Adobe has been releasing a ton of neat things lately. The newest addition is Photoshop Express, a web based photo editing application. It may be one of the most powerful yet simple web apps that I have seen so far. To top it all off, it is absolutely free.
Photoshop Express provides users with 2GB of free storage where they can upload, organize, edit, and share photos. Once uploaded, you can change the photo’s titles, captions, descriptions and other information. The can also be organized into albums which can be shared with friends and family.
That is all neat, but the real power is the editing. With Photoshop Express, you can edit any photo that you have uploaded. There are tons of options ranging from cropping and saturation to hue adjustments. When I say powerful, I am not implying that it is comparable to Photoshop CS3. It isn’t anywhere near Photoshop and isn’t trying to be, but it is still great for what it is.
The interface is great. In editing mode, you select the action you want to perform on the left hand side. Then at the top, you can move a slider to change the adjustments. Alternatively, there are a row of thumbnails above the slider showing the affect on the photo. As you hover over these thumbnails, it demonstrates these affects on the actual photos instantly. To apply the affect, just click on the thumbnail. All of the editing in non-destructive and can be changed any time.
Photoshop Express will really shine with consumers. There are many people who want to jazz up their photos but are scared off when it the answer is Photoshop. Photoshop Express makes it insanely simple and cheap for these users to get in on the action. Adobe has done a great job at providing these users with a place to store, edit, and share photos.
My feeling is that this will become Adobe’s gateway to future Photoshop purchases. This will help get people’s feet wet and make them desire more power that Photoshop can deliver. None the less, it is a great web application to have available for those quick and easy edits. Oh, and did I mention that it’s free.
Here is a photo that I tweaked in Photoshop Express.
