GIMP - A Budget Photographer’s Best Friend

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There is one major difference with the Photoshop user interface: GIMP uses different windows for each of these sections. This means that instead of one main window with all tool bars in it, all the tool bars are located outside the main window. The location of the separate control boxes takes a little bit to get used to since all your tools controls are not in one tidy place.

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After installing the UFRaw, you just need to open a RAW file normally using File>Open or open a file directly with UFRaw. Because UFRaw can run as a standalone, it means you don’t have to open GIMP to see your RAW files.

As you can see, it’s quite straightforward. If you ever worked with RAW images in Adobe you will find some similarities. The feature offers a few interesting options including Curves, Levels, a noise reduction option, white balance and more. This is a tool that comes in handy for many amateur photographers.

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After placing PSPI.exe in the GIMP plug-ins folder, start GIMP and you will find a new Menu option under Filters. Selecting the configuration menu, it will open a Dialog box so you can identify where you will place Photoshop plug-ins.

For example purposes, I’ve installed VirtualPhotographer on my machine and copied the files to the folder I specified. Close GIMP and start it again, and you will notice another menu option on the filters menu.

Photoshop is an amazing product but it is also an expensive one. If you are a photographer who needs photo editing software and don't have the money to pony up for the best, give GIMP a try. It is a solid product and, with the Photoshop plug-ins, it is an amazing value. The software does almost everything you need in photo editing and you won't find any other free photo editing software that is this intuitive.