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Unpopular pick for editing aurora shots: I actually prefer GIMP over Photoshop
I spent three weeks processing my Alaska trip photos from February, and I ended up sticking with GIMP because the layer masking just clicked for me. Has anyone else found an open source tool that beats the paid stuff for astro work?
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evan_wilson1811d agoTop Commenter
Honestly I used to be a Photoshop snob too but you might be onto something here.
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charles_kelly4311d ago
Absolutely, that's exactly it. I was the same way with GIMP for years, thought it was the only way to get real work done. Then I gave a simpler tool a try for a quick crop and color correction job, and it was honestly a relief. I didn't miss spending twenty minutes hunting down a menu option just to remove a power line from a photo. Sometimes the basic stuff gets the job done faster and better.
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oliviagrant5d ago
The learning curve on these bigger programs is just brutal when all you need to do is fix a red eye or lighten up a dark photo. It drains all the fun out of editing when half your time is spent fighting the software instead of actually working on the image. My sister asked me to help her with some basic edits on her laptop and I tried opening it in Photoshop and just stared at the screen for five minutes. Ended up just using the built in Photos app on Windows and it did everything she needed in like thirty seconds. The expensive tools are great for professionals but for normal people they're just overkill.
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