I had the opportunity to sit down and spend a little time with a new piece of software (at least to me) today, entitled Pixlr (www.pixlr.com). It is, all in all, a very interesting idea; a web-based alternative to the ever popular Photoshop software. There are some things is does very well, and a few other areas where it can’t quite stack up to it’s competition.
The first thing to note about this software is that it is ABSOLUTELY FREE to use, and save, your images. That is a claim that Adobe’s software, Photoshop, can not make. Another interesting point is that this program is entirely web-based, meaning you don’t have to download or install anything to use it (other than having the most current Flash plug-ins.) The second is that this review is strictly for the “Advanced” version of their software. They have two other versions which offer varying degrees of effects and input, but being a professional in the photo-editing arena, I chose to review the advanced version.
The Pixlr interface, for anyone who has used an image editing software, is very friendly and easy to use.
If you’ve used Photoshop before, you can immediately see where they got their inspiration, as the tools and layout are nearly identical, even down to the order of the filters in the menus. The layout is clean and easy to understand even for those new to this type of software.
My recommendation would be to just click through and see what things do; most of the tools make sense based on their descriptions and image icons, and there’s not really any way to break it, so just experiment!
In my degree program, Photoshop is one of the most important tools for my students to know and use. Pixlr can not replace that software for these students, or for most professionals for that matter, but it does have it’s uses. One nice feature of the software is the ability to bring in an image from a URL and edit, then re-upload to web services. For instance, somebody who wants to edit a picture on their Facebook page can choose to open that image directly from the page, edit it, then save it again to Facebook! You never even have to download the image!
Being an avid photographer, and having just gotten married, I have TONS of photographs from my wedding 😀 Since I will be putting together a wedding album, from design to layout and photo editing, I figured that would be a great excuse to really put Pixlr through it’s paces. A word of warning, the shots I usually end up with are quite high resolution, so your results may vary.
That being said, I managed to crash my Shockwave plug-in three times while attempting my first photo-manipulation in Pixlr. I believe it was more related to a system memory thing, since what I was trying to do could be pretty memory intensive, however, I have never crashed Photoshop while attempting the same exact process. This is more likely a limitation of browser based technologies, as I know web browsers can sometimes have memory (RAM) issues even under relatively light loads.
After my initial attempts failed, I was forced to dig deeper into the Pixlr tool-set to find a solution, since I did not want to give up on my idea. What I found was actually a tool that Photoshop does NOT offer. It was a desaturate brush, which I used to turn most of the image black and white. Once I finally got this done, I could apply the filters and look that I wanted to finish out my shot.
Something to note, however, is that Pixlr does not seem to offer a ton of options for Non-Destructive editing; a must for professional photographers and artists alike (as well as my students.) One major component that is missing is the Adjustment Layer from photoshop. This is to be expected though; it’s a FREE, web-based software, after all.
Some of the major things that I noticed missing from their “Advanced” editor, which I feel would severely limit it’s usability as a professional tool
- Adjustment layers
- Layer masks that are reliable and don’t crash the software (this is where I had all of my trouble)
- A few of the more advanced filters and lens correction tools
- It lagged quite heavily when using with a larger image and my Wacom tablet
Some of the things it does well, where I could see it being useful for a student or even in a professional setting
- Quick edits for minor touch-ups and cleaning of elements
- Has a nice set of filters for achieving a certain, stylized look to your shots with less time commitment
- The ability to pull from a URL, such as your own Facebook or Flickr page, can be useful.
- Three levels of control over the software, which allows it to be more accessible to people of all skill levels
Final thoughts:
Pixlr is a great tool for the light, every-day user. For those such users, I would even recommend checking out the “Efficient” or even “Playful” versions of the software. Where it falls short though is on the high demand professional level.
If you’re looking to make some quick edits, it’s a great tool that can be implemented into almost any workflow. For the serious photographer, editor or artist, I would suggest avoiding this for mission-critical work. As I managed to crash the software three times in 20 minutes on a simple edit, I would not trust it with any client work (no auto-save either.)
With patience and a little clever thinking though, Pixlr can, and has, produced some very interesting results!
I found this blog interesting https://wesleygh.wordpress.com/2012/09/30/bp-2-pixlr/. I am not into photograph or graphic design but the information from the blog peaked my interest. The display of the finally results helped me to understand the purpose of Pixir. It seem a great site to edit and specialize photographs. Is this site user friendly for middle school students interested in photography? It seems to be an interest tool for teaching the elements of creating, designing and editing, photographs. Student could learn to appreciate still art from their personal photographs.
I reviewed only the advanced editor, but if you take a look at the site there’s two other versions, and I think those would work really well for your classroom! It’s an awesome tool and I love that you would want to get your students using it and appreciating the art of photography a little more. It’s so much more than just instagram (I can’t stand that by the way 🙂 ) and I would love to see your students get more involved in photography and manipulation 🙂
Hi Wesley,
I would like to start by sharing that your post is very impressive. I enjoyed reading and I already feel like a Pixlr expert. Your Pixlr description was detailed enough that as a reader I felt a solid understanding of the tool, but it was also not so detailed that I felt overwhelmed. I believe this to be very important as I am not an avid photographer or photo-editor, and with your depth of knowledge, it probably would have been very easy for you to use professional terms / phrases that might have gone over my head.
