Anyhow, if you read the blog post I previously mentioned, you will agree that not all image editing tools are easy to use. If you have no knowledge of Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, editing an image can become a nightmare. What I mean by editing an image is not resizing it or converting it from .bmp to .jpg. This is actually rather easy. What I mean is formatting an image so it looks better on your webpage or blog post: with shapes, frames, shadows…

What I suggest you to do is to create a Microsoft Word document, insert the image and try different formats to find the one that best fits your needs. After you inserted your image, click ‘Format’ under ‘Picture Tools’ and choose a picture style. You may add a frame, make the corners round, add a shadow or create a perspective. There are plenty of settings to format your images in Microsoft Word. Once you’ve formatted it, simply copy and paste it into a graphics editing tool and save it as a .jpg. Here is what I’m talking about:

While this is not ideal, it’s definitely a quick and easy solution that can help you save a lot of time. You can of course do the same thing with Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro but if you aren’t really familiar with these tools and want to get things done quickly, you should try using Microsoft Word. It’s just so easy! Anyway, I hope this helps!

Whatever you do on your computer, you’re quite likely to find a use to this type of tool. I used to take screenshots the old way and upload them to a server… this is now part of the past! Jing seems to have a few more features than Skitch, such as a video capturing function, but both services are very easy to use. The way these tools  work actually makes it very enjoyable to use. It’s just so simple.

These tools basically allow to capture screens, add visuals and directly upload them onto the web. With Jing you can also capture videos, which is pretty cool (and not only because it’s free). You can select a specific area of your screen that you want to capture. It’s very flexible. The process literally takes seconds, and you don’t need to have your own place to upload the files to. One click will be enough to share your files. They are uploaded on Screencast.com (for Jing) and Skitch.com (for… Skitch, right).

Click to download for Windows and Mac

Click to download for Windows and Mac

Both services are free but Jing has a professional version that you may want to check out if you’re really into this. These tools are gold. This is something you’re going to enjoy using…

I would recommend these free tools for minor graphics modifications, like resizing a picture or converting an image from BMP to JPEG. Microsoft Paint is rather limited in terms of functionality, and the end result is often not fully satisfactory. For Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro, they may seem a little complicated to use, especially if you’re not too familiar with graphics editors… and they are not free.

The head designer at my work recommends Paint.NET to clients searching for an easy way to edit images. I personally use PhotoFiltre because I believe it is really easy to use, and I’m quite happy with it. At least it doesn’t take ages for the program to open; it usually only takes me a few seconds to resize or convert an image with PhotoFiltre. For more complex editing, I tend to use Paint Shop Pro, but only because it was the first commercial program I got. Photoshop is certainly better for professional designers but also a little more complicated to use. Anyway, try one of these tools, or all of them, and see how much time you can save!

- Click to download Paint.Net
- Click to download PhotoFiltre
- Click to download GIMP

It is time to stop bothering your graphic designer for minor graphics modifications! These tools are all only compatible with Windows, and I’m not familiar with this kind of program on other operating systems… I’m sure there are several other ones that are worth the try though, but that’s my selection, and feel free to comment about the one(s) you use.