This past week, Adobe came out with a free web-based software called Adobe Photoshop Expressions. Marketed for a younger (and subsequently poorer) audience (because Photoshop is, even with a good deal, a few hundred dollars), you upload pictures (they have 2 G of free space per account) to your spot and can modify them from there.
I enjoyed how the web site was shamelessly marketing to the young and hip. From "Join the 24/7 photo party. No cover charge.) to the cool, flashy black and grey interface to the registration page with a default birth year is 1990, I felt a little unsure of it. I mean I’m not that cool. I signed up anyway so I could report on my findings to other frugal-minded types.
The airbrush tool (of most interest to me and most every other woman I know) was not as precise and the shortcut tools I know with regular Photoshop (like holding "shift" while cropping to make the photograph a perfect square) didn’t work. I feel like most digital cameras come with the other features of Photoshop Express like red eye reduction and photo effects (you know, like tinting yourself pink and stretching your face out). I use the real version of Photoshop at work almost everyday and if I did any kind of real work with photos, I think I’d pony up for the full version of the software.
I guess with all the hype, I was expecting more. That said, it sure beats the pants out of Microsoft Picture Manager, which comes with windows systems. In short, better than nothing but certainly nothing close to Photoshop proper.
Have you tried Photoshop Expressions? What did you think? If you’re interested, here’s the link.
Image: Here’s about two minutes of fun with Photoshop Expressions. Cute but nothing to write home about.