Most users would probably be satisfied by running the latest stable release, which is GIMP 2.10.32.Īs an experienced Photoshop user, I was intrigued that developers had come up with a patch for GIMP 2.10+ called PhotoGIMP that provided features familiar to the Photoshop community. By taking time to master many of the other color correction and enhancement tools inside of GIMP, I could do a much better job of image editing.Īn issue I did not expect to encounter when I elected to install and use GIMP as my image editor was learning about the different versions and add-ons that are available.

The result was an improvement from the original shot, but far from perfect.

Just using the Levels slider and no other color adjustment tools, I show what the original scan looked like and compare it to my edited image: A photo that I had taken of a ticket taker at the Summer Palace in Beijing was noticeably underexposed, so I decided to try my hand at color correction using GIMP 2.10.32. Having decided to test drive GIMP as my new image editor, I used my Epson scanner to digitize a roll of Kodachrome slides that I produced during a trip to China. While images taken with cell phones and digital cameras can be easily offloaded to desktop computers, the same cannot be said for photos shot using a box or single lens reflex camera manufactured decades ago. Over the years, I have amassed a large collection of photographic prints and slides as well as scrapbooks of my travels abroad. Below is a synopsis of what I have encountered while using an open source program called GIMP ( GNU Image Manipulation Program).

Completing image manipulation tasks without the aid of Photoshop has provided an opportunity for me to learn new software while supporting my workflow.

Install gimp mac