
It supports most raw formats, as well as the usual non-raw formats. If you’re in this group, RAWTherapee might be a good option to try out.

Though this list focuses on Photoshop replacements, we want to throw in an option for photographers who love shooting in RAW, too. You can build exactly the program you want using the hundreds of plug-ins available. This way, you won’t get bogged down with dozens of tools you’ll never use.
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For example, if you want more tools for Curves, you can download the Curves+ plug-in. Unlike the other options here, gives you a basic program that you can build on with plug-ins. Now, it’s a full-fledged image editor available as freeware. It started as a computer science student’s project at Washington State University, but the project kept going and going, even after graduation. Originally, was intended to be a simple program that could replace Microsoft Paint. It has powerful artistic tools (brushes, layers, etc.), but it’s not as well-suited for basic image retouching. If you want to create artistic effects or draw on your photos, Krita is perfect for those needs.

However, Krita is mainly designed for digital painting and animation, not image retouching. For now, at least, it’s easier to transition from Photoshop to Krita than to GIMP. Some photographers prefer Krita over GIMP because they like its user interface better. Like GIMP, Krita is an open-source image editor with a strong community. There are plenty of tutorials and forums to help you learn the program. Its community is also active and enthusiastic. It can do practically everything that Photoshop does, and it’s improving every year.
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( GNU is a free operating system, created by the open-source software movement.) It’s the most robust option listed here, rivaling even Photoshop in some ways. GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. You download the program once for free, and that’s it. Unlike Photoshop, though, you don’t have to pay a subscription fee every month. All come at the best price: free! Desktop Editorsĭownloading a program onto your computer is the closest you can get to the “Photoshop experience”. If your budget is limited or you’re not ready to commit to the cost of Photoshop, here are some other great options to consider. My only complaint: the online mapping gui sucks.Photoshop has a reputation for being the best image editor out there, but unfortunately, you have to pay a premium for it. VSCO might be missing the sweet spot on the price/demand curve, but they definitely have a winner on their hands. For an enthusiast? I can see why you would balk at the price. If you're a pro, an expense like this will probably be money well spent. It makes Lightroom such a better tool, and I wouldn't be surprised if Adobe takes notice and provides similar functionality in LR 5. The only times I every have to switch to using the trackpad are when I use the crop, gradient, paintbrush, and spot tools. I have a background in software development, and their keybinding felt like using the classic Unix text editor Vim. I found their stock keyboard shortcut list surprisingly easy to learn, and it truly made me much more efficient at working on my images.

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$125 is a lot, but after using the trial for just an evening I decided it was worth the cost. So I swung a discount on this, which helped the price sting a bit.

Visual Supply company has lowered the price of VSCO Keys to $79, or under $60 for VSCO Film owners. Visual Supply Company points out that there are several more-expensive tools and claims to offer more capability: 'In this case we are the budget option in the space and we offer 10x the feature set.'
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As has become normal for Visual Supply Company, there are all manner of videos and minimalist web pages explaining and extolling the utility of VSCO Keys, one of which reveals that the software is available for both Mac and PC. Shortcuts can also invoke one of 10 processing presets within Lightroom, if you regularly use the same processing as a starting point. A 14-day free trial allows you to assess the value of the efficiency savings to your workflow.īeyond the existing shortcut presets, it's possible to create your own, either building on the VSCO defaults or starting from scratch. The software comes with two presets, one of which adds shortcuts without clashing with any of the software's native controls, while a more comprehensive one replaces several of them. It aims to make working in Lightroom more efficient, but the $125 price tag (only a fraction less than Lightroom itself) is likely to limit its appeal to photographers who aren't profiting from their work. Visual Supply Company has announced 'VSCO Keys,' a keyboard shortcut customization tool for Adobe Lightroom 3 or 4.
