Photo editing help...

lodi781 · 11-18-2008, 12:25 PM

So, i purchased elements, being a beginner and all. Someone said lightroom may be a better choice, but it would be good to have both. My question is, what do you all use for editing? And what would be a good choice for someone who is new, but can grow with the program????

*Nachodog* · 11-18-2008, 12:54 PM

Well, in my opinion, Lightroom is more of a photo processor. You can view/organize them, then adjust color, contrast, filters, then prepare them for print or export.

I find that for most of my photos, Lightroom is much easier to deal with on-the-fly. Also, I prefer it to adjust colour/wb/tone when dealing in RAW.

If I need to do further polishing and editing (cropping, resizing, resampling, etc.) I'll export to tif and edit in Photoshop.

Photoshop has much more features and control, but Lightroom deals much better when you have large volumes of photos.

*tcdk* · 11-18-2008, 02:10 PM

I do more or less everything in lightroom these days (the new 'local edits' are very powerful). Don't even have photoshop on the new pc.

Uses The Gimp (free!) once in a while.

*Canada_Rockies* · 11-18-2008, 09:42 PM

I have Lightroom, and do most of my work there. I like the seamless integration between cataloguing and editing. LR v2 has added spot touch ups and gradients which are really good things to have.

I have Elements for the things it does that LR does not do - layers and so forth - but I have not used it since I upgraded to LR v2.

I also have DxO Standard that does miracles with my 16-50 and good tweaks on the 50-135 when I need it. I use Pentax Photo Browser to read the EXIF detail details in my PEFs.

Miscellaneous software includes PTLens, The Panorama Factory, and Photomatix basic.

SpecialK · 11-18-2008, 11:29 PM

Some previous threads...

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/p...-software.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/p...am-pc-mac.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/p...ver-nikon.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/p...-software.html

Mike Cash · 11-19-2008, 03:40 AM

I am a devoted fan of The GIMP (free!!!), but last July made the switch to Lightroom 2. It not only does a great job of managing my photos, it also lets me do 100% of the post-processing for over 99% of my photos. For those times when I just must fool around with layer masks, decomposing, and other such things my old friend The GIMP still serves wonderfully.

One point I will add about the management aspect of Lightroom is that photo management is one of those things you really don't realize you need until you have it; then you wonder how you ever got along without it.

*Wheatfield* · 11-19-2008, 06:25 AM

Originally Posted by lodi781

So, i purchased elements, being a beginner and all. Someone said lightroom may be a better choice, but it would be good to have both. My question is, what do you all use for editing? And what would be a good choice for someone who is new, but can grow with the program????

I use Lightroom for import and raw conversion (same converter as Photoshop). This takes care of a large chunk of me needs. If I need to do more than really basic editing, I import via Lightroom into Photoshop.
Prior to this I used Bridge/ACR/Photoshop. I went to Lightroom for it's cataloging abilities, and am finding it has pretty much completely taken the place of Bridge and Adobe Camera RAW.

For the moment, as you are a beginner, I'd just stay with Elements until you get your head around that program, and feel the need to move onto something more powerful.

*reeftool* · 11-19-2008, 10:11 AM

I do most of my PP with Picasa (free). I bought Elements and do some editing with it but I find Picasa quick and easy. Elements will do things Picasa can't and I have had good results but i'm still learing. My goal is to have my shots come out so they need very little PP or none at all. I would much rather spend my time shooting pictures than fixing them. I don't shoot much RAW so haven't tried Lightroom, but the reason I don't do much Raw shooting is because I find RAW processing a pain in the ass. I may try Lightroom after my next PC upgrade as I am taxing my system to the limit with what I have now.

kerrowdown · 11-19-2008, 01:45 PM

I guess it's each to their own here, for me it's CS3, but just find one that suits your workflow and use. There is no right or wrong here, just get stunning images.

lodi781 · 11-19-2008, 02:31 PM

I would love to take a class or two on ps, I think it would help me a great deal. My friend let me use his cs3 and that program is so deep I don't even know where to start. So I went with elements, which I find much easier to use. It seems with cs3 and 4, there's like, a hundred ways to do the same thing, I mean, do the designers even know all the details of the program???

kerrowdown · 12-11-2008, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by lodi781

I would love to take a class or two on ps, I think it would help me a great deal. My friend let me use his cs3 and that program is so deep I don't even know where to start. So I went with elements, which I find much easier to use. It seems with cs3 and 4, there's like, a hundred ways to do the same thing, I mean, do the designers even know all the details of the program???

The quick answer is probably not, but they will know the quick way to get the results they need, after all time is money to them.

*graphicgr8s* · 12-11-2008, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by lodi781

I would love to take a class or two on ps, I think it would help me a great deal. My friend let me use his cs3 and that program is so deep I don't even know where to start. So I went with elements, which I find much easier to use. It seems with cs3 and 4, there's like, a hundred ways to do the same thing, I mean, do the designers even know all the details of the program???

The problem with a program like Photoshop is once you start using it you can never go back to those free programs. Yes it's expensive and Yes there is a definite learning curve, but once you "get it" you'll never want to go back. If I've said it once I've said it a million times Go to the NAPP seminars if they come by you. These are the guys Adobe goes to.
And lodi781, PhotoShop World is up in your neck of the woods (Boston anyway) Highly recommend it. It's for all skill levels. And no, I don't get a darn thing for recommending it. I just believe it's a great investment of time and $99 for the membership.

For Damn Brit

kerrowdown · 12-12-2008, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by graphicgr8s

And kerrowdown, PhotoShop World is up in your neck of the woods (Boston anyway) Highly recommend it. It's for all skill levels. And no, I don't get a darn thing for recommending it. I just believe it's a great investment of time and $99 for the membership.

For Damn Brit

There's bugger all in my neck of the woods, well apart from sheep, I'm in the Highlands of Scotland.

*xs400* · 12-12-2008, 06:02 PM

I have PS Elements, PS CS2, and Lightroom. I started out with PS Elements and I would suggest others do the same. Elements is not expensive but still gives you a lot of functionality. I also like having the ability to do some cutting and pasting and adding text to my images. Even though I have all three programs, I do most of my post processing with PS Elements. If you need more power to 'develop' your images, then I'd suggest getting Lightroom next.

**Damn Brit** · 12-12-2008, 06:32 PM

I have been using an old version of Iphoto for organising and Elements for editing. A family member is buying me Lightroom as a gift.