Best FREE Photo Editing Sites - links to reviews

My family travel photos are so plain. Most are of the 3 kids, who hate when I pull out the camera, try to duck out of the shot, and only stand or sit still after I've threatened or bribed them sufficiently. Typically, each photo has 3 miserable looking boys, positioned stiffly in front of some significant location, each trying not to stand too close to his brothers, because that would be terrible.

Here's an example:

See what I mean? Look at those smiles on the two shortest. Can you tell they are just hoping to get the picture-taking over with, and that I had to delete 3 or 4 shots of them glaring or appearing stone-faced, and that finally they complied with a fake grin? Except the teenager in the middle never did comply! Rest assured, that once the agony of my picture taking was over, we continued on our way to a fun viewing of Fourth of July fireworks together, sitting on a blanket in a park.

I'm sure I'll never get them to enjoy having their picture taken, so I'll give up on that aspect and stick to what I can control, which is the angle, lighting, distance, and so on (see my previous post with links for "How to Take Great Family Photos) and then, when we've returned home and are planning and editing the travel photo album, fixing the flaws and adding fun stuff.

To help me improve the interest-factor of my shots, I gathered the following links to websites and blogs that showcase free photo editing sites.

Ask a Geek Girl: Which is the Best Free Online Photo Editor?
From one of my favorite slick and snappy blogs, all about everything tech: geeksugar.com.
This article lists geeksugar's suggested, Photoshop Express, as well as a "current obsession", Flauntr. Geeksugar tells why they are recommended, and links to a lifeclever.com article listing 10 online, free photo-editing sites, with an image of each, and just one phrase about why the author, Chanpory Rith, likes it. The lifeclever.com article is dated 2008, but comments from visitors span 2009 and into 2010.

Five Best Online Image Editors, on lifehacker.com, by Jason Fitzpatrick.
For each of the five listed photo editors, a screen shot is included showing the features and page layout, along with a full paragraph about the pros and cons. Over 2000 visitors tried the editors and voted on their favorite. Click on the lifehacker.com link above to find out which was deemed best.

15 online photo editors compared, on CNET.com, by Josh Lowensohn.
The well-researched, detailed chart of 15 photo editors includes 13 free options. Compared are whether the editors use Flash or HTML, the maximum photo size and resolution, effects, and the one "killer feature" that sets it apart. The author makes two personal recommendations, Picnik and Fotoflexer, because they "strike a good balance between serious editing tools and things that tweenagers would go ga-ga for." I love that!

To get the best overall impression of the photo editors, use the first two links to visually see the websites, and start choosing your favorite features, then use the chart in the last link to help finalize your selection.

Sandy Nielsen
Sleeps5.com

Sleeps 5 in Innsbruck, Austria

Gruss Gott - I wanted to pass along three hotels I located in Innsbruck, Austria that have a room that can sleep five -- one can even sleep six. Hotel Tauterman is in the budget/moderate range; located 15 minutes by foot from the city center; breakfast is included; baby cots available. It has a room that can sleep as many as six as well. There is no elevator. The second hotel is Hotel Heimgartl in the moderate range of price. They have an attic room that will sleep 5 all in single beds. Breakfast is included; 15 minute walk to the city center; bring your own shampoo. The last one is Hotel Dollinger. It is also in the moderate price range with breakfast included and free parking. It is a 20 minute walk to the city center. Let us know if you have stayed at any of these and if you have others to recommend. Tchuss!

Holly Jacobsen
Sleeps5.com

Carry-on Kids' Play-Doh May be at Risk

We love Play-Doh! I even included it in a previous article about favorite travel items to keep kids entertained on planes and in hotels.

But at travel site Gadling, Scott Carmichael shows us a news clip (below) about TSA agents confiscating a family's tiny play-doh tubs.

The fun, colorful, squishy stuff is not officially prohibited on planes, but as I explained in a recent article, we should be expecting and even thankful for purposeful unpredictability by TSA at security checkpoints.



Perhaps to minimize potential loss of a portion of your travel toy investment, take just a small amount of Play-Doh in your carry-on. That way, if it is confiscated, you won't be out much money. The easy cleanup and long-entertainment factor of Play-Doh are benefits that make losing a bit of it worth the risk. And chances are, the agent will let you keep it!

Sandy Nielsen
Sleeps5.com

New Year's Family Travel Resolutions: Sorry Couldn't Help Myself

Yes, I am succumbing to the resolution frenzy brought on by the turning of the yearly calendar. You will be happy to note it does not involve exercise of any form. My family travel resolutions are as follows:

1. Invest in a portable GPS system -- self explanatory.

2. Do not over schedule: as in, it is not possible to visit Notre Dame, the Bastille, the Louvre, the Tuileries and Arc de Triomphe in one day, on foot, without serious spa treatments and family therapy. Can't afford either spa or psychiatrist anyway, therefore "under scheduling" is better for the budget minded.

3. Kennel pets while traveling, thus eliminating phone calls from house sitters regarding the whereabouts of runaway Rover.

4. Pack a wad of toilet paper and small change at all times when traveling in Europe, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua . . .

5. Along the same lines as the former, call iPhone company and request "app" for public toilet locator when traveling in London (not sure this app actually exists). Most unfortunate memories here for family Jacobsen . . .

Finally,

6. Worry less and travel more.

Now send me your resolutions.

Update - there is an app for public toilet locator! - see the comments.

Holly Jacobsen
Happy New Year from Sleeps5