Photo Editing Software

mi77915 · 11-05-2009, 04:08 AM

Hi,

I am fairly new here and have been reading a lot of threads in the past few weeks. I am learning so much from all of you!! My question is: I see that a lot of you are using Photoshop for editing your photos. What is a good software to use for someone (like myself) that is on a budget and can't afford Photoshop?

Thanks,

*calicojack* · 11-05-2009, 04:23 AM

Originally Posted by mi77915

Hi,

I am fairly new here and have been reading a lot of threads in the past few weeks. I am learning so much from all of you!! My question is: I see that a lot of you are using Photoshop for editing your photos. What is a good software to use for someone (like myself) that is on a budget and can't afford Photoshop?

Thanks,

Photoshop Elements does almost everything for a lot less money. There are others and some free ones that might meet your needs.

Lowell Goudge · 11-05-2009, 04:56 AM

I use PSP X2 from corel

it covres most photoshop functions, but is a little slow with respect to updates and support for new cameras

joebob · 11-05-2009, 05:13 AM

You may want to try some of the free editors first. If you search through the forums, you'll find links to many of them.

AOski · 11-05-2009, 06:10 AM

The beta version of Adobe Lightroom 3 is available for free download for Adobe. Truly great software...

*Wheatfield* · 11-05-2009, 06:31 AM

Originally Posted by AOski

The beta version of Adobe Lightroom 3 is available for free download for Adobe. Truly great software...

It's not truly great photo editing software though.
Photoshop Elements would be the way to go if one wants photo editing capability.
Will the beta version of :Lightroom keep working after the alpha release? Sometimes these things phone home periodically and get turned off. IIRC, CS3 beta had a4nm expiry date after which you either bought it or lost it.

Rnovo · 11-05-2009, 06:44 AM

You can try out GIMP at GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program.
It's free and it will give you a head start.
Richard

clmonk · 11-05-2009, 06:58 AM

Here is another vote for Photoshop Elements. They are now selling version 8 and you can get a free 30 day trial from this site: https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/i...hop%5Felements It is on sale for $79 with a rebate. Others are right in that you can try using some of the free programs, but my problem with that is you have to learn a process one way, then learn it another way, then...well, you get the idea. Buy Elements learn it once and if you ever DO need Photoshop CS###, the structure and commands are virtually identical in most cases. You don't have to re-learn anything. At my age and mental capacity, this is a REALLY good thing.

mithrandir · 11-05-2009, 07:40 AM

Originally Posted by clmonk

my problem with that is you have to learn a process one way, then learn it another way, then...well, you get the idea.

Keep in mind PROCESS as well. For instance both Lightroom and Photoshop Elements are great. They are however totally different animals in regards to approach. Lightroom is a digital approach to former darkroom processes. It is aimed at photographers and their workflow. Elements is more of a graphic design tool that can also be used for photographs. Elements does more but at the cost of complexity. I would suggest you download the free trials of both and see what fits your approach. For me, 99% of what I do is done in Lightroom.

Reportage · 11-05-2009, 08:31 AM

really depends on your shooting style or your field.

for me, i would use PS or LR only if have to repair my pics or do something fancy. Otherwise Picasa + Noise Ninja is more then enough.

**Marc Sabatella** · 11-05-2009, 08:44 AM

I'd suggest continuing to browse these forums - the one on PP, and also the beginner's forum. There are dozens of existing threads with lots of great suggestions. I'm moving this thread to the beginner's forum.

I personally use ACDSee Pro, which is a lot cheaper than Photoshop, but more than Elements. It is kind of like Lightroom in that it combines image management with image processing. As Wheatfield says, these are not full featured editors like Photohop (or even Elements) in that you can't do things like cut portions out of one picture and paste them into another, nor do they have sophisticate tools for doing things like removing skin blemishes, or other "retouching" types of facilities. But a *lot* of photographers find they don't need those types of facilities, and find that Lightroom and ACDSee Pro and similar programs really can handle 99% of what they do - exposure and color adjustments, sharpening and noise reduction, cropping and rotation and distortion correction, etc.

*Wheatfield* · 11-05-2009, 09:00 AM

Originally Posted by Marc Sabatella

I'd suggest continuing to browse these forums - the one on PP, and also the beginner's forum. There are dozens of existing threads with lots of great suggestions. I'm moving this thread to the beginner's forum.

I personally use ACDSee Pro, which is a lot cheaper than Photoshop, but more than Elements. It is kind of like Lightroom in that it combines image management with image processing. As Wheatfield says, these are not full featured editors like Photohop (or even Elements) in that you can't do things like cut portions out of one picture and paste them into another, nor do they have sophisticate tools for doing things like removing skin blemishes, or other "retouching" types of facilities. But a *lot* of photographers find they don't need those types of facilities, and find that Lightroom and ACDSee Pro and similar programs really can handle 99% of what they do - exposure and color adjustments, sharpening and noise reduction, cropping and rotation and distortion correction, etc.

Photoshop kinda moves your image editing ability to the next level. Some people can live without image editing, they take their card from the camera, stick it into a kiosk and 10 seconds later have a print they are happy with.
At some point they become educated to the fact that there is a whole 'nother world out there and they, and their photography grows up a bit.

**Marc Sabatella** · 11-05-2009, 09:01 AM

And yet, plenty of grownup photographers do find that Lightroom meets their needs. Doesn't meet yours - that's clear. No need to insult everyone else.

cyanhue · 11-05-2009, 09:18 AM

I've recently been looking at the sub-photoshop priced editors as well. I have paint shop pro and photo Impact. both are fine and not too expensive (can be bought online for ~60$ during the occasional sales on the Corel website ), however there is a difference:
while paint shop pro has a more refined/polished interface, Photo impact seems more powerful and has some functionality not found in other editors (e.g. rule of thirds and golden mean cropping tools).
Even though I bought the software only recently and haven't had a chance to really dive into all the functionality , of the two I'd recommend PhotoImpact.

*reeftool* · 11-05-2009, 10:09 AM

Photoshop Elements has a 30 day free trial you can download and then decide if you want to buy it. So do some others. Try the free trials and see if you like it. The Photoshop versions have lots of readily available tutorial books you can find in any bookstore which is a plus. There are also free programs such as Gimp, Picasa, Paint.NET. I use Picasa the most because I can do very quick simple edits which is all most photos need and quickly and easily resize and upload them. I use Elements when a photo needs a little more PP. The Gimp will do just about anything you could ever want to do. I use Elements more out of a personel preference and it's easier to use for me but many people like using the Gimp and it gets better with each update.