As an e-commerce business, you need to make sure that you give your customers the right impression of your products. As they can’t see or touch them in real life, it’s essential that your product shots display your products in the best and clearest way possible. In order to achieve this, many e-commerce businesses will spend lots of time and effort editing their products shots using a photo editing software suite, as it can really make the difference between them selling and not selling. Better, more professional images also give a better impression of your brand, which is important in encouraging repeat business. So, with that in mind, here’s a list of five of the best photo editing tools on the market right now, to help you make your products look the best they can.
Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop is probably the most famous and widely used of all the photo editing software suites out there. It markets itself as the “world’s best imaging and design app”, and has just been released in its newest version, Photoshop CC. The CC stands for ‘Create Cloud’, which is the new way in which Adobe is selling its products. Instead of buying Photoshop outright, you lease it from Adobe on a month to month or contractual basis, paying a regular fee for the use of the software. So, why is Adobe Photoshop so special?
Since its release, Photoshop has consistently been one of the best and most advanced photo editing suites on the market. It comes with a ton of pre-installed features that can really help you get the most out of your images, and make them look professional, even when shooting on a budget. It is also integrated with other Adobe software, like Lightroom, providing you with more editing features. Are there any downsides? Aside from all its great features, one of the major downsides about Photoshop is that it can be difficult to use, especially if you have little or no experience using photo editing software. Although there are a plethora of how tos and video guides available online, it can feel a little daunting at first glance.
http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshop.html
Camera+
At the other end of the spectrum to Adobe Photoshop is Camera+. This mobile phone app is consistently rated as one of the best and top selling photo editing suites for mobile and tablet devices, and available at just £2.99 from the Google Play and Apple stores, it is considerably cheaper than Photoshop. However, it also considerably less advanced, and comes with less features. But if you’re shooting your product shots on your mobile phone, which many independent e-commerce professionals are beginning to do, especially with the advances being made in mobile technology, then this is the perfect editing software package for you. It comes with iCloud integration, and a range of advanced editing tools and features to help you take better pictures. For what it’s worth, it’s a great piece of software.
Portrait Professional
This online, easy to use photo editing service is perfect for brands who use portraits as part of the product shots for their online stores. For example, if you’re selling jewellery, hats, glasses, or anything that requires a close up of the face, then this tool is for you. Using its ingenious software, Portrait Professional detects the gender and age of the subject from their face, and then suggests edits to make it look better and sharper. You can also apply your own edits, too, from a set of editing tools that come as part of the service. You can edit the lighting and background, whiten teeth and sharpen eyes, and change the colours, all by just by moving sliders – it couldn’t be easier.
http://www.portraitprofessional.com/
GIMP
GIMP, which stands for The GNU Image Manipulation Program, has been around for over 20 years, and is one of the world’s most popular free photo editing tools. On open source systems like Ubuntu and other Linux variants, GIMP is the primary image editor, while it is also popular with many Mac and PC users who want the tools that come with Photoshop without the price tag. So how does it compare with the paid equivalent? For a long time, GIMP was considered inferior to Photoshop, and came with far less features and editing tools. However, since 2013, GIMP has really stepped up its game, and is now trying to match Photoshop on all fronts. While it doesn’t have Pantone colours or in-built training modules like Photoshop, GIMP does have easier commands, a simpler layout, and only takes up 1/20th of the space required by Photoshop. There are also lots of free, open source tutorials and forums with great hints and tips on how to make the most of it. If you’re looking for a great tool for editing your product shots for your online store, and you are on a budget, then GIMP might be the software solution for you.
Fotor
Like GIMP, Fotor is a free photo editing software suite, but unlike GIMP, you access Fotor through your browser, and no software needs to be installed on your system. This makes it great for working on the go or on other computers, and it comes with a range of editing features. While it doesn’t come with the same variety of tools as GIMP or Photoshop, it does have a great High Dynamic Range feature, which lets you upload three images of the same product, and fuses them all to find the best lighting from each one. However, you should be aware that it doesn’t have the complexity of either GIMP or Photoshop, and so is best used for simple editing tasks, rather than full re-works.
There you have it, a list of five of the best photo editing software suites out there on the market right now. Have you tried any of them? How have they worked for your business? Do you have any other suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.