The most outstanding feature of this photo editor is its seamless integration with Windows Explorer, which means it adds a whole new command group to image file context menus. These commands enable you to launch Photo! Editor's main tools straight away, without having to open the program first.

As for the tools included in Photo! Editor, it's a pretty basic program. That said, Photo! Editor works perfectly fine for small retouching tasks such as optimizing colors, removing red eye or even clearing someone's skin of spots, wrinkles and other slight imperfections. Other tools included are a resampling/cropping utility, some really cool light effects and a caricature tool to apply a hilarious morphing effect to your photos.

The only drawback to Photo! Editor is that there's no way to browse the folder's contents using thumbnails. This means that if your photo file names are not descriptive enough, you'll have to click on them one by one just to find out which picture they correspond to.

Photo! Editor is the perfect choice for those who are looking for a simple, lightweight and easy-to-use photo editor to fix their digital images.

Download Photo! Editor 1.1 in Softonic

Introduction

PhotoFiltre is a relatively small application and unlike Photoshop, will install and launch very quickly. The interface, loaded with all the features and options, can be confusing at first glance but you'll soon get used to it. The right side is composed of the shape and drawing tools and an optimizable color palette. The top bar has all the essential image editing and modification options. PhotoFiltre sadly doesn't let you customize the interface and choose your favorite tools.

Features

Among all the image modification tools, of particular usefulness is the quick contrast/hue and saturation buttons because you can check out the effects and immediately and easily correct the image if you're not satisfied with its quality. If you trust PhotoFiltre, you can also let it adjust these parameters automatically.

Like any self-respecting image editing application, PhotoFiltre includes the most widely used filters to transform your image, but if you need to make really significant changes, you'll find yourself limited. Furthermore, unlike Photoshop, PhotoFiltre doesn't include layers, making it more challenging to work on different elements of the image separately.

Like the excellent free image viewer Irfanview, PhotoFiltre covers the majority of image formats and can batch process and convert images rapidly. PhotoFiltre has five different zoom options yet they seem to be more or less similar. The magnifier is probably less precise than the drop down percentage pane, and the auto zoom adjusts the image’s size according to PhotoFiltre's window size.

The image explorer is located at the bottom of the screen, and if you set it according to your image file you'll be able to quickly preview all your pictures. However, if you work with multiple image files, it can quickly become confusing, as you’ll have to open up an explorer tree pane every time to look for your pictures.

PhotoFiltre contains all the essential tools and options to edit and optimize pictures.

Download PhotoFiltre 6.5.2 in Softonic

Funny Photo Maker allows you to make amusing additions to your photos - or from one of two sexy ladies provided as an example. Simply click the + button and you'll be able add a number of image formats from your PC. You then need to select one of Funny Photo Maker's effects. These are divided into three categories - Frames, Face fun and Artistic.

In themselves, Funny Photo Maker's effects are pretty good. The frames are funny, there are a good selection of famous and amusing scenarios under Face fun, and the artistic effects - although basic - will keep you entertained. The problem, however, is that they are almost impossible to apply well.

Funny Photo Maker allows you to edit your images slightly so you can focus on the important parts of the photo, but it rarely maintains the edit when you add the effects. The same goes for when you don't edit the photo - there's no intelligent face ID here - it just plops the effect over your photo, changing the resolution however it sees fit. Although you can get lucky with a good match, most of the images are stretched and warped, and look terrible - even the ones included by the developer as an example!

If you want to have fun with your images, try Photo Frames & Effects, Pixlr-o-matic or Polarfox - they're all much better options.

Funny Photo Maker looks good in theory, but in practice, it is really badly finished and does nothing for your photos. Look elsewhere.

Download Funny Photo Maker 1.0 in Softonic

Being an AIR application, Pixlr-o-matic is really nice to look at. Photo editing is divided into three steps. Firstly, choose a filter from the options in the red section, then a secondary effect from the blue area, and finally a frame in the yellow area. You can move back and forth through these stages as often as you want, using a photo stored on your computer, or one taken directly from your webcam.

Visually, Pixlr-o-matic really impresses. The interface includes the app's workbench. The filter area is really cool, with a developing tray with fluid that ripples as you move the cursor over. It's really eye-catching, and also happens to be very easy to use - the perfect combination!

Pixlr-o-matic has limited sharing options - you can save your masterpiece to .jpg or share them on imm.io, Pixlr's own image sharing service. We would have really liked to see a little more social media sharing, or better options for customizing and tweaking your own effects, inclusions that would make it close to perfect!

For quick, free effects for your photos, Pixlr-o-matic is a great-looking option.

Download Pixlr-o-matic 1.0 in Softonic

If you want to make your photos just that bit more fun or pretty, but don't want to be messing around with things like layers and saturation, you should check out Photo Frames & Effects without delay. This little app is lovely to use. It's easy to find your way around, looks good, works perfectly and has plenty of help.

Over 60 effects

In so far as effects and frames, Photo Frames & Effects can offer you over 60. You'll see them divided into Edit, Effects and Filters in the left-hand side of the window, and then sub-divided into further effects. You can preview every change, and either revert to your original, or keep the new one.

