Ashampoo’s Photo Commander 14 is so easy to use.
With cameras being readily accessible these days on phones, tablets and of course digital cameras everybody has hundreds of photos stored on a varying array of devices. I was asked to try out Photo Commander 14 from Ashampoo which is a fully comprehensive software suite to manage, optimise and present your photos and is suitable for beginners and experts. After using it for a couple of days I am very impressed with its functionality and ease of use, when it comes to editing and enhancing photos I am very much a beginner.
As well as enhancing photos, removing red-eye, adding effects or even removing people or objects from photos you can create custom calendars, frame your photos, create invitations, collages, cards, vignettes and more, all in a few clicks of the mouse.
Summary:
• Creative photo editor with numerous filters, effects and settings
• Automatic and manual photo optimisation
• Manage large photo collections easily with filters and groups
• Produce slideshows with individual sounds and music
• Create cards, frame and vignettes
• Create calendars, HTML albums and collages with ease
• Convert between common image formats
• Transform photo perspectives
• Jump lists for faster feature access
• Cut out and copy multiple objects at once
• Improved scan and save dialogs
• New frame centre with support for collages and different perspectives
• Enhanced photo import
• Create HTML albums with different styles
• Intuitive metadata editor
Downloading and installation took around 15 minutes. On opening on the program the work area is split into 3 panels;
Folder Area: displays all the folders on your computer so you can easily access where all your photos may be stored.
Content Area: shows thumbnail images of your pictures within the folder you are viewing.
Preview Area: this is where a preview of the picture/video you are working on is displayed.
To start find the folder where your pictures are stored (using the Folder Area). Once you have clicked on the folder all the pictures within it are displayed as thumbnails in the Content Area. Now find the photo you want to use and click it, it is now displayed in the Preview Area ready for you to start working on.
To start with I selected my photo and the clicked on the Frame/Card option. For my first attempt I used the Greeting Card option and my photo was added leaving me to position in better and adding text (as pictured below). This was done in a few simple clicks without any knowledge of the program or using help/tutorial files.
Greeting Card
You also have the option to create a Frame or Vignette with lots of different templates available (samples below).
Frame (Left) / Vignette (Right)
You can also insert text and objects onto your photo and move them around by dragging into the position you need them. You can also add effects such as blur, sharpen, noise, and lots more all with a simple click of the mouse.
Also in lots of photos I have there is a lot of Red-Eye and Photo Commander 14 has options to remove automatically or if you need that bit more control, manually. This option is accessible from the toolbar once you have selected the photo you are working on.
There is even an option to remove scratches and objects from the photo (although I haven’t been very successful with this so far, so more practice need I think).
Should you wish to share your photo albums with friends and family you can create and save slideshows on CD/DVD so recipients can just pop into their players and view.
So far after using Photo Commander 14 for a couple of days I am very impressed. It is so easy to use, the layout is uncluttered so you can easily work on your photos and it is very fast to use. When it comes to photo editing I am a complete novice but this program makes it much more accessible for novices to create better photos, slideshows, cards etc… and as well as saving your finished piece to your computer you can share straightaway from within the program by email, webmail, Ashampoo Web, Facebook and Picasa all in a few clicks of the mouse.
There is plenty of help available on the Help system (pressing F1) for those that do require it. The only thing I would like to see added to this would be tutorial videos for some of the more advanced functions, but that’s just a tiny addition that I think would benefit novices like me.
So overall I would recommend Photo Commander for the novice and intermediate users and while I’m no expert I think experts may find some of the functions very useful too.
With an RRP of £39.99 this is a very small price to pay for a powerful piece of software to create professional looking photos and improve your photo album.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £39.99
Available to buy from Ashampoo here.
System Requirements:
Windows® 7, Windows® 8 / 8.1, Windows® 10 with a minimum screen resolution of 1280×1024.
Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy of the software for the purposes of writing a review. My review is honest and impartial.
