Gimp?

[spluloacle]

I probably should have searched but I have never been very good at that but does anyone use GIMP?

Yeah Yeah I know Adobe is good blah blah but when I am not a pro and do not need major editing I tend to lean towards extremely cheap/free :)

So anyone have GIMP? Tips for me?

[texkam]

Very powerful. Somewhat steep learning curve. YouTube is full of tutorials. Check out
Paint.NET - Free Software for Digital Photo Editing as well.

[spluloacle]

Thanks :) I have also been using Picasa and that works well and was considering Piknik as well since that was online and seemed REALLY cool. And kinda has the ability to be an online back up as well.

[Admiral_A300]

Gimp I think is CS2? or thats just what I have heard.

[rab3rd]

Try the 30 day free trial of photoshop, when the 30 days is up switch to GIMP. Then start saving your money to go buy photoshop. I tried using GIMP after using PS for the 30 days and I hated it. While it does most of the exact same things as PS and kind of looks like PS, it wasnt. I didnt like the interface or the fact that you had to go find all the plugins you wanted, then you had to choose carefully. Since its an open source code program anyone can write plugins and share them, sometimes they work sometimes they dont. In addition you wont find many books on GIMP but your choices on PS are seemingly endless.

If you know someone that is in college, get the student copy of PS. Its about 10% the cost of the full comsumer version. Its no different than the consumer version as far as content goes, and it upgrades just the same as well.

Of course you can always use light room. Lots of photogs are going that route but it doesnt have all the features that PS has.

Anyway YMMV, but thats my 2CW...

[Kalrog]

Well, I run linux so I don't have the PS option. I'm fully into the FOSS side of things (including contributing some).

With that said, I really do like GIMP. It does just about everything that PS does. It isn't better, it isn't worse, it is just different in how it accomplishes stuff. And you can get GIMPShop if you want it to look more like PS than GIMP. So that is always an option if it is a different look & feel thing. YouTube will be good for tutorials (as stated above), but there are 2 or 3 really good books out there (compared to the 2 or 3 thousand that are there for PS, but really 1 good one is enough).

You mentioned that you don't need heavy editing though. Have you looked into something more along the lines of lightroom? Typically a less powerful image editing program, but one that flows with a workflow better and performs what it can do more quickly (fewer clicks and more automation). The open source version of that is digiKam and I do 95% of my image editing there - only opening GIMP when things like cloning and liquifying are needed. If I only had one, I would rather have digiKam than GIMP.

[hue-e]

after years of using photoshop, a few days ago I decided to give gimp a day in court and I hated it. sorry if that's not very constructive, but PS is actually easier to use. while they do a lot of similar things, it seems to take twice as long to get it done in gimp.

[rab3rd]

Originally Posted by hue-e

after years of using photoshop, a few days ago I decided to give gimp a day in court and I hated it. sorry if that's not very constructive, but PS is actually easier to use. while they do a lot of similar things, it seems to take twice as long to get it done in gimp.

I agree, I found this to be true in addition to the other things I stated. I had forgotten about this issue.

[spluloacle]

Thanks for this info. We run both linux and windows here. I will look at this. and as far as PS being easier I am sure it is but it REALLY is not worth my money when I don't need it for a ton of editing. Also I am pretty patient. :) I do appreciate the input though. :)

Was trying to quote Kalrog. hit the wrong button.

[LWimages]

How about Photoshop Elements?

I used to use Gimp, until Elements came out. Then I did upgrade to a full blown Photoshop.

I think Elements is still $100 or less.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by louis24x7

how about photoshop elements?

I used to use gimp, until elements came out. Then i did upgrade to a full blown photoshop.

I think elements is still $100 or less.

+1

[texkam]

Photo editor online - Pixlr.com edit image
This is included as a cloud app in Linux Peppermint.

[Everett Quintana]

gimp is good once you get familiar with it.

there are tons of tutorials on youtube.

i say give both gimp and PS a try to see which you like better.

just my .02

[spluloacle]

Thanks for the input y'all :D

[contributor_M]

Originally Posted by Everett Quintana

gimp is good once you get familiar with it.

This.

I had GIMP and thought it was inadequate until the GIMP ninjas showed me what's up. That program can be an absolute beast, but it really depends on how much skill a person has when they are at the controls.