What are the most well-known programs for editing photos and images of your products? In this guide we have selected the best programs for retouching photos. In the midst of the digital age, which features content of all kinds: texts, videos, and images of any type. Speaking especially of images, how important is an image for a website or for a social media profile whose intent is to attract users? Very much.

For an ecommerce even more so, the care of product photos can make the difference between selling or not. Whether we like it or not, well-taken and edited photos attract a large number of people browsing your ecommerce. It becomes increasingly important for businesses of all kinds to be represented by websites, ecommerce, or social pages where the graphics are literally perfect.

Of course, one can rely on a professional graphic designer or photographer, but it is also possible to engage in the process of editing photos and images. How? Simple, through a series of software and programs whose use is specifically to process, create, modify photos/images or graphics. Ideal for developing eye-catching logos as well. That’s why today we will take you on a journey to discover the best editing programs.

What are the most well-known programs for photo and image editing?

The activity, whether it is a hobby or a profession, of editing has existed for a very long time and is becoming increasingly interesting, so much so that many people each year decide to embark on the path of web designer or graphic designer. The existing programs or applications are truly varied. We have selected the best, in terms of quality and notoriety, that can provide you with a real added value to your ecommerce in PrestaShop or social profile of your online store. Let's get started!

Adobe Photoshop is the best program for photo editing.

Let's start with the famous Adobe Photoshop, commonly known as Photoshop. It is probably the most famous program in the world, used for photos and for retouching images of all kinds, but also for creating high-quality graphics. In fact, it boasts several truly amazing tools. Among Photoshop's features, the most useful one is the ability to work on multiple layers. This means that you can break down an image to process and modify it in all its parts, precisely and accurately. There are many plugins, including one that allows you to work with Raw files created by different cameras, and DNG. Since 1990, Photoshop has always been a guarantee of professionalism and precision, continuing to be updated with increasingly modern and technologically advanced versions. A quality assurance signed by Adobe. Clearly, the cost of this software is not insignificant, but there is a validated alternative: Adobe Photoshop Express. This is a free Photoshop application for mobile devices, which allows you to edit photos with basic yet high-level functions, simply and quickly, within everyone's reach or almost.

You can evaluate PhotoShop here:

https://www.adobe.com/it/products/photoshop.html

PhotoShop is the best photo editing program.

Gimp is a free photo editing program.

Gimp is another well-known photo editing, editing, and photomontage software in the photography and graphics sector, represented by the friendly Coyote ilber, who is happily holding a brush. The project initially started as an experimental thesis for the University of California in 1995. Today, it is one of the most widely used programs, alongside Adobe Photoshop. In addition to processing and modifying photographs and graphics of all kinds with precision tools, Gimp also allows for the conversion of different file formats, even animations. It also includes online batch processing. Gimp has various functions, including the well-known image leveling. The available tools include effects and filters (over 150), transformations, brushes (a total of 48 standard ones, with many more that can be added), and tricks for creating masks. Here, images and graphics can achieve a truly remarkable level of quality, which is why Gimp has gained so much popularity in recent times.

You can download Gimp from: https://www.gimp.org

photo montage with GIMP

Krita is a program for creating images for free.

Comparable to Adobe Photoshop and Gimp, Krita is undoubtedly a program primarily used for creating designs and graphics, which for some time now has offered very valid tools for photo retouching and photomontage. Although it lacks some features that other editing programs provide, it is a critically acclaimed free software, as it has managed to combine tools for pure graphic drawing with those for photo editing. Thus, it presents itself as an alternative to the more famous editing programs. Of course, the tools it offers are limited compared to other software. However, this does not mean that it is low-quality software. On the contrary, its editing functions are ideal for processing and modifying images. And it is always possible to create appealing graphics. The speed is not on par with Photoshop and, probably, neither is the optimization. What distinguishes the aforementioned program are its drawing and graphic functions, as well as editing, but also the practicality of the provided tools. In fact, many prefer its interface over that of, for example, Gimp. Furthermore, it should be highlighted that a large number of tools are available completely free of charge.

You can download Krita from here: https://krita.org/

program to create images

Corel Paint Shop Pro to enhance photos.

Corel Paint Shop Pro is a photo editing, photo montage, general editing, and raster and vector graphics software suitable for Microsoft Windows systems. Here too, among the various functions, there is the tool to break down images into layers, allowing for modifications with greater quality and professionalism. Among other tools, there are many editing tools that offer incredible performance. There is also smart cropping, batch images, full HD video development, and web publishing. For performing photo and image editing tasks, this software for Microsoft Windows systems seems to be simply perfect. A great range of quality products to process and modify photos with high professionalism, for optimal performance from all points of view. Technically, this software is quite precise.

You can find Corel Paint Shop Pro here: https://www.paintshoppro.com/

Programs to improve photos

Canva for editing photos online

Canva is a free basic image and video editing tool. It is well-known for its ability to create specific graphics, such as flyers, social media posts, and so on, using ready-made and editable templates.

It also has an advanced photo editing feature; in fact, you can add filters, remove and add graphic elements, text, creative effects, and so on.

Additionally, Canva offers the ability to convert your images from jpg to png for free and intuitively by directly uploading them to the dedicated page.

Although the tool can be used online freely by anyone after registration, its PRO version also allows you to remove backgrounds from photos with just one click, a very useful feature. Technically, Canva is easy to use, very intuitive, and does not require any special technological skills.

You can access Canva's photo editor from here:
https://www.canva.com/it_it/editor-foto/

online photo editing programs

Some rules and optimizations for images for your ecommerce.

Optimize photos online

The images for your ecommerce are vital in describing your products and offers. It is important to keep in mind that, in addition to the quality of the image, it is very important to follow some rules:

  • Use the appropriate format, select JPEG for product images and PNG exclusively for logos or transparent images.
  • Do not exceed the displayed dimensions in the template; there is no point in uploading an image at 6000x4000px and 300dpi if we are only displaying it at a maximum of 500x500px on our product pages. This will force our customers to wait many unnecessary seconds to see the image. Therefore, it is important to respect the dimensions set in PrestaShop for product images and slides.
  • Always save for web the image or use online optimization tools such as tinypng.com, imagerecycle.com, or imagify.io. There are specific PrestaShop modules for these services that can save us a lot of time.
  • Consider CDN services or modules for conversion to WebP format.

Images for an ecommerce are like a storefront; if you are manufacturers and sell your products online, I recommend turning to a professional service that can enhance the product and describe it in the most accurate way.

Quality editing: choose the program and start editing.

There are really many programs and software for photo and image editing available at the moment. But it's better not to create confusion: the ones listed above are by far the best that can be purchased or downloaded. Thanks to these programs, the photos or images you want to publish will have a different effect on those who view them: you can expect only and exclusively excellent results. All you have to do is choose the software that best suits your personal and professional needs, and start working on a new front.

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Author: Loris Modena

SENIOR DEVELOPER

Per Ind Loris Modena, owner of Arte e Informatica, started working in the IT sector in 1989 as a system administrator responsible for the maintenance and installation of computer systems. He began programming for the web in 1997, focusing on CGI programming in PERL and later transitioning to programming in PHP and JavaScript. During this time, he became familiar with the Open Source world and the management of Linux servers.

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