In today’s great world of digital photo retouching, it’s rare to see a published photograph that hasn’t been retouched in some way, often drastically so. This retouching process has also begun to permeate our world of social media, with photos becoming more and more obviously retouched or edited in some way. Many traditional photo-editing tools, such as Photoshop, are not exactly easy to pick up for your basic computer owner. Simple apps like Perfect365 have come along to help basic computer users retouch photos for common, everyday usage.
Perfect365 is an application that allows users to input key points and do basic portrait editing. Perfect365 offers a very simple user experience, with default views focusing on presets rather than manual editing options. Installed presets include basic structural touch-ups and a variety of makeup styles. However, users can browse online for further styles and inspiration or even create their own in manual mode. Read on to learn more about how the app works, what it’s good for (and not so good for) and my overall thoughts.
The Basic Functions
The first step in touching up any photograph is to import the photo and adjust the key points. Perfect365 does a pretty good job of getting the key points set up accurately, but some points definitely need adjustments. There is a guide to make sure that you know where the key point should be placed, so it’s a very simple process.
Mapping key points.
Once the key points are set up, you can check out any of the presets to try out different structural corrections and makeup styles. The majority of the presets are different types of makeup as this is definitely the predominant focus of the application.
Basic makeup done with presets.
For the most user-friendly experience, you will definitely want to stick with the presets. These tend to do the least amount of structural damage while definitely improving the look and adding some fun makeup. If you are tired of the presets or can’t find the right look but don’t know where to start, check out the online gallery for more inspiration and an added variety of looks. Registered users can download additional presets at this time.
The online gallery – inspiration and further downloads.
Advanced Uses
For advanced users, the first step is to check out the manual mode, which greatly expands the possibilities. There you can change just about every option you can think of, from the basics like blush and lip color to advanced settings like colored contacts and eyelash length.
The basic settings definitely work the best, as many of the “advanced” settings have little to no obvious impact on the photo at hand. To check the original in comparison with the edited photo, there is a before and after button which allows you to change from the original image to the edited by simply hovering.
I do wish there was a way to have the original and edited images side by side as it’s hard to get a good idea of what works and doesn’t without that layout.
Experimenting with manual mode.
Within the manual settings you can also play around with some edits to the facial structure, including cheek lifts, nose enhancement and facial slimming. This is definitely the weakest part of the program. Sometimes these edits work, but more often than not they do random things to your face, from adding unnecessary shadows to exaggerated slimming.
The settings don’t seem to take into account the light present in the picture, so while it works ok for shots that are straight on, it’s not good for images tilted to either side or at strange angles. On a side note, manual mode is also where I discovered that the makeup side of the program doesn’t work well with glasses, so remove those before taking a picture.
A good round of facial structure edits with a front-facing photo.
Once you have a photo that you like it’s easy to save and share. You can add all of your favorites to a collection in the program by simply clicking “I like it” at the top. If you wish to share your picture, it’s easy to export to Flickr, Facebook and Twitter. If you own the full version of the program you can print and save at any resolution up to the original resolution, although free users are limited to a resolution of 600×600 pixels.
Sharing final images.
Finally, it is also worth mentioning that the application offers the ability to detect multiple faces in one image. In fact, the app can detect up to 21 faces even if some are tilted, twisted or otherwise obscured.
My Thoughts
When I first started playing with the software, I was quite impressed and continue to be impressed with the app’s abilities to soften skin and add dramatic makeup. The application definitely seems to be geared towards women interested in experimenting with different looks and it certainly does a great job of that. There aren’t really any features geared towards men, so while you can do some basic blemish removal, there isn’t much more you can do, particularly with the not so great facial structure tools.
The tools present in this application make it easy to use, whether you are a computer expert or a novice user. Just about anyone can pick up this program and try out a few different looks.
It’s definitely best used for simple edits and experimenting with makeup, and not so great for editing male photos or facial structures in general. It’s also great for pranks, as it’s easy to add super dramatic makeup to any image. All in all, it offers a free version that’s pretty fun to play around with and definitely gave me a few laughs (in a good way). What are your thoughts? Would you consider using the program? Share below!