darkroom

How to edit photos with iDarkroom HD

There is a seemingly endless number of photo-processing apps for the iPad, but rarely does one combine the words "powerful" and "free" as iDarkroom HD does. It allows you to layer effects onto a photo, adjust the intensity of the effects, and then share or save your edited masterpiece.

After launching the app, you can either take a photo or select one from your photo library or Photo Stream. Both buttons for these actions are located in the top row of menu options, along with settings, sharing options, a revert button to undo any changes you'… Read more

Awkward interface

Graphic Workshop Pro tries to give you the basic tools you need to manage your digital photos. Unfortunately, those tools are packaged in an awkward and unappealing user interface.

The program's plain interface bears little resemblance to the sleek photo editing programs we're used to seeing. The top of the window contains basic menu items and navigational buttons, and there's a tree menu on the left side for browsing for images. Opening an image also opened a completely new window containing a basic image editing palette. The additional window made navigation very weird, and we're not … Read more

Photos with style

MagicEffect Photo Editor is an easy, breezy way to add style to your photos. Choose from effects such as Sketch, Star, Amazing, and Dream to make your photos stand out from the rest.

This simple application has a basic interface that includes buttons running down the left side of the program that apply the program's different effects. To the right, the program shows you the original source picture and a preview of what the picture will look like once the selected effect is applied. It shows you 10 versions of what the picture looks like with the effect, ranging … Read more

Write like mad with WriteMonkey

This lightweight and portable program is similar to other focus-driven programs like Dark Room or Q10. Still in beta, WriteMonkey can be run in a window, but the intent of these one-hit writing tools is to be used at full screen, eliminating distractions.

There are a couple of things that WriteMonkey does very well. First off, all the major program commands are accessible from the right-click context menu. When the program loads in full-screen mode, you can easily minimize it into a window by right-clicking and choosing the first option, "Toggle fullscreen/window." Once in window mode, WriteMonkey'… Read more

New Tim Grey book takes on digital darkroom

Want to know more about common digital photography problems like noise and blown-out highlights? Choosing between RAW and JPEG formats? Take Your Best Shot is now available from O'Reilly Media for $34.99. The book is written by Tim Grey, a member of the Photoshop World Dream Team of Instructors who has been answering digital photography questions for years on his popular DDQ: Digital Darkroom Questions daily e-mail newsletter, and his printed Digital Darkroom Quarterly newsletter.

Take Your Best Shot is 252 pages and organized by subject so you can look up any issue. "Today, many photographers feel … Read more