can be upgraded to a premium account for an annual $25 fee. While I use the premium account for blogging, you can do almost everything with the free account for personal use. The images on my slider? Picnik. Any photos I doctor up on this site? Picnik. What do I do when I mess around on my computer? Picnik.

So, how do you use this great site? It’s easy!

1. From the home screen, upload the photo you wish to edit. You can upload from your computer or from any of your social media sites (just look for the buttons).

2. Once you upload your photo, you will be directed to the Basic Edits page.

3. After making basic edits, you can play with the following options: Featured, Effects, Text, Stickers, Touch-Up, Frames, Advanced, and Seasonal

4. When you’re done editing, go to the Save & Share tab

5. Choose the name of your picture and where you want to save it. You’re done!

So, let’s go into some of these steps a little further:

Basic Edits: This is the part where you do your, well, basic edits. You can crop and rotate your photo, play with the colors and exposure if it’s too dark or light, sharpen any fuzziness and resize the image. You can also click Auto-Fix if you want the site to make a few touch ups for you.

Featured: The Featured section is where any upcoming event or holiday is showcased. For example, at the time this post is written, New Year’s Eve has just come and gone, so many people are editing their photos from the big night. In the Featured section, there are various frames, stickers and effects that have to do with the holiday. You can go here to find all of the most seasonal editing tools.

Effects: This is the section where you can play around with different effects on your pictures. For example, you can make them black and white, pixelated, color tinted, or myriad other fun things.

Text: This is pretty self explanatory, but you can add text in various fun fonts here. You can change the size, color, direction and location of your text as well.

Stickers: This is another fun one. Stickers is a feature where you can add all kinds of holiday, animal, food, symbol, shape, etc. clip art to your photos. You can put a funny hat on your uncle or you can add some forks and spoons to your latest family dinner photo. You can change the color, size and location of your stickers.

Touch-Up: A lot of people love this one. With Touch-Up, you can whiten your teeth, get rid of red-eye, put on some make-up or even “slenderize” yourself. There are 17 different touch-ups you can make, but beware, a lot of touch-ups require a premium account.

Frames: With Frames, you can add a frame to your photo. They have holiday themes as well as simple black frames. You can even make your picture look like a Polaroid!

Advanced: Advanced options are all premium. If you are just using Picnik for recreational purposes, I wouldn’t worry about this too much. In this section, you can look at tonal range, color balance, and light effects.

Seasonal: Seasonal is where all of the holiday and event folders are archived until they are put in the featured section. So, if you’re editing you Halloween photos this weekend, take a look there!

Picnik is a great way to add even more personality to your photos, and a great way to get lost on the Internet! So, get out there and have fun editing. After all, life’s a picnic! (Sorry.)

Are there any other questions you have about Picnik? Perhaps a feature you would like to know more about? Let me know in the comment section below!

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