ISSUE 4 VOLUME 1 MAY 2007 ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF PERSONAL COMPUTER USERSsafe WHO FREQUENT THE INTERNET, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON GIST SUPPORT GROUP MEMBERS. surfing THIS MONTH WE LOOK AT PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE Photo Editing FREE Software There’s a BASIC slew of photo editing Elementary programs such as the relatively few functions they software Google’s Picasa2 (free here: offer. But that’s the problem: they out there, ranging from free to http://picasa.google.com/download/thanks.h just don’t offer enough! I like a lot ridiculously expensive and from tml ) and HP PhotoSmart of special effects available so I can laughably simple to unnecessarily Essentials 2.0 , the free program I do things like in the photo below of sophisticated. And as with many mentioned earlier, are not much my oldest granddaughter things, cost does not necessarily more robust than the free editing correlate to quality or usefulness. programs already on many systems: Microsoft Photo Editor The two extremes might be in XP or Windows Photo Gallery exemplified by the free and very in Vista. basic HP PhotoSmart Essential 2.0 ( http://www.hp.com/united- If all you want to do is something states/consumer/digital_photography/free/s like I did to the photo above of my oftware/download- thanks.html?os=Windows+Vista&idl=&relink youngest grandson Matthew that I =&hp_customer_email_submit=Download+ call “Busted” (crop or perform other HP+Photosmart+Essential+for+Windows+V basic functions such as automatic ista+%BB ) at one extreme, and the or manual balancing of color, full version of Adobe Photoshop brightness or contrast and red-eye that can run up to $1000, at the correction) all of those programs other. I will look at a few of the and a host of others usually programs available up to a price bundled with computers and/or point somewhere in the middle, printers will satisfy you. However, NOT-SO-BASIC leaving the most sophisticated and each lacks one or more feature expensive to the professionals for that makes it unusable as a which they’re intended. That’s not primary editing program in my view. The effect shown above is called to say you wouldn’t enjoy learning “Stamp” in my old editor Microsoft Adobe Photoshop or some other For example, I want the ability to PhotoDraw . The same effects are more robust and fancy graphics easily resize, save to other file often called something else in program, but my focus will be more formats (e.g. JPG, GIF. TIFF or other editors. Worse yet, until in line with what most of us need. BMP) and repair scratches or dust. you’ve pretty well mastered a Here are some of the titles that None of the three does that, even program, you can’t be certain might do the job for you. though they all do a decent job on you’re going to get the effect you want even if the both programs Vista). But there are plenty I’ve advanced Adobe PhotoShop . It is use the same term. For example, been examining that work very highly rated and can be found the “Emboss” effect in PhotoDraw beautifully in all recent Windows in various versions up to 5.0, all looks like the example on the right environments, so let’s focus on less than $100. PaintShop Pro below while “Emboss” in them. (originally from JASC and now Photo Filtre looks like the one on owned by Corel) is similarly the left: One of the fanciest, most full- “intermediate” and under $100. featured free editing programs I’ve seen is GIMP . You can download As I mentioned earlier, I have used it here but even just downloading it Microsoft PhotoDraw for quite a is more of a task than you might long time and enjoy it very much. expect. It’s almost too fancy. You Although the program has been need the both of the first two files discontinued and is no longer shown here for Windows: http://gimp- supported by Microsoft, you can win.sourceforge.net/stable.html . often find it at garage sales, thrift I don’t use GIMP primarily because stores and/or bundled with I don’t need anything quite that Microsoft Office 2000. It contains I mentioned Google’s program robust and don’t want to spend the some significant conveniences Picasa2 earlier and described it as time required in the learning curve common to most of the programs I “Basic.” It is really is quite good, to use it properly, much the same would classify as intermediate: though, much better than HP’s or reason that I don’t spend the one-click auto balancing of Microsoft’s basic album and money on huge programs like brightness, contrast, hue and/or correction programs, and should CorelDraw or Adobe Photoshop. tint, easy insertion and probably be considered “Basic+.” manipulation