Suggestions on simple photo retouching software
Dec 13, 2016 00:15:10 #
Peanut_the_cat
Loc: Bradenton, Florida
My girlfriend takes some amazing photographs with her cell phone and a point and shoot camera. When at my house she often tries to edit her images with Photoshop and as much as I try to help her she of course always runs into issues. Photoshop is way more horsepower than she needs or wants. I'm not being derisive in saying that, it's just she likes taking pictures but does not want to spend hours retouching them. She does enjoy some retouching but wants to spend 5 minutes on and image and not an hour or two that I might. So I thought I'd buy her some software for Christmas. The question is what. I thought about Photoshop Elements? That might eventually allow her to gravitate to the full blown Photoshop in a couple of years time if she felt inclined. I know there is free stuff out there but I want something semi serious. What say you hoggers?
Dec 13, 2016 00:22:56 #
Elements is not all that different from PS, and for sure will take more than 5 minutes. Why not start her out with a free program like GIMP? That way she'll get a feel for the process, without cost. Then when she's ready she can make her choice.
Dec 13, 2016 00:26:48 #
Peanut_the_cat
Loc: Bradenton, Florida
Murray wrote:
Elements is not all that different from PS, and for sure will take more than 5 minutes. Why not start her out with a free program like GIMP? That way she'll get a feel for the process, without cost. Then when she's ready she can make her choice.
Thanks I'll Google GIMP now.
Dec 13, 2016 00:29:40 #
GIMP??? Wow! That is not a simple program!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you have PS CC put her on the LR develop mode.
One of the simpler program is ACDSee the price varies depending on promotion.
If you have PS CC put her on the LR develop mode.
One of the simpler program is ACDSee the price varies depending on promotion.
Dec 13, 2016 00:37:43 #
Peanut_the_cat
Loc: Bradenton, Florida
Rongnongno wrote:
GIMP??? Wow! That is not a simple program!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you have PS CC put her on the LR develop mode.
One of the simpler program is ACDSee the price varies depending on promotion.
If you have PS CC put her on the LR develop mode.
One of the simpler program is ACDSee the price varies depending on promotion.
ACDSee is a monthly payment plan which I don't want, but of course Lightroom. I forgot all about that. Thanks for the reminder.
Dec 13, 2016 00:54:48 #
Peanut_the_cat wrote:
ACDSee is a monthly payment plan which I don't want, but of course Lightroom. I forgot all about that. Thanks for the reminder.
Actually ACDSee is NOT on a monthly payment plan. Check the purchase options.
PS CC and LR are thought.
Dec 13, 2016 01:01:48 #
Dec 13, 2016 01:31:01 #
Peanut_the_cat
Loc: Bradenton, Florida
Rongnongno wrote:
Actually ACDSee is NOT on a monthly payment plan. Check the purchase options.
PS CC and LR are thought.
PS CC and LR are thought.
Your right they do sell outright its just their webpage is confusing when it says "A plan for all of your personal multimedia needs - for only $6.90 per month!".
I already have Lightroom though as part of the Photoshop monthly plan that I use myself, so that is perfect.
Dec 13, 2016 05:31:27 #
Peanut_the_cat wrote:
My girlfriend takes some amazing photographs with ... (show quote)
Photoshop and Lightroom are the obvious choices - best third party support, really good software, and yes, there can be a learning curve, depending on how much of PS she will use. Can't get a better solution for $120/yr. Or, you can get ON1 Photo Raw 2017, which is a single application with what so far seems to have a raw converter that is superior to LR, and the cost is $120, but on sale now for $100. It too is updated and upgraded aggressively, so you can expect to pay another $80 next year when they release On1Raw 2018. If you download it today you will get a mostly functional but not completely finished Beta v2, with the final coming out on December 19th. It's fast and it provides a good platform for editing raw and jpeg files. And it can work as a plugin if you want to use it with PS and/or Lightroom later.
Dec 13, 2016 06:28:46 #
Peanut_the_cat wrote:
My girlfriend takes some amazing photographs with ... (show quote)
I always enjoyed using Photoshop (also for its "simplicity" yes there is such a thing), I rather found Elements rather somewhat clumpsy and complicated when compared!
Dec 13, 2016 07:16:05 #
PSE is no simpler. If LR is available with your subscription, this is the best idea. But, there still is a learning curve.
Dec 13, 2016 08:15:49 #
Peanut_the_cat wrote:
My girlfriend takes some amazing photographs with ... (show quote)
Photoshop Elements has three different modes to "fix" photos: Quick, Guided and Expert.
The Quick mode has only 8 tools in the toolbin, and are indeed "quick fixes"
If she finds her skills in manipulation improve to the point where she wants more, she can simply switch to Guided or Expert mode. Or start in Guided mode and switch to Quick mode later on.
In my way of thinking, either the Quick or Guided modes, will allow her to spend just the couple of minutes to fix a photo, while at the same time giving her a feel for a "Photoshop-like" program, so that if eventually she'd want to move up to Expert mode or to the full Photoshop program, she wouldn't have to start from the very beginning again.
I have been using PSE since version 7, now using version 14, and I have never found that what I wanted to do with my photos, couldn't be done in PSE.
ETA: For US$12, a plug-in program for PSE can be had, giving it many of the possibilities from PS to PSE: http://elementsplus.net/ and that for a fraction of the cost of Photoshop.
Dec 13, 2016 08:50:22 #
Peanut_the_cat wrote:
My girlfriend takes some amazing photographs with ... (show quote)
She might want to take a look at Faststone. It's free and worth a look.
Dec 13, 2016 09:58:43 #
Learning curves are temporary. Changes to an image can be permanent if you are not careful enough to only work on copies. I am considerably faster using LR/PS/On1 than any of my students using "easier" software. What takes them an hour to do I can usually do in less than 5 minutes. After a few months have passed and they have learned the software, some are even faster than I am on LR/PS/ON1
Dec 13, 2016 16:31:34 #
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.