Introduction

PhotoFiltre is a relatively small application and unlike Photoshop, will install and launch very quickly. The interface, loaded with all the features and options, can be confusing at first glance but you'll soon get used to it. The right side is composed of the shape and drawing tools and an optimizable color palette. The top bar has all the essential image editing and modification options. PhotoFiltre sadly doesn't let you customize the interface and choose your favorite tools.

Features

Among all the image modification tools, of particular usefulness is the quick contrast/hue and saturation buttons because you can check out the effects and immediately and easily correct the image if you're not satisfied with its quality. If you trust PhotoFiltre, you can also let it adjust these parameters automatically.

Like any self-respecting image editing application, PhotoFiltre includes the most widely used filters to transform your image, but if you need to make really significant changes, you'll find yourself limited. Furthermore, unlike Photoshop, PhotoFiltre doesn't include layers, making it more challenging to work on different elements of the image separately.

Like the excellent free image viewer Irfanview, PhotoFiltre covers the majority of image formats and can batch process and convert images rapidly. PhotoFiltre has five different zoom options yet they seem to be more or less similar. The magnifier is probably less precise than the drop down percentage pane, and the auto zoom adjusts the image’s size according to PhotoFiltre's window size.

The image explorer is located at the bottom of the screen, and if you set it according to your image file you'll be able to quickly preview all your pictures. However, if you work with multiple image files, it can quickly become confusing, as you’ll have to open up an explorer tree pane every time to look for your pictures.

PhotoFiltre contains all the essential tools and options to edit and optimize pictures.

Download PhotoFiltre 7.1.1 in Softonic

Adobe Creative Suite 2 is a suite of photo and web applications that originally debuted back in 2005.

The apps included in Adobe Creative Suite 2 are as follows:

• Adobe Creative Suite CS2 (Standard)
  
• Acrobat 3D 1.0 (Windows)
  
• Acrobat 7.0 Standard
  
• Acrobat Pro 8.0
  
• Audition 3.0
  
• GoLive CS2
  
• Illustrator CS2
  
• InCopy CS2
  
• InDesign CS2
  
• Photoshop CS2
  
• Photoshop Elements 4.0/5.0
  
• Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0

This is a lot of applications for a suite but is very useful for graphic and web designers. Adobe's most current version of its Creative Suite is currently on its 6th generation, offering tons of upgrades from Adobe Creative Suite 2. Still, legacy users will be glad to know that the software installs fine on modern operating systems like Windows 7 and 8 by installing the software in Compatibility mode.

Photoshop is still plenty useful for Adobe Creative Suite 2 users, offering tools for basic image editing. Users who are looking for a free, modern alternative to Photoshop will want to try out GIMP instead.

Adobe Acrobat Pro 8.0 is very outdated as well. The most current version is Adobe Acrobat Pro XI. Users who want a simple PDF viewer can download Adobe Reader XI or Foxit Reader.

It's nice to see that Adobe is allowing users to continue to use Adobe Creative Suite 2 but there are more modern and free applications that may serve you better.

Download Adobe Creative Suite 2 Standard (CS2) in Softonic

Full of features

Photoscape includes just about everything you need to view, optimize, edit, print and have fun with your photos. In fact, it's so complete that many would call it a free Photoshop alternative. Sure, it's not quite up to the level of Photoshop, but it's truly a great alternative to Adobe's big shot - and it makes photo editing a lot more fun!

Easy to use

From the program's main window you can choose what you want to do: view pictures, optimize those that didn't come out so well, print several photos on a single page collage-style or perhaps add any of the dozens of filters and special effects included in the program.

Smart interface

One of the first striking elements in Photoscape is its uncommon interface design. The application is very striking and in many ways it's easier on the eye than Photoshop.

Conclusion

There's really nothing negative to say about Photoscape. Just download it, test it, love it and keep it forever. It's free!

Download Photoscape 3.6.3 in Softonic

The Organizer in Adobe Photoshop Elements lets you not only browse photos, but also rate them, add a caption, use them as wallpaper and also add name tags to them in order to identify the people that appear on the images.

The Editor in Adobe Photoshop Elements includes all the tools you need to edit, fix, share and design all sorts of printed creations with your images. The program features three different editing modes (Full, Quick and Guided), suitable for all levels of expertise. You'll be able to resize, crop, remove the red-eye effect, adjust color and lighting, tweak levels and contrasts, or simply apply some automatic quick fixes to your photos. Adobe Photoshop Elements also helps you apply more elaborate effects in an easy, step-by-step process.

Adobe Photoshop Elements is also a perfect tool to create photo collages, postcards, calendars and other similar goodies with your images. The Sharing tool, in turn, allows you to create online albums, burn your images onto CD or DVD, send them by email, and share them on Facebook or Flickr straight away.

