Free photo editing software can transform your photos from 'OK' to 'amazing', but there are so many programs around it can be hard to know which is the best for you. That's why we've spent hours putting a huge range of photo editors to the test, and picked out the best ones for any level of skill and experience. Whether you're looking for a powerful free photo editor that gives you fine control over every minuscule detail of your photos, or basic Instagram-style free photo editing software that offers a range of one-click filters, you’ll find something interesting here. If you're already happy with the general look of your photos and just want to tweak them a little before sharing them, a simple free photo editor that allows you to resize, crop and apply filters will be ideal.
Many of these have social media sharing built in, removing the hassle of uploading your snaps manually later. They also have the benefit of being easier to use. If you're planning to print your work, you'll be better off considering a more nuanced free photo editor that will give you the fine control you need to make your pictures look perfect, even at high resolutions.
Learning curve is a little steep (the GNU Image Manipulation Program) is the most powerful free photo editor around. It's packed with the kind of image-enhancing tools you'd find in premium software, and more are being added every day. GIMP’s interface will be instantly familiar if you have ever used Photoshop or other premium photo editing software – especially if you select the single-window mode, which lays out all its toolbars and canvases in an Adobe-style layout.
The photo editing toolkit is breathtaking, and features layers, masks, curves, and levels. You can eliminate flaws easily with the excellent clone stamp and healing tools, create custom brushes, apply perspective changes, and apply changes to isolated areas with smart selection tools. GIMP is an open source free photo editor, and its community of users and developers have created a huge collection of plugins to extend its utility even further. Many of these come pre-installed, and you can download more from the. If that's not enough, you can even.
This combination of power and flexibility make GIMP the best free photo editor you can download – whether you're using Windows, macOS or Linux. Less powerful than GIMP More is not, believe it or not, always better. 's simplicity is one of its main selling points; it's a quick, easy to operate free photo editor that's ideal for trivial tasks that don't necessarily justify the sheer power of GIMP. Don't let the name fool you, though. This isn't just a cheap copy of Microsoft's ultra-basic Paint – even if it was originally meant to replace it. It's a proper photo editor, just one that lands on the basic side of the curve. Paint.NET’s interface will remind you of its namesake, but over the years, they’ve added advanced editing tools like layers, an undo history, a ton of filters, myriad community-created plugins, and a brilliant 3D rotate/zoom function that's handy for recomposing images.
It might not have every feature you can dream of, but if your machine is a little underpowered we can't think of a better free photo editor. Limited file export resolution isn't as well known as Paint.net and GIMP, but it's another top-quality free photo editor that's packed with advanced image-enhancing tools.
This free photo editor's interface is smarter and more accessible than GIMP's array of menus and toolbars, with everything arranged in a logical and consistent way. If it's still too intimidating, there's also an optional 'novice' layout that resembles Fotor's filter-based approach. The choice is yours. The 'expert' layout offers both layers and layer masks for sophisticated editing, as well as tools for adjusting curves and levels manually.
You can still access the one-click filters via the main menu, but the focus is much more on fine editing. Photo Pos Pro also includes a clone brush for erasing unwanted blemishes, and there's extra support for batch-editing and scripts to help you save time when refining a whole folder of photos. The free edition of Photo Pos Pro only has one drawback: files can only be saved at a maximum resolution of 1,024 x 2,014 pixels, which might be too small if you're planning to have them printed professionally. If you want to remove this restriction, is available for a license free of £24.50/US$24.90/AU$41.89. Unusual interface might look like a rather simple free photo editor, but take a look at its main menu and you'll find a wealth of features: raw conversion, photo splitting and merging, animated GIF creation, and even a rather odd (but useful) function with which you can print lined, graph or sheet music paper. The meat, of course, is in the photo editing. PhotoScape's interface is among the most esoteric of all the apps we've looked at here, with tools grouped into pages in odd configurations.
The Adobe Add-ons website features hundreds of plug-ins and extensions from Adobe and third-party developers for Adobe products. The site features Photoshop add-ons (both paid and free) that can help you create special image effects, create a more efficient workflow, and utilize many other handy tools.
It certainly doesn't attempt to ape Photoshop, and includes fewer features. We'd definitely point this towards the beginner, but that doesn't mean you can't get some solid results. PhotoScape's filters are functional and not at all beginner-like, so it's if good choice if you need to quickly level, sharpen or add mild filtering to pictures in a snap. No plugin support is more a photo enhancer than a full-fat manual editing tool. If there's specific area of retouching you need doing with, say, the clone brush or healing tool, you're out of luck. However, if your needs are simple, its stack of high-end filters that really do shine.
