GlennInEncinitas Loc: Encinitas CA

One of my photographic hobbies is to use photos of adventures with family and friends and create a photo collage. I use several (usually 5 - 10) photos and manipulate the size and placement on a page to create a montage of the experience. In the past, I have used Photoshop to edit the photos (very simple stuff like capture elements and manipulate brightness, blur the background, etc.) and then to create the collage. My son recently moved out and took his computer with Photoshop so I am now a hobbyist without the tools. I am looking for recommendations for a photo-editing program that would allow me to do what I did with Photoshop, but I certainly don't need the extensive tools (or the cost) of that program. Would Photoshop Elements serve my needs? Are there other recommendations?

angela k Loc: Long Island

Try picassa 3 - it's free and has wonderful options including collage

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Try Picasa first, and if that doesn't satisfy your needs, PS Elements 12 is super-duper!

Download Picasa from http://picasa.google.com

ggttc Loc: TN

PhotoScape is a free program with a good collage feature

Picdude Loc: Ohio

PhotoScape uses templates for photo collage pictures and has a wide variety with the software. Don't know what version of Photoshop your son had on his computer but you may want to try either PS Elements 12, which is relatively inexpensive to buy outright, or sign on for the Adobe CC photographers package which gives you full Photoshop and Lightroom with all update for $10.00/month at this time.

Another option would be to download GIMP. Like PhotoScape, it is a free program with feature comparable to full Photoshop. Some of the controls will be different but not horribly so and you should get the feel for it very quickly. You can find a lot of help for GIMP I the 'Post Processing Digital Images' section here on UHH.

Dennis King Loc: Mount Shasta, Ca.

Take a class at your local college Junior College or art school in Photoshop. It`s well worth the time of learning these things right/properly. Dennis

sidney Loc: London.Eng.

As stated. try PICASA.it's FREE and will do the job well.

loveandpeace Loc: Southeast Iowa

Elements will do many things that Photoshop does, including everything you mentioned that you use Photoshop for, and is easy to learn and use. I used to teach Photoshop in my Photojournalism class, but the learning curve is too steep for the time allowed, so I switched to teaching Elements. My students had more fun and were more motivated to use it on their photos than when I taught Photoshop. Highly recommended.

If you search around you can find Elements 12 for $60, and occasionally it sells for even cheaper. I paid $39 for mine. Also, you can probably find good deals on older versions if you search around the web.