Help a noob with photo editing software

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Adamcski

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Adam
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Hi folks,

Currently shooting just in JPEG but understand RAW files capture more detail and my camera allows RAW or Canon Raw (I believe).

I understand that I can download the free Canon software for RAW image conversion / processing and I was speaking to someone on my course who is using GIMP?

Is there a decent free post picture software that the community would recommend? I appreciate the paid for versions may be better and it could be something to look into as my skills increase (at least I hope they will) but having something to learn a little with now that doesn't cost anything frees funds for better equipment / saving towards better equipment.

Any help / guidance would be appreciated.

Many thanks
 
Adamcski said:
Do you shoot just in RAW or JPEG and RAW?

Just thinking do I want to edit every photo, or will JPEG do for some and just edit the ones that you like / need it?
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I only shoot in Raw but I like processing my photos to produce the pictures I like. That doesn't sound like you, though. I would recommend you sticking to jpegs only until such time jpegs do not produce the pictures you want - and that point might well never come for you.
 
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For free with Canon, I would start with DPP and Gimp. I would do the raw conversion and basic adjustments in DPP, then if you need to do anything more complicated than DPP supports, save as a tiff file and load that into Gimp for further editing. As others have suggested, you may want to shoot raw + jpeg for a while, which will give you a reference to compare with and something to fall back on if necessary.
 
Raw Therapee is a free Lightroom equivalent (minus the catalogue functions) that works with the GIMP. However they both have a steep learning curve...
 
john.margetts said:
I only shoot in Raw but I like processing my photos to produce the pictures I like. That doesn't sound like you, though. I would recommend you sticking to jpegs only until such time jpegs do not produce the pictures you want - and that point might well never come for you.
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Thanks for the response. I thought perhaps switch the camera over to take both, then any that come out incorrectly or those I really like, I can try and improve a little. Those that are just okay and I am not overly fussed about, I can just keep the JPEGS and delete the RAW files.
 
Retune said:
For free with Canon, I would start with DPP and Gimp. I would do the raw conversion and basic adjustments in DPP, then if you need to do anything more complicated than DPP supports, save as a tiff file and load that into Gimp for further editing. As others have suggested, you may want to shoot raw + jpeg for a while, which will give you a reference to compare with and something to fall back on if necessary.
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Yes, I watched a couple of tutorials yesterday evening and I think this one would be a good place to start. Perhaps take 4/5 photos of different things and then use those to learn a little more about the process. I suppose the amount / type of tweaking will be relevant to individual tastes and likes - there wont be a standard way to approach this as we also see things differently.
 
Lez325 said:
Have a look at Paint.net

Paint.NET - Free Software for Digital Photo Editing

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows.
www.getpaint.net

Free and very simple to use

If you want a paid editing suite- I use Photoshop 2021 a vey in depth editor and around £120 a year

Les :)
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I may move up / on to a paid system once my skills require it. I wont be as good as the majority of people on here as I have only been taking photos for a few months, so it is all slow steps at the moment :) Once I get better at actually taking the photographs (learning about composition currently) then it will help improve the actual starting point for the editing.
 
Adamcski said:
Yes, I watched a couple of tutorials yesterday evening and I think this one would be a good place to start. Perhaps take 4/5 photos of different things and then use those to learn a little more about the process. I suppose the amount / type of tweaking will be relevant to individual tastes and likes - there wont be a standard way to approach this as we also see things differently.
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One good thing about using DPP for raw processing is that (being a Canon product) it reads in-camera settings that other raw processors may ignore, and it will be using Canon's own camera profiling. This means that when you load a raw file with the default settings you should see something very similar to what you'd get with an in-camera jpeg. Of course, there's more scope for adjustment than you'd have with the jpeg, but you can always use 'Revert to Shot Settings' to return to this starting point. It's also useful to have this reference point if you ever do comparisons with other raw converters. As you suggest, take some photos of different things and maybe check how (e.g.) primary colours and skin tones are rendered. As I Nikon shooter, I've dispensed with in-camera jpegs for most purposes because, using Nikon's own raw converter (which has similar advantages to Canon's) I find I can easily produce something very close to the Nikon in-camera jpeg. This might not be the case with a third party raw converter, which will often ignore in-camera settings and will have its own colour profiling.
 
