When you see an amazing picture on Instagram or on a magazine, you probably think to yourself, “wow, what an amazing capture, I’d like to visit that place one day, the scenery is so surreal.” You wouldn’t be too far away from the truth, because in reality, the way a scene appears can vary and widely depends on the camera, the type of lens, time of day, angle, and to top it off, the photo editing software that was used to delete any blemishes and make it “picture perfect.” For this reason, in this article, we will be discussing some of the various image editing software every photographer should know and use, as explained by Ismail Sirdah
Editing your photos before you send them out to your clients or post them on your website or social media, is essential. Though artists are creative, we are also perfectionists trying to make our art as beautiful and pleasing to the eye as possible. Below is a list of some of the various image editing software every photographer should know about.
GIMP:
If you’re looking for a free software, then GIMP is one of the best choices. Though it is free, it keeps the same professional quality as any of the paid software out there. It is easy to use and download and comes with features like photo enhancement, file management, photo retouch, and more.
Corel Paintshop
Pro: This is not a free software, but it is definitely worth it. The full license costs about eighty dollars. If you look for it on Amazon you can get it for about sixty. This software is one of the more popular ones and is used by both professional photographers and those barely getting familiar with the methods and software available. Some of the best features of this software is the ability to detect faces, geotagging, and high dynamic range (HDR) merging which is a method of creating luminosity as close to the way the eye sees it as possible.
Adobe Photoshop Elements:
Most everyone knows about Photoshop, but only a select few photographers know about and use Adobe Photoshop Elements. Another program that is not free but totally worth it, at ninety dollars it is a little more expensive than the previous, but with the same if not better features. It is a simpler version of Photoshop and you can create scrapbooks, greeting cards, and photo books if you’re looking to do so.
Canva:
Canva is a great free program that allows the user the ability to edit photos and add effects, overlay text, and similar features. You can also make logos, presentations, brochures, photo books and more. If you want the more advanced version, then you will have to pay for a monthly subscription, but like the others, it will be worth it.
In conclusion, in this article, we briefly discussed some of the different photo editing software available for both amateur and professional photographers. We didn’t have time to go into detail on other ones, but Ismail Sirdah also recommends researching and trying out Adobe Lightroom, Photoscape, Pixlr Editor, and Photo Editor by Aviary. The same way in which people have a preference for the iPhone or for a different type of android is the same way in which photographers will have a preference when it comes to selecting a photo editing software. Find the ones that give you a free seven, fourteen, or thirty-day trial and compare each one until you find the one you like.