Photoshop Question

[r._bond]

<p>I am new to photography (you might have seen my question as to what DSLR to purchase). Although, I do not have a DSLR camera right now, I at least want to try and go ahead and figure out with kind of post production software to get (I already had a digital point and shoot camera). I do not know ANYTHING at all about photoshop, but obviously most people use it to enhance their photos. I am sure there are many different photoshop programs and was hoping some of you can recommend the ones you use. I don't need anything extremely advanced, just something to touch up photos...a good all around program. <br />Thanks in advance!</p>

[hal_b]

<p>Try Lightroom instead. It's a whole world cheaper and more intuitive and it's easier to get good results. It simplifies the all of photo editing into simple sliders that maintain photo-realism.</p>

<p>If you get into Photoshop, you will realize quickly that it is too easy to edit "too much" to the point where your photos look fake. Photoshop has a million options that have nothing to do with photography, but have more to do with graphical design and creative artwork. You will pay through the nose for these extra features, and if you aren't already an advanced photo editor, you won't see an increase in the quality of your output. More than likely, at first, you will use Photoshop to make your pictures look really, really, bad.</p>

[geraint_hughes]

<p>yes i agree in a way, im a photographer and im a digital retoucher , and ive studied photoshop for 8 years and know my way around very well by now. Photoshop is one of , if not the best when it comes to digital editing, but as a begginer as you slowly pick up things you can over do it, its not the easiest program mind....Lightshop is great but there is alot you cant do on there that you can in photoshop, but it all depends how far and what you want to do really. I f you are going to go with photoshop try using one of the earlier versions first and try maybe like photoshop 7 as all the new realeses aint cheap. But as Hal B said for the most of it lightroom is great.</p>

[szrimaging]

<p>Photoshop is a specfic program, not a type. There are, however, multiple photo editing options, such as Photoshop, photoshop elements, lightroom, apeture, or gimp.</p>

<p>First, what kind of computer and what OS are you running? Second, are you a student? Third, what is your budget? Full out Photoshop is a fairly expensive program. However, if you are a student, the price is cut, drastically. If you would like to spend no money at all, I would say give gimp a try. Also, if you run Linux, gimp is probably your best bet.</p>

[crystal_smith5]

<p>I started with Photoshop elements and I thought that was very user friendly. It has alot of the "basics" avaliable and you can always work your way up to photoshop cs3 or 4. (Its very reasonably priced as well)</p>

[r._bond]

<p>I have a Dell laptop with Windows Vista. I am not a student. I just started learning about photography (hoping to take a community college course starting in Jan). I plan on just doing photography as a hobby, but want to be able to enhance and touch up my photos, so I don't need a professional, high-end program, just something to improve my photos.</p>

[nanc1]

<p>I have photoshop 7 and C4 but never could get used to it, it's not easy friendly (i think)<br>

I love Paintshop Pro I have 8,9 and now X2 with the Nik Software(extra) and I find X2 very easy to learn and its cheap under $100 if you go to the corel site you can download a free trial.</p>

[geraint_hughes]

<p>yes photoshop elements would be a good place to start, yes nancy as your self many people do find photoshop hard to get on with, but some take to it quiet easy. Elements would have everything you need to learn and keep you going until you pick things up, and its the cheapest of all the photoshops.</p>

[dhhensler]

<p>Another vote for Lightroom over any of the Photoshop suite.. Once you've mastered Lightroom, you'll probably want Photoshop anyway. Good luck.</p>

[john_demott]

<p>Adobe Photoshop is the most comprehensive, most powerful image editing software, but it is also the most expensive and the most difficult to master. For an amateur photographer, it is best suited for someone who considers image processing an important and enjoyable part of their photographic experience and who values the technical aspects of processing. If that doesn't describe you, then you might consider Nikon Capture NX2, which I think offers the easiest path for a beginner to get really first class results--basically many of the adjustments can be made by clicking on the part of the image you want to fix and moving a simple slider. If you are interested, take a look at the demo videos on the Nikon website. Naturally, Capture NX2 is designed for Nikon cameras, but it sounds like you haven't committed to a brand of DSLR so that might not be a problem for you.</p>

<p>Lightroom is also fairly easy to use, but not as powerful for editing as NX2. Where Lightroom really shines is for someone who needs to manage really large numbers of images (many thousands)--it is an ideal tool for someone like a professional wedding photographer who generates hundreds of files a week and needs to get through them in a reasonable amount of time. Adobe Photoshop Elements is designed for an amateur photographer who wants many of the tools in Photoshop but with an easier learning curve and lower price. All of these programs are fine tools, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution. From your description of yourself, I'd say Photoshop Elements or Capture NX2 are most likely to fit your needs.</p>