I also really like how fair and balanced your review was, describing both benefits and drawbacks. Finally, I must say that the overall look and feel of your blog had me completely engaged from start to finish. Great Job!!!
You seem like a very creative individual, so much so, that I was surprised at the absence of embedded video content within the post. May I ask why you did not take this approach? Have you thought about incorporating video?
Your creative shines through in the post, but due to the amount of detail, it also is lengthy. It might be more representative of who you are individually and enable you to deliver the same amount of content with eliminating some of the text from your post. Plus, we all love watching videos…
Have you though about incorporating Pixlr into a student project yet? I know that you mention the frequency of which you use Photoshop, but what are your thoughts around having your students recreate the same project (with the same desired outcomes) in both Photoshop and Pixlr? Knowing that there are many similarities, but also some significant differences, it might be a neat way for them to do an “A/B” test.
I think there are many benefits of an exercise like this and have listed a few below:
• Further learn to explore process / workflow rather than software.
• Work within limitations.
• Critical thinking.
• Flexibility / Adaption.
Students might even be able to then participate in a post exercise group reflection to discuss benefits and challenges of the experience.
Anyway, great job… By the way, Super Awesome Mega Blog, BEST name for a blog… ever.
Jason C.
[…] refer to the links below to read more of the Super Awesome Mega Blog, read the Super Awesome Mega Blog – BP 2 Pixlr: A web based alternative (?) to Photoshop post, read my comments, or to check out Pixlr for […]
Wesley,
This is a great review. I enjoyed it very much. I like the detail with which you discussed this emergent technology. Knowing that you’re a professional in the photo-editing world in my opinion adds credibility to your review. I really appreciated the candor with which you reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of the Pixlr software. I find this kind of objectivity very helpful
I’ve always been interested in photography and editing but I don’t know much or anything about it. Would you recommend this program for a total novice and if so what would be the best way to learn how to edit and use this tool?
Wesley, you mentioned in the beginning of the review that there are areas in which Pixlr does well but in other areas it does not match the competition. While reading your review I could not but help to think how helpful a video tutorial could be. Have you considered making one? Video tutorials have been of great assistance to me as I have been seeking to learn more about technology. Also what do you think about doing a review on the not so advanced portions of Pixlr for the “not so learned”
As I have been perusing through the different blogs, I have the students in field in mind. Our studies focus more on theological studies and social justice. I can see education value in this tool, especially for my students who go into the field and go through their externships. During their training in the field they have to report on what they are learning. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on how Pixlr can be used by students to best capture and visually report on the time in their externship. I think that this tool would be very useful to them. I am thinking about having the students read your review and direct them to Pixlr.
Wesley, this is a great review. Through the detail you used in explaining and critiquing the pixlr program I feel that I have a thorough and detailed understanding of the program. incorporating the visual examples of the work that you did using the program helps me in being able to get a better understanding of some of the types of things i could potentially use this program for. I know you’re not a program developer but have you ever thought about using your knowledge as a photo editor to send suggestions to companies on making updates to products to make them more user friendly, or even potentially creating videos that would allow people who arent familiar with programs of this nature to be able to grasp their control functions quicker? Have you considered implementing this program into classrooms? having students utilize it in a project like method against photoshop or some other program?
[…] time reading through Wesley Hancock’s review on Pixlr which a free online photo editing software. I posted a comment on Wesley’s review. Whereas I am not a photographer or an editor, I have always been interested in dabbling in it. […]
[…] if you are someone who has an interest in taking and editing photos. Check out another very interesting blog on this great tool called Pixlr by my colleague […]
Great Post Wesley. This tool looks really awesome. I think one of the great points you made was that it is free. Photoshop is very expensive. I am grateful it came with my laptop. Have you thought about doing a tutorial on how to use this tool for YouTube? It seems like you have a bit of experience using this tool. You should think about doing something like that if that interests you. You could do a series and teach the tool and what similar tool Photoshop has. Great tool to introduce to us!
[…] Click Here Wesley introduced a great tool to us! It is called Pixlr and it can be compared to Photoshop. One of the great advantages is the cost difference. Pixlr is free. Wesley even mentioned he would be using it to edit wedding photos. He provided a before and after shot that looks amazing. Another great point that he made was you do not have to download anything to your computer because it is ran through a website. I had suggested, since he has so much experience, he make some YouTube series teaching how to use the Pixlr tool and which Photoshop tool is compares too. I will definitely use this tool and see how it compares to Photoshop. I have been using Photoshop to create logos for my businesses so I would like to see which program is easier to use. Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. Posted in ET Review | Tagged editing, edmodo, networking, pixlr […]
The first thing to note about this software is that it is ABSOLUTELY FREE to use
[…] Credit to Wesley Hancock’s blog. […]
[…] Credit to Wesley Hancock’s blog. […]
[…] Credit to Wesley Hancock’s blog. […]