Photo editing tools can have a steep learning curve as well as a high price tag.

When updating the look of Cliqpreneur, I needed an editor to create the new header image. However, I didn’t want to spend any money on software (if I could avoid it), and I didn’t want to spend more time learning the software than getting the image edited. My only previous experience editing images has been cropping and re-sizing.

Image Editor Selection Criteria
I had three criteria for the photo editing software I would use:

• Easy to learn and use
• Good set of features
• Free (not shareware)

Paint.NET - Review by CNET
I searched for photo editing on Download.com and then filtered by free license and found Paint.NET. The CNET reviewer rated it 5 stars out of 5 and had this to say:

If all you want is a quick image retouch, Photoshop is overkill. Paint.NET, on the other hand, is an open-source freeware editor with all the essentials, including tools to crop, rotate, resize images, adjust colors, and create collages.

Paint.NET supports common image formats–JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and others–but not high-resolution RAW files. There are enough basic and intermediate effects and features to keep image-tweakers happy, though the red-eye removal tool is notably weak; those images may require manual attention.

Unlike most free image editors, Paint.NET supports layers and has an actions manager. The pleasing interface boasts semitransparent windows for ease of use.

Version 3 fixes many old quibbles, including a convenient thumbnail manager for handling multiple image editing, and improved program graphics. Paint.NET is far more advanced than Microsoft Paint, and given its free price, it’s a must-have for anyone needing to fix images.

The user reviews were also good, and there were a large number of downloads.

Paint.NET - My Experience
I downloaded and installed the software, and then started creating the header image for Cliqpreneur. From to install to an edited image took about an hour including searching through the Help contents to learn what the heck I was doing. Adding the slight gradient to the right end of the header took the longest to figure out.

I will say that the text editing feature could be improved. The software allows you to add text to a layer, but once you’ve left that tool or layer, you cannot go back and edit the text. Your only option is to delete or clear the layer and start over. Also, there are no special effects that I found that you can apply to text like shadows, reflections, etc. You might be able to apply other tools to the layer to get the same effect, but I couldn’t readily see how to do that.

Paint.NET - Summary
All in all, Paint.NET has a good feature set, is easy to use. While it is free, they do accept donations to support future development if you feel so inclined (I did). One final note: there are additional plugins available for Paint.NET in the support forum that extend the tool set of the software.

You can get Paint.NET from Download.com or directly at http://www.getpaint.net/.