You may have heard others talking about how with photo-editing software you can enhance family photos and create images like a professional photographer. But maybe you haven't taken the plunge yet because it sounded expensive and complicated. Well the good news is that you can experiment with photo editors without spending a fortune on software and explore the options you'd like to have in such a package before you buy one. That's because a wide variety of photo-editing software is available at the amazingly low price of - FREE. To be sure, with the free programs you won't get the fantastic array of options you'll find in (very EXPENSIVE) Adobe's PhotoShop for example, but you'll certainly have enough to generate clear and even exciting images.
So what can this free stuff do? With these programs you can fix up a photograph so that it will be perfect for your holiday cards, develop a slide presentation packed with dynamic digital images for your next family get together or your child's school report, create unique artistic designs, publish your own books, make photo-calendars, and get your imagination going with a plethora of digital options. Be warned, however, that not all free photo-editing software has all of these options. You may have to try a few different programs to get the options you are looking for ... but then that's what FREE is all about.
These free programs seem to come in two varieties: very basic or loads of editing and design options. If, after trying them, you find that these programs won't work for you, take a look at a more robust program such as Adobe's PhotoShop Elements for Windows or PhotoShop Elements for Mac. These programs generally cost less than $100 and are quite similar to the powerhouse photo-editor, Photoshop. Some of the for-purchase programs such as PhotoShop Elements for Windows include a 30-day try out period during which you can test the software.
Free Photo-Editing Software for Windows Users
Let's suppose you want to create an online slideshow featuring a family vacation. When you look at your photos on your computer, you see that several are overexposed, some are sideways (because you held the camera that way), and very few of them look centered. All of which are a great excuse to look into a photo editor.
What to try first? Take a look at a downloadable software package such as Picasa, a free photo-editor for Windows 2000/XP that is available from Google. Besides giving you options to find, rename, and organize your pictures, Picasa lets you do basic fixes such as cropping, straightening, doing away with red eye and adjusting brightness and contrast. You can quickly tune up your photos and give them a new life with a number of special effects.
You can even add captions to each shot explaining what is happening and who is in the photograph. Still in Picasa, you can arrange your photos into a slideshow ready to show to everyone in the family. Try loading them onto a flash drive. When you go to visit your relatives, you'll have the flash drive ready to plug into their family computer just in case anyone wants to see your vacation photos.
Picasa is just one of the free photo-editing programs for Windows computers. Here's a list of other free software you may want to try. Be sure to check to see if the software will work with your version of Windows.
