The focus of this guide is on a wide range of software designed for photo manipulation, image editing, graphic design, raster graphics editing, and related tasks not already covered in another category.
To clarify, the resources listed here will not include photographers or graphic designers. The focus is on the software.
Photo manipulation long predates computers and photo manipulation software. There are examples of photos of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant being manipulated in the early 1860s, and even some from when photos were on glass and tin plates in the early 1800s. Software has made the job easier and less detectable, however.
Although photo manipulation is often done to deceive viewers, sometimes the goal is simply to improve storytelling by removing details that are not relevant to the point, as a means of self-expression and art, or simply for personal amusement.
Nevertheless, image manipulation software has affected the trust that people have in photographs, and one popular image editing software application has become a verb. Is it real or is it photoshopped? Adobe Systems attempted to halt the use of its Adobe Photoshop product as a verb, given that Photoshop is proprietary software, but it has been unable to remove it from common language.
Photo manipulation might also be used to touch up photographs, removing blemishes and wrinkles, whitening teeth, and other enhancements, as well as airbrushing to add light strokes, minor details, and blurry edges, generally for the purpose of improving the photographic quality.
Another form of digital manipulation is used to restore photographs that have been damaged by natural, man-made or environmental causes.
Photo touchups and restoration are not generally considered to be photo manipulation, although they do involve digital manipulation of the photo. Instead, they might be referred to as image editing, which is also used to refer to the editing of other graphic images, as well.
Image editing involves altering images, which might be photographs, illustrations, or other graphics. Graphic software programs, including vector graphics editors, raster graphics, and 3D modelers, are forms of image editing programs. Many image editing programs can also be used to render or create computer art from scratch.
For the sake of categorization, we will include 3D modeling software in the 3D Graphics & Modeling category, and the vector graphics programs in the Vector Graphics category, as they are more specific to the purpose for which the software has been designed.
Most photo and image editing and manipulation is done through raster (bitmap) graphics. A raster graphics editor is a computer program that is designed to allow the user to create or edit images on a computer screen and saves them in one of several raster or bitmap formats, such as JPEG, PNG, or GIF. The difference between vector and raster graphics editors has to do with the differences between the two forms of images. Vector graphics are created mathematically, through the use of geometric formulas, while raster images are made up of rows and columns of dots, known as pixels, and are usually more photorealistic. Raster graphics are the standard form of a file created by digital cameras.
Raster images include digital photographs, which are usually created in the JPEG (JPG) format. The Portable Networks Graphics (PNG) format is a raster format that supports lossless data compression as well as transparency but is generally used in web applications only when transparent backgrounds are needed, or in logos, as the PNG format is very large as compared to JPEG. The GIF format was hugely popular in web applications when most users were accessing the Internet by dialup and bandwidth was an expensive commodity. Today, GIF images tend to be used mostly as emoticons and images with text. As the GIF format supports animation, animated GIFs were once popular, and can still be found on websites. Other web graphics are often created in various raster formats.
Software intended for graphic design generally allow graphic editing as well, although there are several software packages designed for specific editing or manipulation tasks.
Some raster editors, such as Adobe Photoshop and GIMP, support the use of vector methods for general layout, and elements like text, but deal with raster images down to the pixel.
Topics relating to software designed for the creation, editing, or manipulation of photos or other images are appropriate for this category, with the exception of 3D graphics and modeling, and vector graphics, which are covered in their own categories. Software designed for specific image manipulation tasks is listed in a subcategory of this category.
Categories
Facial CompositeImage Manipulation | Photo Cropping & Resizing |
Recommended Resources
In business since 1994, ACDSee offers a variety of software, designed for image viewing, digital asset management, format conversion, relational databases, and cataloging, as well as image editing, support for RAW images, image manipulation, video, and layered editing. Its products include Photo Editor, Photo Studio, Video Studio, Video Converter, Home Pack, and several mobile applications, all of which are highlighted here. Free trials, tutorials, and a support forum are available.
https://www.acdsee.com/
Created in 1988, Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and maintained by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS and has become the industry standard for raster graphics editing and digital art. Long available as a one-time purchase, the software is currently available only through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) pricing model, at monthly rates, with packages available to include other Adobe products, as well. Its features and support services are discussed.
https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html
The California-based software development company develops software for the printing, publishing, digital art, advertising, design studio, and digital photography industries, including Adobe Streamline, a raster-to-vector conversion product and plugins to extend the capabilities of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign, as well as other Adobe versions, operating on Mac and Windows operating systems. Its products and custom services are highlighted, along with its support services.
https://andromeda.com/
Part of the KDE Family, digiKam is an open-source digital photo management software program for Linux, macOS, and Windows machines, which includes a set of tools for the import, management, editing, and sharing of photos and raw files. Its editing features include basic tools for adjusting colors, cropping, and sharpening, as well as curves, adjustment, panorama stitching, and other operations. Its features are listed, documentation is included, and support options are posted.
https://www.digikam.org/
GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is a free and open-source raster graphics editor, available for Linux, macOS, Windows, BSD, and Solaris operating systems, and released under the GNU General Public License. Often considered an open-source alternative to Photoshop, it includes many, if not all, of the same features and capabilities. It is available for download, along with the source code. Documentation and user tutorials are included, with information on development status.
https://www.gimp.org/
Developed as a fork of GIMP in 2006, GIMPshop is a free and open-source program whose chief purpose is to transition Photoshop users to GIMP. Originally developed for macOS, it has since been ported to Linux, Solaris, and Windows. GIMPshop includes the features of GIMP, but with modifications to the menu so that it more closely resembles Photoshop, and its terminology corresponds to that of the Adobe product. Tutorials and downloads are available.
https://www.gimpshop.com/
Begun by the KDE Community in 1998, Krita is still part of the KDE Community. Managed by the Krita Foundation, it is a free and open-source painting program that features a clean, flexible interface with a customizable layout, brushes and brush stabilizers, built-in vector and text tools, and a resource manager. Users may also change their workspace to Animation, transforming Krita into an animation studio. Its full features are highlighted, along with tutorials and an online shopping area.
https://krita.org/
The raster graphics editor for Windows was created in 2004 as a simple replacement for the Microsoft Paint program but has since become a graphics editor that can be extended through plugins. Currently, there are two versions available, a freeware classic editor and a proprietary version that available through the Microsoft Windows Store. Licensure information is discussed, features are outlined, and screenshots are displayed. A user support forum and a blog are included.
https://www.getpaint.net/
Available for the macOS and the Apple iOS mobile platform, Pixelmator is a graphics editor developed through a combination of open-source and macOS technologies, offering selection, painting, retouching, navigation, and color-correction tools, along with layers-based editing, image processing, color management, automation, and a transparent user interface for work with images. It is available in the free Pixelmator trial version, as well as the commercial Pixelmator PRO edition.
https://www.pixelmator.com/
Hosted on SourceForge and available under the terms of the GNU General Public License, TundraDraw is a cross-platform ANSI drawing program that uses the QT Toolkit and runs natively on both X environments and on Microsoft Windows platforms. Written in C++, it can be freely downloaded from the site, which also allows for user ratings and reviews, support requests, feature requests, bug reports, and open discussion. The source code is also available.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/tundradraw/
Intended for children ages three to twelve (preschool, K-6), Tux Paint is used in schools throughout the world as a computer literacy drawing activity. Combing an easy-to-use interface, sound effects, and a cartoon mascot who guides children to use the program, it supports GNU Linux, macOS, and Windows operating systems. Its features are listed, along with screenshots, informational video, and a gallery of photographs, as well as user reviews, documentation, and merchandise.
http://www.tuxpaint.org/
