How to Paint a Portrait With Your Camera or Cell Phone

My two-year-old grandson CJ was getting very frustrated with Grandpa. While we were walking around an old barn yard, I told him that we'd see chickens. Pen after pen there were none. At one point, he turned and gave me a look that said "Where are the chickens? You said there would be CHICKENS!" 

I loved his expression and got a quick snapshot. Then, I decided to photo-paint a portrait from it. It was easy and fun, and I got something to frame for my office.

You've got shots like that too. Here's how easy it is to convert them into painting-like portraits at iPiccy.com, a free, online photo editor:

1. Go to iPiccy.com, hit the "Start Editing!" button and upload your snapshot from your computer or cell phone.

2. At the "Basic Editor" section (the camera on the tool bar), crop the photo to get a dramatic close-up of the face you want to use for your photo-portrait.

3. At the "Retouch" section (the head on the tool bar), enhance the image with iPiccy's easy-to-use tools. fix red-eye, remove blemishes, add more colorful eye and flesh tones and more.

4. At the "Photo Effects" section (the magic wand on the tool bar), find the "Artistic Painting" effect and hit the "Update effect" button.

5. Experiment with different settings and effects throughout iPiccy.com. You're sure to find some that improve your photo portrait and make it unique.

6. Hit the computer disk symbol on the tool bar to save your image. Give it a name that's different than the original photo's name and save it to your computer. From there you can use any photo viewing program or Microsoft Word to print your portrait.

I set my ink jet printer to the highest quality level and printed CJ's portrait on a good quality, matte photo paper. It turned out looking great. Every printer is unique, so you should experiment with different printer settings and paper types for your portrait. Jot down what worked best. You'll be creating beautiful portraits again and again.

Create Your Own Photo Portraits at iPiccy.com >>>

You’ll find a list of dozens more free photography and photo editing lessons and demonstrations at Today's Arts and Crafts' Web Site>>>

How to Convert Your Photographs into Drawings and Paintings

Are you looking for an easy way to create something special from your photographs and snapshots? You can do it online, for free at PictureToPeople.org


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How to Give an Old Master Painting Effect to Any Digital Photo

Create an Old Master Painting Effect with Your Digital Photo

If you've read some of the previous posts on this blog, you'll know that I took a point-and-shoot snapshot of an apple. I liked the apple, but not the photo. The lighting was as dull as my photography skills. The image was pale and boring.

Since this blog is my attempt to develop some skills at art, crafts and photography, I decided to experiment with the photo to make it more interesting.  

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How to Turn Your Digital Snapshots into Dramatic Black & White Photographs

Black & White Photo Created at PicMagick.com

If you'd like have some more dramatic photographs, why not try Black & White? You can convert your digital images using Photoshop, Lightbox or any of dozens of free, online photo editors. I like to use PicMagick because I can get good results with very, very little trouble. You might want to give it a try too.
 
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How to Straighten Tilted Photos

A tilted photo straightened at PicMagick.com

If you have with tilted buildings, leaning people and landscape horizons that are not horizontal, don't worry. There's an incredibly quick and easy way to fix them, and it's free.
 
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Add Vibrant Colors to All of Your Photos

Original Photo (Above) with Vibrancy Added at Phixr.com

Do you take dull photos? I do. When I see something interesting, I just point my Nikon Coolpix at it, shoot and hope for the best. I take a lot of shots and every once in a while I get a good one. Well, except for the dullness.

But, I've found a easy fix for that. Phixr.com is a free, online photo editing service that has a feature that would take me hours to duplicate on Photoshop. It's their "Vibrance" tool in their "Color Adjustments" section. All that I have to do is upload a photo, slide the Vibrance tool bar to right, and like magic, colors burst on the shot.

Try it yourself. You'll be amazed at what a great photographer you are.

Click here to improve your photos at Phixr.com >>>

You’ll find a list of dozens more free photography and photo editing lessons and demonstrations at Today's Arts and Crafts' Web Site >>>

312 Free Online Photo Effects at Picture2Life.com

Original Photo (Above) Edited on Picture2Life.com

Here's an online photo editor that's fun to use, easy and effective. Although it lacks tools to enhance portraits, it has many of the basic tools to make any other photo look better. And, it offers you a bunch of special effects that you won't find anywhere else.

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PicMagick's Free DIY Photo Editing App

Original Photo (Above) Edited at PicMagick.com

Here's a very simple and easy-to-use photo editor that might be all you need to improve your photos' exposure and tilt and to add a bit of special effects.

