Option to Photoshop? I might be cheap but is there an option to Photoshop? I just want to paint a portrait background black and it feels kind of stupid to buy a PS subscription, or a...

Boris Ekner Loc: From Sweden, living in Guatemala

I might be cheap but is there an option to Photoshop?

I just want to paint a portrait background black and it feels kind of stupid to buy a PS subscription, or a complete license, for that one task only.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Boris Ekner wrote:

I might be cheap but is there an option to Photoshop?

I just want to paint a portrait background black and it feels kind of stupid to buy a PS subscription, or a complete license, for that one task only.

GIMP or....

30 days trial for... Photoshop!

madaduff

madaduff
How about Photoshop Elements? It is presently $60 on Amazon for version 15. This price will drop probably to $30 when version 15 comes out.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

GIMP is free, it also includes a big learning curve.
Light Zone is free, includes a learning curve
If you are using a Mac, Phocus is also free, learning curve included.
--Bob

Boris Ekner wrote:

I might be cheap but is there an option to Photoshop?

I just want to paint a portrait background black and it feels kind of stupid to buy a PS subscription, or a complete license, for that one task only.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Boris Ekner wrote:

I might be cheap but is there an option to Photoshop?

I just want to paint a portrait background black and it feels kind of stupid to buy a PS subscription, or a complete license, for that one task only.

Affinity Photo not free but very affordable, it has pretty much the features you want from Photoshop including hosting Photoshop plugins like the now free Nik Collection. Now it is also available for Windows and runs on any Mac from 10.7 upwards.

charles tabb Loc: Richmond VA.

Boris Ekner wrote:

I might be cheap but is there an option to Photoshop?

I just want to paint a portrait background black and it feels kind of stupid to buy a PS subscription, or a complete license, for that one task only.

===============================================

I'll probably get yelled at here, but you might try Paint Shop Pro by Corel.
I found it easier to learn and it does most all of the things I like to do.
While it does have a "learning curve" I found not that steep.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Chasys Draw IES. Free, with a very intuitive, easy to understand layout. Comes with a nice set of practical brush tools, and can do layers and all sorts of editing tasks if necessary. I turn to Chasys often because of the extensive paint options. In my opinion, paying for software just to paint a background is like throwing money out the window for no good reason.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

blackest wrote:

Affinity Photo not free but very affordable, it has pretty much the features you want from Photoshop including hosting Photoshop plugins like the now free Nik Collection. Now it is also available for Windows and runs on any Mac from 10.7 upwards.

Just started using and I like it.

Racmanaz Loc: Sunny Tucson!

My question is, what software are you utilizing now to edit your images yet does not have the option to execute the task of painting backgrounds?

Boris Ekner Loc: From Sweden, living in Guatemala

Racmanaz wrote:

My question is, what software are you utilizing now to edit your images yet does not have the option to execute the task of painting backgrounds?

I use Lightroom and find it useful. However, with this particular picture I even+t been able to get the background dark enough and therefore need to pain it in order to get the pic Im looking for.

Ronald540 Loc: Sandy Utah

CS2 is free
Adobe gives you the key

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-get-photoshop-for-free/
I have cc but wanted to see if I could get this to work and it did.
Ron

Bill_de Loc: US

charles tabb wrote:

===============================================

I'll probably get yelled at here, but you might try Paint Shop Pro by Corel.
I found it easier to learn and it does most all of the things I like to do.
While it does have a "learning curve" I found not that steep.

Why should you get yelled at? It does just about everything PhotoShop does and maybe a few things it doesn't.
It does have a better learning process for those who want it.

A lot of people would do better spending more time learning how to use a more streamlined editing program than bumping around the halls of Adobe.

Boris Ekner Loc: From Sweden, living in Guatemala

My thanks to everyone. I have no clue of which is the best one of these free options so I went with Gimp. Looks like its doing what I want. The rest is just a learning curve that I guess I'll manage over time. Thanks again guys, much appreciated! :-)

Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

Boris Ekner wrote:

My thanks to everyone. I have no clue of which is the best one of these free options so I went with Gimp. Looks like its doing what I want. The rest is just a learning curve that I guess I'll manage over time. Thanks again guys, much appreciated! :-)

I'm glad you found something that will work for you. Although I've never used it, I understand that Gimp is a powerful editing application with many uses beyond the one you described. But, I do wonder why you were unable to complete the single task that you desired (changing/painting a background area to black) without leaving Lightroom.

Changing an area from light to dark has never been a problem. Isolating an area for the effect, however, does makes a person grateful for the tools in other applications.

I find that if I were to want to change a portion of an image from even solid white to solid black it can be done with a single stroke from a LR adjustment brush at the following settings:

(Download)

Boris Ekner Loc: From Sweden, living in Guatemala

Rick36203 wrote:

I'm glad you found something that will work for yo... (show quote)

Here's the picture before editing into B/W: