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  4. Does anyone know of a free photo editing software that allows you to overlay?

Does anyone know of a free photo editing software that allows you to overlay?


11 months 4 weeks ago #751704 by Leilanee
I used to love adding textures to my photos. I have a lightroom subscription, but it constantly tells me my textures are incompatible with my photos and won't let me merge/overlay them. As far as I know there's no way to override this, so I can't use Lightroom to add textures to my photos.

I'm not paying $30/month for photoshop considering I'm an extremely casual hobbyist; I've only just started using my camera for the first time in like 6 years. Every app I look at in the app store has an overlay option locked behind a paywall. Is anyone aware of an app I can use where I won't have to pay to do a simple overlay?

The closest I could find was Adobe Express, but there's no erase tool in the free version, and I would prefer to be able to erase elements of the photos.
I'm fairly certain the functionality I'm looking for is something I'm going to need to pay for but if I can avoid it that would be great considering my Lightroom subscription is enough money spent.
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11 months 4 weeks ago #751714 by Ira Weber
You'll want to look at Gimp, I'm near certain that has what you are after.  
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11 months 4 weeks ago #751720 by Rawley Photos
There are several free or lower-cost alternatives to Photoshop that you can use for basic photo editing and overlaying textures. Here are a few options you might consider:
  1. GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program): GIMP is a powerful and free open-source image editor that offers many of the features found in Photoshop. It supports layers and layer masks, which will allow you to overlay textures and erase elements easily. You can download GIMP from its official website ( https://www.gimp.org/ ).
  2. Krita: Krita is another free, open-source digital painting and image editing software. It's primarily aimed at digital painters but also has excellent support for photo editing, including layer management and various blending modes. Download Krita from its official website ( https://krita.org/en/ ).
  3. Paint.NET: Paint.NET is a free Windows-based image editing software with support for layers, blending modes, and other essential photo editing features. It's less powerful than GIMP or Krita but might be sufficient for your needs. Download Paint.NET from its official website ( https://www.getpaint.net/ ).
  4. Pixlr: Pixlr is a free online photo editor that works in your browser, meaning you don't need to download any software. It offers a decent set of tools, including layers and blending modes, which should allow you to overlay textures on your photos. Access Pixlr here: ( https://pixlr.com/ ).
These tools should be sufficient for your casual hobbyist needs. Each option has its learning curve, but once you're familiar with the interface and tools, you'll be able to add textures to your photos without needing to pay for additional software.
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Ozzie_Traveller
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11 months 4 weeks ago - 11 months 4 weeks ago #751739 by Leilanee
Thanks all, GIMP may be the answer but that is the most ghastly user interface I've seen in the 20-odd years I've been at this. I can't even figure out how to get my file uploads in the extension itself, it's just a constant loop of opening google drive and then getting redirected to a grammarly ad.
I'll check out the other apps listed but at this point I'm sick of installing and uninstalling photo apps from the app store... now to try to figure out how to get rid of GIMP before it installs all the malware in the world onto my laptop...

Edit: paint.net seems to be GIMP with a better interface. It does exactly what I wanted it to!
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11 months 3 weeks ago #751807 by CharleyL
Affinity Photo is very close to Adobe Photoshop in general appearance, has most of the same tools, and in some ways is better than Photoshop. It's a one time charge (at the time that I bought in) of $50 + another $50 for the hard cover manual. It's tools and layout are very similar to Photoshop, so most of your experience with Photoshop will carry over to using Infinity. For this purchase, they have been sending me free upgrades too. They offer all of the other companion programs like Adobe, though I have found very little use for them for my needs. I've been using the free Canon user software for download from the camera and minor tweaking, that looks and works much like is provided by Lightroom and Capture 1. You have to be a Canon camera user (requires camera model/serial number) to get this download though.

Adobe and I parted ways about 3 years ago when their CS got subcontracted and the subcontract staff couldn't speak clear English. I had been an Adobe customer since 1998, but they didn't care. I'm not good at interpreting Pakistani/English, or whatever it was. 

Charley
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11 months 3 weeks ago #751843 by TCav
Isn't "overlay" just another word for "layers"? Instead of placing the texture over an area, you remove the area and place the texture in a layer behind the area, right?

Try Irfanview .
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11 months 3 weeks ago #751865 by CharleyL
Irfanview, though a very handy program for photo processing, does not have a very workable "layers capability". I've been using Irfanview for 23 years and find it very handy, but not for this need.

Charley
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11 months 3 weeks ago #751906 by Leilanee
Yes, overlay just means adding a layer.
In Lightroom, if the photos you're trying to merge aren't the exact same dimensions, it won't let you merge them, so they basically need to be shot with the same camera. Any other application I could find charges a fee for layers, but paint.net allows layers for free, and you can overlay photos of different sizes and then just re-size the texture.
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11 months 3 weeks ago #751947 by Happy Hour
Did you try Gimp yet?
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