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Picadilo's Free Online Photo Editor

Here's a new, quick and easy online photo editor that offers a full array of options, special effects and an extensive selection of portrait touch-up tools.

Basic Editing Tools:  Resize, crop, flip and rotate your photo. Change the brightness and contrast. Change the hue and color saturation.

Effects:  Select from dozens of effects to create a mosaic, boost colors, burn and dodge photos, posterize or pixelate your shot or turn it into a mosaic. Try different focal effects, monotones and presets. Add vibrancy. Use the Draw tools to add colors and details or erase them again.

Portrait Touch-Ups:  Remove redeye. Brighten eyes and teeth. Add a suntan, lipstick or eye shadow. Remove blemishes, shine, wrinkles, or even a few pounds.

Text, Textures and Frames:  Picadilo makes adding custom text easy and offers a nice selection of different, one-click photo frames and textures.

Instructions:  1. Hit the "Start" button and then "Add Photo from a Disk" to get a JPG photo from your computer or from a disk. Or, click to get a photo from Facebook. 2. Mouse over the tool symbols on the left side of the edit screen and choose the tools you want to try. 3. Click on any tool, or play around with all of the different controls. Don't worry about ruining your photo. You can always use the undo arrow at the top right of the screen. 4. Save your photo when you're happy with it, by clicking on the check mark at the top left of the screen. Make sure to give the edited photograph a new name so that you don't overwrite your original. 5. Try more photos and more effects. Picadilo is free, easy and fun to use.

Test Photo:  I cropped a snapshot of my grandson Gabriel. I used the portrait retouch tools to reduce redeye and baby rashes. I brightened Gabe's eyes a bit. Then, I went to the Effects section and focused on his face, faded the background and dogged out gray background areas. Everything was a snap.

The final, edited photograph could have been better if I had invested more time. But, I did enough to learn that Picadilo.com is the place to go if I really want to improve a photo portrait.

Notes:  Picadilo's online editor, is quick and efficient and doesn't require a setup or registration. Downloading edited photos to your computer, or to a disk is as easy as can be. Give it a try. I think that you'll enjoy it.

Edit Your Photos at Picadilo.com >>>

You’ll find a list of dozens more free photography and photo editing lessons and demonstrations at Today's Arts and Crafts' Web Site >>>

Free Online Photo Editor

Edit your photo with some of the special effects available at FreeOnlinePhoto Editor.org

Here's an easy-to-use online photo editor that offers both basic photo touch-up tools and some interesting special effects. This simple solution can save time and expense when compared with professional-level photo editing programs.

Editing Tools:  Resize, Crop, Change Orientation

Effects:  Enhance photos. Change brightness, contrast, saturation and warmth. Sharpen photos. Reduce redeye in portraits, then whiten teeth and remove blemishes. Use brushes and drawing tools for touch-ups. Select from a variety of preset effects

Special Effects:  Add Text, Frames and silly Stickers. Use the Splash Tool to pop colors from monochromatic pictures. Use the Focus Tool to accent any one area of your shot.

Instructions:  1. Hit the "Upload" button to get a JPG photo from your computer or from a disk. 2. Click on the "Edit Photo" button. 3. Play around with all of the different controls and tools on the photo editor's top tool bar, and make sure to use the left and right arrows to find more effects. Don't worry about ruining your photo. You can always choose to cancel your last edit. And your original is always safe on your computer.  4. Save your photo when you're happy with it. Then hit the "Download" button to save it to your computer's file. Make sure to give the edited photograph a new name so that you don't overwrite your original. 5. Try another photo. Why not? Photo Zoe is free and it's fun.

Test Photo:  I cropped a photo of a single rose to add a bit of drama. I enhanced it for more contrast, used the Focus Tool to highlight the blossom and then tried the cool Splash Tool to get color on that rose alone. The Text Tool let me sign the photo, but I could have added any text in any of a variety of sizes, colors and fonts.

The final, edited photograph sure isn't an improvement over nature. But, it did give me a chance to try out many of the quick and easy-to-use features on PhotoZoe.com's free photo editor

Notes:  Photo Zoe's online editor, powered by Aviary, is easy to use and doesn't require a setup or registration. Uploading photos and saving your edits are both a snap. Downloading to save your edited photos to your computer, or to a disk, is a bit confusing. That process varies with your hardware and software, so I can't be of much help to you about it. But, try it, you'll find a way that works for you.

Use the Free Online Photo Editor >>>

You’ll find a list of dozens more photography and photo editing lessons and demonstrations at Today's Arts and Crafts' Web Site >>>