Online Image Editing Project

Photoshop has been widely used in fashion industry. Undoubtedly this is because Photoshop has a reputation as the most powerful image-editing software available. There are some down-sides to Photoshop, however. For one thing, Photoshop is very expensive; for another, Photoshop requires training in order to use well. However, while attending the MECA 2010 conference, Dr. Steve Yuen informed me that there are several alternatives. One option is the free online image editing site, called www.picnik.com. 

 

However, at that time I did not have the opportunity (or time) to play with the program. It was not until later, when I took Dr. Yuen’s Advanced Hypermedia Development class (IT 644), that I became familiar with the online program. Picnik is both very user friendly and free (the best possible quality). Another cool thing about picnik.com is that you don’t need to download the program and it requires no registration. All you need to do is upload a photo to the website. The site offers a variety of auto-fix options, such as modifying the colors or the exposure. You’re also able to tweak your photos with stickers, texts, frames, touch-up tools, and effects. One option I really liked was the ability to transform photos into line-art pseudo-hand-drawn pictures. There is (of course) also a premium package available with more features. However, below, you will see some examples of what I was able to do with the free Picnik tools.

 

For one of our IT 644 class assignments, we were required to create, import, capture, or scan a minimum of 20 photo images which we would then modify online using Picnik and/or Splashup. Sensing an opportunity accomplish two things at once, I used Picnik to edit photos I took for a friend’s wedding a few weeks earlier. While Picnik offered a variety of free features, many of them were not appropriate for wedding photos. A number of appropriate options were only accessible for premium members. 

In addition to editing images, our assignment required us to use Photo Story 3, a very easy-to use Windows program, to create a slideshow. The slideshow was required to include photo images with captions, titles, audio narration, animation and transition effects, and music. Like Picnik, Photo Story 3 has features which allow users to edit images, crop, rotate, add effects, and touch-up the image. Users can also add soundtracks and record audio narration for their stories. In addition, users can personalize their stories by adding titles and captions. I found that Photo Story is similar to Windows Movie Media Player program. They both have similar features, aside from Photo Story 3’s voice narration function.

 

To prepare those of you who may watch the photostory below, Dr. Yuen’s comments were: a) “interesting wedding photostory,” b) “great background music,” and c) “ the quality of some photos could be better.”  

             While working on this online image editing assignment, I couldn’t help but think about ways to utilize these programs and applications in the Fashion Merchandising program, and about the way these technologies could benefit my students’ professional careers. I decided to introduce online image editing tools such as Picnik and Splashup and integrate them into my Professional Presentations (FM 222) class. One of the FM 222 assignments was for students to select 3 projects they completed in previous classes to include in their online portfolios. After watching video podcasts teaching how to compose and shoot pictures, as well as how to use picnik.com, my students used Picnik to edit the photos documenting each of the projects they included in their online portfolios. I made video instructions and tutorials available for the students, on my class website. Overall, my students responses were positive, both about this project and about their experiences with Picnik.