Best browser extensions for photographers

Whether you're a Chrome connoisseur or Firefox fan, these browser extensions and add-ons will enhance your online experience.

There are all sorts of browser tools available for photographers or photo-lovers, from image resizing tools to full-blown editors within your selected tab.

The plug-ins listed below are for Firefox and Chrome only, as, at the time of writing, there were hardly any photo-worthy Internet Explorer enhancements available.

Browser: Firefox

Want to preview a larger image in the same window without clicking out to a new tab? This add-on will load up a preview of the image when you hover over it, scaled to fit on your screen if it's at a higher resolution. Works on most major search and photography sites.

Browser: Firefox

A great way to learn more about photography is to peek at the exposure and camera settings for images that you like. A photograph's metadata is called EXIF data, and with this add-on you can easily see what shutter speed was used to make that waterfall's flow look like liquid silk. Exify is the nicest add-on we've encountered, as it adds an unobtrusive layer to the bottom of the image that displays the data (if applicable).

Browser: Chrome

Sometimes the advanced search from Google just isn't enough to find an image. Photo Finder adds another search bar to the corner of your Google search to find images from a certain camera, taken with a particular lens or with a specific visual attribute.

Browser: Chrome

Need some visual inspiration? This extension will show you the current National Geographic photo, complete with description and option to download a higher-resolution version as your wallpaper.

Browser: Chrome

Since the ongoing feud between Twitter and every other image sharing platform (except TwitPic) exploded, it has been hard for Instagram addicts to see photos embedded in tweets without clicking out from their newsfeed. This extension brings back inline support for Instagram photos so that you can see them displayed straight from your feed (on the web interface).

Browser: Firefox/Chrome

This one doesn't technically need an extension or add-on install, but is worth noting nonetheless. Pixlr Editor brings much of the functionality of a desktop photo-editing suite like Photoshop Elements to your browser window.

Browser: Firefox

The sad reality for many photographers is that photos can easily be stolen on the internet. Rather than manually having to reverse engineer searches on every single photo, TinEye can search around for other instances of photos online. Available by right-clicking an image, the results open in a new tab.

The official Google alternative for Chrome is Search By Image, which trawls the web giant's image results.

Browser: Firefox

Searching for that elusive stock or royalty-free image can take ages; fortunately, this add-on does it all for you. Covering the gamut of stock image libraries that can be selected or deselected from the menu, the search tool sits neatly next to the default search bar in Firefox. Unfortunately, it does open a whole bunch of tabs simultaneously to complete all the searches, but it takes a fraction of the time it would take you to do it manually.

Browser: Firefox

A plain splash page when you open a new tab in Firefox is just boring. Spice it up with one of Flickr's most interesting photos as the backdrop.

Browser: Chrome

Though Instagram has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, if your addiction shows no signs of waning, this Chrome extension lets you upload from your browser window, comment and like all the same.