subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 24 August 2019 57
Pixlr
lFreelpixlr.comINTHEdaysof internetcafes,beforethe
adventof smartphonesandappsthatallowyou
toperforma multitudeof tasks,browser-based
imageeditingwasanextremelyusefulwayof
applyingbasiceditstoimagesthatcouldbe
downloadedfromyourcameraandemailed
whileawayfromhome.But,in theageof
high-qualityandindeedadvancedsmartphone
camerasandapps,is therestilla placeforthis
typeof editing?
Pixlris onesuchbrowser-basedimageeditor
that’salsoavailableasanappforAndroidand
iOS,butforthisreviewwe’llbefocusingonthe
functionalityavailablein thebrowserversion.
Asthedescriptionsuggests,theeditoropens
in a browsertabsoyoumusthaveanactive
internetconnectiontoedityourimages.
AnothermajordownsidetoPixlris thatimage
sizeis limitedtoa maximumof 3,840pxon
thelongedge,whichis muchsmallerthan
nativefilesizesproducedbymodern cameras.Theeditingworkspace
Theeditorincludesallthefeaturesyou’dneed
tocrop,resize,retouchusingcloningtools,add
filtersandoverlays,addtextandevencreate
basicandlimitedlayers.Plus,of course,the
abilitytoapplyallthebasicadjustmentsyou
canwithstandaloneimage-editingsoftware
rangingfrombrightnessandcontrastto
shadowsandhighlightsandeverythingin
between.In thisarea,there’sverylittleyou
can’tdo.Andwithsomeexistingimage-editing
knowledgeandexperienceof layersincluding
blendingmodes,youcanevenachievea
handfulof morein-deptheffectssuchas
theOrtonEffect.
Ultimately,there’snoreasonwhybrowser-
basedimageeditingsuchasPixlrshouldn’t
exist.Forwhateverreason,howeverunlikely,
there’salwaysa chanceyoumightneedto
useonesotheirveryexistenceremainsuseful.
It wouldbeadvisablenottorelyonsuch
animageeditoraspartof anamateuror
professionalworkflow,owingtothelimitations
of whatyoucanactuallyachievewiththeeditor
andthestrictlimitit hasonfiledimensions.
Overall,Pixlris undoubtedlya usefulimage
editor,butonethatmany people would never
needorwanttouse,
especiallywhenthe
free-to-downloadGIMP
(seepage58)is a better
optionandavailablefor
Mac, PC and Linux.VSCO
lFreeto £18.49
peryearlvsco.comTHEREaresome
phoneappsthathave
hugefollowingsand
downloadfigures,but
youjustdon’thear
quiteasmuchabout
themasotherapps,
andVSCOis one
of them.VSCOwas
perhapsbestknown
foritsdesktoppresets
forLightroomthat
replicateda wide
rangeof classicfilmandanalogueeffects,
butthesewerediscontinuedasthecompany
focusedonitssmartphone app and associated
subscriptionservice.GettingtogripswithVSCO
Whenyoufirststartuptheappyou’reaskedto
createanaccountbecauseaswellasbeingan
image-editingapp,VSCOoffersanInstagram-
stylecommunitywhereyoucanshareyour
ownimages,viewotherimages,likethem,
andfollowotherindividuals.It’sa muchmore
pared-backcommunitythanInstagramand
doesn’tincludeallof theadvertising,algorithm
and‘influencers’.
A subscriptiontotheappcostseither£1.54
monthlyor£18.49peryear,andthere’sa free
seven-daytrialsoyoucantrythesubscription
packagebeforespendinga penny.Thebenefits
includeover 130 presetsandFilmX which
makesclassicfilmlooksavailableandtools
includingHue,SaturationandLuminosity
controls,alongsidebordersandvideoediting.
Whetherornotyou’dneedthesedependson
youandhowyouwishtoedityourphoneshots,
sotheabilitytotrybeforeyoubuyis wellworth
takingadvantageof.
Theuseof theappcentresonapplyinga
largenumberof presetsthatareavailable
witha freeaccount,orsubstantiallymoreif
yousubscribe.Thepresetscanbeapplied
at varyingstrengthsbeforeyouthenapply
adjustments,whicharelimitedandquitebasic
butprovidejustenoughcontroltoimprove
theoveralllookof yourimages.
VSCOis aninterestingappthathas
maintaineda loyalfollowingdespitethe
dominanceof Instagram,andshowsthat
a subscription-basedmodelcanworkfor
a phoneappin thesamewayasit does
fordesktopappssuchasLightroomand
Photoshop.Thepresetsonoffer,evenwith
a freeaccount,aregreatandtheabilityto
controlthemis verywelcome,butthebasic
adjustmentsavailableareseverely limited
comparedtothoseonoffer
withSnapseed.Definitely
anappworthtrying,but
onethatmayjusthavethe
Marmiteeffect– you’ll
either love it or hate it.Snapseed
lFreelGoogle
PlayandAppStore
WHENGooglebought
theNikCollectionof
Photoshopplug-ins,
theacquisitionalso
includedSnapseed.
AndwhiletheNik
Collectionwassold
toDxOa fewyears
ago,Googlekeptthe
Snapseedappfor
AndroidandiOS
smartphoneswhile
thedesktopappwas
discontinued.Snapseedhasremaineda
popularandwell-respectedimage-editing
appwithmorethan989,500downloadson
GooglePlayalone.
Thesheernumberof controlsavailablein
Snapseedwouldbeimpossibletolistand
ratherboringtoread.Buttogiveyousome
ideaof what’spossiblethereare 29 toolsand
filtersin totalandeachfilter/textureoverlay
canbeappliedin a rangeof strengths
andcombinations.
Rawprocessingof DNGsis possible
alongsideJPEGs,soyoucaneditwhicheverfile
typeyouchoosetoshootonyoursmartphone.
Withsmartphonesnowmorepopularthan
compactcamerasforfamilysnapsandeven
shootingonthoseoccasionswhereyoudon’t
haveyourmaincamera,theabilitytoshoot
andedithigh-qualityrawfilesis a greatway
togetmorefromsucha smallandportable
camera.Allthebasicadjustmentsyou’dexpect
- rangingfrombrightnessandcontrastto
shadowsandhighlightstohealingandlocal
adjustments– areavailable,alongsidemore
advancedoptionssuchascurvesandevena
histogramtoassessshadows,highlightsand
mid-tonesin images.Any‘looks’thatyou
createthatconsistof a rangeof filtersand
adjustmentscanalsobesaved,allowingyou
toreapplythemveryeasilyat a laterdateto
differentimages.Layersaren’tavailablein
Snapseed,butmultipleeffectscanbestacked.
Amust-haveforsmartphoneusers
Snapseedis undoubtedlyoneof thebest
image-editingappsavailableforAndroidand
iOS,andthefactthatsucha powerfulappis
freetouseandfreeof obtrusiveadvertising
is nothingshortof amazing.Thenumberof
controls,filtersandlooksavailablemakes
editingphoneimages,bothrawandJPEG,a
quickandeasyprocessandtheresultslook
fantastic.It’scertainlynotaspowerfulasa fully
fledgeddesktopapp,butit’sas powerful as
youneedona mobile
deviceandis excellentat
creatinggreatresultsfast.
In short,it’sa must-have
appforallphotographers
usingtheirsmartphone
to shoot and edit images.
GOLD