This week, we will learn to edit our photos to get them to a size, format, shape, or transition whereby it can be used for blogging, image generating, photosharing, or other online use. You may want or need to resize photos for use in brochures, documents, presentations, and other offline projects. These tools are perfect for editing your photos for every need. The tools we will explore are all online and either have a free version or have no limitations for use.
We have explored Flickr and have found that we can store, edit, catagorize, tag, search, and use photos from many different users. You can apply safety features or search for copyright-friendly images with a Creative Commons license. Read on to find out about more resources for editing your photos online.
Discovery Resources:
Stock.xchng and morgueFile are two sites where you can find a wide variety of stock photos where consent for public use has already been granted.
Here are some more photosharing sites if you want to keep exploring. These are broadly similar to Flickr, but each has its own individual twist and may better meet your needs:
Discovery Activities:
For this hands-on activity, you will need to bring these items to class:
- your digital camera -- be sure to bring the appropriate USB cords, card readers, or other items needed to upload your photos (make sure they work on the Citrix environment) (or)
- a CD with your saved photos (or)
- a flashdrive with your saved photos (or)
- have your photos pre-loaded onto your Flickr account
Explore these online photo editing sites:
Many of these sites give you the capability to morph, stretch, colorize, add text balloons, and create works of art with your photos.
Work with some of your photos and use one or two in your blog. You can save the edited image on your flashdrive, or upload it to your Flickr account -- then you can use it anytime, from any computer, and use it directly in your blog. Write a blog post for Thing #10 with your thoughts on the availability of online photo editors and how you might be able to use them in the library.
If you want more:
If you want more capabilities, try some of the open-source photo editing software now available. Full-capability photo editing software has been expensive to purchase; open-source choices now bring these capabilites to you at little or no cost -- yet give you full, robust editing capabilities once only found in retail programs. You may need to download software for these applications, but they may be a great option for your use at home. Explore some of the options:
