Photo editing is an art that takes photography to the next level. As a professional photographer, it’s not just about taking great pictures — you should also know how to edit your shots in the most creative way possible. Here are a few pieces of software you can use to add effects and edit your photos.
Picasa:
Picasa is a free photo editing programme developed by Google. It lets you manage all the images stored on your disk drive, and you can also carry out simple edits within the app itself. With Picasa, you can fix red-eye and add special effects to your photos, such as sepia, black and white, soft focus and plenty more.
GIMP:
GIMP is an open-source graphic design programme, often seen as an alternative to Adobe Photoshop. It works well with all sorts of images — photographs, icons, sketches, fonts, and even layered graphic designs. GIMP is also cross-platform. Despite being free, it genuinely holds its own against many other free software programs.
Imageforge:
Imageforge is an editing programme that can pull photos in from digital cameras as well as scanning devices. The free version comes with a good range of useful filters and special effects, and it’s very straightforward to use.
FotoFlexer:
FotoFlexer is a web-based editing tool that makes editing and enhancing your digital images much easier. It works alongside a number of online photo sites, including Flickr, Picasa and PhotoBucket. FotoFlexer helps you import, resize and then save your pictures back to your computer.
Give these a try if you’re after the best free photo editing software out there. Working with these tools is a great way to build up your photo editing skills.