Session 3 - Multimedia Software (Photo Editing)

There are many, many, many different Multimedia software packages, applications and/or tools. In this class, we will concentrate on those that are readily available that are free or have a reasonably functional free option. Today we will look at some photo editing tools.

Pixlr

Pixlr would have to be one of my favourite multimedia applications. It is essentially a photo editing application and has some similarities with Photoshop when you use the Pixlr editor, but also has the easier application called Pixlr Express. The reason I like it so much is that it has an extremely functional free option, but is still very powerful. Its only downfall is the advertisements that appear on the right hand side of the screen, but I think that is only a small inconvenience.

It has been created by a company called Autodesk, which has been a big name in CAD and 3D software for a long time.

Click on the little blue arrow to start.

Pixlr Express

We will start by exploring Pixlr Express.

Last week I asked you to make sure that you had some images that you could use in class. Hopefully you all remembered and some photos that you can play with.

Adjustments

The first section that we will be looking at is the basic adjustments that you can easily do with Pixlr Express.

Once you have browsed and located an image, Pixlr Express will load and display the menu options that are available.

These are your choices:

Sometimes there are special occasion themes for events such as Mother's Day and Halloween.

Within each of these categories, you have lots of other tools. Let's start with Adjustments.

All of the above are tasks that you can perform using the Adjustment category.

Cropping an Image

The first enhancement we will make will be using Pixlr Express to crop an image. Start by loading Pixlr Express if you haven't already done so.

Once you click on the Browse button, you can scroll to and open your USB drive, or wherever you have saved the photos, and select the image that you want to crop. It will then be loaded into Pixlr Express.

You will be able to see the categories of tools at the bottom of your picture.

Choose the Adjustment Category, and then select the Crop Tool.

Your now cropped image will be displayed.

Click the Save button - top left of the browser window, to save your cropped image.

Give your image a name, select the quality, click on Save. You can choose a different location to save the file if necessary.

You can also use the Crop tool to apply some of the composition rules that we looked at last week, such as . "Rule of Thirds" or "Filling the Frame" composition. The example above changes the composition to "Filling the Frame".

Rotate

Rotate is pretty self explanatory - it allows you to rotate your image to straighten it or to get a particular effect.

You could use Rotate to straighten up an image for "Straight Horizons".

Resize

Resizing an image is about the pixels. An image straight from the camera is huge - both in dimensions as well as physical amount of space it takes up on your storage device.

Depending on the purpose for the image, resizing may be required. You can Resize an image by cropping it - selecting the part of the image that you want, or by changing the pixel dimensions.

To change the size of the image in regards to the amount of storage, resizing the pixels and/or adjusting the quality when you save the image are both methods that can be used.

Class Activity 1

Use Cropping to apply a "Fill the Frame" composition using an image of your choice
Use Cropping to apply a "Rule of Thirds" composition using an image of your choice

Use Rotate to apply a "Straight Horizons" composition using an image of your choice.

Post a "Before" and "After" image into the Facebook group (single post) to share with the class.

Adding/combining images

You can create your own collage or combine different images onto one.

Saving Your Masterpiece

You can save your adjusted image by clicking on Save in the top left hand corner.

You can adjust the quality and give the image a new name. When you click on Save, you will be able to select the location to save to.

Other Adjustments

There are lots of other things that you can do with Pixlr Express. Here are just a few examples.

Use Colour to make an image black and white

Use Brighten to lighten specific areas of your image

Use Splash to add "splashes" of colour

Use Focal to have a focal point on your image - the areas around it will be blurred.

Class Activity 2

Again, using you photos, try out some of the other features of Pixlr Express Adjustment tools. Post "before" and "After" images in our Facebook group.

Other Pixlr Express Tools

There are lots of other tools in Pixlr Express that you can use to have some fun with your images.

You Can:

Apply an Effect

Add an Overlay

Put a border around your image

Add Stickers

Or add some creative Text

Class Exercise 3

Try out some of these tools and upload to the Facebook group with a description of what tools you used.

Collage

Pixlr Express also has a cool Collage Tool that you can use to create a variety of photo montages.

When you click Finished, the collage is opened up in Pixlr Express where you can make even more adjustments and save it.

Class Activity 4

Create a Photo Collage. Try using different Layouts and editing your image in the Pixlr Express Editor.

Post your results to the Facebook group.

Photoshop Express

http://www.photoshop.com/tools

Photoshop express is another simple online photo editing application. It doesn't have quite as many features as Pixlr Express, but has a very clean interface.