Google Picasa, which I have been using for the last 4 months, is a lightweight photo editing software that has a lot to offer. The editing engine itself is a genius! Once you decide to edit your photos, you simply switch on to edit mode then you can start cropping, resizing, remove red eyes, zoom, pan, tilt and adjust the colors as well as image temperatures. You can also add different types of image effects which can turn your normal photo in a real work of art. So not become the real De Vinci type, but as long as you are creative, you can be an artist in no time.
Other features of Google Picasa also include:
- Photo album creation
- Photo categorization
- Star rating scheme
- Multiple photo instances
- Password protecting collection
- Camera EXIF identification
- Image effects and filters
- Slide show creation
- Ready to burn archives for backups
- Screensaver creation
Google Picasa is one of the most handy and friendly photo editing applications you can freely find and download from the web. Google launched Picasa together with their photo sharing site Picasa Web Albums where people can upload, store and share photos using the same account they use with Gmail.
Google Picasa may not be the total replacement for Adobe Photoshop, but if you are looking for something free and of course worth the hassle of downloading, installing and studying, I’d give Google Picasa the thumbs up.