One application I use is the GIMP. It’s a graphics editing program.

As a semi-professional photographer, I’m well aware that the free, Open Source GIMP application lags far behind Adobe Photoshop. The two biggest problems with GIMP are its lack of color management and support of only 8 bits per channel of color. Many complain about the user interface as well, though I’ve actually found GIMP to be just as usable once you get to know it.

While GIMP has serious shortcomings, I will say that I know professional photographers who do not use a color managed workflow and who shoot in JPG instead of RAW, and thus only get 8 bit color out of the camera. In addition, if your eventual output is the web, you’re going to drop down to 8 bit color anyway. So, clearly, it is possible to use GIMP to serve some useful purposes even as a professional.

One way to enhance your GIMP workflow is to add a set of over one hundred additional effects to it in a package called GIMP FX Foundry. Download the file and place it in the same directory as your other scripts and you’re good to go.