![]() It’s an intimidating program to learn, though many folks, myself included, find the interface a bit daunting.Įasier to learn is Paint.NET, a powerful photo editor that started as an undergraduate college senior design project mentored by Microsoft. The fact that it’s free is pretty nifty, as is its comprehensive array of features. ![]() The successor to the Photo Gallery program that came with Windows Vista, Windows Live Photo Gallery has a photo organizer, basic photo editing, and one of the best panoramic stitching tools in the world.Īs a small army of fans will attest, GIMP is a superb Photoshop replacement. I’ve recommended Windows Live Photo Gallery many times, for example. ![]() But free is not a dirty word in the world of photo editing: There are a slew of excellent programs that won’t cost you a penny. As a result of this poll, I have decided to continue using Photoshop Elements as my primary demonstration tool-a majority of you are using it, after all-but I will also occasionally write about other programs, especially free photo editors, to help you add those programs to your personal toolkit.Īll too often you get what you pay for, so there’s good reason to steer clear of free software. Voters left 136 comments, and I have read them all. The bottom line: Thank you very much for taking the time to vote and for leaving feedback. GIMP garnered 8 percent of the vote, and Paint.NET had the final 3 percent. Two free downloads-Paint.NET and GIMP-have a very vocal fan base (at least in the Digital Focus Comments and my e-mail inbox), so I included those programs in the poll as well. Of course, these are far from the only photo editing programs available. The next most popular photo editor is Corel Paint Shop Pro, with 27 percent of the votes. On to the results! With over 1200 votes in, Adobe Photoshop Elements is the clear winner, preferred by readers 62 percent of the time. So, I’m sorry-but I really do need to write about just one program at a time. I’ve had to create tutorials in the past that explained how to accomplish a task using several different programs, and it always ends up being distressingly confusing. I’m afraid that’s just not practical not only would it be very difficult to write such a newsletter, but I can also assure you that it would be almost incomprehensible to read. The specific menu commands and keystrokes might vary from program to program, but in principle you can apply all the stuff I talk about to virtually any good photo editing program without a lot of trouble.Ī lot of you have asked me to explain procedures using two or three programs, so all of the most common options are covered each week. Consequently, I recently asked Digital Focus readers to vote on their favorite photo editing software to help me choose which program to use as a guide when explaining photo editing techniques.īefore I get to the results, let me point out that no matter which program I write about, you can apply the general instructions that I give in Digital Focus to any photo editor. Since I spend so much time explaining photo editing techniques like working with layers and removing backgrounds from photos, it’s important that you can apply what I write about into your own life, using your software. I am thankful that many of you find value in my weekly photo tips and tricks, and I know from e-mail that at least some of you have been reading Digital Focus for nearly the whole time. My first issue, way back in 2001, was about taking your digital camera underwater. I don’t consider myself especially sentimental, but it occurred to me recently that I’m in my ninth year of writing Digital Focus.
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