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Gimp is a fantastic tool for developers. It does well the tasks that can be automated or thought about in terms of algorithms (rotate all images, resize, stretc

by ptero 8y ago

Gimp is a fantastic tool for developers. It does well the tasks that can be automated or thought about in terms of algorithms (rotate all images, resize, stretch levels to 0-255, etc.). Great product! Kudos to its developers. It is, however, a lame duck to photographers (and I think many other artists) when compared with Photoshop. Those who want a visual interface to drag sliders around, instanly see how things would look and edit based on tight coupling with that visual perception still choose Photoshop. I have seen many, many artists try Gimp only to go back. Maybe Gimp does not need to be that tool for artists, but if it does its developer community needs to be more engaged with photography crowd. As a data point: current Adobe licensing model is almost universally hated. If there were a viable option many users would migrate. I would (and I am just a hobbyist). And it is not for lack of trying -- they do try Gimp (and Liminar, and Affinity and such). But the fact that they curse Adobe but still use Photoshop tells you a lot about the fact that Gimp just does not cut it for them. My 2c.

Pizzaputer 8y ago
I agree. I used to be a professional photographer and videographer. I switched jobs, but I still keep my gear around. One piece of virtual gear that I don't keep around is anything Adobe. Whereas before, I could buy an actual product and use it when I need it, now it would have to become a subscription I constantly turn on and off when I want to do a small, sometimes pro-bono, photo or video shoot. Affinity Photo is a pretty good alternative. Familiar interface and features, and a one-time affordable purchase. Not entirely sure what an equivalent might be for video.
- alexcabrera 8y ago
  Final Cut
- eropple 8y ago
  I still use Photoshop and Illustrator (because for my money there's nothing comparable, and I'll pay for them because of it) but for video I've moved almost entirely over to DaVinci Resolve. BlackMagic's free version is really complete and (possibly because it started life mostly as a color grading application) I find that the way it presents options and tools works better with the way I like to do things. The Studio version's pretty cheap, too, if you want to upgrade.
ISL 8y ago
As an anecdotal counterpoint, I'm a dedicated amateur photographer [1] who works entirely on a Debian stack (Darktable/GIMP). I've been occasionally curious about Lightroom/Photoshop's capabilities, but have never felt that I was lacking anything so grievous as to consider a switch. Furthermore, I'd have to run an entirely different OS from the one I've been using since 2002, and lash myself to a licensing model that would be both crippling and expensive. From my perspective, Adobe's tools do have remarkable capabilities and substantial support. The improved content-aware fill is remarkable, but I never need it. Adobe's close relationships with camera manufacturers (and large developer team) ensures that new cameras and lenses are supported almost at release. Lensfun and Darktable do a great job of keeping up with new hardware, but it often takes at least a few months for new cameras to be supported. I buy slightly-older hardware, and I check for Darktable compatibility before purchase/rental. (The GFX50R isn't yet on my radar screen in part for this reason[2], though support is clearly on the way[3].) [1] https://www.charliehagedorn.photography/ https://www.charliehagedorn.photography/ https://www.instagram.com/charliehagedorn/ https://www.instagram.com/charliehagedorn/ [2] https://www.darktable.org/resources/camera-support/ https://www.darktable.org/resources/camera-support/ [3] https://github.com/darktable-org/rawspeed/pull/161 https://github.com/darktable-org/rawspeed/pull/161
- piffey 8y ago
  I'm going to chime in my agreement here. I shoot film, develop at home, print in my darkroom, then scan my negatives if I ever want to share them digitally (rare-ish since the whole point of shooting film for me is to get off the computer, but like to share sometimes). I ran Linux as a desktop for ~10 years and have just switched to OS X, but pulled in GIMP/Darktable/VueScan workflow even though I have access to the Adobe suite. I found GIMP lacking nothing granted I basically just replicate my darkroom process on the negatives when I scan them if I plan to share them digitally (dodge, burn, contrast). I'm sure there are some advanced layering and other workflows, but I'm not really interested in doing anything I can't replicate in the darkroom. Plus as I said the entire point here is to use the computer less, but still derive joy from an old hobby. Edit: Also, really enjoying your IG feed. Great work in your color palettes and in the tones across your black and whites as well. May be my love for the Hasselblads and 6x6 frames, but most of those work really well as straight squares as well. Nice to see another PNW photographer on here.
prokoudine 8y ago
> Those who want a visual interface to drag sliders around, instanly see how things would look Oh, do you by any chance mean on-canvas preview available for almost every filter since GIMP 2.10.0 released a year ago? With that split preview slider? :)

