Free image editing software is a tool used to manipulate, modify or enhance a traditional and digital photo or image. It is utilized mainly by professional photographers, graphic artists and image editors. Businesses likewise use the software for a variety of reasons, the most popular of which is to improve the overall quality of images they intend to display in print ads, on their social media pages and for other marketing purposes.
Free photo editing software also helps soften or sharpen, crop, improve color, add photo effects and remove scratches and dust specks from images. Photo editing software can also be useful when repairing old photos.
An image editing tool can work on digital photos using either parametric editing or pixel editing. The first one allows a graphic designer to alter the image’s appearance while keeping the original photo untouched. Pixel editing, on the other hand, works at the pixel level when changing or altering images.
Although there are image editing tools that are quite complicated, most of the free ones are user-friendly. Even those who aren’t technically skilled will be able to use the software without any problems.
GIMP is an image editing platform for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It has many capabilities and can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, a mass production image renderer and an image format converter.
Free image editing software can be used by organizations in all industries and of all sizes due to the flexibility and convenience it provides to users. Most free image editing solutions include intuitive features designed to help users with all levels of technical knowledge edit and format these images for use in their marketing and promotional campaigns.
The most common features that are featured in these solutions include:
Most of those who use free image editing software are beginners, so it will help a lot if the user interface is simple and easy to navigate. A single click should do the trick for most users. What’s even better is an interface that offers convenience to all types of users—new, long-time users and the technology-literate.
It’s also important for the user interface to look good. A well-designed UI will attract a lot of photographers, graphic designers and businesses. A customizable user interface is also a big convenience for users.
Image editing software is equipped with different editing features. These functionalities should make it easy for you to edit your photos.
Color correction is one of the functions of good image editing software. This allows users to edit and enhance the images’ colors so they’ll become more visually pleasing to audiences. This is especially important for users who utilize the tool for creating ads.
Adjusting image contrast and visuals and text is also an important function of image editing software. An image or photo can become more interesting and eye-catching if the contrast is adjusted to certain requirements or preferences. Additionally, visuals and text can also be adjusted and enhanced so they’ll be pleasing to the audience.
Other image editing features include creating boxes and tables, organizing graphics, adding or enhancing depth and dimension to photos, adjusting white balance, fixing light exposure, cropping and resizing of images, stitching to combine images, removing backgrounds, reducing red-eye, photo layer and mask, improving exposure, lens correction and smoothing out images by reducing noise.
There are many image formats that files can come in, the most popular being JPEG, PNG and GIF. As such, photo editing tools are capable of converting a photo file into a different image format. Regardless of the type of photo editing tool, they should support the import and export of images into a variety of formats.
Also, image editing software should be able to convert a photo from one format to another before it is exported.
Edited photos and images can only be used on various applications—electronic mail, on different social media networks, for printing and on the web—if the software supports or is compatible with various output formats. It also has integration features.
This is an essential feature especially for graphic and web designers because compressing images can help reduce their size. This makes images lighter and smaller.
Free photo editors have functions that allow users to share their edited images through different methods such as MMS, email, web galleries and printing. It also gives users the convenience of easily sharing their photos on various social media platforms.
Image editing software helps users efficiently organize their images and files. Likewise, they can also conveniently view their images in different formats—via image archiving and digital albums, among others.
One of the most popular free photo editors is GIMP. It is the recommended tool for those who want the best features and functions without having to spend a lot. GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program and is considered a complete open source desktop editing tool.
Additionally, it has been described as providing editing features and capabilities that are similar to that of Adobe Photoshop’s, particularly in terms of functionality and quality.
Organizations using free image editing software can also find that using this type of solution brings many benefits to operations, including:
Using free image editing software means your business doesn’t have to purchase a subscription to edit images and can do any editing work in-house, saving time and money as the easy-to-use solutions mean your employees can edit images and you won’t need to hire a professional to complete the work.
Free image editing software makes it easier for users to create images that best represent their brand or products, meaning they won’t have a difficult time coming up with a solid and interesting brand identity. This is especially important because whatever branding they come up with will be used throughout their marketing campaign and materials. A strong and solid brand will make this easier to achieve.
One of the common features of image editing software is compression of photos. This means their sizes are reduced and they become lighter. As such, the images won’t eat up a lot of storage space.
Additionally, with compressed images, websites will improve their loading time since the pages are not really heavy anymore.
A significant amount of time is saved when photographers and graphic editors use good image editing software. The tool allows them to easily determine which format is applicable for whatever it is that they are creating. Thus, they’ll know which format is best for creating social media photos, or web images, or business cards, among others.
Image editing software helps users create appealing, stunning and interesting visuals. Once these images are released or shared on their websites, social media pages, blogs, newsletters and other marketing paraphernalia, these will generate a lot of buzz and viewers will want to share them with others.
The software will not only help attract audiences, it will also help increase views, feedback (word of mouth) and significantly increase engagement. Likewise, this can lead to a regular following and people will be waiting for more images and content from the users. In other words, it helps build a strong following.
Since your images will generate a lot of buzz and interest and engage more viewers, there is a huge possibility that sales will increase. Additionally, you’re guaranteed that the right audience is targeted because the images you produce are already created with a particular audience in mind. Image editing software makes this easy for you because its features encourage you to create only images that are relevant to your brand.
With hundreds or thousands of photos in the system, users often have a difficult time organizing their files. Using image editing software changes this. It has a feature that allows you to organize your image files, so all it will take is a click or two if you need to find something fast.
When used effectively by businesses, free image editing software can help improve marketing and advertising campaigns, promote a better brand image, save time, money and resources by completing editing processes internally and ensure that your business is represented in the best way through the media you distribute.