![]() ![]() The Pixlr Express and Pixlr Editor web apps will run in most modern browsers as long as you have Flash 10 or above installed they offer a significant number of integrated filters along with limited layer support. ![]() Layer masks tool is cumbersome to use at first.Ī browser-based alternative to Photoshop, Pixlr is owned by well-known software developers Autodesk and is quite robust when it comes to available features and allows for progressive editing and enhancing as well as original image design. As always, download at your own risk when dealing with repositories not from Adobe. With that said, if you're only looking for the very basics in a raster-based graphics editor then GIMP may actually be a little too much and you may benefit from one of the simpler alternatives on our list.Īvailable in almost twenty languages for the Linux, Mac, and Windows platforms, GIMP recognizes almost all file formats that you'd expect from a paid editor like Photoshop including GIF, JPEG, PNG and TIFF among others, as well as partial support for PSD files (not all layers may be readable).Īlso similar to Photoshop, a large number of external plugins are available that enhance GIMP's functionality further. While not always as intuitive as Photoshop in terms of functionality and design, GIMP makes up for some of its perceived clumsiness with several in-depth tutorials for both beginning and advanced users that help you use the majority of its components with little or no pre-existing knowledge of the open-source application. With a very active developer community that has historically listened to user requests and feedback, this free option continues to advance as raster editor technology expands. They say that you get what you pay for, but in GIMP's case, that idiom doesn't necessarily ring true. One of the most full-featured Photoshop alternatives, GIMP (short for GNU Image Manipulation Program) offers such a large set of features that even the most complex tasks can be achieved without any strain on your budget. You may also be interested in our Adobe Premiere Elements 8 review.Limited support for layers, macros, and custom shapes.Ĭluttered UI with annoying floating windows. Microsoft DirectX 9-compatible display driver.In case you're wondering whether Elements 8 will work on your machine, the system requirements, as specified by Adobe, are: Who would you entrust your entire photo library to? Adobe and Microsoft have very different reputations as regards the effectiveness and reliability of their software. We like that a great deal.Īs for free alternatives, there's no comparison, even taking into account the nifty bits in Windows 7. You can flick back and forth between Quick Fixes and manual adjustment in the same place, rather than having to hunt through the program. There's plenty of competition in this market but Elements 8 holds its own, thanks to its friendly interface and seamless mix of automated and manual tools. Version 7 owners, on the other hand, will probably be very happy with what they've got - until next year, at least. The latest Elements Organizer is a treat and the main program makes working with your photos extremely easy. In fact, you can mark up people to remove from the image as you drag on the Recompose handles.Īnyone with a copy of Photoshop Elements prior to last year's version 7 should be delighted with the new release. If the program's automatic guesswork proves unsatisfactory, you can manually mark up which parts of the image to preserve and which to eliminate (as shown in the example below). Using the Recompose function in Elements 8, you can push them closer together without distorting their appearance. Say you've taken a photo of two people standing apart from each other. Elements 8 offers a remedy for poorly composed photos that lets you eliminate the background bits you don't want. In the real world of last-minute holidays and nights in the pub, we just shoot what we can and hope for the best. Good photography is all about composition, apparently. But the freedom this feature affords is brilliant: all you have to do is rattle off a couple of snaps each time - one with the flash on, and one without - in the knowledge that Elements 8 will sort it all out later. If the shots aren't strongly similar in composition, you can get some odd-looking mixes.
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