by ptero 8y ago

Pizzaputer 8y ago

I agree. I used to be a professional photographer and videographer. I switched jobs, but I still keep my gear around. One piece of virtual gear that I don't keep around is anything Adobe. Whereas before, I could buy an actual product and use it when I need it, now it would have to become a subscription I constantly turn on and off when I want to do a small, sometimes pro-bono, photo or video shoot. Affinity Photo is a pretty good alternative. Familiar interface and features, and a one-time affordable purchase. Not entirely sure what an equivalent might be for video.

alexcabrera 8y ago
Final Cut
eropple 8y ago
I still use Photoshop and Illustrator (because for my money there's nothing comparable, and I'll pay for them because of it) but for video I've moved almost entirely over to DaVinci Resolve. BlackMagic's free version is really complete and (possibly because it started life mostly as a color grading application) I find that the way it presents options and tools works better with the way I like to do things. The Studio version's pretty cheap, too, if you want to upgrade.

ISL 8y ago

As an anecdotal counterpoint, I'm a dedicated amateur photographer [1] who works entirely on a Debian stack (Darktable/GIMP). I've been occasionally curious about Lightroom/Photoshop's capabilities, but have never felt that I was lacking anything so grievous as to consider a switch. Furthermore, I'd have to run an entirely different OS from the one I've been using since 2002, and lash myself to a licensing model that would be both crippling and expensive. From my perspective, Adobe's tools do have remarkable capabilities and substantial support. The improved content-aware fill is remarkable, but I never need it. Adobe's close relationships with camera manufacturers (and large developer team) ensures that new cameras and lenses are supported almost at release. Lensfun and Darktable do a great job of keeping up with new hardware, but it often takes at least a few months for new cameras to be supported. I buy slightly-older hardware, and I check for Darktable compatibility before purchase/rental. (The GFX50R isn't yet on my radar screen in part for this reason[2], though support is clearly on the way[3].) [1] https://www.charliehagedorn.photography/ https://www.charliehagedorn.photography/ https://www.instagram.com/charliehagedorn/ https://www.instagram.com/charliehagedorn/ [2] https://www.darktable.org/resources/camera-support/ https://www.darktable.org/resources/camera-support/ [3] https://github.com/darktable-org/rawspeed/pull/161 https://github.com/darktable-org/rawspeed/pull/161

piffey 8y ago
I'm going to chime in my agreement here. I shoot film, develop at home, print in my darkroom, then scan my negatives if I ever want to share them digitally (rare-ish since the whole point of shooting film for me is to get off the computer, but like to share sometimes). I ran Linux as a desktop for ~10 years and have just switched to OS X, but pulled in GIMP/Darktable/VueScan workflow even though I have access to the Adobe suite. I found GIMP lacking nothing granted I basically just replicate my darkroom process on the negatives when I scan them if I plan to share them digitally (dodge, burn, contrast). I'm sure there are some advanced layering and other workflows, but I'm not really interested in doing anything I can't replicate in the darkroom. Plus as I said the entire point here is to use the computer less, but still derive joy from an old hobby. Edit: Also, really enjoying your IG feed. Great work in your color palettes and in the tones across your black and whites as well. May be my love for the Hasselblads and 6x6 frames, but most of those work really well as straight squares as well. Nice to see another PNW photographer on here.

prokoudine 8y ago

> Those who want a visual interface to drag sliders around, instanly see how things would look Oh, do you by any chance mean on-canvas preview available for almost every filter since GIMP 2.10.0 released a year ago? With that split preview slider? :)