Summary and Other Photo Freeware
In summary, wait a minute! This was a very short section compared to the others on this blog! Well, GIMP turned out to be so amazing that I stopped and I don’t see any reason to go on with this section. Microsoft Photo Editor is good for small jobs. Serif PhotoPlus can’t be used for commercial purposes, so you may as well forget it. Picasa is a good alternative to Adobe Lightroom. I’m not much of a photo person. If you are, then go ahead and look up these programs below.
Because there are a TON of other photo programs I didn’t look at:
CinePaint - A GIMP hack, that was used in some Hollywood films. Not available on Windows. Go to http://www.cinepaint.org/
Paint.NET - Windows only and uses the .NET framework, so I wasn’t going to add it, but a reader named Larry emailed me to correct the error of my ways. Here’s his own words:
“I have been using this tool for a couple of years now and it is a lot like earlier versions of Photoshop with lots of cool tools. The software gets regular updates and new tools are added regularly. They also have a forum that is loaded with tips and tutorials.”
Thanks Larry! I also read somewhere that someone recommended Paint.NET for intermediate level image editors, while GIMP is more for the pros. Go to http://www.getpaint.net/index.html
Adobe Photoshop Express - I found this through Photoshop TV. It’s a free online thing where you upload pictures to the web, edit them and share through email. Sounds useful for Aunt Mildred to show you the latest family reunion shots. Let her know! Go to https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html
Some more things to check out:
FastStone MaxView - http://www.faststone.org/FSMaxViewDetail.htm
Cam2pc - http://www.nabocorp.com/cam2pc/
FotoFlexer - http://fotoflexer.com/
IrfanView - http://www.irfanview.com/
Wanokoto - http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds
The page is in Japanese, but you can figure it out. Makes photos look old!
Optik Verve Labs’ Virtual Photographer - http://www.optikvervelabs.com/
Photoshop plugin
Shutterfly - http://www.shutterfly.com/ Another online one like Photoshop Express
Uticasoft’s Image Browser Arctic - http://www.uticasoft.com/
Implied By Design’s Copyright It! - http://www.impliedbydesign.com/copyright-it.html
This one’s really useful! You add a hard-to-remove copyright on your online photos to show credit when you put them on a website, making them harder for hackers to steal and use.
High Dynamic Range/Full Dynamic Range for Photos
These programs are for minimizing exposure difference in your photos so that they look great, making the Washington Monument AND the bright sky behind properly exposed. Nifty!
Qtpfsgui - http://qtpfsgui.sourceforge.net/
Photomatix - http://www.hdrsoft.com/
FDR Tools - http://www.fdrtools.com/front_e.php
easyHDR - http://www.easyhdr.com/
Photo Resizing
Because sometimes, that’s all you need to do.
adionSoft’s Fast Image Resizer - http://adionsoft.net/fastimageresize/
Fotosizer - http://www.fotosizer.com/
