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GIMP
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Jan 4, 2014 09:50:15   #
lathropski Loc: Boise, ID
 
The GIMP tutorials Tramsey is referring to were posted by Shakey.

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Jan 4, 2014 09:50:35   #
PoppaT Loc: Sebring, FL
 
I'm getting the impression from a number of different sources that GIMP is a great tool, but has a high learning curve. The fact that the online Users Manual goes on and on and on tells a lot!!

I'm not into graphic design so maybe GIMP is not the way to go yet. I see some good things about Lightroom, and since I'm a Mac user, Aperture. As a Lightroom user, what are your thoughts?

Thanks!!
PoppaT

Psergel wrote:
The fact that something like GIMP is available for free is almost unbelievable but my two cent is that you will find yourself spending more time learning gimp than you will learning photography.

I have used gimp to accomplish some pretty complicated photo editing work however I always used a tutorial to step me through what I was doing. I never really learned it. It is very powerful and very complex. It is like Photoshop without the polish. It is not photography specific. By that I mean that it wasn't designed specifically for photo editing. Many of the "beginning gimp" tutorials start with things like making logos and other graphics exercises.

I finally gave in and bought lightroom, learned how to use it in a couple of days and the only times I've used gimp since then have been if I wanted to do something involving multiple layers.
The fact that something like GIMP is available for... (show quote)

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Jan 4, 2014 10:07:18   #
346pak Loc: Texas
 
PoppaT wrote:
I'm getting the impression from a number of different sources that GIMP is a great tool, but has a high learning curve. The fact that the online Users Manual goes on and on and on tells a lot!!

I'm not into graphic design so maybe GIMP is not the way to go yet. I see some good things about Lightroom, and since I'm a Mac user, Aperture. As a Lightroom user, what are your thoughts?

Thanks!!
PoppaT


I'll put my .02 in here. I have both LR and PSE. I have been using PSE for several years and am happy with it. I have subconsciously stayed away from LR because I didn't understand it. I met a friend who is a professional photographer this year at the annual experimental aircraft association fly in at Oshkosh in July and we got talking about post processing. He strongly encouraged me to get over my fear of LR and jump in. I watched a few tutorials on YouTube and now, I am really comfortable and love the process flow and results from LR. I still use both programs depending what I want as the outcome but I do really like many things about LR. LR is really good for RAW files if that is what you shoot.

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Jan 4, 2014 11:14:21   #
DanRobinson Loc: Charlotte, NC
 
PoppaT wrote:
Is anyone using, or has used, GIMP as a photo editing program? It appears that it is an alternative to PS Elements and Lightroom. My idea is, would this be a good program to learn photo editing (since it's free) before laying down the bucks for either of the two above.


Poppa, you are a member of a very large club. Many able photographers fall short in the editing process.

As a retired Mac consultant, I've had Photoshop since around 1990. I have also followed Gimp since it became available. It can do pretty much all you need, but is hard to learn.

Since Adobe is switching to cloud computing, many more will be asking your same question.

FastStone is PC only. Gimp, Picasa, and PhotoScapeX are your choices.

Since they are free, I would recommend you try all three . . . a lot. Play with them. Get a feel for their capabilities and learning curve.

Find the one that feels best to your brain and then concentrate all your learning on that platform.

--Dan

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Jan 4, 2014 13:39:29   #
FL Streetrodder
 
I have to agree with others that GIMP is not the easiest program to use right off the bat, but once you have some experience with it, it is just as powerful as Photoshop Elements. There are many tutorial videos (of varying quality) to be found on YouTube. For ease of use without a steep learning curve, Picasa can't be beat! The program does a very good job and in most cases for general "tune ups" of a photo it will equal the results of PSE if you only use that program in its automatic modes.

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Jan 4, 2014 13:42:11   #
jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ
 
PoppaT wrote:
Is anyone using, or has used, GIMP as a photo editing program? It appears that it is an alternative to PS Elements and Lightroom. My idea is, would this be a good program to learn photo editing (since it's free) before laying down the bucks for either of the two above.

Please understand that I'm not a professional or a hobbyist. I like taking pictures and after spending the past month or so looking at all the great shots posted here, I'm wondering if I can bring my photos up a notch or two.

My "go to" camera right now is the SX260 and I'm slowly learning the power of my EOS-M.

Any insight/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks.

PoppaT
Is anyone using, or has used, GIMP as a photo edit... (show quote)


You get what you pay for.

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Jan 4, 2014 15:01:46   #
gessman Loc: Colorado
 
PoppaT wrote:
Is anyone using, or has used, GIMP as a photo editing program? It appears that it is an alternative to PS Elements and Lightroom. My idea is, would this be a good program to learn photo editing (since it's free) before laying down the bucks for either of the two above.

Please understand that I'm not a professional or a hobbyist. I like taking pictures and after spending the past month or so looking at all the great shots posted here, I'm wondering if I can bring my photos up a notch or two.

My "go to" camera right now is the SX260 and I'm slowly learning the power of my EOS-M.

Any insight/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks.

