Software guidance please

Samlino

Samlino

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John
Edit My Images
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Hi All

Would be grateful for your thoughts on what is the 'must learn' software tools.
I'm a keen learner but am unsure as to whether I should go on a photoshop, elements, cs4 or Lightroom course
Is there a standard bit of kit that's a bit of a must have?

Many thanks
 
I've got Canons software they supply, also elements and recently Lightroom.


I've had elements for a long while and it's been all I generally need, I've been playing round with Lightroom and so far happy with it.
 
andyred said:
I've got Canons software they supply, also elements and recently Lightroom.

I've had elements for a long while and it's been all I generally need, I've been playing round with Lightroom and so far happy with it.
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Many thanks are they easy to pick up or did you have to o on a course on learn how to us them?
 
Firstly, elements is just a cheaper cut down version of photoshop, secondly, cs4 is a version of photoshop, the latest being CS6.
Finally, Lightroom is not really a photo editor, more an organiser and catalogue program with some editing tools thrown in.

My advice is, learn photoshop cs6 and Lightroom 4.0, those two alone should be suficient and take you long enough to learn.
 
I used to use canons softwear then photoshop elements but now i am really getting into light room
 
I think you'll find that most use Photoshop in some form or another - start off with Elements, it will do everything you need and compared to CS6 it's relatively straightforward, especially if you get a decent book which teaches you what to do (I'd recommend the Scott Kelby ones, as they assume you know nothing and basically list out every step to achieve a result and have diagrams & pictures)
 
Samlino said:
Many thanks are they easy to pick up or did you have to o on a course on learn how to us them?
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Yes relatively easy to pick up - the newer versions of elements have a quick and easy editing section in them. I found having a good book to hand a huge help - look up what you want to do and then follow the instructions in the book.
 
I would suggest learning Lightroom 4 the software is reasonably cheap to buy and is good for file management and does 90% of what Photoshop can do.
There is no need to go on courses etc start by looking at these video tutorials and more
http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html
Enjoy the learning process
Dave
 
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No problems, matey
 
kry10 said:
Finally, Lightroom is not really a photo editor, more an organiser and catalogue program with some editing tools thrown in.

My advice is, learn photoshop cs6 and Lightroom 4.0, those two alone should be suficient and take you long enough to learn.
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Sorry, have to disagree, Lightroom has other parts to it such as the cataloguing, organising, book creation and image to internet distribution options, but first and foremost it's an image editor, and a very good one. CS6 has the Camera Raw plugin, (which can be used to edit Jpegs too, despite the name) which image processing wise, is exactly the same as Lightroom 4. Photoshop Elements also has the Camera Raw plugin, but a cut down version.

It depends what you plan on doing with your images though. :shrug: Replacing skies, or removing things, then Photoshop or Elements will do that, with Elements doing 80-90% of what the full Photoshop will do. Photoshop CS* will do almost anything anyone would wish to do though, but at a price, both monetary and in the time it takes to learn the program. Lightroom does mainly global editing apart from a bit of spot removal, which for a lot of people is all they want to do. :shrug:

There are demos of all the Adobe programs to help you choose. And there are many many thousands of videos on the internet showing what the programs can do, and how they work.
 
There is no kit that is a 'must have'.

I suggest you use the software that came with your camera before looking at anything else and then Google for 'Free Photo Editors'.

Have a play with the freebies and if you feel they cannot do what you want then go for something else.

I got a cheap deal on Photoshop Elements 11 recently and the Organiser part of it is excellent. The editor is also very good but so far I have not found to be significantly better than GIMP, which is free.

Dave
 
If you want a good overview of the whys and wherefores of software methodology in general, then I suggest you listen to Julieanne Kost of Adobe on the relative benefits of Lightroom compared to Adobe Bridge. The arguments she presents on these packages is a good introduction to the field in general.
http://thelightroomlab.com/2010/02/adobe-photoshop-lightroom-vs-the-adobe-bridge/
If you are just a beginner and only dealing with photography, as opposed to studio editing and design, then this should help clarify where you fit in.
Personally, I find camera software tends to be buggy and nowhere near as well developed as the professional packages from the likes of Adobe. Also as I am only really interested in photography, I use LR.
Some of the advice given to you may confuse you, if you are not clear what it is you are trying to achieve.
The best advice is don't waste money on courses or indeed software until you are clear in your own mind what stage you are at and where you aim to go.
Andyred's recommendation of Martin Evening's book on LR4 is excellent, but at just under £20 make sure you buy the book instead of the Kindle version for clarity of the diagrams!
 
Apologies to "nikonuser" as originally it was his recommendation to use Martin Evening's book!
 
My vote would be for lightroom. I found that this was really good to change tones, contrast, white balance, minor tweaks and it's significantly cheaper and much easier to use than photoshop. I am self-taught as it is self-explanatory software. I am not a fan of photoshop - far too complicated! However, what I usually do in PP is use lightroom to make any adjustments globally to the photo, then if I need to clone something out or remove something, then I would use photoshop. Lightroom covers 95% of my editing.
 
nikonuser said:
I would suggest learning Lightroom 4 the software is reasonably cheap to buy and is good for file management and does 90% of what Photoshop can do.
There is no need to go on courses etc start by looking at these video tutorials and more
http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html
Enjoy the learning process
Dave
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Julieanne's videos are very very good at walking you through Lightroom; I can not agree strongly enough with Dave's recommendation.
 
redhed17 said:
Sorry, have to disagree, Lightroom has other parts to it such as the cataloguing, organising, book creation and image to internet distribution options, but first and foremost it's an image editor, and a very good one. CS6 has the Camera Raw plugin, (which can be used to edit Jpegs too, despite the name) which image processing wise, is exactly the same as Lightroom 4. Photoshop Elements also has the Camera Raw plugin, but a cut down version.

