24 February, 2016
People take hundreds or even thousands of photographs with their smart phones. But when they take a special photo, they might want to make sure that the picture looks its best.
Photos can preserve memories. They help people remember a special day or event. People also share photos on social media so others can enjoy them.
Fotor is a free photo editing website and app.
It comes with a lot of tools, but is easy to use. Use Fotor to improve and share images. It can also help you create collections of favorite photos.
Fotor App
Using the Fotor application software program is simple. Just download the Fotor app and create an account.
The app can help improve pictures in several ways. It can make changes to color, brightness and red/green/blue levels of a photo.
Fotor users can add many choices of filters to change the way images look. Filters can reduce or remove unwanted light from a photo. A slider tool can help change the intensity of each filter.
Fotor users can also add colorful stickers, words and even picture frames to customize their photo.
Focus is a photo editing tool that can reduce the sharpness, or clarity, of an image. This allows users to focus on a part of the image, and blur out the rest.
This winter image was edited using the Fotor app. The blue filter was added, the app's Focus effect was used to blur the photo, other than a circle around the tree which remains focused.
The Fotor app has a sharing button in the upper left corner of the screen. Click the button and the photo is saved so it can be shared using email, text message and social media websites.
Most of the tools on Fotor are free, but some must be purchased. The app provides a demonstration of such tools, so they can be tried before they are purchased.
The Fotor app only works in portrait view.
With this panorama photo was edited by adding a filter using the Fotor app, then using Focus to blur the photo other than an oval around the ruins which stay in focus:
Community and Competition
The Vision section of the Fotor app is a place where people can share their images. Fotor holds competitions for the best images. Users can enter their photos in several different categories.
Availability
You can get the app free for:
Fotor for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
Website
The Fotor website can also help design images for social media, with preset, fixed sizes for cover photos on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, YouTube and more.
I'm Caty Weaver.
Carolyn Nicander Mohr wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
Your Thoughts
Do you edit your photos? Do you like editing tools that are powerful but easy to use? Which editing features do you like to use?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section and on testbig.com!
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Words in This Story
preserve - v. to protect or keep (something) in its original state or in good condition
edit - v. to prepare (a film, recording or photograph) to be seen or heard; to change, move, or remove parts of a film, recording or photo
app – n. a computer program that performs a particular job
access – n. permission or the right to enter, get near, or make use of something or to have contact with someone
filter – n. a program that changes lighting levels in specific ways to create special effects (photography)
slider – n. a knob or button that is used to control something, such as movement or audio levels
intensity – n. the amount of strength or force that something has
frame – n. an open structure that holds something (such as glass or a picture)
portrait view – n. the orientation of a page such that the longer side runs from top to bottom
category – n. the process of putting people or things into groups based on ways that they are alike