Free Photo Editors

1. 88

   DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years ago

   What are your recommendations?
   
   I've looked at Picasa, PicMonkey, and can't find the other one folks mention, "piknik" or something like that--maybe I have the spelling wrong?  (I'm a good speller, and not good with sussing out "alternate" spellings...LOL)
   
   What I want to be able to do is make collages--which function seems beyond my brainpower with Photoshop.

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   1. 94

      Glimmer Twin Fanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I use Fotor and I like it, only wish it had more fonts to choose from.  I have a Mac, not sure if that makes a difference or not.

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      1. 88

         DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Ah, thanks Glimmer Twin Fan--I'm on a PC....and I don't know enough about it to know which work on which platforms, either....

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      2. 40

         luvtoowriteposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I have a Mac also... I have been using Pixtr. I wonder if Fotor is any better?

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         1. 94

            Glimmer Twin Fanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I've never heard of Pixtr, but will take a look.  I like Fotor (probably because I know how to use it) but it definitely has it's limitations.  I would love more fonts and a few other options that it cannot do.
            
            I wonder if Gimp that has been mentioned here works on Macs?
            
            I'm not tech savvy and once I get used to something and know how to do it I don't like to change, but I really would love more options.
            
            Good question with lots of helpful answers.

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            1. 59

               Lifeinthelouposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I just canceled my subscription with adobe photoshop. I hated the Creative Cloud software. I thought it was a great deal until I couldn't open PS CC. It was a real disappointment. I'm going to try Foto, but am thinking about buying FX Photo Pro. Had you any experience with FX. I'm using Pixtr because you don't have to download the program to use it and it's user friendly.

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               1. 87

                  Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  How sophisticated do you need to get?    I find Paint.NET does everything I need, but then I'm not that sophisticated:
                  
                  http://www.getpaint.net/
                  
                  You do have to download it to your computer but it's not a huge program and personally, that works for me because my connection is slow.  GIMP is another downloadable one. 
                  
                  I don't have experience of any of the online options.

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            2. 74

               Sushma Webberposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Yes there is GiMP for macs. I have it on my machine.

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               1. 94

                  Glimmer Twin Fanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Thanks!

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   2. 54

      descentiongalposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Try gimp shop. It has about a thousand features but an equal number of great youtube tutorials. I went from 0 knowledge to being able to produce black and white pics with a single object in color. Its a great program.

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      1. 60

         BigBlue54posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         That's the one I would recommend as a replacement for Photoshop

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   3. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I use Paint:
      
      http://www.getpaint.net/index.html
      
      It doesn't have all the features of some of the others, but for me the big advantage is that it's a lot easier to understand!
      
      It's also a program you can download on your own PC, not something you have to use online - and with my slow connection, that's a big plus.

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      1. 88

         DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         paint?  Isn't that pre-installed with  Windows?? I have paint...maybe that's a different one???

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         1. 87

            Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, it's a different one.   The one that  comes with Windows isn't even by the same company.   The program is actually called paint.NET but the website is getpaint.net

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            1. 88

               DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               OIC.  Thank you, Marisa!

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   4. 73

      Twilight Lawnsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I need help in the simplest work with photos and script on same, so can give no advice, but would like someone to take me by the hand and teach em.
      Mwah!

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   5. 93

      Sherry Hewinsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Gimp is available for Mac, and for Linux as well. in case anybody needs to know. If you don't like Photoshop you probably won't like Gimp either though, their tools are pretty similar.

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   6. 60

      Mark Johannposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      For me, Picasa is still the best. But for a better look and have a natural look. PS is always the best, only it is a bit complicated compared to Picasa.

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2. 92

   Jayne Lancerposted 9 years ago

   I like the online photo editors http://www. sumopaint.com/app/ and http:// pixlr.com/editor/.

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3. 92

   Jayne Lancerposted 9 years ago

   Is the one you're looking for called 'Picnik'? http://www. ribbet.com/photo-editor-like-picnik

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   1. 88

      DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Ah, thank you, Jayne!  I'll look those up, as well, and thanks for the "correct" spelling of the "Picknik" utility.  ;-)

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      1. 92

         Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         The Picnik 'kookiness' feature looks interesting. I wanted to do something like that a while ago, but couldn't figure out how with the editing software I was using.

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4. 75

   WriteAngledposted 9 years ago

   Picasa makes collages of various types.
   https://support.google.com/picasa/topic/1689865

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   1. 88

      DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks WriteAngled and everyone!  Much obliged!

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5. 60

   BigBlue54posted 9 years ago

   Here's the link to GIMP
   
   http://www.gimp.org/

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6. 67

   sehrmposted 9 years ago

   I use pixlr because it is simple and online (and free, of course)

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7. 89

   JessBrazposted 9 years ago

   I like to use picmonkey.. Just started using it not too long ago and it's pretty easy to use.. and free... so it gets my vote.
   
   For making graphics, I've used piktochart.com .. they've got a lot of free options in there. The only thing I don't like, they put a little "created in piktochart" image on the bottom of all your graphics.. You can upgrade to a premium version and your stuff isn't tagged.

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8. 90

   LCDWriterposted 9 years ago

   I just wrote a step by step tutorial about how to edit pictures using Paint with illustrated guides if you're interested.  It's on my profile page.  It's fairly easy to learn and usually installed on most PCs so that is a plus.

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   1. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      That's for the basic Windows-supplied program called Paint.   I find it a bit too restrictive and prefer Paint.NET - which, confusingly, is a totally different program.   It's free to download and not as complicated as Gimp but can still do most things.

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      1. 90

         LCDWriterposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Isn't that funny that they have the same name!

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         1. 88

            DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            yes--you would think there would have been a copyright complaint.....

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   2. 73

      Twilight Lawnsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      LCDwriter, I want to try my hand at 'Paint' so that I can create a cover for my e-book and was excited to read that  you had created a hub on the subject, but I've looked through your list of hubs (Wow!  Very impressive) and can't find it.  Could you give me the name or the link, please?
      Thank you,
      Ian

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9. 89

   WryLiltposted 9 years ago

   Picmonkey lets you do collages. Instead of opening a file, click on the collage option.

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10. 59

    paradigmsearchposted 9 years ago

    
    
    Disregard pic. I'm in the midst of an image experiment here. And so far it's not working...
    
    Edit. And Happy Monday Morning.
    
    Edit2: And here's my photo editor contribution. https://pixlr.com/editor/ Real deal.

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    1. 88

       DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Ah--a lovely photo of an alien"gray" on a gray day. 

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       1. 59

          paradigmsearchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          
          
          Apparently there is not a way to successfully transfer a transparent background image directly from one webpage to another (excluding the actual editing site of course). Oh, well.

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          1. 88

             DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             I looked at the pixlr link you gave; its icons look nearly identical to photoshop....haven't tried to use it yet, but PS has such a steep learning curve that after a good 8 years using it, I'm still no more than an amateur.

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             1. 92

                Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                I love Pixlr. You just have to spend time playing with it. You could also try sumopaint.com, which I think is a little easier to use.

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11. 85

    lovebuglenaposted 9 years ago

    I haven't done collages so not sure how that's even done in photo editing software but you can try GIMP2. It is free and may allow you to do what you need to do.

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12. 67

    sehrmposted 9 years ago

    For collages, you can easily use any of the free editing software available already mentioned (I am partial to pixlr myself for relatively simple edits) or there is also an pnline adobe application (free) that is ideal for layout assemblage and collage applications (if this still exists...)

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