| You can use any image-editing program with iPhoto. However, a good one to start with is Lemke Software's GraphicConverter, which costs only $30 shareware, or may already be on your Macintosh for free, since Apple bundles it with many Macs. If you don't have it, you can download a copy from www.lemkesoft.com/en/graphcon.htm. Reasons you might want GraphicConverter:Apart from the Red-Eye and Retouch tools, iPhoto restricts you to working only on the entire photo. GraphicConverter provides similar tools for sharpening, adjusting levels, and changing brightness and contrast, but you can apply those to selections, and those selections don't have to be rectangular as they are with iPhoto. Although GraphicConverter's interface is significantly more technical than iPhoto's, it also offers additional flexibility and control in some places (Figure 4.59). Figure 4.59. GraphicConverter's interface is more technical than iPhoto's, but as with the Levels dialog, it can offer more feedback and control. You can not only apply changes to selections, but also delete them and paste or paint in new pixels in place of them, as I'm about to do here to eliminate the microphone sticking out of my brother-in-law's side (Figure 4.60). Figure 4.60. GraphicConverter enables you to edit out problematic parts of photos, like this microphone. If you wish to add text to a photo, you can do so quite easily (Figure 4.61). Figure 4.61. You can also add text to photos in GraphicConverter, which is impossible in iPhoto.
iPhoto supports a relatively small number of file formats for importing and exporting photos, whereas GraphicConverter can import about 190 file formats and export about 79. If you need a photo in an unusual format, you need GraphicConverter.
|