All You Need to Know About Photo Software
The photo software allows you to view your photos on your computer and also edit them.
There is a wide variety of photo software to view your photos:
- most of them are free or with a free version;
- some are installed directly with the operating system.
These photo programs also allow minor photo retouching and have basic editing functions.
For example, although some might think it is outdated, I use Microsoft office picture manager for editing pictures for blog writing. It is easy to use and very light on computer resources.
Good to know: Some photo programs are supplied with your camera, and others are offered free on websites.
Photo software supplied with the camera
When you buy a camera, most of the time, the installation CD of this one includes a small photo software allowing:
- to transfer its photos to the computer;
- to visualize them;
- but also to do basic touch-ups.
This photo software allows:
- to remove red eyes;
- to crop the photos;
- to correct the exposure;
- to increase the sharpness;
- or to switch the picture to black and white or sepia.
Sometimes these photo softwares even allow an automatic adjustment to improve the photo.
Photo viewing software
Many sites offer powerful photo editing software, and on top of that, they are free:
- On some sites, you can make original and nice montages, like integrating your photo into a decor.
- However, if you want to keep your photo in its original element, these sites will also allow you to correct the image and insert effects…
Free software is available for download on the Internet.
These full-featured programs allow you to display photos, scroll through a slideshow, and offer essential editing functions.
Photo viewing software: comparison
With the following table, compare the different visualization software for your photos:
|
Photo viewing software |
Supported image formats |
Red-eye correction |
Editing function |
The little extras of this photo software |
|
Picasa |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
Snapfire |
|
Yes | Organize, correct, and modify photos |
|
|
Faststone Image Viewer |
|
Yes | Tool panel for hand retouching |
|
|
XnView |
400 formats | No | Editing photos | Image conversion |
|
IrfanView |
More than 40 formats | No | Simple edition |
|
Good to know: these photo visualization softwares only work under Windows. For Mac, you will have to use the OS software or those developed for Mac.
Photo editing software: the two main ones
The two leading photo editing softwares are:
- Photoshop;
- ACDSee Photo Editing.
Photoshop
Photoshop: the must-have photo software
Regarding photo editing, Photoshop, from the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, remains the essential reference: it handles many formats and offers many features.
It will be difficult for beginners to take full advantage of the software, so it is mainly aimed at intermediate or experienced users. Professionals widely use it:
- This software will allow you to remove unwanted elements from your photos (this option is called a “localized tone corrector”).
- You can also make your photomontages by inserting an element of a photo on another photo. This manipulation is possible thanks to the clipping with the lasso or the pen.
- You will also be able to make many modifications to exposure, color…
Photoshop presents each tool as a floating window that can be moved around easily.
It is easy to find your way around its menus, which are pretty intuitive.
Each tool is customizable according to our needs.
Good to know: Photoshop is a paying software, so before getting it, it is better to be familiar with photo editing.
ACDSee Photo Editing
ACDsee was initially a photo viewing software, but it has gradually added photo editing functions to make it a complete software.
It offers photo editing functions to improve the quality of images:
- brightness, contrast;
- hue, saturation;
- light and dark tones, gamma;
- white balance.
Its primary function is creative, with the possibility to stage the photos:
- creation of greeting cards and souvenir albums;
- insertion of frames, vignetting effect;
- gift wrap, CD sleeves…
Hope this post helps you decide which photo software you should go for. Remember to share your experience in the comments below.