The Top Online Photo Editing Services in 2024.
Have you ever taken a picture that was almost perfect but needed a little extra pop of clarity or color? Or you're not entirely happy with the way you look (like skin texture or skin blemishes)? Whether it's a professional photo from a photographer, an old Polaroid that's faded or a vintage family photo, online photo editing services can transform your images from OK to lovable. So, lets see what photo editing services are available, what kind of quality they can add to your photo and finally what it costs.
We're eight months into 2024, and there are countless options of online photo editing mobile apps and services. With varying features, pricing, specializations, and differences in quality, how do you know which service best fits your needs? Well, I think you know what's coming next, so let's start exploring some of the best photo editing services we could find on our google search.
Need to start our search somewhere. How about trust Google?
If you're like me and you don't have the patience to read every detail of my research and just want the best online photo editing service, may I suggest just going to Forever Studios if you want your photo editing by a pro done by hand. Look, I'm a biased employee, but there are few companies (and even fewer people) I'd trust with my less-than-flattering pictures that need retouching. Forever Studios happens to be one of them. That's why I started writing for them and eventually became their lead writer.
What Should I Consider in an Online Photo Editing Service?
In today's social media-obsessed society, your visual content needs to pop. That's why you need to do your homework before uploading your images to a website. Reviews, visual examples of edited images, and the price of services are excellent parameters for whether or not a service is worth your time.
HOW EXPENSIVE SHOULD AN ONLINE PHOTO EDITING SERVICE BE?
The starting price has gotta be on point; a nice middle ground, if you will. You're looking for that sweet spot between cheap and expensive with quality results. You get what you pay for, and I have found that these places that advertise really cheap prices are no offense, not very good.
There are so many “professional” editors available to edit your photos.
HOW IMPORTANT ARE REVIEWS FOR PHOTO EDITING SERVICES?
Trusted reviews are the easiest way to figure out if an online photo editing service is worth anything, but be sure to read through them all (or at least most of them). Oh, and look for any that have pictures or videos of how the program works and the results. Always do your own research for a company's reviews and never trust the hand-picked reviews on their own website.
HOW IMPORTANT ARE VISUAL EXAMPLES OF PHOTO EDITING RESULTS?
That brings me to the next point, look for any visual examples of the photo editing results. We're looking for high-quality work that's worth the price you'll have to pay. Let me put it to you this way, is the high-end photo retouching worthy of your family portraits? Or a scam that shouldn't even be used for your latest selfie?
Was the inclusion of the paraglider intentional or was it really happening?
WHAT FEATURES SHOULD AN ONLINE PHOTO EDITING SERVICE HAVE?
Alright! Are we talking about object removal, blemish removal, or stray hair removal tools? Or pre-programmed adjustable color filters and presets? Professional photo editing services require proper photo editing tools (duh). Oftentimes, the better services have more advanced features and use multiple types of photo editing software to get the desired results. It should be no issue for skilled photo editors to crop out a photobomber, dial up the contrast to make a sunset pop or color correct an image so it doesn't look faded.
Photo Editing Services I Tested:
FixThePhoto
WHAT SERVICES DOES FIXTHEPHOTO COVER?
FixThePhoto has been operating since 2003. According to their website, they've worked on more than 2 million orders over the years. They work on a wide range of everything – portraits, wedding photos, background removal, photo restoration, real estate photo editing, etc.
(Photo from https://fixthephoto.com/)
HOW EXPENSIVE IS FIXTHEPHOTO?
So, at FixThePhoto, "photo retouching starts from $0.25 for color correction, and from $2.50 for basic retouching." The company has a lot of packages available, from $2.50 to $30 per photo, depending on the desired finished product's quality. On your first order, you get 12 credits free under the basic, pro, or standard levels (basic edits and standard sound like the same thing to me, but what do I know?).
Grab some presets from fixthephoto and try your hand at editing at home.
I'll give credit where credit is due. FixThePhoto has some really cool additional features (i.e., Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop presets) for sale. Heck, they even have Photoshop brushes for free download (yes, you do need the software on your computer to access them, which means you have to pay money for that Adobe subscription).
IS FIXTHEPHOTO WORTH THE PRICE?
