Friday, February 26, 2010

BIRTHDAY GIRL discloses picture editing secret

It's my 21st birthday today :D

& since I feel generous, I want to share a little secret. Recently I uploaded a new profile picture on Facebook & people have been telling me that they love how the picture looks. They also ask if I edited it on Photoshop. My answer? No.

[Click images to enlarge]

Wish I had the original for comparison
Then what did I use to edit it & give it (as my friend, Kristin, says) an "eclectic feel"?
Answer: Picnik! I've been using Picnik for years & I love it! It's an easy online editing program, which you don't have to download or pay for (unless you want to use some of the premium features). I love editing pictures because even though they might look blah at first, a few changes can really make a picture shine & that's exactly why I edit pictures which I like a wee bit, but not enough just yet.

For the picture above, I don't remember which effects I used, but I can tell I used more than one. However, Picnik is so easy to use that with just one click, you can give your picture a completely different look! Don't believe me? Take a look below. I have edited a picture using effects that I've used the most on Picnik so far.

I thought I'd edit a picture in which I'm wearing black eyeshadow (I was experimenting with the 120 palette), red lipstick (Revlon Matte lipstick in In the Red), & diamond hoop earrings so you can see how the different effects works with certain colours (i.e., brighten up the red or darken the blacks, etc.).

I'm loving the way the red lipstick looks in the Cross Process effect.. hot!
While adding effects, you have the option to make brightness, fade, & a few other changes within different effects, but for the purpose of this post & comparison, the type of effect was clicked just once & saved without making any further adjustments.

Which effects are my favourite?
Answer: The effects that I lean toward using the most are Orton-ish, Cross Process, Lomo-ish. At times I like to use these effects separately, other times I combine a few effects to get the look that I desire. I have to admit that I've never really used the Boost effect because I think it makes the pictures look too loud & in your face, which completely clashes with my personality. I definitely know a few people with awesome personalities who could rock pictures with the Boost effect though.

Picnik also offers other editing features such as crop, rotate, add effects (the ones that I used + more), add text, add stickers, add frames, make a collage, & much more. I also use Picnik to add the watermark that you see in my pictures (I know the watermark can get annoying, but as long as it prevents people from stealing my pictures & using them to make fake profiles, I am content).

So what are you waiting for? Check Picnik out!

Happy experimenting while I go celebrate being 21!!

17 comments:

KT Nielsen said...

I am a happy Picnik user too. Enjoy your birthday girly! :-)

February 26, 2010 at 6:40 AM
Arezu said...

I've never heard of Picnik before, I'm going to have to check it out cause sometimes it's annoying to have to go on my desktop and open up Paint Shop Pro and all that.

Happy 21st birthday! Have a good one!

February 26, 2010 at 9:30 AM
Tina-Bobeena said...

happy 21st birthday!!! you're FB profile pic is gorgeous!!! good to know about this program. i like how the cross process looks. :)

February 26, 2010 at 11:00 AM
Rai said...

Happy 21st Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!! You're so pretty!

February 26, 2010 at 1:24 PM
Bombchell said...

happy birthday!!

February 26, 2010 at 3:15 PM
Jennifer from Toronto - Spiced Beauty said...

beautiful!
great tip!

February 26, 2010 at 7:11 PM
Princess Shabie said...

Thanks for sharing your secret =) Happy birthday!!!

February 26, 2010 at 10:54 PM
Dani M said...

Thanks for sharing!
Love your pictures :)
xo
Dani

February 26, 2010 at 11:13 PM
Maryann.A said...

Happy Birthday :) xox

February 28, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Katrina said...

Picnik = perfection! I love picnik! You look gorgeous no matter what -ish you use to edit your photo! Love you doll, hope your b-day is FANTASTIC!

February 28, 2010 at 5:02 PM
sarah said...

Happy Birthday! I just saw your comment and yes we are both from St. Catharines! We both went to Sir Winston Churchill..as did you I guess! Such a small world, eh!

xx

Sarah

February 28, 2010 at 9:07 PM
Anonymous said...

Wow happy belated birthday!! Ill be celebrating my 21st birthday as well, and thanks for the picture tip!! Ill use it in the future!

March 1, 2010 at 10:09 AM
Azra Momin said...

Sorry I haven't dropped in lately - so a belated Happy Birthday to you! Hope it was fun!

March 6, 2010 at 10:42 AM
Anonymous said...

You are really gorgeous! I really like doing Photoshop myself, and I hate when people think you are altering your self image because of picture editing. Keep doing what you do. =)

April 6, 2010 at 9:50 PM
AweeLand said...

Hi hun~ I'm a new follower! :) Like your blog allot!Keep it up! And your effin' pretty~ btw, i just had to say it!

Huggles* So long!

April 18, 2010 at 5:59 AM
*Photographer Harjot Kaur * said...

Looking pretty <3

April 21, 2010 at 8:45 PM
Anonymous said...

the thing is you are beautiful and you know how to pose in front of camera which makes a big difference. i am also good at editting with photoshop bt i am unable to pose well. so i edit pix of my friends.

September 11, 2010 at 4:54 AM

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