I was asked by FotoJet to do a review of their photo editing, collage and design tool.

(For the purposes of disclosure I was given access to the premium account in order to do my review).

Initially I had a few issues and found it quite slow and I played around with the free version for a bit just to see how well it worked - it definitely doesn't work as quickly as the paid version. The ads do delay things a bit which can be a bit frustrating, especially if you have a laptop that's a bit temperamental like mine!

However, once I was logged into the paid version, it ran much better. What FotoJet offers is an online tool to do photo editing, design work and also collage. If you have a business or blog, it's actually very useful to have all these in one package. I do a lot of design and have been using Canva up to now which is brilliant for creating Social Media images and lots more. If you are used to Canva, FotoJet compares very well. The user interface is similar, with lots of templates to choose from and the option to create your own design with custom dimensions.  The premium version offers the full range of templates and fonts. You can add your own images and clipart, as well as text. One thing FotoJet doesn't have is the range of premade text box designs which Canva has but this isn't a huge issue as these can be a bit awkward to work with once you change the text.

I created a sample Facebook cover and Twitter header, the first was done in the premium version and the second in the free.

Facebook Sample Cover Premium Version

Sample Twitter Header Free Version

Now I didn't spend a lot of time on these but they were very easy to do, both based on templates that were provided, so you just need to change text and add your own images. You get popup instructions/tips when you begin so even if you aren't used to using this kind of tool, I think you would get the hang of it fairly quickly.


Next up was the photo editing element. I really had fun playing around with this because I have just completed a photography course and have been taking lots of pictures but hadn't really experimented with editing tools.  I think maybe this is the part that I found the best. There are other online editing tools which I use from time to time such as Pixlr but this compared very favourably.

I'll first show you a subtle edit. This was very useful for me as I'm still getting the hang of correct exposure and light with my camera. Sometimes what I'm imagining doesn't come out quite right and whilst it's obviously better to have a great photo in the first place, editing can improve those you would like to keep which maybe aren't perfect.
First Tulip is the unedited version, second tulip has some very subtle editing to sharpen and improve light and the third is a bit more dramatic.

Tulip No Edit

Tulip Subtle Edit

Tulip Dramatic Edit

The difference in the subtle edit isn't huge but I wanted to improve saturation and sharpness just to give it a bit more edge. You can choose to adjust exposure, colour, sharpen or focus and lots more. Photos can be cropped and resized also.  For something more dramatic, there are lots of filters and effects available if you really want to change a photo completely.

Greenhouse Subtle

Greenhouse Overlay

Greenhouse Filter

You can use overlays and filters to create some pretty cool effects!

Floral Collage