Image editing software can be quite expensive, but Paint.NET and GIMP are great alternatives that are free to use.

Every once in a while I notice I never got around to blogging about software that I like a lot. So I want to mention to image editors that are free but chock full of functionality. Both are great alternatives to such expensive commercial suites as Adobe Photoshop and the likes. Yes, Photoshop is the standard and has even made it to being a verb. That does not mean you have to shell out hundreds of bucks just to create your own mashup image, or to get rid of that zit on the picture you plan to post to that dating site.

When I started to mess around with some basic image editing a couple of years ago, I started with GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program). GIMP is free and it is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows. GIMP has a ton of options, but I found slightly hard to learn. Probably because it has so many options, I got lost in figuring out how to use it. I also found its user interface hard to get used to. I consider this program best for real serious editing.

My current program of choice is Paint.NET. Also free, but Windows only. Windows is not even enough, you need Microsoft's .NET Framework. Don't worry though. If you don't have .NET installed, the Paint.NET installer will install it for you. Pain.NET's interface is easier to get used to, and its basic options are easy to use. But even with this program, more detailed image manipulation is possible.

No doubt there must be many more alternatives to Photoshop that you can chose from. Right now, I am very satisfied with Paint.NET, and knowing I can switch to GIMP if Paint.NET seems insufficient. If you are looking for a program to get started, I suggest you try Paint.NET first.