[r._bond]

<p>I have never heard of Nikon NX2...but I will definitely look into this. I do plan on getting a Nikon (really want a D300, but probably will get a D90 due to budget constraints). Thanks to everyone for your advice, and I welcome any other suggestions or advice others may have. I love hearing all different kind of opinions and advice. </p>

[avery1]

<p>It might even be worth starting with a free program like Picassa, just to get a sense of the effects of changing contrast, saturation, temperature, etc. Elements will give you a lot more flexibility than picassa and cs4 will give you a lot more than elements, but it might be worth it to start with the most basic program and work your way up.</p>

[nanc1]

<p>I also have Picasa,its good.<br>

As for this Lightroom2..........is it any easier then PS CS4 or PS7?</p>

[richsimmons]

<p>Photoshop and Lightroom are really not the same in the long run. Photoshop does not have a built in database structure. Lightroom does not have as many minute features that PS does. They are really two different animals in the long run, but they are both very good. And they both have demo versions you can try for 30 days. I would do that before plopping down any money. Otherwise, for the money, on the PC side, to help keep track of your photos and do basic corrections, ACDSee is really very good. For image correction you have a slew of choices. Corel makes Paint Shop Pro which is a good program. Photoshop Elements is really good too and it comes with built in tutorials to get you where you want to go. I'm surprised how much they put in it. And Gimp is free too.</p>

[melinda_gaus]

<p>Rachel -</p>

<p>You sound a lot like me. New-ish to photography with a limited budget.</p>

<p>I have a Nikon D80 and Photoshop Elements. It has been a good match for me.</p>

<p>I would add that you might want to pick up a few classes (I can't remember if you mentioned that). I took two classes at the community college - one for beginner photography and one for photoshop elements. </p>

<p>Also, as someone else mentioned, try grabbing an older version of photoshop. I think they are up to 8 now, but I work with 6. The local classwork I took worked with version 4. It will save you a lot of money. I bought 6 and as soon as 7 came out, the price on 6 really dropped. (grumble, grumble).</p>

<p> </p>

[mike_hitchen]

<p>There are free photoediting programs like GIMP and searching the net will yield hints and tips from users.<br>

The full Photoshop is very expensive and is really more of a complete 'desktop publishing' suite. It smaller sibling Photoshop Elements (PSE) is an excellent starter program and not expensive.<br>

Corel Paintshop Pro is cheaper than full Photoshop (and not much more exxpensive than PSE) and has a wider range of little buttons for specialist effects but overall PSE has the 'kudos' and there is a much wider knowledge base on the internet if you want advice Photoshop.</p>

<p>Lightroom is a very useful program but is actually more of an image management program with some (very effective) image processing options. It is so good that quite a few use this for global processing and have a simple program such as PSE for local changes. It is not cheap and I think for what you want it is excessive - unless you plan to take several thousand photos a month.</p>

[riley_s1]

<p>Photoshop is the industry standard for a good reason, but if your budget is limited (it's a ridiculously expensive piece of software, even with the student discount), there's nothing wrong with GIMP, which is free.</p>

[greg_peterson3]

<p>I'm a long-time Photoshop user (15+ years) so I'm very comfortable with it, and I use it every day. That said, I urge you NOT to even consider it until you've grown out of less powerful programs. (For most people that will never happen.)</p>

<p>The advice given above about free programs is excellent. GIMP is extensive, but unless you have a Quad core system, it's slow. As a PC user you might look for Paint.net, free from Microsoft, as is a program called ICE, with which you can build panoramas. (If that's of any interest to you.)</p>

<p>But, given that your biggest investment in software will be the time spent learning it, I think that going directly to a program like Lightroom might be your best bet. It has a very large subset of the Photoshop tools, is far better than Photoshop in terms of organizing your pictures, and even generates Web galleries for you. (Yes, Photoshop does some of that as well, but Lightroom is better.)</p>

<p>There are many other options, from Aperture to Elements to Picassa, but I'm only familiar with Lightroom, so I'll limit my recommendation to that.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

 

[dried_squid]

<p>I use Corel Ulead PhotoImpact X3 on Vista.<br>

http://store.corel.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=89731&catalogId=10103&storeId=10302&langId=-1<br>

This is version 13 (I think). Been using it since version 4.2.<br>

At $70, I have no complaints. Although I purchased during a sale for $50. There's a PDF manual. I found it well-organized and extensive. I'm not much of a post-processor, so the manual serves me well as dictionary. Can't search if you don't know the right words.<br>

Good luck.</p>

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