It depends what you plan on doing with your images though. :shrug: Replacing skies, or removing things, then Photoshop or Elements will do that, with Elements doing 80-90% of what the full Photoshop will do. Photoshop CS* will do almost anything anyone would wish to do though, but at a price, both monetary and in the time it takes to learn the program. Lightroom does mainly global editing apart from a bit of spot removal, which for a lot of people is all they want to do. :shrug:

There are demos of all the Adobe programs to help you choose. And there are many many thousands of videos on the internet showing what the programs can do, and how they work.
Click to expand...

Have to agree on this, I have both Lightroom 4 and CS5 and CS5 is hardly used.
Russ
 
Elements is on special offer today from Amazon for £ 32.99.

Everything I do starts in Lightroom. If I can't achieve what I want in LR4, its exported to Photoshop, but thats less than 10% of things.
 
You will be able to do 95% of anything you would ever need in lightroom and elements. If I had to choose one personally then I'd go Elements as you can do more with it (i retouch a lot of portraits using layers) but I'm probably in the minority there. If you did only have elements however be prepared for long periods of time at the computer as its not really built for multi file processing and can be quite slow to work with. The best combination is to do any heavy batch processing in lightroom and then delve into elements for tinkering here and there. That's what I tend to do. I may purchase CS6 in the future but at the moment I have managed to find workaround in elements for most stuff I've needed albeit tends to be slower to do. Other than creating actions then at the moment I can't justify the costs.
 
I have Lightroom and Elements but find 98% of my edits are done in Lightroom. I could probably live without Elements.

However Elements is very useful at times and has a tendency to pop up on special offer every so often, (usually around £35), meaning it can be bought cheap with some spare cash later on.

Lightroom has a one month free trial. I suggest giving that a go when you have a few hours to spare.
 
Lightrooms seems to be what a lot of people are turning to, but Elements has a lot to offer and in future you will probably want both on you computer
 
Just found out about another one, Phase One Capture One Pro 7, looks impressive.
 
kry10 said:
Firstly, elements is just a cheaper cut down version of photoshop, secondly, cs4 is a version of photoshop, the latest being CS6.
Finally, Lightroom is not really a photo editor, more an organiser and catalogue program with some editing tools thrown in.

My advice is, learn photoshop cs6 and Lightroom 4.0, those two alone should be suficient and take you long enough to learn.
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Rubbish.......

85-90% of the average photographer will only need photoshop elements. Most people who buy The full version of photoshop will only use 10% of its capability, photoshop is a digital graphics tool, that can be used for a hell of a lot more than just editing photos. Lightroom is a bit more than just an organiser.

If you have a Canon, then the canon software DPP that comes free with the camera is a very good editing software most people dismiss, so if you have a Canon, why actually buy any software at all, and Canon regularly upgrade it. Also it has one of the better raw converters and the lens correction capability worth having.

Photoshop elements will do almost everything the average snapper needs, why buy software that's 4-5 x the price that you'll barely scratch the surface with in terms of its capabilities, it's over kill.

Can comment on Nikons software, but DDP or elements would be want I would recommend, perhaps followed by Lightroom later.
 
pete.rush said:
85-90% of the average photographer will only need photoshop elements.
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Most Photographers, and by that I mean the vast majority of people who take pics, on their phones or compacts, would only need Picasa imho. It brightens, straightens, sharpens, and colour corrects. (to a degree) It also has loads of effects and collage options.

It depends what, and how much, you want to edit. :shrug:

I agree that Elements is enough for most people here.

pete.rush said:
Can't comment on Nikons software, but DDP or elements would be want I would recommend, perhaps followed by Lightroom later.
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If a person feels that Lightroom is what they will eventually use, then go straight to that. :shrug:



Just as an aside for those looking for cheap, but advanced, editing software, and by cheap I mean free, then Rawtherapee is free for processing RAW files, and Gimp, also free, is a quite advanced image editor.
 
I started with Dpp.
I liked it.
I then moved onto Lightoom 3 and recently LR4. For me, it's nicer and easier to use.

I also have Elements 11 (£33 delivered from Amazon) but only use it for its superior cloning and occasional use of layers.

Most of my processing is done in LR4.

As has been said, check out books and the internet for Scott Kelly and Julieanne Kost tutorials :)

Dpp was fine for me but I've never gone back to it since LR.
 
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Another vote for Lightroom here. I'd bought Photoshop CS5 and was busy working through a book, getting to grips with Adobe Bridge and Photoshop. Then I joined a camera club and decided to buy Lightroom. It's very similar to Adobe Bridge but cheaper! I haven't fully committed to the cataloging side of things yet, but Lightroom has transformed some of my old images which I had almost deleted.
 
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