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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Sept 25, 2021 13:00:57 GMT
Some months ago, somebody recommended a free photo editing software, but can't remember who it was or what the original subject was. I have Adobe Photoshop 4 (yes that old) on our pc, but my husband usually uses that - especially when I want to play with some photo editing. I have looked on line, but would prefer not to download something without some idea of whether it is any good.
Anyone got anything they can recommend please?
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Post by MTRuth on Sept 25, 2021 13:14:16 GMT
It was probably pic monkey but I think that is no longer free. You perhaps can get a free trial of it but you would have to investigate beforehand. I liked the program because it was free and you didn't have to download anything and it did the basics fairly simply.
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Sept 25, 2021 13:15:19 GMT
Bother. Thanks Ruth
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Post by lyn on Sept 25, 2021 22:20:54 GMT
Yes. PicMonkey was good ... until it was 'new and improved' and not free. I paid a year's subscription but it was a waste of money for me.
If you get on with photoshop, you could try 'GIMP'. It's free but too complicated for me I'm afraid.
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Sept 26, 2021 9:07:45 GMT
Thanks Lyn. I had a look on line for free software and I came across the tecradar website and this page in particular: www.techradar.com/uk/best/free-photo-editor Gimp is top of their list but I agree that it looks too complicated - I didn't use many of the Photoshop features - couldn't understand them! I had a look at their report about Paint.NET here www.techradar.com/uk/reviews/paintnet. I've asked my take pc "doctor" for his advice on this. I'll report on his findings and the software - if I get it.
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Post by lyn on Sept 26, 2021 11:41:35 GMT
Yes, all I need is to be able to crop, straighten and re-size photos and perhaps add some text to them. And annoyingly that's what the old free version of PicMonkey used to do easily.
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Post by Shepherdess on Sept 26, 2021 15:31:31 GMT
I use a Photo Pad. There is a free version but it is very cheap to buy. It is quite good and I am sure it can do a lot more than I know how to do. MOstly I am cropping and resizing but there is a lot more it can do. they have how-to videos available I just never seem to get to them.
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Post by flights on Sept 27, 2021 7:59:46 GMT
I use Photoshop but I know lots of people who swear by Canva which is easy to use and you can do all sorts of things for displays for promotion too
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Post by Shepherdess on Sept 27, 2021 16:45:36 GMT
My son uses gimp and thinks it's great and does graphic stuff for other people. Cava looks interesting I m going to have a go with it.
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Post by MTRuth on Sept 27, 2021 16:48:52 GMT
I used to use Canva with the store social media. It was really handy for those types of posts. It's not technically a photo editing software but it should do most of the basics.
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Sept 27, 2021 17:06:30 GMT
My tame pc man has had a look at Paint.NET and as a result I have now had it installed on my laptop. It does seem to have a lot of the tools that my old version of Photoshop (which is on our main computer) has so I think that I shall be able to do what I need to with it (when I want/need to rather than when the pc is free), once I've had a practice. I intend to use it to sort out the pictures for my next post if I can. Thanks for everyone's feedback on my original question.
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Post by caterina on Sept 27, 2021 19:46:13 GMT
This is a very interesting post, as I used to have gimp and never understood how to use it, apart from simple stuff like cropping. I swear that I truly tried, but it just was totally over my head, and people used to say that it was easier than (or just as easy as) photoshop!
If I could find a simpler one to use, I would be grateful. Please, let us know how you get on with this new one. :-)
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Sept 27, 2021 22:07:18 GMT
This is a very interesting post, as I used to have gimp and never understood how to use it, apart from simple stuff like cropping. I swear that I truly tried, but it just was totally over my head, and people used to say that it was easier than (or just as easy as) photoshop! If I could find a simpler one to use, I would be grateful. Please, let us know how you get on with this new one. :-) I suggest you have a look at the website which I mentioned in the 3rd message I posted above. www.techradar.com/uk/best/free-photo-editor They go into detail about the ones they consider the best. Gimp is apparently as complicated as Adobe Photoshop, and is actually at the top of their list but they do indicated that it is probably only suitable for people who are really serious about digital photography and digital editing. I'll certainly let you know how I get on with Paint.NET. It does have some tools which are similar to Photoshop's, like a clone stamp, which enables you to recolour pixels. I usually use that to take out of a picture things like telegraph poles and wires. There's also an eraser tool which will actually remove pixels so that you can completely remove that part of the picture you don't want, leaving you to be able to fit in a new background. I really taught myself how to use our old version of Photoshop by trial an error, and will probably do the same with Paint.NET. You can spend hours doing it - another version of going down the rabbit hole!
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Sept 28, 2021 9:46:48 GMT
I've just started down the Paint.NET. rabbit hole and found this page on their Forum (seems to be similar to this one) forums.getpaint.net/forum/18-tutorials-publishing-only/ which looks to be very helpful. Haven't had chance to look through it yet - I really must get dressed!
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