Which software for a beginner to use?

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bmines67

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Brendan
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I'm fairly new to photography and would like to get into editing my images. Am i better downloading some free software, like gimp, to get me started or should i spend some money and get lightroom or photoshop?

I dont want to spend loads of time getting used to gimp if in a few months i find that its limited and need to get photoshop.

My options are
1)- use gimp and stick to free software
2)- buy elements 11
3)- buy lightroom
4)- buy elements and lightroom (do these work well together)

What would you suggest and what are the main differences between the 3 adobe products?
 
Elements, Gimp and Photoshop are pixel-level editors with all sorts of tools and fairly steep learning curves.

Lightroom on the other hand has all of the tools that a photographer will use 99% of the time, is brilliant at managing images, and is not at all expensive.

Go with a 30 day trial of Lightroom and you'll realise that it is quite superb, especially if you work with RAW files.

If you end up thinking to yourself "I wish I could paint out individual little bits and have access to all sorts of layering capabilites" then consider giving one of the others a go.
 
I think if you're certain that you'll continue with your photography then getting used to Photoshop would be a good idea as you'll certainly want to eventually. That said, there's no need to purchase the latest execution at great expense. Pick up CS2 or CS4 on the auction sites and you'll spend a fraction of what you could spend and you'll have everything you need and more. If you need to upgrade in the future you can. Just make sure that you buy a full version (not student version unless you're a student).
 
Another vote for Lightroom here. It's reasonably easy to use and not too expensive either. In addition Adobe TV has loads of training video which is very well presented. I also have CS3 and Elements 11 but LR is my favourite.
 
Another option for a beginner is Picasa free from Google. It is easiest of the lot. I started out with it before moving onto Lightroom.
 
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=457574 has some information as well.

Depends how much you want to edit your images. If its just to make them look as good as possible without adding or deleting significant elements - eg removing a tree or adding a kangaroo, then Lightroom is very capable.

If you wish to manipulate each and every pixel, adding a kangaroo if necessary, then Photoshop is probably more suitable.

I find Lightroom does 95% of what I want it to do, and its rare I need to venture further.

You will find that 80% of tutorials published in magazines will probably assume you are working with either Lightroom of Photoshop and for beginners it may be easier to follow than have to translate to a different program, which will have the tools but possibly with different names and ways of using them.
 
WingTsun said:
I think if you're certain that you'll continue with your photography then getting used to Photoshop would be a good idea as you'll certainly want to eventually. That said, there's no need to purchase the latest execution at great expense. Pick up CS2 or CS4 on the auction sites and you'll spend a fraction of what you could spend and you'll have everything you need and more. If you need to upgrade in the future you can. Just make sure that you buy a full version (not student version unless you're a student).
Click to expand...

i agree with the above - on first glance photoshop seems a bit complicated but youll soon get used to it.

Digital Photo magazine do an "ultimate photoshop Course" for £9.99.

Not sure on how good it is but the photoshop guides in the magazine are great and ive found them a real help so might be worth a punt if you take the plunge into the world of photoshop.

Ive found the link out of the mag if your interested

http://www.greatmagazines.co.uk/store/displaystore.asp?sid=4214

Says its available in W H Smith too...

:thumbs:
 
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Ok thanks guys,i just want my photos to look as good as possible so i think i'm leaning towards getting lightroom to see how i get on. If i need a pixel editor, will elements work in conjunction with lightroom, or will i need to get photoshop?
 
I started with picasa then moved to elements 9. I've just downloaded to trial version of lightroom 4 and so far it does exactly what I want it to do. Have a look at the PC system requirements as it can be a little power hungry, trying out the download version for 14 days first is a great idea to check all works well before you purchase the software.
 
