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Do you remember Picasa? Google's program gets forgotten a lot, but it was really popular back in the 2010s for simple photo editing and organizing.
Sure, Photoshop dominated, but you have to admit - pirated versions were everywhere back then, that's the truth.
Though I wouldn't say everything was so grim performance-wise, it really depended on the version, but yeah, for quick edits people often went for something lighter like Paint.NET or simple online editors, which were starting to pop up too.
Back then people mostly worked with Photoshop - it was the king, though expensive and you needed a license. For more affordable options, people used Gimp, Paint.NET, and some tried old versions of Corel. Mobile phones barely had photo editing, cameras were weak, so everything went to the computer. Web services like Picnik existed, but they were slow and had limited features.
Back then I took a lot of photos at my dacha - harvests, flower beds, building garden plots :) And here's what I remember: almost all my friends who were serious about photography used Photoshop, but honestly, not always legally. For basic editing, IrfanView was super popular - a simple program, but fast and convenient for basic operations like cropping, brightness and contrast adjustments.
I also remember Adobe Lightroom starting to gain popularity - photographers used it when they wanted to do more than just edit individual shots, but process entire series in a uniform style. And from online tools, Google's Picasa was trending, very convenient and built-in. Various web services like Pixlr also popped up, but the internet was slower back then, so desktop software was preferable.
What people already mentioned about Gimp and Paint.NET - that's right, especially for those who were short on cash or just didn't want to mess with piracy. iPhones were starting to appear on mobile - there were a few simple apps for quick editing, but that was for hobbyists, serious photographers still worked on desktop.
As far as I remember, pirated Photoshop was everywhere, but here's the thing: it ran terribly slow on weak computers, so a lot of people switched to lighter programs anyway. Lightroom was just gaining popularity back then, and in 2010 it was still pretty expensive 😅
Do you remember if you had any file compatibility issues between programs? Back in 2010, a lot of people switched between software and lost layers or filters, so people often saved intermediate versions in PSD just to be safe. Here's a practical tip: if you wanted to save disk space, you could process RAW files directly in Lightroom without exporting to Photoshop - many people forgot about that and thought you had to open everything in Photoshop.
evgeniy_gribnik asker
Yeah, I remember - lost layers multiple times when exporting. Lightroom was easier, but I still got used to saving the originals separately anyway.
By the end of the 2000s and in the early 2010s, Photoshop really was out of reach for most people, but here's what people often forget to mention - many folks simply didn't see the need for complicated software. Basic editing was available through web services like Pixlr or Photopea (though Photopea didn't exist in 2010, but Pixlr was already up and running), and some people were fine with built-in filters in social networks and on cameras.
Besides the options already mentioned, FastStone Image Viewer is worth noting - it was popular as both a simple organizer and editor at the same time, worked fast, and cost nothing. And those who took photography more seriously (not professionals, but enthusiasts) got by just fine with GIMP, despite its clunky interface. The main thing was - the software didn't lag and it was free.
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