With the increased use of digital cameras as well as the cameras that are in smart phones, there is a need for photo editing software to take these snapshots and turn them into great photographs.
Luckily there are a number of free software programs that are currently available. These give the user a wide variety of ways to tweak and manage the photos that they take.
1. Picasa
One of the more popular programs that is used for photo sharing is Picasa. This program is made by Google and can be used through a web based version or a computer program that can be downloaded and installed for free. Picasa offers a wide variety of editing features that allow the user to touch up their photographs in many different ways.
There is also a great deal of organization available where users can manage their photo albums quite easily. Picasa can be downloaded onto Windows or Mac computers and the web based version works best on Google Chrome.
2. Picnik
Picnik is another free photo editing program. This is a web-based program that is also through Google. Picnik is more of a basic program and it allows users to add interesting and fun designs or effects to their photos. As it is primarily a web program through Google, it will run best on Google Chrome.
3. GIMP
For someone that is looking for a more robust and free photo editing program a good option would be GIMP. This program will run on Linux, Windows and Mac operating systems. GIMP is more than just a photo editing software program. It is a program that can be used to edit various forms of media and has a rather diverse layer editing function.
4. Paint.net
Paint.net is a simple to use photo editing program. It is available only for Windows computers and there is no Mac version available. It is a very straightforward program that includes a number of options such as layering. The one drawback to paint.net would be that there is no option for photo sharing or organization.
5. Windows Live Photo Gallery
For users of Windows computers, the Windows Live Photo Gallery is a good program for photo editing. It has a robust face recognition program and is simple to set up and use. The main drawback of the program is that it will only work in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
As there are a great number of free photo editing programs out there, it is just a matter of finding the one that best meets the needs of the individual user.
31 Comments
These software mentioned is simply easy to use. No other web app comes close in my opinion. IT has taken some getting used to, but I think I have managed to learn the most common tasks.
Hello, these are the best photo editing software. Thanks for sharing this. It is very useful for everyone.
Twitter: techblowup
Hi Paul, I’m using an online image editor called Pixlr. Have you tried that one yet? I wonder how it compares to some of the others. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
Twitter: Ileane
Hi Ileane. I have just heard about Pixlr, but haven’t really tried it yet. From what I read, it certainly sounds like a great tool.
My choice of desktop software – Paint.net. My choice of web app – hands down it’s Picnik.
The free photo editing software are really enjoy, my kids use to edit their pictures in picnik and paint.net, they really enjoy doing such things. There is a lot of free in the internet if you are quite keep on browsing and surfing.
You got a really useful blog I have been here reading for about a while already. I am a newbie and your success is very much an inspiration for me. Keep up the good post!
Hi there. thanks for sharing this. personally, i pick Picasa. Well I already get used to it,that’s why.
I enjoy editing my pictures in picnik, it has a nice feature and apps to apply. I didn’t try that others but I may try that later. I try to check it out! Thanks for this wonderful contribution.
My choice of desktop software – Paint.net. Sharing can always be done by uploading to Flickr or Photobucket. My choice of web app – hands down it’s Picnik. No other web app comes close in my opinion.
I have heard good things about Paint.Net, but I haven’t really given it a try. I haven’t heard too much about Picnik, and I should have a look at that one as well.
I highly recommend using Gimp. it is one of the best!!!.
I also like using GIMP. I find that for a free program, it is very powerful.
I always thought Photoshop was best and complicated. These software mentioned is simply easy to use.
Twitter: smartfatblogger
Photoshop is considered the standard, and can be complex to use. I found it overwhelming when I first started to use Photoshop, but since I have been using it for several years, I can easily do many of the photo corrections very easily. The free photo editing software mentioned in this post, may also be complex, but can pretty much do everything someone needs to a photo.
I love GIMP, its really awesome!
I like using GIMP myself. IT has taken some getting used to, but I think I have managed to learn the most common tasks.
Just watching out for you buddy
You have a great site and I would never take anything away from the knowledge that you share. Your delivery is stellar- Keep up the great work Paul!
Picassa= Picasa right??? I keep reading the misspellings over the past couple of days and now am starting to question myself.
You are correct. I’ll have to fix that. It is along the same lines as people using “loose” instead of “lose”.
looks interesting software…
but personally i preference to goggle’s Picassa
Nice post. I like to take pictures on my smart phone and I also edit the pictures with one of those application. Picassa is the easiest one and i use it several times. It’s also easy to install. With those photo editor, I think it’s always easy to edit photos and share them on Facebook.
It seems many devices, along with free software, allows you to easily edit digital photos. Many of the free applications are small enough where they can easily fit on a mobile device. Picassa has been popular for years, and currently remains popular.
I love Picnik. I use that all the time. Just so easy to use and has all the features I could ask for. Thanks for sharing!
I haven’t really use Picnik as I am a GIMP user, but if Picnik works for you, that is all that matters.
Picassa is for basic photo processing. GIMP is for more complex work.
Every task should have its own tool.
Twitter: linuxnote
GIMP is definitely complex, especially for those that haven’t used a graphics/photo editor. I have been using Photoshop for many years, so GIMP wasn’t a complex for me. Picassa is used a lot mainly because of its ease of use when it comes to editing.
Hi Paul
I have been using Paint.net for a couple of years. It is very easy to use and have a very little footprint. It is a very nice program for small everyday task. The other programs I only know by name.
Twitter: techwork_dk
I haven’t used Paint.Net, but I know about it. I mainly use GIMP as my free photo editor as I find it to be a great replacement for Photoshop.
I’m using GIMP right now, and its really cool and easy to understand, and some of other tools here, I wanted to try. I’ll be try that now. This is a new stuff for me. I will take down this 5 free editing software. thank you for sharing this. I highly appreciate it. thumbs up.
I use GIMP as my free software of choice. It has taken me some getting used to finding and performing certain actions, mainly because I am used to Photoshop, but a quick search online usually helps me find the answers.