Top 7 Free Photo Editing Software Programs For Windows

Many of these free photo editing programs aren't lousy or lacking in features. Some of them are industrial grade (e.g. GIMP) and some are geared towards simple, online photo edits (e.g. Fatpaint). In this article, I'll introduce you to seven of the best photo editing software programs for Windows.

1. The GIMP

The GIMP is a great free, open-source image editor that brings high-end photo editing to users for free. The interface is a bit complex to pick up, but it is very powerful. If you've used Adobe Photoshop before, you'll find many of its functions available in the GIMP. For a free piece of software, it has an amazing repertoire of functions.

2. Fotoflexer

Fotoflexer is a web-based photo editing application that has casual and prosumer appeal. If you're a novice, you'll be able to go in, do some simple edits and be done. If you're a more advanced user - you'll be spoilt for choice in terms of what this tool can do. We're talking about blurring, comic, retro, animatinos, distortions and even layer support - all done online with your photo.

3. Paint.Net

Paint.Net has been around for some time and boasts an easy-to-use interface and a huge array of effects. If you don't need to use the full power of Photoshop and simply want a quick and dirty tool, Paint.Net is a good bet.

4. Picasa 3.5

Owned by Google, Picasa is a very pretty and top notch photo editing program. You need to install a desktop client in order to use it. However, it's interface is very clean and has cool tools like geo-tagging, great sharing support, web albums and name tags. Picasa gets my vote as one of the best in this list - it's a terrific, easy, and free way to edit and organize your images.

5. Picnik

Picnick is another photo editing tool that is web-based and has been around for some time. It's quite powerful in the photo editing options it offers - although it's not as full-featured as Fotoflexer, in my opinion.

6. Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011

Microsoft has jumped on the photo editing bandwagon too - with Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011. It gives you face recognition and retouching capabilities and is in fact a very good alternative to Google Picasa or Apple iPhoto.

7. Fatpaint

Fatpaint is an online and free, graphic design software and photo editor. It's one of the newer tools in this list - you can create page layouts, paint and draw vector images, logos and illustrations very easily.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many choices available when you're picking a good photo editing software program for your Windows machine. What I've shown you are 7 of the best and free tools available out there. Be sure to check them out. For more serious work, you'd of course want to use a commercial package like Adobe Photoshop Elements or Corel PaintShop Pro X4.

Until next time, happy photo editing!

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on digital photography. Visit his website at Basic-Digital-Photography.com for tips and tricks on buying digital cameras, as well as shooting great photos.

Article Source: Gary_Hendricks

Tips For Shooting Action Scenes

Digital camera owners who are not that experienced in taking photos often find it hard to capture those action scenes they so desire. With their subjects being mobile, they are not too aware of what to do with their camera to take the best action shots.

Indeed, it can be quite a challenge to engage in sports and action photography. Movements are fast and unpredictable that you also need to be quick in clicking your camera. But whatever type of digital camera you have, one really needs to take the extra effort to take clear pictures of people and animals in motion. It would also best to learn the right techniques that will work so you won't get frustrated with your photos.

With action and sports photography, the most important factors to keep in mind are pre-focusing and timing. Remember that your subjects are moving and you don't have any idea what they're next move will be so it pays to be alert and ready with your digital camera so that anytime you see some actions worth capturing, you can do it instantly.

Pre-focusing means locking the focus of your camera to the scene where you want to take your shots. This technique will lower the lag time between the pressing of your shutter release button and the actual taking of the image. Doing this step will also help you plan your shots well.

In terms of timing, you will need to learn the shutter-lag delay of your own camera. Shutter-lag delay remains a fact despite the advancement in digital camera technology. In fact, even the DSLRs still have an issue with this.

To determine your camera's shutter-lag delay, first take a test and observe the lag. Take note of how long it is so that you can pre-shoot to compensate for that lag. Normally, it's only a matter of seconds but then in action photography, keep in mind that time is gold if you want to take the best shots possible.

Panning is another way of capturing great action scenes. It means following your subject such as a football player, a bike rider or a car on the race track. Some of you may be surprised to know that panning actually helps in taking clearer photos of a subject in motion than when photographing it while you're holding still. This technique helps in capturing subjects that might be blurry because you are matching the speed of their movement. Having an optical viewfinder will be very helpful for this purpose.

Using your camera's flash is also a great tactic to capture unique action shots. It's best to use the flash when you're closer to the subject and when the scene is dark. This technique helps to freeze the action and highlight your subject more. As the light is focused on the subject, the background will usually become blurry resulting in a beautiful effect. Just remember to always plan your shot, pre-focus and pan to capture wonderful photos with your subject standing out from the scene.

For information about digital camera stores, visit 42photo.com, New York's legendary camera store in business for over 40 years.

Article Source: Kalyan_Kumar