A Lady Goes West

A healthy lifestyle blog by Ashley Pitt

My five favorite free photo apps and websites

By 49 Comments

You don’t have to be a blogger to enjoy taking, editing and sharing photos. I’m definitely far from a professional when it comes to photos, but I do have a few free tools that I rely on regularly. 

It can be overwhelming when you see how many options there are out there for photo-editing, especially if you’ve never done it before. So today, I’m sharing some totally free resources you may be interested in trying out yourself. Because, hey, it’s fun to play with pictures and add some funny text. And I bet you’ve always wondered how people do some of the things they do to photos. Right?

My five favorite free photo apps and websites

And this list is by no means exhaustive, but features those tools I use the most frequently …

My five favorite free photo apps and websites via A Lady Goes West

1. PicMonkey — For adding text to photos and creating graphics using my laptop.

I even taught my own Mom how to use PicMonkey, if that gives you an idea of the ease of using this site. While you can upgrade to a paid version for more functionality, I stick with the free options. I add text, filters, shapes and shading to photos, as well as create my own graphics. (For instance, all of my workouts images are created using PicMonkey.) You can even make collages of nearly any size or shape. Totally free and only online. Once you’re done with your creation, you can save it in any size you want to your computer. Voila.

2. Frame Swagg — For collage-making on my iPhone.

If you aren’t near a computer and want to quickly throw together a collage of moments, combining multiple photos into one, this app works great. You can even change the color of the borders and make a few graphic modifications on Frame Swagg. This one is very easy to use, because it pulls photos right from your Camera Roll on your phone with one click. You can upgrade to get additional collage formats, but I’ve always been happy with the free ones. I mean, you can’t beat this collage of my little Rudy, right?

3. Squaready — For converting photos to a square size on my iPhone.

Have a vertical or horizontal photo that is too good to cut off into a square to make it fit into Instagram‘s standards? Just download Squaready and you can turn nearly any photo into a square with a white border. I learned about this one from some gals on a trip to Key West a few months ago and have used it a ton since then. It’s not as easy to use as the other apps, but once you get it, you’ll be converting photos in just seconds. Like this one I made of my friends and me at a recent NBA Finals game.

4. BeFunky — For editing and sharpening photos on my laptop and iPhone.

This one is totally new to me, and I learned about it while Googling “how to make a photo less blurry.” True story. I came home from the gym with a cool shot of me and a fellow instructor, but of course, neither of the photos were in focus. I downloaded BeFunky app and it certainly helped the photo sharpen. Super easy to use as well. After finding the app, I realized there is a BeFunky website for photo-editing as well, which you can access for free, and I’ll be trying that one out very soon.

5. Dropbox — For storing and sharing photos on my iPhone and laptop.

When you find yourself taking and storing a lot of pictures, you need a way to transfer them from the phone to the computer, back to the phone. I’ve been using a free version of Dropbox storage for a long time. Sometimes I have to clean out my inventory, but I’ve always stuck to the free version without the need to pay for additional space. All I do is upload my phone photos to my Dropbox, and they magically appear on my laptop, available for editing. Of course, Internet connection required.

And just like that, I’m armed and ready to play with photos at all times. Perhaps too armed and playing with photos too often. But whatever. If you want to see some of my photo skills in action, be sure to follow me on Instagram.

My photo-sharing challenge for you

That’s it for today, my friends. My challenge for you is this: Take a photo today and share it. If you’re not someone who usually posts anything on social media, maybe you just text that photo to a friend or family member for fun. Nothing brightens my day more than receiving an unexpected photo-text from somebody. So get out there and share the moments, people!

And I’ll see you back here tomorrow for some more favorites in the form of “Friday Favorites.” Have an awesome Thursday!

Questions of the day

How often do you share photos on social media?

What are your favorite photo apps or websites?

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About Ashley

I'm a mom, writer and group fitness instructor, and A Lady Goes West is where I share fitness and wellness tips, as well as stories and learnings from my life in the San Francisco Bay Area.
 
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Comments

  3. Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious says

    Be Funky is one I need to try. The Instagram square makes me crazy sometimes so thanks for helping me less crazy! Haha! Dropbox is another I’ve thought about trying but honestly my phone and Mac automatically sync photos through my photo stream. I should probably go trough and delete some before I have to pay for cloud space! But Dropbox would be helpful like when your Mac suddenly stops working like mine did this week. Grr!
    Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious recently posted…Are You Making These 8 Diet Mistakes?My Profile

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Hi Megan, I actually need to get my iPhone and Mac photo stream working properly, because I don’t use it at all ahhaah. 🙂 Nonetheless, I still enjoy Dropbox for many things. Hope you like BeFunky! Happy Thursday!

      Reply

    • Ashley says

      Hi Susie! Yes, but then you lose so much of your shot. I use Squaready when I have a great shot that I want to feature without cutting off someone or the background. I don’t always like to take square photos, so I can use them in more than one place, and that’s where this app comes in handy. But I totally see why someone would just take them in the square format to start — but you better get up-close-and-personal with the people you are posing with for that!! hahahah! 🙂

      Reply

  7. Melissa says

    I am not good at taking photos or sharing on social media. The last time I put a picture on Instagram was 11 weeks ago. I don’t even know how to get a little picture in this box by my name like everyone else has on their comments. I think I shy away from social media because every time I log on I see the same few people posting selfies and I am sick of it! I should just unfollow them I guess.

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Hi Melissa! Well I would agree there are far too many selfies out there, but that doesn’t mean you can’t share a pic every now and again of yourself or your life. Maybe just text someone a pic? hahah! Capture the moments, lady!! 🙂 (Oh and unfollow people who you get sick of!!) BUT NOT me. 🙂

      Reply

  9. Hayley @ Full of Life says

    I’ve never used any of these except Dropbox for work stuff, not for photos! I just use a photo editor app only my phone (Camera+) and then upload to Instagram. Need to check some of these out 🙂

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Hi Katie! Yes, Dropbox seems to be the one that most people have used before. Happy Thursday, Katie!:) Go create some beautiful pics heheh!

      Reply

  15. Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says

    Sharing pictures of me and my normal everyday is the hardest part of blogging for me! I just feel like if it’s not something really cool or fun that people are going to be like, who cares?

    But then again, I like seeing into everyone elses every day so I do think it’s good to take lots of pics.

    I use Dropbox and PicMonkey but I’ve never heard of the others. I’ll have to look into those!
    Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health recently posted…Cucumber Bites with Creamy Sriracha PestoMy Profile

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      You should share your real meals so we can see that they don’t look as fabulous as what you post on your blog. DO IT!!! Please. 🙂

      Reply

  16. Dee Golden says

    In addition to PicMonkey and Canva (which I love!), I use the PhotoSync app to wirelessly transfer photos from my phone to my laptop. Didn’t think of using Dropbox for this — might try that next!
    Dee Golden recently posted…Summer Streakin’My Profile

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Hi Lauren! Nice, hope you enjoy the upgraded PicMonkey. I look forward to seeing some of the things you make from that! 🙂 Happy Thursday! 🙂

      Reply

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