1+-+Graphics+Activity

Comparison Table:
- File, Edit, Resize, Rotate || - Adobe Photoshop Express Editor to edit photos online - Adobe Photoshop Organizer to store photos online || - Very easy to upload photo from computer - Intuitive, easily accessible editing features - Able to change settings easily and quickly || - Quick and easy to create an account - Quick and easy to upload photo from computer - Initially intuitive (able to quickly get to online editor), but then realized I have to separately use the online organizer to save pictures in Photoshop (after I resaved the first picture) || - No frustrations || - Files took longer to upload; approximately 10 seconds to open both editor and organizer || - Easy to copy direct link and inset into wiki page || - Without pictures in the organizer, files were saved to computer, etc. (didn’t like the fact that the editor closed after this point) - Had to toggle between organizer and editor – frustrating - Export to email (grid/slideshow); link, embed, publish to various sites – confusing; ended up having to save picture on desktop to get into wiki || 2mb (pro) || It depends on how you're accessing Photoshop.com: - Using a web browser, you can upload image files formats (for example, JPEG and Camera Raw) up to 25 MB in size. You can upload video files up to 200 MB. - Using the Adobe Photoshop Express Uploader, you can upload or sync files up to 2GB. - Using Photoshop Elements 7 or later or Premiere Elements 7 or later, you can upload JPEG, video, Camera Raw, TIFF, PSD, and PDF files up to 2GB || 4000 x 3000 (pro) || - files cannot exceed 8,191 pixels either vertically or horizontally || Pro version - $2.99/month $24.95/year $39.90/2 years || Free version Elements Plus 20gb storage – 500gb storage, $49.99 - $529.99/year || - Color splash - Blur edges - Blueprint - Neon - Greyscale - Invert - Painting - Cartoon - Pop Art - Bronze - Sepia - Old Photo - Ink Stamp - Color rotate - Pixelate - Soften - Tint - Duo-Tone - Heat Map - Sketch - Color Sketch - Fresco - Film Grain - Nightvision || Also more than I can see myself using Basic Tools: - Crop & Rotate - Resize - Auto Correct - Exposure - Red-Eye - Touchup - Saturation Adjustments: - White Balance - Highlight - Sharpen - Soft Focus Advanced: - Pop Color - Hue - Black & White - Tint - Sketch - Distort ||
 * ** Criteria ** || ** PhotoBucket ** || ** Adobe Photoshop.com ** ||
 * ** Tool Selection (choices of tools) ** || - Multiple options available; available at top left of picture
 * ** Interface (quality: for example, is it intuitive?) ** || - Very easy to create an account
 * ** Speed (or previews, for example) ** || - Uploaded file in a matter of seconds
 * ** Export (save) capabilities ** || - Save a copy versus replace original feature
 * ** Flash/HTML based ** || - Yes || - Yes ||
 * ** Maximum file size of uploaded photo ** || 1 mb (free)
 * ** Maximum resolution of uploaded photo ** || 2048 x 1536 (free)
 * ** Cost, if any (some have Pro or Premium versions) ** || Free version
 * ** Layers (permitted?) ** || Yes || Yes ||
 * ** Effects ** || More than I can see myself using!
 * ** Killer feature ** || Quick connection to Facebook posting (personally, that is cool!) || - Opening webpage gave me tips on products offered and what they can do ||

Narrative Comparison:
I think I have a good, “dummy” perspective on online image editors. I have never used the “robust, stand-alone, desktop image editor applications,” such as Photoshop, Fireworks, and GIMP; my complete experience in editing pictures has come from whatever is available in Microsoft PowerPoint (believe it or not), as well as a minute effort in using Picassa WebAlbums to crop and print pictures.

** Similarities and Differences ** From the get-go, both online editors made it easy to create accounts and get started editing pictures. Both offered similar features, such as free versions, file requirements, storage capabilities, export capabilities, etc. However, after the get-go, I found I had a much easier time navigating PhotoBucket than Adobe PhotoShop.com. PhotoBucket seemed like it was geared toward the more novice user (aka, me!), while Adobe Photoshop.com seemed targeted to the more advanced user and photographer. Both had all the fun, editing bells and whistles, and Adobe Photoshop.com also had additional forums, tips, sites to provide collaborative sharing information, again for (in my opinion) “beyond novice” users. In comparison to my limited experience described above, Adobe Photoshop.com seemed very similar to Picassa WebAlbums in regards to navigation and use – a little overwhelming and frustrating (perhaps because both allowed me to face my ignorance)!

Also because of my ignorance, one of the first things I looked for and used on both sites was the help section, namely to find answers to questions about the features in the table! Even regarding help and topics, PhotoBucket seemed to me to be more basic, clean, and organized, while Adobe Photoshop’s help area became daunting with the number of things about which I needed and could have used help!

One of my major concerns with online editors is the ability to keep pictures and other things private. If I am using one of these tools for work, I would want to be extremely sure that my pictures weren’t being broadcasted to the world. Both editors, in this case, made it easy to set any and everything to private.

** Relevance to My Work ** I am having a difficult time coming up with how I might use the features of online pictures editors in my job, other than quickly cropping/resizing a picture or standardizing all images used in a particular project. I would also have to weigh the time constraints of editing pictures with the benefits of something that may or may not even be noticed by my audience (namely United States Attorneys). I primarily work with auditory folks that read black and white substantive print all day and who might see some of the image features as “cutesy, fluffy, and/or soft.”

Personally, I really like the online capabilities for both storage and editing. I can see many uses to do some fun stuff for family photos that I just have to share with all of my Facebook “friends!” I still share the same time constraints, but as least I know my audience won’t mind a funny "distortion, color splash, pop, or sticker!" J