GIMP is a free and open-source raster graphics editor used for image retouching and editing, free-form drawing, converting between different image formats and more specialized tasks. GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. 

GIMP is often considered as the biggest rival to Adobe Photoshop and is the most popular image editing application for Linux. In terms of functionality, it is very similar to Adobe Photoshop but has a different user interface. It is available for Linux, macOS, and Microsoft Windows. 

It is primarily developed by volunteers as a free software project associated with both the GNU and GNOME Projects. Though it is very useful, it feels very barebones without GIMP plugins.

One can utilize it to its extreme limit without installing plugins for GIMP. Saying so, huge numbers of plugins for GIMP are available on the web which makes it very difficult and confusing to decide which one to download and which one to avoid.

Batch Image Manipulation Plugin

Batch Image Manipulation Plugin, or popularly known as BIMP, is one of the most popular GIMP plugins among photographers and graphic designers. It is a very practical and handy tool.

It allows you to edit multiple images at once, thereby saving a lot of time. You can crop, resize, rotate, rename, fix and watermark your images using BIMP.

To download BIMP for GIMP, click here.

Layer via Copy/Cut

Layer via Copy/Cut does the same work on GIMP what a photoshop user can do by pressing ctrl+J or in simple words, adding a new layer. It also allows you to copy, move or cut selected areas from one layer or a group of layers from selected areas.

You can even add different filters to different layers which helps you to edit some parts of a particular image. After installation, it can be accessed from the layer’s menu from the top right corner.

Beautify

Beautify does the work of brush tool in Adobe Photoshop. It provides the power of a photo retouching studio to GIMP. It also has a set of filters, effects, and presets to enhance your image.

If you are someone who is constantly looking for filters to post your selfies on Instagram, it can be a handy tool for you. The interface is quite simple and easy to use as well.

It also has options to tweak some other aspects of the image like correcting the color, saturation, contrast, and similar.

To download Beautify for GIMP, click here.

Refocus

Refocus is the solution for everything related to focusing issues in a picture. If for some reason the subject of your picture is not in focus, you can adjust the settings in Refocus to get the desired result.

Or else if you want to get that nice blurry background which we often get using telephoto lenses on our DSLRs, you can achieve that here.

To download Refocus for GMP, click here.

Resynthesizer

Resynthesizer is one of the finest plugins that are available for GIMP. If you are a serious photographer, it is very likely that you might have witnessed unwanted objects being captured in your picture unintentionally.

These unwanted objects are always annoying as they ruin the mood of the photog. In such a scenario, Resynthesizer will help you to remove unwanted objects from the picture.

You can use it to heal several areas of your image and to transfer textures as well. It is very similar to Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop.

To download Resynthesizer for GIMP, click here.

Watermark

As you might have guessed by its name, Watermark is used to add watermark to your photographs. Though it sounds like a petty task, any serious photographer would know its importance.

Theft of content over the internet happens very rapidly and it is very hard to stop. Watermark is one of many ways to safeguard our content from online theft.

LensFun

LensFun is one of the finest plugins available for GIMP. It lets you fix lens distortion in our image. Its interface is quite simple, clean and easy to use and almost everyone can use it without much trouble.

It has the ability to correct the lens distortion by detecting and analyzing the EXIF data of your image. After installation, it can be found in the filters section of the enhanced menu.

To download LensFun for GIMP, click here.