Comments on: 10 Free Web-based Alternatives to Photoshop

By: Adrian

Adrian — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:42:02 +0000

I have just scanned in around 7,500 35mm slides from years long past. The new images all look dull and lifeless. Now I can use Photoshop or any one of dozens of other packages to edit them one at a time - and I probably will for a selected few, but not all 7500. So why can’t I just group them into a dozen types (e.g. snow scenes, beach scenes, landscape, city buildings, portraits, cars, interiors, backlit, etc.) then do a bulk fix on each group. Are there any packages around that will do this simply?

By: Mysti

Mysti — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:55:36 +0000

I’ve read all these comments, because, I too (like Karen on Jan 23, 2010) wanted to see what the best free web-based photo editor was out there. About halfway through reading the comments, I realized most of these comments were written almost 2 YEARS ago because the article itself was from May 2008. Think about how much changes in the computer and software world in 2 years? At this time the iPhone had only been out for a year! Can you imagine how many Windows updates and itunes downloads there have been since then? It’s possible Photoshop is totally different now! Why did some of these people get so upset over some of the comments?

Why get all worked up over people’s attitudes about Photoshop (whether elitest or calm, for or against) when they no longer hold water since they are so old? I used to use GIMP, but stopped due to flaws and bugs in the software and went on to others. And besides, as someone else noted, this is about WEB-BASED software. So most of these suggestions are moot.

I guess my point is…don’t get all angry because people 2 years ago had opinions about the way software was designed back then! I’m going to pay attention to the most relevant comments and suggestions which I feel are dated within the last 4 to 6 months and possibly disregard the article altogether.

By: Gord

Gord — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:13:05 +0000

Photoshop is a waste of time and money, threw the disk in the garbage when I found out for myself that PhotoImpact is a truly amazing program for the price. Even now, I rarely use PhotoImpact for creating digital artwork. I mostly use Bryce 6.1. What a sweet program that one is. I now use PhotoImpact only for post-processing, after creating artwork in 3D.

By: Friz

Friz — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:12:33 +0000

Sumopaint.com is one i have used quite abit. Very similar to photoshop

By: David Bryce Scott

David Bryce Scott — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:18:02 +0000

What about Pixlr? You forgot what is proboly the best online photo editor Iv’e ever used. (So far)

By: Bucka

Bucka — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:45:13 +0000

Picnik looks as ugly as Phixr though…

And you can see that Gimp users are rather stupid. They don’t know that this article is about online solutions. Besides that, Gimp is even worse than MS Paint at least the interface.

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:40:24 +0000

Sooooooooooooo, after reading all of this stuff, and trying to see what inexpensive or free program to use for Mac instead of photoshop (for my amateur needs), I have come to: 1) Photofilter or 2) Photoshop Elements or 3)Pixlmator My current love is making Youtube videos, but I am using my ppt program to build the slide show - drastic limitations for manipulating photos. I am leaning towards PS Elements unless someone can enlighten me otherwise. Thanks

By: Nigel Johnson

Nigel Johnson — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:30:24 +0000

The only one that suited me was Picnik, which has the best cropping tool out of the ten.

By: PortraitGal

PortraitGal — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:00:24 +0000

Yes!!! well said!!! I’ve read through these comments and found myself getting more angry with each snobby, snarky, arrogant, elitist comment that was made.

Today’s hobbyist may well be tomorrow’s award winning photographer that puts YOUR work to shame, and just MAYBE they will be using a program that you are sneering at.

GET OVER YOURSELF! sheesh! I do BOTH professional AND hobby pictures, and as a single mom, I have neither the time NOR the money to spend on bloated software, to do what can be done with a few clicks in today’s much more streamlined programs. The KISS principle (KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!) is just as applicable with photography as it is with most anything else.

I have to wonder, as well, why a GOOD photographer would even NEED all the extra fixits for your picture — is your photography really so bad that you need that much help? I’ve seen pictures taken by so-called amateurs that make many professional pictures look like a simple point and shoot in comparison.

One other point…not everyone who is a fantastic photographer is also a computer geek. So please stop with the looking down your nose at people who prefer to spend their time taking awesome photos than trying to figure out complicated software.

just my two cents worth…elitists, BAH! HUMBUG!

By: Prof designer

Prof designer — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:59:44 +0000

I’m a professional designer, been using Photoshop since the early days, have won awards for my images, and I’d be happy to go toe-to-toe with any of you “professional” Photoshop users out there. Yes, Photoshop is good, but Chanpory Rith hits it on the head. A good designer needs alternatives to Photoshop which is expensive and bloated. (In reality, most professional photoshop users actually use only a small set of tools that they have mastered, and the rest are rarely used.) Mr. Rith is not “whining”, he is making an excellent point—most of the graphic design work we do could be done with light, portable software (preferably web-based for those of us who travel a lot and use multiple operating systems).

What I have always found frustrating about my colleagues in this industry is their refusal to look forward and be open minded about change. Instead they tend to get elitist and hide behind their status (note the tone of posts, “if you don’t like Photoshop, you must be an idiot or worse, a hobbyist”). In reality, my fellow designers act a lot like sheep, all following each other. When I started in this business, the old guard sneered at us youngsters who did our design work on desktop computers (real designers used an Xacto knife and rubber cement). Sure there was awful stuff being produced with “hacks with Macs”, but very quickly the old guard was all replaced, as the industry changed without them, and design actually got better.

There is a reason that almost all the innovation in the graphic design industry is now coming from 17 year olds who haven’t learned how to hide behind their elitism. Some of the posters on this site would do well to read “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.