If you ever find yourself working on a computer where you don't have the world's number one professional photo editing software, Photoshop, or just don't feel like spending the pile of cash that it demands, smaller online solutions might be for you. In my quest to locate a great photo editing tool that makes editing photos easy for everyone, I have come across Picnik. Picnik has powerful online photo editing tools that you can use through your browser. Registration is free, and pictures can be uploaded from Flickr, your computer, directly from a website link, Yahoo search, Flickr search, or from a webcam. Picnik's list of editing tools include auto fix, rotate, crop, exposure, colors, sharpen, and red-eye reduction. There are five special creative tools one can use, but only one is currently active. This is the special effect set, where users can easily change photos to black & white, sepia, boost colors, matte picture with soft edges, vignette, and soften. When photo editing is complete, photos can than be uploaded to your Flickr account, email the photo directly to an email address in small, medium, large, or full mode, save it to your computer, or create a Flickr slideshow. Users can also choose to email photos to websites including Photobucket, Costco, Snapfish, Kodak and Photolog where they can be printed and ordered online. There is also another option where you can print photos directly from Picnik onto your home printer if you choose. The interface is easy to navigate, and it's a joy to use. If you prefer to work full screen with no browser borders, simply click on the Picnik logo.

More screenshots after the jump...

[Via Emily Chang]