GIMP – Poor Man’s Photoshop

Website design By BotEap.comMany digital cameras come with a utility to download photos from your camera to your computer. Often the photo-editing software that came bundled with your camera isn’t effective for your post-production workflow, or you’ve been given a trial version of a rather expensive software application. As an alternative, many people purchase a ready-to-use photography package that can cost almost as much as the camera itself. There is a solution that will cost you absolutely nothing except a little time with a software application called the GNU Image Manipulation Program, more affectionately known as GIMP.

Website design By BotEap.comGIMP is available for free for Unix, Windows, and Macintosh. This is not a scaled down version of an expensive application and there are no limitations to using the program. You may be wondering how good a free software package could be. After all, if it was that good, why wouldn’t they charge for it? That’s an excellent question and I’m very glad you asked it. GIMP was originally packaged for the open source Unix environment, which means that very talented programmers put in a global effort to create and package the application. This was a truly altruistic effort and the package was never intended to be placed on the commercial market.

Website design By BotEap.comIf you’ve used Photoshop in the past, you’ll immediately notice how familiar GIMP feels. The toolbox, layers, and channels are in relatively the same locations you’re used to. A quick tour of the menu functions and you’ll find everything to match and very similar language. It’s almost like traveling between the US, the UK and Australia; they all speak the same language, but it takes a little getting used to.

Website design By BotEap.comThe GIMP package not only feels like Photoshop, but also behaves in the same way. GIMP will accommodate most of your post-editing that you’ll likely need. For example, you can add layers to edit elements, use curves and levels to quickly correct colors, apply masks to edit and copy elements, apply a variety of filters, remove red-eye, crop, you name it. with GIMP.

Website design By BotEap.comAlready sold on GIMP? I hope so, because you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain by using this app.