adobe photoshop

[warhammer]

i have been online for a few hours checking out editing software, i am a little confused with adobe photoshop, there is so many, i think lightroom 3 is the one for editing photo's but am not sure.
can some one help that is using this software...?

[ricktas]

Photoshop is Photoshop. The software aimed more at your professional photographer, but used by many an avid amateur as well. Photoshop is a 'pure' editing package, that has grown to include some digital asset management (DAM) software (Adobe Bridge), and RAW Editing with Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), however its primary functions are all aimed at editing your digital files.

Lightroom (whist called Adobe Photoshop Lightroom) really isn't photoshop, it is a completely different piece of software, which started out life as DAM software, with some editing and printing ability. Lightroom has expanded since version one and is now designed to be a complete workflow package, upload, catalogue, sort, manage, edit, print, and web, all in one bit of software.

Photoshop Elements, is the consumer (cut down) version of Photoshop.

All three are good, and all three offer a free 30 day trial, download them and give them a go, and see what suits your needs.

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day wh

As Ricki says "all 3 are good......"
I would suggest you start with Elements for about $150-$160 - it gives you a whole bucket-load of very good & easy to use features for a fraction of the price of the others
Also, there are plenty of photo mags out there with CDs incl video tutorials for PS & PE that will make it easier for you to get going

Hope this helps a bit
Regards, Phil

[salnel]

Being very new to all of this, when it came time to choose an editing program my confusion tripled!!. I found the best thing to do was download the trials. You have the full program for a month so you get a good chance to play with them. My advice would be to try one and then the other..don't get them together because the programs are completely different! I ended up getting both Lightroom 3 and CS5 as a package because, although I liked Lr3 best, it can't do everything, so I decided to get CS5 as well. I am on a very steep learning curve with both of them, but I do find Lr3 easier to use. Everyone has different opinions, so the trick is to find the program you are comfortable with and go with that. You will also find some great online tutorials for both programs and that will help you get started if you download the trials . Hope that helps:)

[kiwi]

If starting out I'd get elements first, its easier to use and has all the features really that most would use in cs5, and then as your workflow needs it add lightroom

[peterking]

My primary interest is in taking the photo. So with that in mind I went for something that would allow me to manage my collection and do minor editing, more than majorly editing the actual images.
I have had experience with Photoshop, the Gimp, Corel Draw and a few lesser known programs. They are all great packages but the learning curve was too intense for me at the time.
My eventual choice was Lightroom to manage the images and Elements to do whatever major editing I want. Most of what I present on this forum and what is on my website have only ever seen Lightroom.
As everyone has said before me, it is courses for horses, and I believe you need to first look at what you want to do with the software before you look at what software to buy.
There is also a large range of free software depending on what OS you are using.

[ameerat42]

--- and DPP comes with Canon cameras. Am.

[warhammer]

thanx all for the reply's, it is getting very confusing.
i guess all i really want is some place to store and manage photo's, and some editing that includes colour correction, stacking, cutting for panoramas, noise reduction, and be able to sign the photo's.
which one would best suit those perimeter's ?
i have been looking into NIK software plugins and it looks really easy to use would that be a smart choice...?

thanx warhammer

[Lizzie]

Hi,
Nik software need a host program, eg Lightroom, Photoshop, Elements, Aperture, to "Plug-In". I am only a new user of Lightroom and find it an excellent program, to my knowledge have found it will not stitch or stack panoramas. Lightroom combined with Elements or Photoshop or a program dedicated to panoramas. Then decide on the Nik plug ins. Trial the programs before deciding to purchase.

Regards,
Lizzie

[para]

thanx all for the reply's, it is getting very confusing.
i guess all i really want is some place to store and manage photo's, and some editing that includes colour correction, stacking, cutting for panoramas, noise reduction, and be able to sign the photo's.
which one would best suit those perimeter's ?
i have been looking into NIK software plugins and it looks really easy to use would that be a smart choice...?

thanx warhammer

But what your saying I would say lightrrom 3 may do the job you can do all that you need eg manage,colour corection,noise reduction etc just keep in mind it isnt ps.

[kiwi]

How many photos do you take ?

If its < 1000 a week I wouldn't get lightroom, I'd get elements. You will soon find your image editing ability in lightroom restrained compared to what you can do in elements, eg layers, text, borders etc etc etc

[warhammer]

i went to the local apple store and quizzed the staff who were directing me towards elements and said i could plug in the NIK software to that, i guess i don't want to get 6 months down the tack and find out that i have reached the limits of a program and not be able to do every thing i wanted it to do.
if elements supports the whole NIK package then it sounds like it will keep me satisfied for the immediate future..
if not i guess i can always upgrade.

[kiwi]

Why do you think you need nik software?

[DAdeGroot]

If you're on a Mac, there's another option too - Apple Aperture.

It's an image management package just like Lightroom, but the interface is completely different (more Apple like). Both are excellent packages (I'm a LR3 user personally), but it comes down to which works with you better.
Full blown CS5 is going to be overkill for the beginner. Elements I'm not a fan of, but many people use it.

Personally, I'd say go with LR or Aperture. You'll have a decent image management package that will grow with your experience. Basic editing is available in both, and both will talk to a third party editor if or when you feel the need to perform edits above what can be achieved in either package.

[wmphoto]

I've been using Elements for several years. I downloaded the trial version of Lightroom 3 a few weeks ago but ended up going back to Elements. It's a neat package, well priced and does everthing I need it to.

[kiwi]

There you go, no brainer to me, download trial version of elements, and after 30 days see if you need anything else. Then use lr3 for 30 days and see if you miss elements or need anything else, then download apperture, trial for 30 days, then cs5, then......lol...you may never ever need to buy anything !!!

[warhammer]

thanx to all for the advise on what you use.
i think i will try the free trials and make a decision after that..
kiwi, i had done some research on the NIK software and it looks very easy to use, i think i might see if it has a free trial too and then make a decision.

[kiwi]

It can be recounts re ease of use, yes it's easy if you accept the presets.....but not really if you want to make your own asjustments, and it's not cheap stuff

I think just stick with elements and see how you travel

[BillB]

What everybody else said. I'd go with elements first and see how it goes, then maybe lightroom, Its great for managing your photos and editing, although not nearly as sophisticated as Photoshop.