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What are some freeware photo software programs that can make your pictures look professional like musicians?

When I say like musicians, if you look at band photographs they have this distinct look to them as if the picture was dulled down. I can't really explain it but if you take a picture with your digital camera you can tell by the quality of your picture that it is a photograph that you took with your own camera. I would like some kind of software that would edit the photo to make it look professional rather than homemade. I hope someone understands what I mean.

Public Comments

1. It really has nothing to do with any post production (maybe minor). What it is most dependent upon it the skills of the photographer. Lens choice, lighting and posing of the band members. Until only a few years ago, photographers had to use transparency film and get it right every time, on demand ... that has not changed, we still do that. It seem that only those who started making images using a P&S camera where "fixing" was almost mandatory about 50% of the time, has the photo program become the holy grail of digital photographers. Back to basics is a far better way to go.
2. The best free software is Gimp: http://www.gimp.org/ . Software doesn't make the photo professional, the photographer does that. And, in the case of most band photography the images undergo extensive post processing. It has little to do with the skill of the photographer. It’s more likely to be part of the predetermined plan of the art director. The photographer provides the photograph as requested and the art department takes it from there. That’s the way it has been with digital images for the last fifteen years. Prior to digital the process was done with manual manipulation of the film and print. –Anyone who tells you anything different lacks the professional background and experience to address the question.
3. Picnik, FotoFlexer or Lunapic are great all round web based and FREE editing tools. Adobe, makers of the expensive Photoshop, now has a free website version in Photoshop Express. If you need/want more features downloading GIMP is a great options. Still free, but you have to download the software. There are also free tools to add text blurbs, to make collages, to put your photo into other images. There are a number of tools that allow you to put the image of a face into other photos for some fun creations. Check out the links below for more ideas. http://www.edit-photos.net