Software for Portraits

[friskybongo]

Hi Eveyone,

Don't know if this is the right forum but here goes . . I want to start taking portraits and wonder which would be the best software to use in post - Portrait Pro or Adobe Elements.

 

Your opinions are appreciated.

 

 

Thanks.

[Ed_Ingold]

Elements can probably do everything Portrait Pro can do, but PP is highly automated, yet flexible. The results can be over the top if you push it, but generally flattering to the subject. Portraits should be as people see themselves in the mirror, not in a dressing room. under fluorescent lights.

[SCL]

I think any software will do...the trick is really your mastery of it.

[samstevens]

Elements can probably do everything Portrait Pro can do, but PP is highly automated, yet flexible. The results can be over the top if you push it,

Important distinction!

Portraits should be as people see themselves in the mirror

Great portraits were made by people like Milton Greene and George Hurrell, in 30s and 40s Hollywood. The photos were highly stylized, fabricated to tell a different but no less compelling story than what a mirror would have shown. And, though I’m not his biggest fan, Karsh, recognized as one of the greats, made portraits much more intense and dramatic than what a subject would have seen in the mirror.

 

I agree with SCL. Learn the software and use it to create the types of portraits you want to create. Don’t pre-judge what a portrait is or should be. Establish a voice that suits you. Photography can find so much more than what’s reflected in a mirror.

 

It can be just as thrilling for subjects to see themselves in a portrait as they normally do as for subjects to see themselves as they never did before.

[mikemorrell]

Just my humble opinion, but if you're serious about portrait photography, you should consider Adobe's photography deal:''Lightroom + Photoshop'.

 

Mike

[JDMvW]

Much portrait software is capable of producing a human face as flawless as a plaster clothes model. That may well be what many customers/subjects most wish for.

 

Ordinary image editing software like Photoshop can do the job too, but requires more effort.

 

[feliciarogers]

Check this out Movavi Photo Editor 6 it's a good option, well, I'm using it all the time and have never had troubles yet. It's quite cheap compared to other editors, and you can easily try a free version, I think it's kinda cool. Also, there're various functions, so you may find something interesting for you.