picture editing software - need to blur or remove faces

glen

Lifer
Apr 28, 2000
15,995
1
81
What is a simple program that will quickly edit photos?

I have been using paint and it is ok.

I do real estate appraisals, and that means you turn in reports with interior pictures.

It is illegal to include pictures which have within them, pictures of people. There is some sort of convoluted racial fairness reasoning behind it.

Let's say I have a photo of a kitchen, and in the kitchen on the fridge are pictures of people. I have to get rid of the pictures on the fridge. So, I have to open that picture in paint, and cover the picture with a circle or a rectangle.

It would look a bit better, and probably be a little faster, if there were a program that would just blur an area near where I click. Maybe it would have a couple of options to change the amount of blur and the radius of the circle.
 

gar655

Senior member
Mar 4, 2008
565
0
71
Take the pics off the fridge before taking the photo and presto, no software needed.
 

Throckmorton

Lifer
Aug 23, 2007
16,829
3
0
I second this. GIMP has a pretty high learning curve for some of its features, but the smudge tool is very simple to use.

He said he wants to blur some photos not learn how to use some kind of Linux emulation garbage for one program with an awful interface (That's what "learning curve" is code for)
 

Fardringle

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2000
9,200
765
126
He said he wants to blur some photos not learn how to use some kind of Linux emulation garbage for one program with an awful interface (That's what "learning curve" is code for)

That's why I said it's a high learning curve for some of its features. The blur tool in GIMP is not one of those features. It is extremely easy to use, and GIMP is certainly not "some kind of Linux emulation garbage". It is a free photo editor that, while not as good as Photoshop in some ways, is very powerful and more than enough for most people that aren't willing/able to pay the cost of a Photoshop license.
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
72,828
33,856
136
He said he wants to blur some photos not learn how to use some kind of Linux emulation garbage for one program with an awful interface (That's what "learning curve" is code for)

Recent versions of gimp are easy to install and use on Windows. I suppose one could run gimp on Windows using a Linux emulator but I just use the Windows version instead. IMHO, the gimp interface is better than Photoshop's for many simple tasks and it's free.

Here's the link to the Windows install for gimp:
http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html
 
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twistedlogic

Senior member
Feb 4, 2008
606
0
0
He said he wants to blur some photos not learn how to use some kind of Linux emulation garbage for one program with an awful interface (That's what "learning curve" is code for)

GNU refers to the licensing. Which means its free.

Learning curve? File...Open.... click smudge tool, smudge away. Took longer to type up this post, :)
 

SecurityTheatre

Senior member
Aug 14, 2011
672
0
0
He said he wants to blur some photos not learn how to use some kind of Linux emulation garbage for one program with an awful interface (That's what "learning curve" is code for)

"Linux Emulation Garbage"?

Is your vaunted Sony camera a similar example of "Nikon emulation garbage"? I thought so. :)
 

radhak

Senior member
Aug 10, 2011
843
14
81
You can try InPaint : http://www.theinpaint.com/

I got their free giveaway some time back, so dunno if the Trial version allows you to save changes.

Does work well, though - it does a decent job of completely removing an object from a picture without it appearing as a smudge. If you need it a lot, might be worth paying for it.

Their tutorials are a must - their on-program help is non-existent.
 

twistedlogic

Senior member
Feb 4, 2008
606
0
0
Just remember another good free one:

http://www.getpaint.net/

"Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins."
 

elitejp

Golden Member
Jan 2, 2010
1,080
20
81
I second this. GIMP has a pretty high learning curve for some of its features, but the smudge tool is very simple to use.
Like anything else in life you need to actually learn how to use it before its useable.

I also highly recommend gimp. If you get stuck on how to use it then do a quick youtube search for the function you need to learn...for learning how to use the blur tool it will take you a whole 3 minutes.
 

elitejp

Golden Member
Jan 2, 2010
1,080
20
81
He said he wants to blur some photos not learn how to use some kind of Linux emulation garbage for one program with an awful interface (That's what "learning curve" is code for)
WOW throck, I mean just WOW.
Heres what learning curve means...
It means I can use both photoshop and gimp fairly easily because I took time to learn it but cant get a single thing done in Lightroom because I never took time to practice it even though its supposedly quicker for basic edits.
It means that i can use windows and can get whatever I want done in the matter of seconds but am clueless about Mac.
It means windows 7 phone and android are very easy for me to use but give me a iphone and i dont even know how to go back to the previous page without having to start all over again from the homescreen. Even though iphone is supposed to be the simplest phone out there to use.

So Throck i think its more about what im used to using and what ive taken the time to learn rather than one system being "terrible" to use.