Photo Editing Software - Comments

Bob, one of the most useful photo organizers around is free; this is Google's Picasa. Adobe has a free edition also. GIMP is great but most photographers who want to do serious graphics will have to spend around a century note. Paint Shop Pro is a terrific program for around $90 and reported to be the 2nd most popular graphics program world wide. Your suggestion about the Mac program is sound. Harold Heim's plug in site is a great source for plug ins.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I've used PaintShop for years, but only the Jasc versions. Corel bought the product, and I've heard they ruined it, like other software they've acquired. Too bad...

Bob, I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to mention it, but there is a prgramme called PICASA. It is part of Google. It is a free programme and I swear by it. It does all the basics along with the adding of text collages and lots more. I love your newsletters by the way . I have got a lot out of them.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Of course you can mention it... that's why we're all here! Thanks for bringing up Picasa, I've heard good things about it.

Re the editor's note in the first comment: I've used Paint Shop Pro for years too, and I still use it. Corel didn't ruin it: the problem is that you have to do business with Corel if you're going to use it. And Corel is nearly as hard to do business with as ACDSee is.

I was trained on PhotoShop in school so still use it. Its much cheaper to buy occasional upgrades than buy the new version. If you have some way to do it, Adobe has student pricing to get you in thats dramatically cheaper and not handicapped. Their license also allows one user to use it on 2 computers, like your workstation and laptop (or home system)
I also use some of the free tools mentioned here for specialized things - it can simply be easier. Another free tool with some great features is XNView. One tool for example creates web pages with thumbnails of selected images. You then click through to the full size. The thumbnails can be scaled to almost any size, for example, having full screen sized thumbnails of 3'x4' blueprints. Very handy and fast.

Editor's comment about PSP is right on the money. It has been my experience that when a quality software company is swallowed up by a bigger fish, the product immediately begins a long slow death. Such is the case with JASC. I used PSP for many years and jumped on every upgrade issued including the 1st one after Corel appeared on the scene. 3-4 paragraphs is not enough to describe the issues that PSP now suffers from. Suffice it to say that the last decent PSP upgrade was version 9.0. All recent upgrades are buggy and dissappointing. I have said goodbye to a longtime friend.

We use Vicmans photo editor at school along with some freebie plug - ins. This has now become an excellent freeware package.

Dealing with Corel is not a problem in the UK, where there's a different distributor; so I use Paint Shop Pro for complicated stuff. But the trouble is, it's become such a complex programme, there's a sharp learning curve which rules it out for quick and easy jobs. I also use Serif Photoplus (they're an annoying company who keep trying to sell you stuff, but their software is wonderful and startlingly cheap) and for quick, easy fixes I either do it in Serif PagePlus (a DTP program, but you can do your graphics editing quickly and simoply there, then click "Export as graphic" when you're done) or in Polyview, an old, dependable, unassuming but startlingly powerful program I've depended on for years.

I know the price tag for Photoshop is steep, but once you have the program, you can enjoy a lifetime of learning and exploring its capabilites. You can start with the simple functions, like cropping, rotating,etc. that are really simple to use, but then you can gradually, at your own speed, add to your ability to use more advanced features. It can be a wonderful hobby, and there are limitless tutorials, many free, that are available on the Internet.

EDITOR'S NOTE: And a lifetime of upgrades to pay for, too?

I have used a number of photo editing software programs in the past and have found Picasa does a nice job and is free.

I own Adobe Photoshop but rarely use it. It's way too complicated for most tasks. If you have hours and hours of free time to learn this program, then go for it. If you want to edit and be done with it, look elsewhere. I've been using an old version of Microsoft's Picture it Express and it edits photos better and faster than Photoshop any day. If you really must use Photoshop, buy an old version on Ebay for $20. It's 95% the same program.