Best post processing software for beginner?

I

IkariWarrior

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Ross
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At the moment I am currently using Nikon ViewNX to do my post processing. I don't do much, I shoot in RAW so I use it to correct white balance and just generally crop and correct.

Whats the difference between this and say Light Room? I am interested in doing some HDR photography? Would this help?

Generally asking is it worth the £100+ for Light Room?
 
You can download a free 30 day trial of Light Room, search Lightroom 4.1 as the demo version of Lightroom 4 does not work.

I have been using it for week and really like it, once you get past the fact you don't save anything, but export instead.

I am very new so I can't tell you if it better than what you have, but try it for free!
 
Can recommend Lightroom, especially now with the improvements in Lightroom 4.


Lightroom is great for organising storage and backup of your photos, as well as being a very powerful post processing program.

I'm sure if you download the trial, you'll want to purchase the program.
 
Hi Ross,

Welcome to TP, you might find this thread useful as it lists various options.

Lightroom is primarily a cataloguing programme with some editing options (no layers etc) but is very useful. If you are going to download it watch as many video tutorials as you can first then you can make the most of your 30 day trial rather than try and work everything during it.

Remember, everyone was a beginner at some point with each piece of software so you have to think what you might do in the future as well :)
 
Thanks guys. I'll take a look at the trial.
 
Another vote for Lightroom 4.1 here!

Very easy to use once you get the jist of it, definitely makes PP easy :)
 
Hi Ross

I've used elements (as well as Canon's own software) for a long while and get along fine with it, just recently picked up LR3 and am now getting to grips with that...
 
Lightroom is so much more than a simple PP application, it is a full photo management suite. I don't know what I'd do with out it...
 
Kerioak said:
Hi Ross,

Welcome to TP, you might find this thread useful as it lists various options.

Lightroom is primarily a cataloguing programme with some editing options (no layers etc) but is very useful. If you are going to download it watch as many video tutorials as you can first then you can make the most of your 30 day trial rather than try and work everything during it.

Remember, everyone was a beginner at some point with each piece of software so you have to think what you might do in the future as well :)
Click to expand...

Cataloging program?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLdBoV3aqj8
 
IkariWarrior said:
At the moment I am currently using Nikon ViewNX to do my post processing. I don't do much, I shoot in RAW so I use it to correct white balance and just generally crop and correct.

Whats the difference between this and say Light Room? I am interested in doing some HDR photography? Would this help?

Generally asking is it worth the £100+ for Light Room?
Click to expand...

I too recommend lightroom 4. As far as if it is worth the money I would say yes it is. What you are buying is a tool that you will be able to use for years to come. No relearning software when you upgrade your equipment or worry about support if you ever need it.
 
I found www.faststone.org to be very usefull it has some good features and is a free download. It would be worth having even if you only use it a few times
 
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If you already have say CS3 & Bridge, would there be much point in switching to LR4? Reason I ask Is I use these but can get a copy of LR4 through work was wondering if I should switch as CS3 is a bit dated now.
 
StirlingBear said:
If you already have say CS3 & Bridge, would there be much point in switching to LR4? Reason I ask Is I use these but can get a copy of LR4 through work was wondering if I should switch as CS3 is a bit dated now.
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Photoshop (I assume that's what you mean when you say CS3?) and Lightroom are two completely different applications that work together, they can't be compared.
 
JT74 said:
Photoshop (I assume that's what you mean when you say CS3?) and Lightroom are two completely different applications that work together, they can't be compared.
Click to expand...

yes but my understanding is LR4 is a full photo management suite & a powerful processing tool all in one. To me that seems to have both the benefits of CS3 photoshop & adobe Bridge. Would there be much point in having all three packages on my machine?

I have not used LR4 or seen it basically used and I am asking the question whats the difference to using the combination I have suggested.
 
StirlingBear said:
yes but my understanding is LR4 is a full photo management suite & a powerful processing tool all in one. To me that seems to have both the benefits of CS3 photoshop & adobe Bridge. Would there be much point in having all three packages on my machine?

I have not used LR4 or seen it basically used and I am asking the question whats the difference to using the combination I have suggested.
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry, I get you now.

Lightroom is non-destructive, which means you can do as many edits as you like leaving the original files intact, it does not create any new files until you decide to output/publish/print etc. which, for me, makes managing 000's of photos much easier. It can also connect to Flickr and Picasa (with a plugin) to allow you to publish and manage your photos online and you can still send photos to Photoshop directly from LR for more advanced editing, when required. Basically all three applications work together with a small overlap in functions/features.

Personally I always go to LR first - when I insert the SD card from my camera it automatically imports all of the photos ready for keywording and editing etc.

Give the trial version a go, it took me a while to grasp the workflow (for the first week or so I was trying to open and edit files individually, as I had done with Photoshop previously) but once I did, it made perfect sense to me.
 
i tried the free trial of LR4 and found it slowed my computer down terrible compared to LR3 so didnt think the upgrade was worth it, i do like LR3 use it much more than Photoshop but sometimes if you want to do more creative edits of your pics then you will need a Photoshop type programe
 
I haven't used a paid-for image manipulation programme for a few years, but when I did, it was Paint Shop Pro (versions 5 through to 'X', I think). I found it very good - and I was a beginner when I started it. I got a book out of the library and followed a few tutorials and quickly got the idea for doing what I wanted.

I dare say there have been several developments since then, but at the time I felt that it provided everything that I would want from Photoshop but at a fraction of the cost. There are many more products pitched below Photoshop on the market now but I can't comment on them.

Nowadays I use 'Gimp' on a Linux platform.
 
Photoshop Elements and Lightroom together will give you the best options for processing and is alot cheaper than CS5
 
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