GIMP which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program is a good open source alternative to the very expensive Photoshop. Yes, it’s free and it has some pretty impressive features. Most users use it to do touch-up on their photos, create special effects or just to edit their photos or images. I have been using Photoshop in my office for a while and I realize that it is very powerful. In fact, you can do almost anything on it. However, even for a company user, the price is quite out of the range for most. So I am here to introduce to you GIMP.

GIMP feels a lot like Photoshop. If you have been using Photoshop, you will find the switch to GIMP quite easy. However, the interface can be confusing at times because the GUI is very spartan and bare. Yes, it has to be get used to. But the incentive is that this software is free and you won’t need to fork out thousands for a copy. I often use this software to repair and improve my photos, like those unfocused photos, or those underexposed/overexposed photos and to remove the “red eye” effect without losing quality at all. And I often use this software to resize and sharpen my images. It comes with a full set of tools for painting, graphics manipulation, compression and so on. It easily converts from one graphic format to another. If you want to create animations with this software, you can! You can even add more features to it with plugins. And the possibilities are limitless!

And finally they have created a comprehensive manual for their users. But even without the manual, you can find a lot of resource (like tutorials, guides and walkthroughs) on the Internet on GIMP. It has become one of the most famous graphic manipulation software out there and it is constantly being updated. This software for available for Windows, Mac and Linux. And oh, if you find this software useful, please consider donating to their cause. It will help create a more powerful software for all of us to use.