Gimp or GNU Image Manipulation Program is usually the first name on the list of image editors available for Ubuntu. It is a powerful image manipulation software with tons of advanced photo editing tools and filters. Not to mention its customizable interface and a large collection of plugins, making it a very popular option among the Linux userbase.
This is where Krita, an open-source photo editing and digital painting application, takes the upper hand over GIMP with its support for non-destructive layers and masks. Krita, known as the ultimate application for artists, offers many phenomenal features like brush engines, wrap-around mode, color palette, and so much more.
I know I said in no particular order, but it would be wrong if GIMP was not mentioned at number one. GIMP is an advanced photo editor for Linux. You can use it to edit, enhance, and retouch photos and scans, create drawings, and make your own images. It has a large collection of professional-level editing tools and filters, similar to the ones you might find in Photoshop. Numerous fine-control settings and features like layers, paths, masks, and scripting give you total control over your images. Many image file formats are supported, including JPEG, Photoshop (.psd), and Paint Shop Pro (.psp) files. It can also be used to scan and print photos. GIMP is the most popular free image editing tool amongst Linux users and rightly so.
RawTherapee is a powerful, cross-platform raw photo processing system, released as Free Software (GPLv3). It is designed for developing raw files from a broad range of digital cameras and targeted at users ranging from enthusiast newcomers who wish to broaden their understanding of how digital imaging works to professional photographers.
Each editor provides a broad scope of tools, enabling you to perform both simple and complex photo edits, retouching, image management, color and lighting adjustments, resizing, conversions, and conveniently share your photos online.
This solution was mostly developed for painting and drawing, but you can employ it for photo editing too. It provides tools for creating various shapes, fill and stroke features, layer support, creative overlays, and filters, etc.
Darktable is an open-source and feature-packed Ubuntu image editor that is suitable for working with RAW files, as it was developed by photographers for photographers. It represents a digital light-table and darkroom for handling your negatives in a convenient environment while zooming in and out on your photos, developing them, and making various edits.
You can use this software to make non-destructive adjustments, as the changes are displayed using cached image buffers since the photo itself is transformed only upon export. Darktable also lets you install various plugins to expand its default feature set.
DigiKam is a cutting-edge, feature-packed, open-source photo editor that is supported by Linux, Windows, and MacOS. It comes with features for opening, organizing, retouching, and sharing images and RAW photos.
AfterShot is a Linux image editor that is also available on other operational systems and offers a solid selection of pro-grade tools. For starters, it allows you to conveniently master professional image editing techniques that will ensure you can enhance the colors, get rid of all noticeable flaws, and learn batch processing to quickly improve similar photos.
Even though Photivo has a harder learning curve and a smaller number of tutorials compared to more popular tools, it provides more in-depth RAW photo editing controls, which are invaluable to anyone who strives to receive top-tier results.
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