PoppaT
Is anyone using, or has used, GIMP as a photo edit... (show quote)


GIMP is like any other piece of useful software, you spend 95% of your time learning what you're not going to use but it is powerful and in addition to Shakey's tutorial, there are a lot of video tutorials on youtube.com. You will likely not find any shortage of educational material as was once the case. I would venture to say that you will spend as much or more time learning #1 Photoshop and do the same with it - 95% you will never use but you pay big bucks for the privilege while GIMP is free. Still, the simpler editors make a lot of sense and many are free.

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Jan 4, 2014 15:54:16   #
PoppaT Loc: Sebring, FL
 
Thanks gessman!
gessman wrote:
GIMP is like any other piece of useful software, you spend 95% of your time learning what you're not going to use but it is powerful and in addition to Shakey's tutorial, there are a lot of video tutorials on youtube.com. You will likely not find any shortage of educational material as was once the case. I would venture to say that you will spend as much or more time learning #1 Photoshop and do the same with it - 95% you will never use but you pay big bucks for the privilege while GIMP is free. Still, the simpler editors make a lot of sense and many are free.
GIMP is like any other piece of useful software, y... (show quote)

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Jan 4, 2014 16:01:26   #
PoppaT Loc: Sebring, FL
 
I'll check the tutorials on YouTube out for GIMP. In the meantime I'll play with Picasa. Thanks for the input.

FL Streetrodder wrote:
I have to agree with others that GIMP is not the easiest program to use right off the bat, but once you have some experience with it, it is just as powerful as Photoshop Elements. There are many tutorial videos (of varying quality) to be found on YouTube. For ease of use without a steep learning curve, Picasa can't be beat! The program does a very good job and in most cases for general "tune ups" of a photo it will equal the results of PSE if you only use that program in its automatic modes.
I have to agree with others that GIMP is not the e... (show quote)

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Jan 4, 2014 16:16:21   #
PoppaT Loc: Sebring, FL
 
Dan,

Thanks for your post.

I now have all three on my Mac. I guess I'll start with Picasa and re-familiarize myself with that. It's been years since I last used it so I'm somewhat familiar with what it does.

In the interim I'll take a look at some of the GIMP tutorials that are out there and get a feel for that, as a long-term learning goal.

Your response, along with all the others, has been very encouraging to me. I'm not a forum joiner, but I've got to tell you, this is one I'm glad I joined. Everyone has been so supportive and basically, just plain nice!

Thanks!

DanRobinson wrote:
Poppa, you are a member of a very large club. Many able photographers fall short in the editing process.

As a retired Mac consultant, I've had Photoshop since around 1990. I have also followed Gimp since it became available. It can do pretty much all you need, but is hard to learn.

Since Adobe is switching to cloud computing, many more will be asking your same question.

FastStone is PC only. Gimp, Picasa, and PhotoScapeX are your choices.

Since they are free, I would recommend you try all three . . . a lot. Play with them. Get a feel for their capabilities and learning curve.

Find the one that feels best to your brain and then concentrate all your learning on that platform.

--Dan
Poppa, you are a member of a very large club. Many... (show quote)


:) :)

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Jan 4, 2014 17:00:00   #
DanRobinson Loc: Charlotte, NC
 
PoppaT wrote:
Dan,

. . . In the interim I'll take a look at some of the GIMP tutorials that are out there and get a feel for that, as a long-term learning goal.

Your response, along with all the others, has been very encouraging to me. I'm not a forum joiner, but I've got to tell you, this is one I'm glad I joined. Everyone has been so supportive and basically, just plain nice!

Thanks!

:) :)


Good move.

Keep us posted and informed on your progress and discoveries. :thumbup:

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Jan 5, 2014 04:34:30   #
Lazy Old Coot Loc: Gainesville, Florida
 
Mogul, I think this is what you're looking for. http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-69708-1.html ...... coot

Mogul wrote:
Must be someone else; Sharky has one post to Chit-Chat. Can you give some more ideas how to find it? Thanks.

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Jan 8, 2014 01:38:18   #
khuntersr Loc: Stone Mountain, Ga
 
I like Picassa for a free program, but i use Photoshop to get the real work done

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Jan 8, 2014 01:56:30   #
BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA
 
Lazy Old Coot wrote:
Mogul, I think this is what you're looking for. http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-69708-1.html ...... coot

Hmm...... One might assume that Sharky and Shakey are not the same person. As I am not as adept in reading minds as I once thought I was, I must assume that I either read something right wrong or I read something wrong right. 'Tis a puzzlement!

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Jan 9, 2014 20:49:54   #
dali_lama_2k Loc: Norfolk
 
GIMP rocks, simply put. As long as you put in the time and effort, as with anything else, you will be happy and get exactly what you want. for FREE. Yes, SHALLOW* curve (umm, photography doesn't exactly have a STEEP* one) requires some technical knowledge (same with photography) and a spirit of experimentation (guess what: PHOTOGRAPHY!). So, if a person is so inclined to do photography, then GIMP is not out of their capacity to use; the results will be in direct correlation with their level of photographic skill. Also recommend UFRaw for a RAW converter (all formats and all OS's). Also, it's FREE. I LIKE that word!

GIMP:
http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

UFRaw:
http://ufraw.sourceforge.net/Install.html

*edited in reflection to reading CapainC 's post regarding learning curve. http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-175876-1.html
Thanks, Cap'n!

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