OK, so here is the issue with FixThePhoto... the reviews on their website are all, you know, five stars. Amazing accolades, blah blah blah. Now, when I did the research on other websites (Trustpilot, Reddit, Photoup, etc.), the reviews were at best... average. The rest were, on the whole, negative. One even accused them of having a free Adobe Premiere Pro download that was a scam with spam (That was an unintentional pun, but I'm not mad at it).
ePhotoVN
WHAT SERVICES DOES EPHOTOVN COVER?
ePhotoVN is the next photo editing service provider on my list. What I find interesting about this company is the range of services they offer. They take care of everything from shoe and eyeglass photo editing to newborn and portrait retouching. I'm sure there's a market for underwear editing (I swear, on my honor, that's an option on their website), but it seems a little niche. Not going to lie, makes me think of Marky Mark Calvin Klein commercials.
Remember Mark Wahlberg’s Calvins? ePhotoVN does this editing. Cool.
(Photo from https://ephotovn.com/high-end-photo-retouching-services/)
HOW EXPENSIVE IS EPHOTOVN?
Let's talk pricing! If you're new to ePhotoVN, you can get 1 free photo editing service with a 24-hour turnaround time. So, ePhotoVN has a wide variety of options for pricing (i.e., 50¢ for a product image, $2 for jewelry photo editing, and 30¢ for a single wedding photo editing sesh). On the second level of editing, there are various options for newborn pics, headshots, models, and high-end photo retouching ($3-8).
IS EPHOTOVN WORTH THE PRICE?
On Trustpilot, ePhotoVN has a 3.8 rating and two 5-star reviews. To be completely honest, I can't find any other legitimate reviews outside of Trustpilot and Facebook. I saw some on Facebook that mentioned mixed/negative reviews, but all I saw were decent ones about the final results and customer service.
My Verdict on the Best Online Photo Editing Service:
Those are the top three online photo editing services that I could find, but I'm not really happy with any of them. I know, I know; I'm biased, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. If I HAD to choose between the three, I'd go with ePhotoVN. They have relatively affordable pricing, a large range of photo editing services, and decent reviews. Oh! And out of all three of them, they have the most user-friendly interface.
All photo editing companies have their own editing styles, and that's all good, great, and grand. Each company I've talked about thus far in this article focuses on bulk photo editing with extra tight deadlines. A typical online photo editor will slap on color and alter photos quickly, without finesse and attention to detail.
If you want real American artists working on your photos, it's best to go to a professional company with real artists. If you're interested in a company like that, keep reading, I'll get into it.
Important photos should be retouched by professionals!
Professional Photo Retouching Services Are the Right Way to Go.
True professional photo editing services handle everything from basic editing to complex edits that take years to learn. They take the time to get to know their clients, their stories, and the importance of each beautiful image. That's why I'm partial to reliable photo editing services like the ones at Forever Studios.
Forever Studios
Think about your most important family photos that might need advanced retouching. Not just any program or online photo editor can or should mess with something so important.
Forever Studios took a dark photo and made the colors and tones perfect and retouched the facial features.
WHAT SERVICES DOES FOREVER STUDIOS COVER?
Besides pro photo retouching services, Forever Studios offers old photo repair, black and white photo colorization, and retouches photos at the same grade of work demanded by historical societies and museums. Forever Studios is the only company with honest-to-goodness professional credentials, and a track record of working on historical pieces.
HOW EXPENSIVE IS FOREVER STUDIOS?
Forever Studios might seem pricey at $35 per image, but honestly, in comparison with other direct competitors, it’s a bloody bargain for the quality you get. You can either upload your photos digitally or send them to us with our Pro Scan Kit ($15 per order). Colorization (when requested) is an extra $20 per photo if combined with the photo restoration service, and if you want our head artist Olivia to work on your precious photo memories, it is also an additional $20 per photo.
Why Should You Go to Forever Studios?
I'll wrap this up as succinctly as possible (for me, lol). When you add everything up, Forever Studios is more reliable and affordable than any competitor out there. Our most basic restoration option is museum-quality work with unlimited revisions for no extra fee.
Any photo retouching service or app will do for your everyday digital images on social media. But when it comes to something important, like portrait photos or precious memories that will be passed down through the generations, go to a legitimate company (like Forever Studios, obviously) that will focus on quality. Photo editing is an art, after all.