of text boxes, scratch Though not quite sophisticated Another very good free program I’d and dust correction and a host of enough to call “intermediate,” it consider “intermediate” is Serif other features included numerous has a couple of features not PhotoPlus , available here: special effects. These make the http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/commenc programs particularly comfortable available (at least not readily e- available) in the others. For download.asp?CommenceDownload=photo to use, especially for things like the example, it has a “Focal B&W” plus&navproduct=photoplus&Check=True montages and fake magazine feature that’s a lot of fun and unique. It simply allows to you to isolate color to a general, small area of the photo and leave the rest black and white. It also allows you to select your photos from its “filmstrip” and to load the photo for editing much more rapidly than does the other programs. INTERMEDIATE All of the programs I’ve discussed so far work well in Windows XP and Vista. However, there are a couple of very good, full-featured editors I’ve tried recently that do NOT work well in Vista. Although I cannot recommend them for that reason, if you use and plan to continue using XP for quite awhile, you might want to try Pixia (when it works it’s almost as good as Photo Filtre , but it only works to varying degrees, not for long and covers shown on this and the next never reliably in Vista) or VCW NOT FREE, BUT VERY GOOD page. Vicman’s Photo Editor (the makers of which promised me Adobe PhotoShop Elements is a The first (above) is a montage of would soon be compatible with scaled down version of the very my father and me as young student pilots, my oldest daughter MY NEW FAVORITE Or I can make it look like a classic Kim as a child, and her eldest son work of art in colored pencil on Michael. I did it in PhotoDraw But my favorite of all the free heavy paper like this: before I got very good at color programs I have seen (and that’s a lot) is a French program called balancing. Photo Filtre available right here: http://www.photofiltre.com/ The one below is of my oldest Photo Filtre just about has it all. In grandson Michael done in fact, the more I learn about the Photo Filtre. program, the more I appreciate it. Unlike the other free and many costly programs, it downloads and installs easily, it doesn’t taunt you with constant ads about an upgrade or other products, it doesn’t take a programming or digital graphics arts degree to use and it has everything I need. They also make a superb shareware “Studio” version that costs 25 Euros after 30 days, but I saw too But, no mater how many effects little difference between versions to justify buying it. I do like to any one program may offer , you donate to companies that continue will inevitably find that you prefer to make useful freeware like this some effects in another program. available, and I have done that for So you will often want to keep a their free version because it’s few editors on your system just for excellent and clearly robust those special needs. For example, enough for most users. I’m certain I’ll be keeping MS Additionally, it has more special PhotoDraw because of how much effects than I’ve seen anywhere I like the oil painting effect in that except in the most advanced and program, as illustrated in this photo costly programs. And, unlike in of my son-in-law Jeff walking my those programs, invoking the then-two-year-old granddaughter feature is a simple process, even Phoebe to the water’s edge: The next one (below) is of my though each one also allows youngest daughter Leah using considerable flexibility within the PhotoDraw. effect. That is, you can easily adjust the intensity or other aspects of each effect. And unlike almost all photo editing programs I’ve tried, it’s unbelievably fast opening and saving files, and rendering each feature. Sacr ẻ Bleu, they’ve really got a winner here! With Photo Filtre I can choose to give special emphasis to a special photo like this one of my youngest granddaughter Paige, by, for example, making it simply grayscale: SUMMARY The advanced programs, exemplified by Adobe PhotoShop and CorelDraw , are well beyond the needs of most users. But those costly programs and others like them that support a “layers” concept, like the free GIMP , are fascinating and full of possibilities. But Photo Filtre does that and a lot They also involve a humongous more, and (altogether now) it’s Note: Please learning curve, another reason FREE! That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout! excuse my they don’t suit me I prefer the indulgences balance of cost, utility and ease of this month, use.