Easy to use

When a Photo Frames & Effects effect has different variations, you'll see them at the top of the interface. You can click through these easily, seeing which looks best with your photo, and at every step you have the option to revert back to your original image. You can then print or save your Photo Frames & Effects creation.

Make your photos stand out with minimal effort with Photo Frames & Effects.

Download Photo Frames & Effects Free 1.12 in Softonic

This is usually a trick for Photoshop experts, but now with FotoMix you can also create that illusion, even if you have no idea about how to use Adobe’s editor. The program has been especially designed to help you achieve this effect in the easiest way possible.

FotoMix features a simple interface divided into several tabs, each for a specific purpose: select background image, select foreground image, create a composition with them and add up some final touches.

Using FotoMix is really simple: all you have to do is select the background image, the foreground person or object you want to use and apply one onto the other. Then simply erase the redundant background in the Composition tab, and polish the result in the Touch up tab. The resulting image can be embellished with a frame and saved in several different graphic formats.

FotoMix is a handy tool for photo composition that doesn't require any graphic editing skills. On the downside, more advanced users will find it annoyingly limited: the tools are too basic, and there’s no undo function when you’re mixing the foreground and background images.

FotoMix is an easy-to-use photo editor that lets you create image compositions without any editing skills.

Download FotoMix 8.7.4 in Softonic

If you're looking for a way to spruce up your photos, Perfect Effects Free is a great program to do just that. Think of it as Instagram for your computer, but with a lot more features and control. Import your own photos into Perfect Effects Free and you can crop, trim, and put filters on them - all with layer support. In fact, it looks and feels like a simplified version of Adobe Photoshop.

The included filters are very good and Perfect Effects Free gives you the ability to adjust the intensity of each one. Filters are also stackable, which means you can select multiple filters and create your own custom versions. Perfect Effects Free then gives you the option to save your custom filter as a preset to apply to other photos.

Perfect Effects Free performs very well, with filters showing up instantaneously. Tools like cropping and trim work just as you would expect them to. The interesting thing about Perfect Effects Free is that it can run as a standalone application or as a plugin for Photoshop, Lightroom, or Aperture.

Overall, Perfect Effects Free is a great program with great default filters and controls to make your photos more interesting.

Download Perfect Effects Free 3.0.2 in Softonic

FotoSketcher helps you add some spice to your photos without much fuss. The program includes dozens of drawing styles to apply, which are easily customizable by using sliders to configure color, contrast, stroke intensity and other parameters.

All you need to do is open the image you want to convert into a sketch and select the drawing effect you want to apply. The preview window, though a bit too small, lets you check the result before clicking the "Draw!" button. FotoSketcher will then apply the effect and display the final image beside the original one, so that you can compare both. The program also lets you add a frame to your image.

FotoSketcher also includes basic editing tools to modify the source image, supports skins to customize the program’s interface, and can work in batches with several photos at the same time.

FotoSketcher is the perfect tool for those who want to apply a nice sketch effect to their pictures but don’t dare use use Photoshop.

Download FotoSketcher 2.30 in Softonic

The program features a basic interface – so basic it doesn't have any help or configuration settings at all. But the truth is that you don't need any of those either. Simply load the photo you want to work with and begin experimenting with all the filters included in B/Works.

There are plenty of them available, from a plain black and white effect to a high contrast duotone filter that will add a dramatic touch to your image. You can see how each filter actually looks like on your photo, but only in two ways: either 1:1 view or fit window size.

One last tip: once you find the right effect for your photo, remember to save it with a different name. Otherwise the original file will be overwritten.

B/Works is the easiest way to apply special filters to your pictures and obtain amazing results in no time.

Download B/Works 1.0 in Softonic

LightBox Free Image Editor is a professional-feeling image editor that will allow you to make basic to intermediate changes and edits to your photos.

If you make basic edits with Photoshop, expect a steep learning curve, because you'll be fiddling around for hours with filters and other industry standard enhancement tools. However, if you're looking for something that can do a basic job with the minimum of fuss and ease of use, then you should take a look at LightBox Free Image Editor.

Lightbox Free Image Editor used to be a bit of an ugly duckling but that's all changed in version 2.0 which sees a complete interface overhaul and gives it the feel of a real professional retouching application. In addition, the Help section has been vastly expanded, a handy Photoshop style Color Changer added and the masking features is more intuitive and easy to use compared to previous versions.

Whichever of LightBox Free Image Editor's tools you use however, you're guaranteed some pretty impressive results. Finding the right adjustments to make can be a case trial and error, although LightBox Free Image Editor does offer auto color balance, dodge and burn, and smart highlight shadow processing. LightBox Free Image Editor also automatically removes red eye and can add borders to your images and trim fuzzy edges or annoying objects.

LightBox Free Image Editor is a powerful but simple solution for those that need to optimize their photos with professional results without having to learn or pay for professional programs.