Adobe Photoshop Elements is a great application for quick image editing, photo sharing and easy-to-create photo artwork. On the downside, some tools can be a bit confusing at first. Also, Adobe Photoshop Elements doesn’t really work as a stripped-down version of Photoshop – it’s a totally different program that combines the power of Adobe tools with a great simplicity of use.

Adobe Photoshop Elements is a powerful application with which you can organize, edit, enhance and share your images in many ways, without requiring professional photo editing skills.

Download Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 in Softonic

While the original Premiere application is mainly intended at professional video editors, Adobe Premiere Elements brings video editing closer to the average user. The program features a complete set of simple yet powerful tools that will help you extract video from several sources, combine them into a movie, add special effects and filters and share with family and friends.

The interface in Adobe Premiere Elements is very similar to that in Adobe Photoshop Elements. The application is divided into two main parts: the Organizer and the Project editor. Both work seamlessly with each other and share the same sleek, elegant dark interface.

The Adobe Premiere Elements Organizer lets you browse your media (photos, audio and video), rate them and add captions to them. The Editor, on the other side, is where the creative part comes in.

The editor in Adobe Premiere Elements features the classic video editing working space, with a special area for imported media, a built-in preview window and a timeline at the bottom. Though it may seem confusing and difficult to use at first sight, a bit of effort and patience on your side will help you master the program without much fuss.

Adobe Premiere Elements works with all popular media formats (including HD video) and features a bunch of extra material (special effects, transitions, graphics and text, menus, titles and more) with which you can easily create awesome movies.

Moreover, Adobe Premiere Elements also features all the necessary tools to share your movies, either by burning them to DVD and Blu-ray, or by uploading them straight away to Facebook and YouTube.

Adobe Premiere Elements is the perfect way to get started with video editing and the powerful tools included in the original Premiere suite.

Download Adobe Premiere Elements 11 in Softonic

It's designed specifically for use with images created in Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements and the latest version has been fully updated to make it compatible with the Adobe CS6 suite.

This means Perfect Resize now features a new scaling technology, faster performance and a completely new user interface.

Perfect Resize allows you to enlarge an image to any size or resolution you need but most importantly, it maintains fine image detail and eliminates what are known as "edge halos". Cropping and resizing is simple and you can do it within Adobe Photoshop CS6.

The only downside to Perfect Resize is that, although it's much simpler than most CS6 apps, it's still not something that beginners will pick up quickly. Fortunately, there are many tutorials on the developer page to help.

Perfect Resize will help you produce accurate and unblemished enlargements and give you professional results.

Download Perfect Resize 7.0.7 in Softonic

Adobe Fireworks CS6 is an image editor focused mainly on graphics and images for the web – including website design and web app coding.

The complete set of tools included in Adobe Fireworks helps you design and create pretty much any element that could be used on the web, from a simple button to a complex website layout.
Plus, the new version has extended its boundaries beyond the computer web browser, and lets you work for other devices as well, such as kiosks and smartphones.

Adobe Fireworks CS6 corrects more than 60 bugs from the previous version, thanks to user feedback, and also has improved start-up time. The new version includes also a bunch of new templates that help you get started with all sorts of projects.
Naturally, Adobe Fireworks works in perfect harmony with other Adobe apps, which means you can import and edit Photoshop or Illustrator images, or copy and paste objects from Dreamweaver .
Despite being considered a minor app in the Adobe suite, Adobe Fireworks CS5 remains a helpful complement to create graphically spotless websites and online apps.

Download Adobe Fireworks CS6 12.0 in Softonic

Adobe Fireworks CS6 is an image editor focused mainly on graphics and images for the web – including website design and web app coding.

The complete set of tools included in Adobe Fireworks helps you design and create pretty much any element that could be used on the web, from a simple button to a complex website layout.
Plus, the new version has extended its boundaries beyond the computer web browser, and lets you work for other devices as well, such as kiosks and smartphones.

Adobe Fireworks CS6 introduces some new features such as Clean CSS code extraction from designs and web pages, Improved CSS support, New jQuery Mobile theme skinning support, Quicker access to color, Improved performance and API access.

Naturally, Adobe Fireworks works in perfect harmony with other Adobe apps, which means you can import and edit Photoshop or Illustrator images, or copy and paste objects from Dreamweaver.

Despite being considered a minor app in the Adobe suite, Adobe Fireworks CS5 remains a helpful complement to create graphically spotless websites and online apps.

Download Adobe Fireworks CS6 12.0 in Softonic

At first glance, the user interface in Adobe Flash CS6 will seem very overwhelming for the newcomer, although the software comes with plenty of tutorials and guides to get you started. But for those already versed in Flash, the Adobe Flash UI is a dream thanks to its drag-and-drop elements and customizable workspaces which allow you to pre-define the layout of all the various toolbars, timelines and panels.