There's a foolproof tilt-shift tool, for example, and a raft of vintage and vibrant colour tweaks, all easily accessed through Fotor's clever menu system. You can manually alter your own curves and levels, too, but without the complexity of high-end tools. Fotor's most brilliant function, and one that's sorely lacking in many free photo editors, is its batch processing tool – feed it a pile of pics and it'll filter the lot of them in one go, perfect if you have a memory card full of holiday snaps and need to cover up the results of a dodgy camera or shaky hand.
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. The Photoshop community is choc-full of many free resources, tutorials, tips and techniques,.psd files and even Actions. There is one area that it sadly lacks in, and that is free plugins and filters.
Of course, Photoshop has been the pioneer in graphic editor development for a long time now, and with each new version (its current version is CS4) has added an endless supply of features and addons, and as a result, perhaps the need for free plugins or filters is no longer required. Or has it been ignored? The Photoshop community is chock-full of many free resources, tutorials, tips and techniques,.psd files and even Actions. There is one area that it sadly lacks in, and that is free plugins, filters and panels. Of course, Photoshop has been the pioneer in graphic editor development for a long time now, and with each new version has added an endless supply of features and addons, and as a result, perhaps the need for free plugins or filters is no longer required.
Or has it been ignored? Further Reading on SmashingMag:. Traditionally plugins are an amateur photographer’s best friend, take your shots, fire up Photoshop, apply some well preset filters, and hey presto you have a reasonably professional image.
Professional photographers have been known to use plugins as a base and then tweak and add effects to achieve a personal professional touch. Plugins are basically an indispensable tool that do not receive the attention they deserve. And that brings us back to our original mystery, why are there so few free plugins and filters? Do you know the answer? In this A-Z of free Photoshop plugins and filters you will find a few plugins that are (almost) as old as time itself, do not fear, they will work perfectly on all versions of Photoshop and the effect they produce are just as useful now as they were then. If you are looking for a simple and easy method to add effects to an image, this is the post for you.
. Total:. If you're looking for new and creative ways to edit or enhance your images, plugins can make your Photoshop workflow go so much smoother. Whether you want to add some noise or create some stunning color effects, we've got a fantastic list for you – and all completely free! By For those who haven't grasped all the nooks and crannies of Photoshop yet, or simply don't want to spend hours tweaking an image, virtualPhotographer is a simple plugin that has over 200 presets for you to apply to your images. There is also a very nifty split-screen preview function that allows you to see the before-and-after of your edit.
By This incredible plugin works with Photoshop to process and save PNG files much faster, and also saves them in a smaller size. If you work with PNG files often but dread the amount of time it takes to process them, then this plugin is for you. By If you haven't mastered the idea behind curves yet, this plugin has eight common presets to select from, allowing you to choose which one compliments your photo the best. By While you can change your image to black and white in Photoshop, this plugin takes it a step further by allowing you to select presets that imitate the common tonal effects of popular black and white films. Those who have an appreciation for black and white analog photography will enjoy this versatile plugin. By Another great resource from photo-plugins.com, this Photoshop plugin allows you to accurately increase the contrast without losing too much detail. The effects from this are more representative of an image sharpening plugin rather than a contrast adjustment, but it still works nicely as it can also help clear up any “cloudiness” in your photo.
Before-and-after samples are available on their website linked above. By This Photoshop file has 8 different plugins in one, ranging from a night-vision effect to replicating the fast, grainy effects of b/w film. You may not find use for all of the plugins, but it's definitely a great collection to experiment with. By A fully customizable grain producer that also looks fantastic on color images. Richard also has many other free Photoshop plugins on his download page.
Filters For Photoshop
By If you're a digital photographer, then you've encountered the annoying hot pixels that plague long exposures, especially taken in low-light situations. This handy plugin can automatically detect and remove those hot pixels without having to use your clone stamp or healing brush.
Adobe Photoshop Plugins Free Downloads
By Personally, I can't wait to use this plugin. If you have outdoor images spoiled with telephone wires draping across your skyline, then this tool will help you remove them without spending hours with your clone stamp.
The best part about this plugin is that it has unlimited undo/redo and advanced color matching for seamless patches. By With all your new plugins, you need a seamless way to organize them before things get out of control. This plugin is actually an application that organizes your existing plugins by allowing you to disable and enable them with a single click, which will cut down on your PS desktop clutter. Read more great articles by at his or follow him on.