Photographers: questions about photoshop and thegimp

[pennylane]

Hi everybody,

I'd like to learn some photoshop type skills for editing my photographs, but I'm a poor college student so I don't want to spend any money on photoshop.

How useful would it be to learn freeware like thegimp instead? Could I do all of the basic things that photoshop does? Would learning thegimp also help me learn photoshop? ie, do they work the same way?

Eventually, would I still want photoshop if I want to take the hobby seriously?

 

[dennilfloss]

Try Paint.net also as a nice free alternative.

http://www.getpaint.net/index2.html

 

[jacob0401]

Originally posted by: fanerman91
Hi everybody,

I'd like to learn some photoshop type skills for editing my photographs, but I'm a poor college student so I don't want to spend any money on photoshop.

How useful would it be to learn freeware like thegimp instead? Could I do all of the basic things that photoshop does? Would learning thegimp also help me learn photoshop? ie, do they work the same way?

Eventually, would I still want photoshop if I want to take the hobby seriously?

If you're a college student they usually have academic software at steep discounts. Photoshop is industry standard, so if you're serious, get it.

 

[FilmCamera]

Yeah you could get it way discounted for educational use.

I have used gimp a bit, but not a whole lot. I doubt that it's as good as Photoshop. It wasn't when I used it, but it was several years ago.

 

[silverpig]

TheGIMP does everything photoshop does up to a point. Seeing as how you are just beginning, you should be fine for a while.

 

[arrfep]

My vote for the GIMP also. Used it for at least a year, does everything you'll need it to do. Standard stuff like brightness/contrast/saturation/sharpness, pretty sure it's got a clone brush, good curves function. Lets you work with layers also. AFAIK the only real con is that you can't work in 16-bit images, which shouldn't be a major issue

 

[foghorn67]

You will hunger for the photoshop after a while. Adobe should be giving massive student discounts for this. At least I know they used to.

 

[drinkmorejava]

If you're in college, you have to have some friends who can hook you up with a copy. Not that it's ethical or legal, but generally free>>>$$$

 

[SSP]

Gimp is good for a lot of normal edits. The only thing I really miss is the magnetic lasso tool while using it. PS has a lot more features, but Gimp will be sufficient for the usual brightness/contrast, levels, colour balance, unsharp mask etc... tools you use for photo editing.

now... If the damn thing recognized my wacom tablet, I wouldn't have to reboot to XP all the time.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: jacob0401

If you're a college student they usually have academic software at steep discounts. Photoshop is industry standard, so if you're serious, get it.

The academic version of photoshop is still expensive for college students. I would try paint shop pro which can be be bought anywhere from $35-70. Not as powerful as photoshop but still has a lot of capabilities.

 

[Czar]

try lightroom, its in beta, still free and designed for photographers