Photo Editor by Aviary is one of the most robust web-based photo editing platforms out there that lets you edit your photos to your heart’s content right from your web browser or mobile device. The app is fairly popular on iOS and Android platforms, receiving praise for its stellar photo editing plugins and a powerful standalone version that does a lot more than conventional photo editors normally do. After getting rave reviews on both these mobile platforms, the app has now landed on Windows Store as well, and it’s no different from its counterparts when it comes to features and functionality. Simply labeledPhoto Editor, the app provides you with a clean, easy to use photo editing environment so you can give your favorite images a quick makeover. Read on for our full review.
Upon launch, the app presents a collection of thumbnails for images in your Pictures library, which is usually the Pictures directory. If you want to select a custom picture of your own, you can use the Browse button. In addition, the app also displays a large sample photo on the left; clicking this photo lets you get acquainted with Photo Editor’s various tools after tweaking a few things here and there.
After selecting an image to edit, you’re taken to the app’s editing screen that houses a plethora of tools. You can enhance a photo by adding different effects, change its orientation, crop it, sharpen it, add text, draw on it and do a lot more to make the image look the way you want. The app even allows to paste funky stickers on your photos by hitting Stickers and selecting your favorite one from the list. Basic photo editing controls for brightness, contrasts, saturation and sharpness etc. are also present. If your favorite photo suffers from the dreaded red-eye effect, you can quickly get rid of it with the Redeye removal option.
The app shows you a preview of selected photo effect prior to actually applying it to your photo, which is a good way to see how the end result will look. Some of the included tools also allow you to control their intensity, letting you choose how bright or saturated the image should be for instance. Hitting the Apply button at the top-right applies the current effect. Likewise, the Done button stores the final image file in the Aviary Photos folder that is automatically created in your Pictures folder by the app.
To sum it up, Photo Editor by Aviary can be the only photo editing app that most users would need, putting a truckload of useful options at the table. The app can be downloaded for free, and supports Windows 8 and Windows RT.
