FREE programs to help with your Photography

[Chris Cool]

FILE COMPRESSION & image manipulation programs

PIXLR - recommended if you want a Photoshop type experience for Free!
http://www.pixlr.com/
When you 'Save' your image, a 'Save Image' dialogue box opens with a compression slider which shows you in real time the size of the file you are saving.
http://www.siuya.plus.com/pics/pixlrtutorial.jpg ------ http://www.siuya.plus.com/pics/pixlr-border-tut.jpg
There are 30+Video tutorials as well------See complete list http://ictpublish.com/pixlr/

How to straighten Horizons etc using Pixlr Express
http://pixlr.com/express/-------http://www.siuya.plus.com/pics/Express.jpg

Adobe PhotoShop and Adobe Elements
"Save for Web” used in Adobe PhotoShop and Elements is an easy way to watch in real time what size your image will be when posted. Do all the necessary adjustments then reduce and sharpen your image before using http://www.siuya.plus.com/pics/save-for-web.jpg

PaintShop Pro users
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com...izewebep.shtml

GIMP - takes some getting use to
http://www.gimp.org/ but takes some getting used to.
Search "Google" for tutorials

IRFANVIEW
http://www.irfanview.com/ Make sure you download the Plug-ins as well as it has a "Save for Web" feature which strips all unnecessary info from the file, thereby making it smaller for the web.
Search "Google" for tutorials

PHOTOPLUS SE
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/photoplus/

PICASA
http://picasa.google.com/
Has a Straighten tool for horizons etc.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FREE PROGRAMS - noise reduction

Neat Image
http://www.neatimage.com/win/standalone/download.html

Denoiser
http://absolutedenoiser.free.fr/

Noiseware Community Edition Standalone 2.6
http://www.imagenomic.com/download_nwsa.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FREE PROGRAMS - others

Hugin Panorama photo stitcher - recommended by Alex Monro
With Hugin you can assemble a mosaic of photographs into a complete immersive panorama, stitch any series of overlapping pictures and much more. Have a look around the site and when you're ready, click the Download tab http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

Scanning tutorial
http://www.scantips.com/

PhotoShop tutorials
http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html

Photoshop Actions
http://www.atncentral.com/ Select the Actions Tab at top of page.

Focus stacking plus other macro photography techniques
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJiEw4VCcYU

Exif Reader
Is an image file analysis software for Windows. It shows all the information in the Exif file and is easy to use by all.
http://www.takenet.or.jp/%7Eryuuji/m...fread/english/

ExifTool by Phil Harvey - recommended by Alex Monro
ExifTool is a platform-independent Perl library plus a command-line application for reading, writing and editing meta information in a wide variety of files.
http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/

Pandora file recovery program
http://www.pandorarecovery.com/download/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photography tutorials for the beginner

Beginners DSLR, CSC or Compact tutorial to get you on the right track!
Totally new to photography and just got a new DSLR, CSC or compact? Then take a look at Canons basic tutorials and learn how to use them. In Part 2, find out about ISO, Exposure, Depth of Field, Aperture priority, Shutter priority etc in picture form – this applies to all makes of camera.
http://web.canon.jp/imaging/enjoydslr/index.html

Quicky Photo tutorials - Bear in mind that today's compacts and bridge cameras take same quality pictures.
http://www.gcflearnfree.org/digitalphotography

Over 70 bite size Photography Tips, Techniques, and Tutorials
http://www.photographymad.com/

Photography tutorials in layman's terms
When you’ve mastered the very basic, then you can move onto these simple tutorials
http://www.photoxels.com/digital-pho...tutorials.html

Ron Bigelow's fabulous articles
All you'd ever want to know http://ronbigelow.com/articles/articles.htm

Cambridge in Colour...
Learn how to take and edit digital photographs using visual tutorials that emphasize concept over procedure, independent of specific digital camera or lens. Topics range from basic camera tips to advanced techniques.
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm

All about flash
Wow! If you want to learn about flash, then look no further!. As you know, light is what makes stunning images - without it your doomed so, if you wanna know all about it, bookmark this site. http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-pho...looking-flash/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HELP STOP YOUR PRINTER FROM CLOGGING - http://www.printer-tech.net/printer-test-page/
Run a Print Test Image at least once a week (A5 size will do) and you should never have a clogged cartridge/ printer.
Open one of the printer test images and then right click on it and choose "Save Image As..."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you'd like to add a Free program to this list that you think is a must have! Send me a private message (PM) with the link and your comments, and I will give you a credit for your trouble - thanks!


.