New PicMonkey Mobile App

“Top-shelf photo editing for regular-shelf folks,” is how PicMonkey describes their new

PicMonkey original photo

Original Photo

mobile photo-editing application. The company, which runs an online editing website with both plenty of free basic options for the average Joe or small business and paid subscriptions for the advanced user, debuted the app this week. “Your pics deserve a mobile app that gives you the greatest creative freedom with the fewest hurdles. That’s why PicMonkey’s putting a buffet of our finger-friendliest tools in your pocket.”

The app is indeed streamlined for a mobile device’s “tappable” interface. When you open the app, you’ll be shown your camera roll; when you choose a photo, you’ll come to the editing screen.  I used my photo of a rainbow, hoping to make it more vibrant and visible with the tools available.

PicMonkey initial edits to photo

After initial edits

From left to right the editing categories are Crop, Adjust, Effects, Draw, Stickers, and Text.  Crop is simple – it gives you the option to, well, crop your photo.  You can either crop to a custom size you adjust with your fingers, or use one of the preloaded options listed.  In the Adjust option, you have the choice to change the brightness, contrast, saturation, temperature (to make your photo warmer or cooler in tone overall), or to add a focal blur (artistically blur the outside edges of your photo.)  After lowering the brightness slightly, upping the contrast and saturation, and lowering the temperature of my photo, I had the version shown here.  Definitely a big difference!

three versions of photo with PicMonkey edits

“Intrepid”, “Sepia” medium, and “Boost” versions of the photo.

The Effects option in the PicMonkey app is the most interesting for many selfie-takers.  Here, you’ll find plenty of photo filters that can be used on their own or layered together, a la Instagram.  With artsy names like “Orton,” “Dusk,” and “Rapture,” there are plenty of interesting ones to choose from!  Filters can also be a super-quick way for you to touch-up a photo for a business’ social media site that doesn’t have its own filter options built-in, such as Facebook or Twitter.  Below, from left to right, are “Intrepid,” “Sepia” (one of several filters that has three options for the wash color you want to use, I used the middle shade), and “Boost,” which is what I chose to keep.

You can also “paint” an effect onto a certain section of your photo for an even more artistic and personalized look.  While not always appropriate for business use, there are plenty of additional “fun” options.  Draw allows you to draw with your finger to your heart’s content, truly personalizing your photo.  There is a rainbow of colors to choose from, and you can use any color in any opacity.  There are also hundreds of stickers to choose from to add pizazz to your photos.  The Text option is a great way to add a quick caption in many sizes, fonts, colors, and styles.

When you are done with your photo, you will be asked to save it in one of three ways: Save to Photos (It will be put into your Camera Roll in a new folder labeled “PicMonkey”,) Save to Hub (which is a new storage option from PicMonkey you can read about here,) or Share to any available social media, storage app, email, or the like available on your smartphone.

photo after final PicMonkey edits

My edited photo!

And, viola, my finished product: A great improvement for sure!  PicMonkey is just as useful on your phone as it is on the web, and it’s a great option for easy basic photo editing for any purpose.  You can download the app either from a link on their website, a link texted to your phone, or on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

Written by Blog Contributor: Breanne Mason

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