Simply put, photo editing software and tools can make you a better photographer. Not only will they let you correct flaws, clean up and crop pictures and improve the image quality, but they will also let you add special and artistic effects to your photo. Most of these tools will also let you add text to pictures and let you change file formats to increase usability.
Here are some of the most popular photo editing software and tools recommended by experts.
1. Photoshop
Though this is the best known and most widely used photo editing software around; it can require a degree of training to gain proficiency using it. It can also be difficult to understand the differences between its various versions.
2. GIMP
The GNU Image Manipulation Program is an open source editing software that is available for Windows and iMac. It lets you create and edit images, icons, interface elements, web pages, graphics and lets you use an animation plugin to improve usability.
3. PhotoScape
This is photo editing software is designed to be easy and fun to use. Its simple user interface lets edit pictures taken from any camera, even a phone camera. You can organize, enhance, crop, animate, covert use clip art and screen capture using the software.
4. Ultimate Paint
This software for manipulating images is available in the paid as well as free versions. Creative drawing, enhancing, retouching, adding filters, filling, rotating, and resizing are just some of the editing tools available.
5. Serif PhotoPlus
The free version of Serif PhotoPlus has basic tools such as red eye removal, filters, special effect creating and so on, whereas the paid version offers more bells and whistles.
6. Pixen
This is open source image editing software for Mac. It is similar to Adobe Photoshop in its interface. It helps you organize parts of an image, draw, erase, edit images by layers and has a very wide color palette.
7. Photofiltre
This is a small and quick launching photo editing software with a customizable color palette, saturation and contrast buttons, filters etc.
8. Seashore
This software was developed for iMac and comes equipped with tools such as alpha channel editing, brush strokes, text, textures, gradients and multiple layer editing.
9. Picasa
This photo editor from search engine major Google is known principally for its photo-sharing tools, but it also lets you edit, organize and edit pictures.
10. Pixlr
This image editing soft ware has three versions: Playful, Efficient and Advanced, and claims to be the most popular online photo editor in the world.