Already loaded with a rich array of features for creating immersive web apps, Adobe Flash CS6 adds even more powerful tools than the previous version. There's new support for HTML5, Sprite sheet generation, Wide platform and device support, Prepackaged Adobe AIR application creation, Adobe AIR mobile simulation and Stage 3D targeting.

The great thing about Adobe Flash is the way it integrates with the other apps in Creative Suite 6. You can seamlessly import and export projects and content from the latest versions of Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Illustrator.

Adobe Flash remains a hugely important web design tool. And with the latest changes in CS6 it is becoming increasingly adaptable for developing powerful internet applications and rich content for mobile devices.

If you're at all interested in web development, you can't afford to be without Adobe Flash CS6.

Download Adobe Flash CS6 Professional 12.0 in Softonic

Most notable is the Content Aware tool which makes editing Photoshop more "intelligent" plus there's a new design and a streamlined interface. In addition, basic video editing functions have been added for the first time.

When you first open Adobe Photoshop CS6, the most eye-catching thing is the revamped colorful user interface. However, if you don't like the new look, you can revert to the old grey interface via Preferences - Interface. Beyond this however, there are some useful new features:

Content Aware

Content Aware intelligently moves selected objects and adjusts them accordingly with the background or surrounding objects. This enables you to simply drag and drop objects in Photoshop much more easily without having to readjust the background. Don't like the position of a person in an image? Just move them to another position instantly and the background automatically adjusts.

Video Editing

Adobe Photoshop CS6 brings video editing to Photoshop for the first time. Its integrated with all of Photoshop's traditional tools which makes it very powerful when it comes to retouching scenes, adjusting colors and filter sets etc. It also allows you to add audio tracks although it's not very advanced otherwise.

Bridge file browser and Mini Bridge

Adobe Photoshop CS6 features a more powerful file browser which allows you to sort and manage pictures according to specific metadata. The fully integrated file browser with thumbnail previews photos quickly and opens them instantly for easier library management.

Adobe Photoshop CS6 brings some interesting new features to this powerful photo editing software. Particularly interesting is the Content Aware function which makes retouching and manipulating photos incredibly easy. Please note however that this beta version may be unstable and if you need a reliable version, its recommended to use the stable Adobe Photoshop CS6 or Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Download Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended 13.0 Beta in Softonic

Compatible with Photoshop CS5, Adobe Photoshop Elements and Lightroom, Blow Up makes edges sharp when you enlarge your digital images.

If you're familiar with Photoshop's resize tool, Blow Up will be simple to use for you as it's almost identical. Blow Up essentially assures you're able to resize images on a much larger scale without blurring details or losing any real quality.

Blow Up operates like any Photoshop plug-in, using a panel that's accessible from the Filter tool. This panel shows you the image in its original size. There are three ways to resize an image using Blow Up:

-Crop & Resize: crop the image but still maintain the original image proportions
-Resize: enlarge the entire image
-Stretch: You can choose any size for your image, although you'll lose the original proportions

In all three modes of BlowUp there are filters that sharpen your image's edges, which is the trick so that the final result does not lose quality. You can also define the type of paper you're printing the photo on, so the image will fit it perfectly

Blow Up's retention of image clarity when during enlargement editing is highly impressive.

Download Blow Up 3.0.0.628 in Softonic

Download AKVIS Retoucher 5.0 in Softonic

The goal with this application seems to be a replacement for various other programs you might use for one specific media type. Why use programs like iTunes, Picasa, and Windows Media Player when you only have to use ArcSoft MediaImpression which does all three? It certainly makes sense from the outset.

Once ArcSoft MediaImpression is installed, you are faced with buttons for music, pictures, video and all media. Clicking any of these opens a traditional pane with a folder tree on the left. In the picture segment you can perform basic edits, such as cutting, removing red eye and face-tagging. In the music and video segments you can listen to and watch any of your files, and reorganize them. You can also hit the easy archive button, which will save any selected files or folders to a CD.

If you want to print your pictures, you can order a variety of different products from ArcSoft MediaImpression, including mugs and books.

While it's potentially a good idea to have a single media application, the execution of ArcSoft MediaImpression is a bit weak. The photo editing options are not sufficient or comparable to competing programs like Adobe Photoshop Elements. ArcSoft MediaImpression's video player is similarly basic.

ArcSoft MediaImpression is a nice idea and a step in the right direction for an all-in-one media hub. Unfortunately, it still lacks some of the features and flexibility of most media players or photo editors.

Download ArcSoft MediaImpression 3.5.255.985 in Softonic

Maybe this generous selection of editing tools is responsible for PaintShop Photo Pro's lengthy installation process.

It has so many different windows, palettes and toolbars that it feels a bit overwhelming. Our advice here is to spend as much time as necessary customizing it to your needs and, of course, trying out all the program’s buttons and menus.

We especially liked the Express Lab, a special tool to quickly fix common image glitches.