Overview on using Pic Monkey

www.picmonkey.com

I first discovered this website in October, while planning for my daughter's 9th birthday party.  M wanted a photo booth for her and her friends.  By searching on Pinterest, I managed to find lots of templates for props and it was a blast.  When it came time for printing, I wanted the pictures in a film strip, but not so easy to do in-stores etc.  While I was 'googling', I came across Pic Monkey which solved my problems!  Once I had the pictures in a strip, I added them to a word document, printed them & laminated them, bookmark style.  We also made thank you 5x7 photo cards for each of the kids.  It was a hit!  

Here's a quick overview on using Pic Monkey.  Every time I use this free website, I discover new options & usually end up with great results.   There's no need to sign up or sign in for anything.

At the top, you'll notice four buttons - Edit, Touch Up, Design and Collage.

Edit Button
When you click on it, a window will pop up, to choose which picture you would like to edit.

On the left had side, you have all of the different options that are available to you.  Please note that some options (indicated by a 'crown' symbol), require a full paid membership to access them, but there is a lot that can be done without purchasing it. I have used it several times and have not required paying for anything.

The options are: Crop, Effects, Touch Up, Text, Overlays, Frames, Textures and Themes.  Under each of those, you will find sub-options.  There's too many too list, feel free to wander to the site and explore them. 

For this example, I wanted to add a personal text to my picture, using the same color scheme of my picture.  Under the text formatting, I chose the font I wanted and selected the  'Add Text' button.  A pop up box will appear in the middle of your photo (see #1).  Click on the color you want from the grid or if you prefer matching your text color to a color from your photo, then click on the color selector (#2), a medicine dropper will appear, use it to click on the color in the photo that you would like your text to match (#3).  Once you are ready, just type your text in the text box.  You can then modify your text by re-sizing, Bold, Italicize, etc.  Place your text box where you want it on your photo.  Don't forget to save! 

*Tip Save your work often!  Too many times I've lost parts of my project, or even worse, all of it.  I've gotten into the habit of saving my work in multiple size formats as well as whenever I add something new, this way I have every version I could possibly need when it's time to have a specific picture printed etc.  Once you close the website, all your hard work will be gone.

Touch Up Button

You can access this feature either on the front page or once you are in the 'Edit' section.  There's multiple options to choose from, but for this purpose, I'll be using the 'Blemish Fix'.

**Image Courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net**

Select the brush size and simply click away the spots you would like to fix.  Easy peasy!  You can zoom in the picture by adjusting the percentage at the bottom right corner.

*Tip Only use for minor touch ups, too much touch up and your photo could end up not looking right ;) Never save over your original picture, be sure to save as a new version.

Nothing major, just looks smoother.  I found this helpful in removing blemishes from my sons graduation picture.  He's a tween and has started having a bit of acne.  I asked him if he wanted them removed.  We only removed the ones that were more noticeable.  Don't forget to save your work!

Before

After

Design Button

Under the Design option, you'll find some preset sizes or you can choose to make a custom one.  For this session, we'll create a Facebook cover.

The edit tools are the same we saw earlier. I'll choose a canvas color, a frame and add some text.

In the Frames section, I chose 'Museum Matte'.  You can adjust the outer and inner color as well as the thickness of the border. Once you are happy with the results, apply the changes.  Same deal with the text.  Choose the text, color, size etc and apply your changes. I then added overlays, a few stars, some fireworks.  By right-clicking on the overlay, you can choose to have them sent to back, bring forward, etc.  You can also add pictures etc.  There's so many options of what you can do in this section, whether it's text boxes, pictures or a mix of both, the possibilities are endless!

Collage Button

When choosing the Collage option, you will be asked to add your pictures, same as when you are editing.

Once your pictures are loaded, you will see them on the left side of your collage along with tabs for images, layout, swatches and background.

**Tulip pictures are my own**

You will find multiple layout options underneath each options.  Whatever layout you choose, you always have the option of adding or removing picture boxes and customize to your liking.  For this example, I have chosen to do a Facebook cover.

You then add your pictures, swatches etc.  Under the background tab, you'll be able to adjust the spacing between your pictures/swatches, corner rounding and the color of the background.  Again, by choosing the medicine dropper icon, you can match your background color to a color in your photo or even choosing a transparent background.

Once completed and your collage saved, you can then edit it and had texts, frames and whatever else makes you happy with your project :)

My finish products.  With these collages, anything is possible!  You can make your own Christmas Photo Cards, Thank you cards, Beautiful photo collages to frame.
If you have any questions, send them to me and I'll try and help you out!

Christine
(@marlchr)

** Disclosure:  I was not financially compensated for this post.  The opinions are my own, based on my personal experience.