Inexpensive Image Editing Tools: Format your photos on a budget
We’re often asked for recommendations on image editing software that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Photoshop is fantastic, but the price tag is steep, and in fact, its strengths can also be weaknesses in that it’s actually such a powerful program that it can overwhelm the novice or intermediate user.
So, where do you turn if your needs are relatively straightforward and your budget is limited? I would recommend one of the following tools:
Picnik
Picnik is a powerful online application that allows you to upload & edit images on the fly. There is a free version but the options are rather limited; however, it might do the trick for what your client needs. The premium version starts at $2.08/month. Picnik even integrates with Flickr, Picasa & Facebook, so if your client uses those tools that might come in handy. I find it a little slow, compared to Photoshop (mostly because of the time required to upload & download files), but it’s a very good tool for people with no/little budget.
Photoshop Elements
This is a stripped-down version of Photoshop that’s perfect for what most of our clients need, which is basic photo & image editing tools for web use. It’s under $100 and provides a good chunk of the core Photoshop functionality — in some ways I would recommend it over Photoshop for basic-level users, because with fewer options it’s less confusing.
Photoshop.com
Adobe’s answer to Picnik is an online editing toolset that you can use for free; the only limitation is file storage. The free accounts comes with 2 GB of storage space for your files, and beyond that you pay an annual subscription fee that varies (anywhere from $20-$500 USD) based on the amount of storage you need.
May 18th, 2010 at 9:15 am
Why not GIMP? It’s powerful, open, costs $0, and is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
May 19th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Hi Scott,
I haven’t had a lot of luck using GIMP myself, so I’m hesitant to recommend it to others. I’ve heard many good things about it but I found it less than intuitive to use. Perhaps more importantly, though, I actually think that a lot of users are in need of a simpler set of functionality than super-powered apps like Photoshop & GIMP offer — most of our clients really only need fairly basic image editing functionality and can get overwhelmed by software that provides too many options.
I do love to use open-source software on principle, but I’ll confess that image editing has been a sticking point for me. I’m a Photoshop girl and I’ve yet to be tempted away by the open alternatives.
Just my two cents, obviously, and not a definitive judgment of GIMP by any means. Would love to hear more about what makes GIMP awesome.
June 1st, 2010 at 9:20 am
I like http://www.getpaint.net
Between that and GIMP, I can do anything I would be doing in Photoshop. Yes, sometimes I have to save one and open in the other, but they’re both free.
June 1st, 2010 at 1:19 pm
I love picnik for photo editing! I usually use GIMP to make graphics rather than edit photos, but once you get the hang of things it’s not so bad. I agree that to begin with it’s not quite as friendly. You can install plug-ins that make it more photoshop-esque too.