Summary
I kept expecting to hit that one edit in GIMP that would make me reopen Photoshop. Maybe something would take too many steps, or I’d just know how to do it faster in the app I’d been using for a while. But the more I used GIMP, the less often I needed to go back to Photoshop. I just needed to be patient and take the time to learn how some of the tools worked. I stopped comparing every step with how I would have done it in Photoshop and just got on with the edit. After a while, I realized I wasn’t reaching for Photoshop anymore. These are the five tools that got me there. The selection tool kept me from editing the whole picture Blur or fix any area at a time The Selection tools quickly became some of my favorites. They let me do things such as blur out sensitive information in an image, including someone’s face. The effect I add depends on what I want to do. The two I use most are Rectangle Select ( great for rounder ones). I can open them through Tools → Selection Tools, or press R for Rectangle Select, which is the shortcut I recommend. To hide sensitive information, my favorite is Gaussian Blur. If you want to give it a try, you can go to Filters → Blur → Gaussian Blur. A small window will appear. Use the sliders to adjust how much blur you want to apply to the image. The effect applies only to the selected areas, so everything outside remains untouched. Layers let me experiment without messing up the original Hide or move parts without touching everything else Layers are a must in my workflow because I can edit a copy while keeping the original underneath untouched. I only have to go to Layer → Duplicate Layers, and I can see the duplicate right above the original. After that, I can try things I might otherwise hesitate to do, such as changing colors or removing distractions. If I hate the result, I can hide that layer by clicking the eye icon, and the untouched version remains underneath. With that safety net, I feel more inclined to experiment and learn more advanced photo editing. I also like layer masks because instead of permanently erasing part of an edited layer, I can use a mask to hide only the part I don’t want to show. If I change my mind later, I can always bring it back. I don’t always use masks for every image I edit, but they’re handy when I only want part of a change to show. By using duplicate layers and masks together, I can experiment freely without worrying that one bad edit will ruin my work. Heal made small distractions much easier to fix A few dusty spots disappeared without making the wood look edited Heal is useful for removing a flaw from an image. For example, let’s say a friend’s black sweater had too much lint on it. I can sample a clean part of the sweater and brush over the spot I want gone. GIMP’s job is to blend the repair into what’s around it. That makes it useful for everyday fixes, like a small blemish, dust on a surface, or whatever it is you want to remove. When I use the feature, I have to pick a clean sample that matches and make sure the brush size is just right. I tried Heal on a close-up photo of a wooden table where I noticed some dust spots after taking the picture. I took a sample from a clean part of the wood, brushed it over the dusty areas, and the dust disappeared without making the surface look obviously patched. It’s a tool I always use to remove small things I want to take out since it saves me from having to redo the photo or make a much more complicated edit. Crop helps me cut out everything I don’t need Dual-monitor screenshots are where it saves me the most Crop is one of those basic tools I use more than I think about because it lets me keep only the part of an image I need. It’s helpful with screenshots I take with my dual-monitor setup. If I press Ctrl + Print Screen, I get an extra-wide image showing both screens, even when I only need one. So I don’t have to take another one; I just go to Tools → Transform Tools → Crop. Then I drag the part of the screen I want to keep and press Enter. When I remember, I can also press Shift + C for faster access. Fixed Aspect Ratio is also a time-saver when you repeatedly crop an image to the same aspect ratio. GIMP saves the last aspect ratio you set, so when you open it again, your last setting is still there. Press Esc at any time before you hit Enter to cancel the crop. Nothing changes, so you can redraw the box from scratch. Levels looked more complicated than they actually were Brighten photo without making everything look washed out Levels is also a feature that everyone should learn to use from the very beginning. It’s prevented me from erasing various dark images I thought I had to erase. The histogram can look intimidating at first, at least it did to me, since all those numbers made it look like something that needed its own manual to understand. Accessing it was easy since I only had to go to Colors → Levels, but all those options made me feel a little lost until I understood what each one did. I used it on a mountain photo that needed a little more brightness. I changed the midtones first, then made smaller changes to the darker and brighter ends until the trees, mountains, and lake reflection stood out more without making the whole picture look too edited. The numbers you’ll need to use will vary depending on what you need to do. Split view is also very helpful for seeing how much the picture has changed, as it splits the image in half and gives you a before-and-after preview. I don’t feel like I’m settling for GIMP anymore I used to open GIMP thinking I would need to open Photoshop at any moment. Even for something as basic as cropping an image or blurring out sensitive information, I was always ready to open Photoshop in an instant. That’s no longer a problem now that I’m used to the tools I regularly use. I’m still learning every inch of GIMP, and that’s fine. I’m mastering the features I use every day, and once I’ve done that, I’ll move on to the ones I use less often but still find useful. If you’re still bouncing back to another editor, figure out which edit keeps sending you there and start with that.