Question from Nedra about Free Photo Editing Download Software -

Hello John! I'm the SBI owner who posted the "Blurry Pictures" topic in the SBI forums. I reviewed the "Photo Editing" section of your site, and I notice you use Photoshop, which I've read is an excellent software for editing pictures. I don't own Photoshop, and I have zero knowledge of photo editing. I don't understand dpi and pixels etc. I'm just trying to get flawless photos, and still meet SBI requirements. Is there an 'easy' way to do that? Thanks!! P.S. - Will downloading a trial version of Photoshop benefit me?

Answer -

Hello Nedra,

Thanks for visiting better-photographs.com

By "SBI requirements" I assume you mean picture size, resolution and file size and type.

There are quite a lot of free photo editing programs that you can download or use on-line - picasa, fotoflexer, phixr, irfanview, picnik - to name but a few. (There's a link to picnik in SBI iteself.) A search for "free photo editor" in Google lists these and many more.

These can do all that you need so if you just apply the principles outlined in the "Photo Editing" section, you should be OK. It's when you want to progress beyond basic editing that you will need Photoshop or one of the other chargeable packages. As you mentioned, there is a free one month trial of Photoshop so it's worth having a go before you commit. Contact me again if you have any further problems and I'm happy to help if I can.

Of course, there's nothing to beat getting it right in the camera which is where the "Photography Technique" section together with the tutorials and masterclasses can help you.

Best wishes,

John