Online Picture Editing: Free Web-Based Image Editing Tools

It used to be that you had to have a little toolkit of free image editing programs to take care of all the typical needs any visual communicator normally has. Mine still includes great free image editing programs like Photofiltre, Irfanview and DCE, a fantastic trio, which together with Snag-it (paid) I really couldn't do without. But the web-based, free image editing alternatives keep growing in number and quality.

Photo credit: Randy McKown

Here below is just a micro selection to some of the most recent online picture editing software that have become available.

While limited in scope for now, this is in fact the step in the release of a complete and all-encompassing mini-guide to ALL online image editing tools available.

Here what you will find in this guide:

1. Photo editors that lets you quickly edit all your photos online from any operating system.
2. Image hosting services that lets you manage, edit, and share your images online.
3. Picture resizing services that let you create a custom profile avatar for social networking sites.
4. Photo services that let you edit and save images, screenshots and photos online.
5. Image resizers which lets you resize multiple pictures simultaneously right from your web browser.
6. Color extracting tool that lets your extract colors from any image to create color palettes.
7. Photo editing services that let you easily refine faces inside your photos.
8. Photo services that provide image manipulation functions and that are linked to your own Flickr account.
9. Photo editing sites that let you make changes to your pictures and to photos available on the web
10. Image editing services that allow you to upload images from anywhere on the web and edit them freely

Online Photo Editing Software: Free Online Photo Editing Tools

1. Picnik

   
   
   Picnik is an online photo editor that lets you quickly manage all your photos on the web. Picnik helps you fix underexposed photos, remove red-eye, or apply special effects to your photos. Picnik is also integrated with many photo sharing sites and works on Mac, Windows and Linux. Picnik is completely free to use.
   
   http://www.picnik.com/

 

2. XMG Image ***DEAD

   
   
   XMG Image is an online hosting service for your photos that provides an interface for users to manage, edit, and share their images online. You can use powerful editing features to crop, rotate, and resize your images. You can also add special effects, enhance your images, and do much more. XMG is free to use.
   http://xmgimage.com/

 

3. MyPictr

   
   
   MyPictr is an online photo editing software that provides a picture resizing service to create a custom profile avatar for your favorite social networks. You don't need to install anything on your machine: just upload your picture, resize it online and download it when finished. MyPictr gives you enough time (approximately 10 minutes) to download your picture, then your file is automatically removed. MyPictr is free to use.
   http://mypictr.com/

 

4. OnlinePhotoTool

   
   
   OnlinePhotoTool is an online photo editor that lets you edit and save images, screenshots and photos online. You can use photos and images from your hard drive as well as pictures on the Internet. If you want to save your images online you will need to register. It is possible to resize, crop, add texts and also set up special effects to any pictures. OnlinePhotoTool is free to use.
   http://www.onlinephototool.com/

 

5. Quick Image Cropping

   
   
   Quick Thumbnail is an online photo editing software that works a picture resizer. You simply choose an image file, adjust resize options, and hit "Resize it". Your image will be uploaded to the server and resized, and then any or all of the resized images will be provided in a single convenient view. Not only can you simultaneously generate different sizes, but you can also enlarge your images as well. Free to use.
   http://quickthumbnail.com/crop/








6. Pic2color

   
   
   Pic2color is a web-based photo editor that helps you extract colors from any image. Pic2color helps you creates sophisticated color schemes from images in a few minutes and once you have your color scheme you can also integrate it into your website by copying / pasting some HTML code. Free to use.
   http://www.genopal.com/pic2color

 

7. FaceFilter Live

   
   
   FaceFilter Live is an online photo editing tool that lets you refine facial images in photos. You need to upload a picture (to achieve the best result, the subject of the photo should look forward), which can either be in JPG or GIF format. The available commands let you change the expression of the portrayed face with great ease. Free to use.
   http://www.forteelectric.com/FreePhotoEditor.html

 

8. Preloadr

   
   
   Preloadr is a photo editing tool that provides image manipulation functions for those photos you want to upload to Flickr. Before sending the images to Flickr, you can modify them with several tools and perform cropping, sharpening, color correction and much more. Once you've optimized your photos, you can specify the details about the image and set the proper tags. Free to use.
   http://www.preloadr.com/

 

9. Cellsea ***DEAD

   
   
   Cellsea is a web-based service that lets you rotate, resize, and crop photos to get the exact composition and size you need. There are over 15 ways to correct color, exposure, and lighting problems. You just need to click and drag your mouse to ripple, circle, sphere and curl the photo. It is also possible to add professional-looking blur effects to your photos. You can load images from your own PC or from an URL on the Internet. Free to use.
   http://www.cellsea.com/java-cellsea/media/index.htm

 

10. MyImager

    
    
    MyImager is an online photo editing software. You can upload images from your computer and from anywhere on the web and edit them freely with the dozens of tools and filters that this tool offers. Uploaded files can not be larger than 500 KB. MyImager is completely free to use.
    http://www.myimager.com/

Originally written by Livia Iacolare for MasterNewMedia and originally published on February 18, 2007 as "Online Picture Editing: Free Web-Based Image Editing Tools"