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Adamcski said:
I may move up / on to a paid system once my skills require it. I wont be as good as the majority of people on here as I have only been taking photos for a few months, so it is all slow steps at the moment :) Once I get better at actually taking the photographs (learning about composition currently) then it will help improve the actual starting point for the editing.
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Adamcski said:
Thanks again everyone. I have downloaded the Canon software and I will alter the camera to capture RAW and JPEG. It is all a process of learning, but I am glad I found this forum :)
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Glad you found something to use- good luck :)
 
Adamcski said:
Thanks for the response. I thought perhaps switch the camera over to take both, then any that come out incorrectly or those I really like, I can try and improve a little. Those that are just okay and I am not overly fussed about, I can just keep the JPEGS and delete the RAW files.
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I think shooting RAW + JPG is a good idea to start with but I would recommend NOT deleting the RAW files after you've edited them or are just using the jpg. As your editing skills improve you may decide you'd like to re-edit older images but won't be able to do that if you've deleted the originals. Don't ask how I came to this conclusion :(
 
A good way of starting to get to grips with processing would be to take RAWs + jpegs , and work on the RAW files until the finished result approximates to the jpg. Then you'll learn what does what and eventually begin to develop your own preferences.

Agreed with the above though - don't delete the raws.
 
I will just add that most pp software offer a free trial so once you feel that your have some basic skills you can try a few to see which you like.
I use ACDSee as much as anything because it seemed easier to get my head around than photoshop which was one of the only alternatives back then.
 
Bristolian said:
I think shooting RAW + JPG is a good idea to start with but I would recommend NOT deleting the RAW files after you've edited them or are just using the jpg. As your editing skills improve you may decide you'd like to re-edit older images but won't be able to do that if you've deleted the originals. Don't ask how I came to this conclusion :(
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Good advice - if you have the storage.

I know there are some that I'd like to go back and redo, I was way too heavy-handed when I first started messing around in Lightroom for instance, But, storing your RAWS and the JPEGs does take up room. So normally after I've done them once, I tend to delete the RAWS.

That said, I tend to keep the RAWS from big events (weddings, big holidays) in case I decide to go back to them. Everything else, I process and keep the JPEGs only.

Even then, i tend to have a 5* section which I leave uncompressed, and an 'also ran' section which I save at lower quality.

But definitely use the DPP software, it does a lot of what Lightroom enables you to do in terms of adjustments, but has less to play with in terms of anything major (or at least did when I last used it.)
 
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Kell said:
Good advice - if you have the storage.
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Storage is cheap. The OP has an M50 mk ii, so the raw files are <30MB. A 5TB pocket USB drive, with a formatted capacity of ~4.5TB, costs <£100. That would be enough to store >150,000 raw images.
 
First off, where did you see a deal like that?

Last one I bought was 1TB and that was £150. Maybe six weeks ago.

It might be now, but it hasn't always been.

When I first got a digital camera a 128MB SD card was about £90. On my first big holiday with a that camera I bought a Belkin adapter that allowed you to transfer files to an iPod.

It was all done blind though as the iPod didn't have any way to display them and I lost a few along the way.

So now, while I do have less need to delete all my RAWS, I think it's good working practice to not clog up storage with pics that really aren't up to much.
 
Kell said:
First off, where did you see a deal like that?
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I should probably have put that more clearly - these are small traditional hard drives rather than flash memory or SSDs.

e.g.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Touch-Portable-External-STKC5000410/dp/B08GR3VBR3

5TB is quite new, but they've had drives like these in the 2-4TB range for <£100 for a long time.

SSDs cost more, of course, as do really large hard disks, especially now the annoying cryptocurrency bros have been buying them by the shedload for their latest wheeze...

I forget what size my first CF card was, but then Nikon D70 raw files were only ~6MB. For me, it's always worth keeping the raw file if it's worth keeping the jpeg. Though I still have plenty of images where it's not really worth keeping either!
 
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Like many members have stated above canons DPP is a pretty good Freeby and well worth using.
Just watch lots of YouTube videos on how to use ir and any particular functions or types of editing you wish to do.

In a while you have realise that DPP is all you need or you have out grown ot and need something else.
Thatvis a bridge you will cross on tge future and may even be another thread !

Hope this helps
 
another advantage of using Canons DPP is that you can view the focus points on your screen, helps with noticing if the camera is front/back focusing when you view the image. Don't think any other software has that ability.
 
Nikon f1.8 said:
another advantage of using Canons DPP is that you can view the focus points on your screen, helps with noticing if the camera is front/back focusing when you view the image. Don't think any other software has that ability.
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i didn’t know that.

Useful bit of additional info.
 
Nikon f1.8 said:
another advantage of using Canons DPP is that you can view the focus points on your screen, helps with noticing if the camera is front/back focusing when you view the image. Don't think any other software has that ability.
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Of no consolation to the OP but Nikon's software has always been able to do that too :)
 
Capture One Express?
 
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