Lightroom is brilliant.:):thumbs:
 
Gimp is free, so why not download it and see how you get on? Frankly it can do anything Photoshop can do. True, it has a slightly steep learning curve, but once you get used to it, it's very, very capable. I use it for adjusting curves and levels and it works a treat. I also use it for removing unwanted objects using the clone and mend tools. Try it, and if you don't like it you've lost nothing.
 
I've used Elements and have been pleased with it

Also (if your Canon) try using Canon's own software
 
I like lightroom, but when I first started www.irfanview.com did most things I wanted like resize, sharpen and make pictures lighter/darker.
It's free and opens very quickly on a less powerful machine.

I still use it sometimes to quickly resize for web.
 
Have you considered picking up a cheap copy of Lightroom 3? Nothing that much changed in LR4.

After messing with photoshop, gimp and others, Lightroom is a dream for its library/organisation alone. Then you've got so much control over the image once you get into develop mode its untrue.

LR is a big thumbs up from me. :thumbs:
 
Big thumbs up for Lightroom. I had it for ages before i finally got round to using it. Best software to start off with and really easy to learn...:thumbs:
 
I would buy Lightroom, I've been using it for 2 months now and is the first really PP I've ever done. I find it easy to use and working through Scott Kelbys book as guided me through it and got me up to speed in no time. It has more editing power that the average amateur needs without being over complex.

The other major advantage of starting with it now is you can catalogue your photos properly from day one. I wish is bought it 3 years ago when I started out and my photo library would be in a much better state than it is at the moment!
 
Lightroom is pretty easy to use.

If you wanted to jump to Photoshop, I'd quickly get familiar with the concept of layers if you aren't already. This was a major stumbling block for me to begin with, but become second nature after a time.
 
Steelmagnet said:
Elements, Gimp and Photoshop are pixel-level editors with all sorts of tools and fairly steep learning curves.

Lightroom on the other hand has all of the tools that a photographer will use 99% of the time, is brilliant at managing images, and is not at all expensive.

Go with a 30 day trial of Lightroom and you'll realise that it is quite superb, especially if you work with RAW files.

If you end up thinking to yourself "I wish I could paint out individual little bits and have access to all sorts of layering capabilites" then consider giving one of the others a go.
Click to expand...

Also have a look at the open source DarkTable, which does exactly what LightRoom does. Shooting tethered with it is brilliant.
 
I'd probably do LR4 and then either supplement it with Elements or the free CS2. :)

LR4 covers most of your uses.

kd
 
Another lightroom user, with occasional use of elements. As has been said some great free resources exist for lightroom and photoshop elements are available on the net.

I am have not used gimp so cannot give a view on it, but one advantage of lightroom over photoshop is that it edits a way that stores the changes to the original so it is enables you to reset things without effecting the original image.
When using lightroom (and elements) you need to remember to do any re-organisation of your photos managed by them through the tool
.
 
i prefer pixlr to gimp but now you can get cs2 legitimately via adobe's site i would jump in with 2 feet at use this. There are loads of books in the library with help on photoshop just learn bit by bit.
 
http://www.faststone.org/


Give this a try, it's free. Iv'e tried most of the others, but in my opinion this is still the most simple to use and the one I use. It will convert raw files to jpeg and tiff and has one of the best clone/heal tools of any software.

Give it a try, you have nothing to lose.:)
 
First thing is to get to grip with the FREE editing software that came with your camera and not to assume you need to buy something just because everyone else says you "need" too.
 
Out of Photoshop and Lightroom, what would you say was the easier for a beginner?
 
Depends how you brain works. Lots swear by LR, but I really can't get my head around it and find PSE much easier. They both have free trials, so download them both and have a play.
 
I much prefer Photoshop which comes with Camera Raw which is what I do all my editing in, you're able to edit temp., tint, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, clarity, vibrance and saturation as well as being able to go through the tabs to apply lens correction & remove CA. You can essentially do everything you need to, I dont think it offers much more than Lightroom but I know my way around it whereas in Lightroom everything seems hidden away. Get a trial of each and see what you prefer.
 
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