...a good book on Elements, and hang out on the Retouching Forum..
Charlie DavisNikon 5700 & Sony R1HomePage: http://www.1derful.infoBridge Blog: http://www.here-ugo.com/BridgeBlog/..
I'll second what Chuxter says. You can download a free trial version of PSE5 (good for 30 days) from the Adobe website, which gives you plenty of time to try it out.Best wishesMike..
Before spending ANY money you may download GIMP for free .
In the beginning created for Linux there is also a Windows versions availible. Check it out, it offers all the tools for what you described, similar to Adobe's apps.Chuxter, Mike, what do you say?.
Cheers, Peter.
Germany..
... is indeed free and fully featured. I find it harder to use though; it makes no concession to beginners and doesn't have the simple sliders controls for e.g. darkening highlights or lightening shadow detail, or correcting lens distortions. You could do these things but you'd really have to know your way around..
PSE5 also links to Adobe Camera Raw (which is free) if the OP ever decides to shoot RAW..
Having tried both I found it worth 50 to get PSE5 as I can do what I want to a lot quicker. Someone more budget conscious and prepared to get to grips with GIMP may come to the opposite conslusion..
Best wishesMike..
I agree with Mike. Gimp is too hard for beginners. It was designed by geeks for geeks. Hard to get help when you don't understand something. With any flavor of PS, help is abundant..
Charlie DavisNikon 5700 & Sony R1HomePage: http://www.1derful.infoBridge Blog: http://www.here-ugo.com/BridgeBlog/..
Sounds like Elements is the consensus (so far) GIMP may be a good choice when upgrading in a year or two rather than paying $$ to do so once I know what I'm doing..
A followup question (or two) if you don't mind....
What am I giving up by not using Photoshop? Is PSE considered a "light" version or is that not a fair descriptor?.
Thanks again,..
KCFly wrote:.
What am I giving up by not using Photoshop? Is PSE considered a"light" version or is that not a fair descriptor?.
Not light, but E-ssential or E-lementary ...as long as you don't want to expand to 4c offset printing you won't miss anything. It's fine for editing and photo-typic printing (ink jet etc)..
Cheers, Peter.
Germany..
What am I giving up by not using Photoshop? Is PSE considered a"light" version or is that not a fair descriptor?.
Early versions of Photoshop Elements (before version 5) did not have the curves function. The curves function is really useful for defining contrast and tones, and was probably the major weakness in those earlier versions of PSE.http://www.bairarteditions.com/pages/tutorials/photoshop/excurves.html.
The curves function is supposed to be available now in PSE5.http://www.dpreview.com/news/0609/06091202adobeelements.asp..
What am I giving up by not using Photoshop? Is PSE considered a"light" version or is that not a fair descriptor?.
Not really. In the days before digital cameras, about, say, 10 years ago, Photoshop was a professional tool for graphics design people. The 'lite' version was called Photoshop LE and was bundled free with scanners; it included basic constrast / image enhancement / resizing / colour cast etc. facilities..
The 'elements' version grew from this and as digital cameras have become common it has come to include many useful features specifically aimed at photographers. Unless you need professional image-editing tools for publishing / graphic design, PSE5 is fine..
Best wishesMike..
Paint Shop Pro is a very capable editor for a very reasonable price..
Nothing is enough for the man to whom nothing is enough...
Before you commit yourself to Adobe lock-in forever, download and install the free trials of my favorites:.
Lightzone at http://www.lightcrafts.com/.
PictureWindowPro at http://dl-c.com/.
I use both, depending on the needs, and have never needed Photoshop of any versionGalleries: http://www.dheller.net..
If you are going to take a class it is likely to be Photoshop based and you can follow most of what they do with Elements. On that basis only I would say to spring for Elements..
But Elements is hobbled in several important ways to keep a market for the full Photoshop. A program you could go a lot farther with before running into limitations is Paint Shop Pro..
Paint Shop Pro has an integrated learning center that helps you decide what to do and walks you through the tool or process while the tool is active. It makes learning to use the program very easy IMO. Ive used Photoshop forever and still use it as my primary editor. PSP does things a little differently and I found the learning center to be a big help..
I picked up PSP X last year in the CD-only version just for the vector integration. Ive been pleased with the capability, and if I couldnt use Photoshop for some reason I could do fine with PSP. Without actions, color management, lens corrections, etc, etc I would be lost trying to muddle through with Elements...
KCFly wrote:.
Ok, I've decided to actually get back into photography and want to beable to "play" with (or post process) my images once I get my newcamera in hand..
I will be starting from scratch having never used any adobe productfor other than EXTREMELY basic functions..
Should I get full blown Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, CS3 (whateverthat is) or something else? I intend to go take a basic class to getsome foundation to start building on by playing with it..
Personally I started out with Photoshop Elements 2. It was a great piece of software for the skill level that I was at. After using it for a few years, I found that it was no longer doing everything that I wanted it to do because I had outgrown it's skill level. That is the time that I moved up to PS7, then CS2 and now CS3. I would not jump into Photoshop 7 or CS3 until you have learned a lot about the software and how it works. Using Element 2 gave me a jump on Photoshop 7 and made it much easier for me to move up to it.
Starting out with software such as PCS3 may be too much for you and before you know it you will be like quite a few people on here and completely get overwhelmed with it wanting to quit..
Any suggestions?.
Thanks,..
MrPhotoBob wrote:.
KCFly wrote:.
Ok, I've decided to actually get back into photography and want to be.
....
Personally I started out with Photoshop Elements 2. It was a greatpiece of software for the skill level that I was at. After using itfor a few years, I found that it was no longer doing everything thatI wanted it to do because I had outgrown it's skill level. That isthe time that I moved up to PS7, then CS2 and now CS3. I would notjump into Photoshop 7 or CS3 until you have learned a lot about thesoftware and how it works. Using Element 2 gave me a jump onPhotoshop 7 and made it much easier for me to move up to it.
Thanks for your comments. This is in line with what I was thinking. I just wanted to be sure that starting with PSE wouldn't be a mistake due to some features missing that I would want as I'm getting started..
THanks again,..
KCFly wrote:.
Thanks for your comments. This is in line with what I was thinking.I just wanted to be sure that starting with PSE wouldn't be a mistakedue to some features missing that I would want as I'm getting started..
PSE is the place to start. It has most of the full PS features and a few that PS doesn't have. Even PSE is difficult to learn! As a PSE owner, you can get discounts on various PS products..
Charlie DavisNikon 5700 & Sony R1HomePage: http://www.1derful.infoBridge Blog: http://www.here-ugo.com/BridgeBlog/..