The GIMP 2.6 vs. Photoshop Smackdown - The Choice Examined

Choosing between Photoshop andGIMP 2.6shouldn’t just boil down to a matter of cost. If that were the case, GIMP 2.6 would win, hands down. There are positive and negative aspects associated with each image editing program.

Photoshop is incredibly advanced; it features loads of amazing tools and is capable of performing countless specific, complicated tasks. Considering everything that it can accomplish and its ability to smoothly interact with other popular Adobe products, it may very well be worth its $700 price tag. Here’s the rub: if you’re a casual photographer looking to perform some basic photo editing tasks, why spend such a large sum of money on a program pretty much guaranteed to overwhelm you?

There are entire books and classes dedicated to the art of photo editing with Photoshop. It could be argued that nothing similar exists for GIMP simply because it’s not as popular or associated with a large company such as Adobe, but frankly, GIMP’s not as complicated.

Professionals who are long time users of Photoshop may balk at GIMP’s less complicated design and its focus on less complicated tasks, but truth be told, isn’t that an argument as to why casual photographers in search of user-friendly image editing softwareshouldgo with GIMP? Sure, GIMP has very limited color depth, especially in comparison to Photoshop, but would an average user even know what that means, let alone care?

It’s ridiculous to pretend that cost doesn’t come into play as well. In terms of price, GIMP 2.6 and Photoshop are on opposite sides of the spectrum; one can be downloaded for free online and the other costs $700. Choosing between the two simply comes down to two factors: whether or not you can afford Adobe Photoshop, and whether or not you really need everything that Photoshop has to offer.

If you’re a professional photographer who intends to spend a large amount of time agonizing over images and editing them extensively, Photoshop may be worth the investment. If you’re a casual photographer hoping to learn a thing or two about image editing by tinkering around with editing software, then GIMP 2.6 was made with you in mind. You can utilize many of the same features as Photoshop, without having to hand over seven hundred of your hard-earned bucks. The choice is yours.