Recommend image manipulation software

bazzabear · 12 Nov 2013 at 18:18

My wife wants 'photoshop' so that she can mess about with photos of our daughter - removing unwanted clutter in the background, that sort of thing.

She has had a look for Photoshop itself, and found it to be £600. I have to admit to knowing absolutely nothing about this kind of software. Can anyone suggest something which will fit her needs, be easy to use, and cost a lot less?

Thanks!

Lord-Jaffa · 12 Nov 2013 at 18:20

Photoshop elements?

UnworthyBean · 12 Nov 2013 at 18:25

Paint.net or Gimp would probably be my choice, Both are free.

theheyes · 12 Nov 2013 at 18:36

Lightroom can take care of little bits, within reason, and is a much more comprehensive option for somebody dealing with photos. It's not really that expensive either. The other suggested options are worth a look too.

It depends what kind of clutter you mean really. Photographers deal with distractions by seeing them before they take the picture and framing their shots accordingly. It's not a bad skill to learn to be honest and takes a fraction of the time it takes to fix things in post.

airwave99 · 12 Nov 2013 at 18:53

There's also GimpShop which makes Gimp look like Photoshop. Unfortunately it's based on an older version of Gimp, but worth a look if "being like photoshop" is important.

bazzabear · 12 Nov 2013 at 19:26

theheyes said:
It depends what kind of clutter you mean really.

Usually all the crap that she's been playing with and has thrown all over the floor just before the photo was taken!

bazzabear · 13 Nov 2013 at 13:00

Thanks for the suggestions guys - should have a bit of time today to read up on them all. May be back with questions later!

Caged · 13 Nov 2013 at 13:12

If you need to have Photoshop then it's available on subscription for £17 a month. The old non-subscription versions of the Adobe applications aren't being updated any more and are already one version out of date.

bledd · 13 Nov 2013 at 13:45

Picassa

marc2003 · 13 Nov 2013 at 17:48

Caged said:
If you need to have Photoshop then it's available on subscription for £17 a month.

**** that. £204 a year and you don't even own it? :eek:

Caged · 13 Nov 2013 at 17:52

Well the alternative used to be a lot of cash to own something that would need upgrading every two years. The new system is much better.

theheyes · 13 Nov 2013 at 18:11

bazzabear said:
Usually all the crap that she's been playing with and has thrown all over the floor just before the photo was taken!

Well Lightroom would do a decent job of cloning that stuff out, but so would GIMP for free. I'd try the free options first and see how they work out for you.

marc2003 · 13 Nov 2013 at 18:20

Caged said:
Well the alternative used to be a lot of cash to own something that would need upgrading every two years. The new system is much better.

i suppose it's fine if you need it for work/generating income. i just think it's a bit pricey for the average punter.

V4NT0M · 13 Nov 2013 at 18:31

UnworthyBean said:
Paint.net or Gimp would probably be my choice, Both are free.

Caged · 13 Nov 2013 at 18:41

marc2003 said:
i suppose it's fine if you need it for work/generating income. i just think it's a bit pricey for the average punter.

It is. It's also not marketed at or required by the average punter. This doesn't stop people thinking they need it though.

marc2003 · 13 Nov 2013 at 19:00

Caged said:
This doesn't stop people thinking they need it though.

indeed. you only have to look at desktop screenshot threads for that. it's amazing how many people use it to save those screenshots. all fully legit, i'm sure.