HELP - Learning to use GIMP

Pioneer said:
Thanks. I'll do that.

That is actually why I have Paintshop, it came with the computer. That aaannd...my wife absolutely HATES Photoshop and refused to have anything to do with it. To be completely honest, I could probably survive with Paintshop for most tasks myself, but...let us just say I am not yet ready to eat crow!!!

The things we do for love! :D
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Excellent points and good reason(ing). In my house my SO uses Picasa - talk about breakfasting with mastodons! - and gets generally okay-good results. So all good there.

I've had satisfactory results with Faststone Image Viewer for many years for the same reasons. It is (or was) simple enough for someone as loose-minded as I am to work with easily, and it gave me the results I wanted without needing a PhD in how to use software. This said, the most recent upgrade has, I suspect, done something mysterious to the image-making. Now my finished images no longer look as they did before the upgrade (7.9).

Until now, simple, even amateurish it was, but my Faststone images were okay enough for book publishers. NowI'm no longer so sure.

So yes, my problem now is that the mages in my cameras look different - and often as not better - than when I've downloaded them. I've tried reloading the software several times and also using different computers to try to eliminate the problems in a logical way, but no good. So GIMP will be my next venture.

Any suggestions from anyone on really really simple but good PP software to use will be gratefully accepted.
 
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GIMP is a really powerful editor and should be able to do anything you want, non-destructively. That is the original image is untouched unless you direct the package to export a file with the exact same name to overwrite the original. Slick. But it is also Geek City. This is no slick package. It was put together by CSE and other geeks. But once you get past the steep, editors always have steep learning curves, learning curve you will be able to do anything you want. If you want to work from RAW/DNG ART is your package.

These packages are labors of love. Folks do not get paid for some serious high-level Grade Four and up Wizard Level stuff. So if you use and like it say a silent thank you to the coders and team folks who made it happen, and who maintain and upgrade the packages.
 
Pioneer said:
Okay. Since I dropped my subscription to Photoshop several months ago I have been trying to learn GIMP but I am not having much success. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good written or online tutorial that might assist me to get past this apparent block? Thanks for any help you can provide.
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It would help if you would state what functionalities of PS you use and need. And therefore which software might --or not-- fill your need.

For everyday processing of photos I use FastStone. Crop, levels, curves, defect spotting, USM, getting the horizon straight. Free for non-professional use; donation welcome.

For slightly more complex tasks, I use Picture Window Pro. Free. Written by Jonathan M. Sachs (co-founder of Lotus with Mitch Kapor) for photographers. Some functionalities : color corrections separately in low, mid, and high tones; dodging and burn-in, geometrical distortion correction, and many more. All corrections can be applied through a mask. Batch processing. A steeper learning curve than FastStone, but less than PS. And, then, again, written for photographers, not for graphic artists.

Digital Light & Color

Home Pge
www.dl-c.com
 
What most people don't realise is that in order to use GIMP properly, you need the right sort of mask. Of course first, you'll need to find the right shop to buy the GIMP mask from. I'd suggest googling "Gimp Mask".
 
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seany65 said:
What most people don't realise is that in order to use GIMP properly, you need the right sort of mask. Of course first, you'll need to find the right shop to buy the GIMP mask from. I'd suggest googling "Gimp Mask".
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That's dark.
 
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I dont use them:)
for whats it worth I use gimp for the filters, for color management and resizing I use rawtherapee and for watching the tiffs I use xnviewmp
 
bullterrier said:
I dont use them:)
for whats it worth I use gimp for the filters, for color management and resizing I use rawtherapee and for watching the tiffs I use xnviewmp
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ART (Another Branch of Raw Therapee) is an interesting branch of Rawtherapee.
 
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