Download LightBox Free Image Editor 2.0 in Softonic

As you can easily infer from the name, Poladroid lets you apply a Polaroid effect to your images. The final result is highly realistic, not only because it adds the typical white frame with a texture that looks like the actual material, but also because it applies a color filter to the image that resembles the color quality of an original Polaroid picture.

Poladroid features a very original interface in the shape of an actual Polaroid camera. To create a Polaroid picture, simply drag and drop any image onto this interface and wait a few seconds. The program includes a sound effect to make the process even more realistic, and the generated virtual Polaroids take a moment to display, just like the original ones.

On the downside, there are still a few flaws that need to be fine tuned in this first Windows version of Poladroid. The most important one is the excessive amount of RAM memory used by the program – up to around 340 MB while generating the Polaroids during our tests. Also, it would be great to be able to select the specific area you want to appear on the Polaroid, and also have the chance to save the cute thumbnails generated by the program.

If you miss those good old Polaroid photos, you can now recreate them with any image from your digital library and Poladroid.

Download Poladroid 0.9.6r0 in Softonic

Don't worry, there's an easy way to fix it. Simply use Rotation Pilot and restore the horizon to its original position while keeping the same image quality as the original photo.

This is how it works: load the picture and draw a line with your mouse along the horizon (the tilted one, not the one you'd like to have). The program will automatically rotate the picture to the desired position. If there's any cropping or smoothing needed, you can also enable those options and let Rotation Pilot do the job, though the cropping will obviously affect the borders of the original photo. The program also includes rotating, resizing and mirroring options for further photo edition.

With Rotation Pilot you can easily fix visual slopes and tilted horizons in your digital photos.

Download Rotation Pilot 1.0.4 in Softonic

Simply use Tint Photo Editor and you'll be able to apply this attractive color effect to your pictures, in such a way that only a few selected areas on the image are colored while the rest remains in black and white. It's an easy method to make certain elements in the picture stand out above everything else.

Tint Photo Editor is very simple to use: load the image you want to apply the effect to and select how many color areas you'd like to have. The program works better with images that have quite a few elements on them (a bunch of flowers, for example) and with as many color areas as possible.

The program will then generate a different version of the image with different colored areas. Just pick the one you like best – or combine several of them – and you're ready to save the result.

Tint Photo Editor is perfect for those who don't feel like using a massive app like Photoshop only to add a simple color effect, but it may be too basic for actual Photoshop users. Also, I didn't like the fact that you can't actually control the areas in the photo that the program will color. Finally, be aware that the program opens up a new instance everytime you create a new photo effect.

With Tint Photo Editor you can easily add a beautiful color effect to your photos, to turn them into black and white images with a nice dash of color.

Download Tint Photo Editor 1.0.1 in Softonic

TiltShift Generator is an AIR-based app that lets you apply the famous tilt-shift effect to any photo in just a couple of clicks. Simply load up the picture on the program and the effect will be immediately applied, leaving you the possibility to tweak a few settings and obtain the perfect result.

These settings, which are places on a sidebar, let you fine tune the center radius and the effect's strength, as well as adjust the saturation, contrast and brightness values, and tweak the vignetting filter. The program shows the effects of all your changes in real time, so you know how the result will look like at all times. When you're done, simply save the photo.

Being a app that was originally created for the iPhone, the only drawback to TiltShift Generator is that it doesn't work very well with larger pictures.

TiltShift Generator is a really easy way to apply a very attractive tilt-shift effect to your photos.

Download TiltShift Generator 1.0.2 in Softonic

The advantage of ImageMagick is that it can be used to create images dynamically making it suitable for Web apps. In addition, you can resize, rotate, sharpen, color reduce and add special effects to an image. However, ImageMagick is strictly for those familiar with the command line as there is no GUI. You can only make changes to images using commands such as "$magick> convert rose.jpg rose.png".

For those familiar with programming languages, you can use C, C++, Perl, Java, PHP, Python, or Ruby to make changes. A high-quality 2D renderer is also included which provides SVG capabilities. If you are familiar with programming commands, then the range of actions possible with ImageMagick is truly impressive including, conversions, resizing, transparencies, animated GIFs and shape drawing. However, the lack of GUI will exclude most people from using it.

If you're familiar with programming languages and need a powerful command line based tool, Image Magick is worth exploring.

Download ImageMagick 6.7.3-4 in Softonic

FotoSketcher Portable is perfect for those of you who don't dare use Photoshop yet and simply want to add some spice to your photos without much fuss. Simply run the program and select the picture you want to sketch. FotoSketcher Portable will show a settings menu with a bunch of options: you'll be able to select the drawing style, edge threshold and also tweak the values of color, brightness and contrast.

FotoSketcher Portable applies the sketch effect in just a few seconds, and the result will be displayed side to side to the original picture, which is great for comparison FotoSketcher Portable also lets you add a text caption and embellish your sketch with a frame.

There are only a couple of minor drawbacks to FotoSketcher Portable: it only works with JPG and BMP files, and if you add a text caption to the image, you won't be able to see it on the preview window.

Apply a sketch effect to your photos in no time. No artistic skills required!

Download FotoSketcher Portable 2.25 in Softonic