Which PP software for a beginner, PC and Mac?

pobs

pobs

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Bear with me:thinking:

Been taking SLR shots for a couple of weeks now, I'm currently shooting JPEG and putting them onto both a PC and a Mac - the PC works as a backup really.There seems to be very little on the windows laptop (XP ) to manipulate pictures with whereas at least on the Mac (also a laptop) there's iphoto (i have '08 installed) and i can manipulate exposure, contrast, highlight, shadow, saturation, temperature, tint, sharpness and noise - for both JPEG an RAW.

Soooooo. Is one of the software packages such as lightroom/photoshop etc really good for beginners and a lot better than what I have or am I best off fiddling about with what I have on the mac until I work out what I really need?

And anyone have any good argument for Mac or PC? the same software seems to be available for both, and my windows laptop is about to kark-it. The replacement machine will be doing most of the photo work - I am basing my choice of format on how Leopard( whenever it arrives) performs vs. Vista and if there is a particular PP software that will swing it - i.e only available for one platform.

Hope this isn't complete gibberish:bonk:
 
Adobe software (Lightroom, CS3, Elements) is available for both Windows and Mac. I wouldn't pay the huge amount of money for CS3 until you're sure that Elements won't do what you want. Lightroom is part image processor and part digital asset management - with a database structure - which appeals to some and not others. It doesn't have all the editing facilities of CS3 or Elements, and is intended primarily for handling RAW files.

If you were sticking to Windows I'd recommend Corel Paint Shop Pro XI which personally I prefer to Elements, but it isn't available for Mac.

For RAW processing I use Bibble which also has most image editing facilities either built in or available as plugins. Bibble Pro will run on Windows, Mac and Linux. However, although it will process JPEGs that isn't its strong suit, so you'd probably be better with one of the others.

Hope that helps. :)
 
As Slapo says there's lots of free stuff out there, some easy to get to grips with some not, try some and see if there's anything that suits. If nothing then Photoshop Elements 5 is cheap to buy and has many of the features of its big brother CS3.
 
Get used to Iphoto first if I was you, There is more you can do in LR and PS but as you asy you are a beginner, will this yeild you significantly better results??? I doubt it at this stage.
When you have grown out of Iphoto get one of the others like LR - you could always DL the trial and see what you are missing?
 
cheers all. with a little more clarity, or a glass of sauvignon blanc as its better known, I think what I asking is 'mac users, is iphoto ok for a start or is it a waste of time?'

the free stuff i'll look at later, cheers for the links slapo:)
 
pobs said:
cheers all. with a little more clarity, or a glass of sauvignon blanc as its better known, I think what I asking is 'mac users, is iphoto ok for a start or is it a waste of time?'

the free stuff i'll look at later, cheers for the links slapo:)
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iPhoto 08 is quite a powerful bit of software and for the beginnings of a hobby you will never stop learning in a 'very good' starting point.

The filing system is comprehensive and easy to use. As for editing, once you have gotten all you can out of iPhoto I would suggest PS Elements for mac.

Unfortunately Adobe have not developed Elements as far for mac as they have for Windows. Reasons Unknown.

You can still get the last version (4)..

Lightroom is also powerful but has more of everything. I prefer it to Aperture personally(mac equivalent) as it has a lighter feel and (to me)a more comprehensible filing system and methodology.

There is of course 'Lightwave', which has come from Australia with good write-ups from some pros.. Its a long-way off a complete package imho with final image quality being failure.

The other 'freebees' are all worthy of a look so a free trial of each and then put your money down.

Sorry for the ramble.

Conclusion - Stick with iPhoto until it becomes frustrating(if it does) and if you use a mac already there is no need at all to change, why should you.
 
I'd second the sticking with iPhoto until you feel you would like/need to do more with your images.

I went through many options before ending up with Lightroom, and it's taken me quite a while to settle with a workflow I'm comfortable with.

I now import raw's straight to Lightroom, which lets me apply common keywords to the whole set. This is not something I used to bother with but I underestimated how many pictures I'd have in even a short space of time.

I then do one or two passes where I will delete any completely hopeless shots, (out of focus, missed the frame etc). What happens next depends on what the shots are of. If they are motorsport shots I will use Lightroom's rating system, then I will do basic levels/sharpening etc on the low rating shots, and spend a bit more time on the (usually very) few higher rated shots. If the shots are just of a day out somewhere I will just run through them with a level tweak/crop etc. The reason for the difference is that on a motor racing weekend I can take 700-1000 shots, whereas a day out somewhere will be no more than a couple of hundred.

I then export from Lightroom as full sized JPG's and import the folder in iPhoto. This then lets me use the Web Gallery feature that you get with the .Mac account, and also allows other people to look at the pictures direct from the Mac.


Kasalic.
 
Sharkey said:
Unfortunately Adobe have not developed Elements as far for mac as they have for Windows. Reasons Unknown.
Click to expand...

Its because Adobe and Apple are rivals that hate each other, but they have to develop Photoshop for Mac, as that's the main platform used by the majority of Professional users. They would be committing commercial suicide if they didn't. But they develop Elements for PC as it based at the Amateurs level and that is a huge market on PC, but Mac's are starting to win more support as time passes.
 
Just to add another spin to the thread, if you don't want to shell out the big bucks for Photoshop, take a look at the GIMP (www.gimp.org). Runs on Windows, Macs, and also on my PC which runs Linux (so all my software is free).

I've just been testing out the latest version which seems to add a few of the missing photoshop features like the heal brush.. it certainly does anything I want to do!
 
Interesting stuff :) I have started using iphoto as its so easy and am cropping an adjusting levels, albeit not really knowing what I am doing but fiddling until they look better.

I may stick a few more and edit this post - when I have put the dinner on!
 
pobs said:
Interesting stuff :) I have started using iphoto as its so easy and am cropping an adjusting levels, albeit not really knowing what I am doing but fiddling until they look better.

I may stick a few more and edit this post - when I have put the dinner on!
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Hope you enjoy your dinner... when you are back, have a peek here

http://www.freemacware.com/

There's loads of great free/shareware resources for the Mac too!
 
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