photoshop choice

Hi guys,

After I bought my D70, I went to a local warehouse store and bought

Photoshop Elements 3. Although I am happy with the software, I wonder

if I should upgrade to a higher level. What do you guys use and why?

 

Thank you, Brendan

Curves tool is one of the most important. I've seen an article somewhere that showed how to get the curves window up in PS Elements 3 (via custom action), but I don't have the link here.

 

Or you can get a third-party curves plugin.

If you're not sure, then you most likely don't need to and shouldn't upgrade. Unless you have money to burn or can get a free copy. The only "practical" reason (in quotes because everyone can have their own definition of this word) to upgrade is if Elements is missing some specific function that's preventing you from accomplishing a particular goal or if you really feel your progress is being held back or limited by not having the full blown Photoshop. <br><br> Of course, I suppose another reason is if you're a professional or aspiring to be one. Then learning on CS2 would give you more relevent experience for what's used in "industry". If you're a hobbiest, I'd stick with Elements for a little while at least. You can always upgrade when the next version of CS comes out...or the next...or the next...or...

If you feel you want something better then look to Paint Shop Pro which you will find is also fairly easy to learn and easy to work with like Element #3. PS is NOT easy to work with.

 

You will then have a great combination with all the tools you need until you get really sophisticated and start working with the 'industry' ... THEN you should look at PS CS :-) and heavan help you :-)

 

I run PSP8.1 and PS7 but mainly use PSP.

Photoshop Elements 3 covers a lot of ground, depending upon your needs (and if you're

getting the results you want) I'd recommend sticking with it.

 

Photoshop CS2 extends the functionality of PSE3 in every direction. Between more features

in the Camera Raw converter, the workflow with Bridge, better color management,

advanced noise adjustment features, etc, it is certainly worth the upgrade for my needs.

 

I don't find it difficult to learn or use. It *is* a very large, very sophisticated application and

requires an appropriate level of study. Since I use it every day, it's worth the effort.

 

Godfrey

Here is the <a href="http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/photoshop-elements-

curves.html">link</a> to get curves for Photoshop Elements.

 

If you want to find out if a higher level is better for you, you can download a trial version. If I

remember correctly, the trial version has all the features as the real version, except that you

can't save any changes. It's a big download, so beware if you're on dial-up.

Also, if you're ever published, Elements cannot produce files in the format printers usually request. I just converted a few for the local university for publication in a technical journal because they couldn't produce a 300dpi CMYK TIFF file (the trick was that they couldn't make it CMYK in Elements).