doctp Loc: ny

Have been avoiding post processing for years, never decided on a "easy to use' edition...Adobe photoshop, light room and just purchased Adobe photoshop elements 2020... haven't even opened it.

Please, anyone have experience with program.
I have been working on composition, etc, time for the next step!

I have a Apple Mac Book air and dell laptop, which should I use and is it prudent to buy a desktop computer, ? make . model and size, Ram? memory etc.
it will be devoted only to photography.
My printer is the Epson Surecolor P-600.. love that!

All responses, good and bad are appreciated!
Doctp

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

Start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQj52Djjbbo&t=3s
Smile,
JimmyT Sends

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

doctp, Also consider Affinity which is a modern program and provides updates free... initial price is $50
WOW, now on sale for $25: https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/#buy

If you prefer the name Adobe, then add the Elements + for an additional $12. Plus is an additional program that opens doors in Elements that Adobe closes. Adobe is old programming updated, vs Affinity which is modern programing language.. clean and new 7 years ago. When you buy Adobe you are paying for the name and bragging rights.

There are free programs that are excellent. The classic "open source" is GIMP, but there are others. A complaint is GIMP has a steep learning curve, however, you will be only using the basic tools so that eases the learning burden.
https://www.wix.com/blog/photography/2019/04/11/best-free-photo-editing-software/

Money saved on Basic Edit can be well spent on Plugin, I use Topaz. Plugins open an easy whole new world to you. Easy and Fast.

If you search you can find the GOOGLE edition of NIX. NIX sold for $150 [?] but Google bought it and made it free.
https://digitalphotographycourses.co.za/download-google-nik-collection-for-free/

doctp Loc: ny

Thanks so very much Jimmy, I’m not computer smart so this will really help!!
What computer should I dedicate only to photos??
Should it be a Apple desktop and what size monitor or I have a Apple MacBook Air, 13” and a Dell 15” laptop.
Should it be a new Dell desktop ?

Again, this would be only for photos?
Size of monitor ? Resolution?
Really appreciate your help.
Anyone else can give opinions too!

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

I will throw this out to the UHH Collective since I am also not computer literate.
I have one computer that I use for everything, with an uncalibrated 27" Samsung monitor.
Another reason to seek the help of my computer literate UHH Brethern is that I'm also color blind.
Please let (us) the UHH collective know what your budget is, what are the details of your current computer system(s); the amount of ram, sizes of your C/D drive(s), how full are they, what do you use for backups and what sizes are your backup drives?
What say you UHH's?
JimmyT Sends

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I have been using laptops for PS Elements editing, first was PS Elements 12 with a Dell. Most recent is a 15" Asus for PSE 2018. Has a good, dedicated graphics card. The software gives you a list of minimum requirements needed to run smoothly, but double the RAM is usually a good idea (at least with memory hog Windows 10 OS).

Suggestions for machines will - like the software - result in a wide range of opinions. You can become quickly overwhelmed.

My two cents: see if your current Dell will support the PSE software. If yes, view the You-Tube video, then come back to us with any beginner questions.

Look at some of your photos and make a list of the basics you'd like to accomplish, i.e. cropping, straightening, re-sizing for web share, sharpening, contrast or color adjustments. Practice those tasks and then move on to others. You can't learn everything at once. Small frequent meals will likely work better than 10-course banquets

doctp Loc: ny

Hey Jimmy,
Ty for getting back so quickly!
Being computer illiterate really stinks, but we’ll get thru it.
My Apple MacBook Air is 13”, Mac OS Catalina, version 10.15.3, Retina display, 1.6 ghz, dual band intel core i5.
Memory is 8 GB, 3133 MHz, LPDDR3 ,
Graphics: intel UHD 617, 1536 MB.
2 ports, not USB , I have an Ext hard drive digit it.

The Dell is a 15” laptop, 7586, windows 10 home, 2 in1, google chrome, i7, 8565u, 1.8 GHz, 16 GB memory, 512 GB SSD
That’s it, should I get a desk too, PC or apple, size of screen.
I have an instrument to calibrate the monitor.
Open to all suggestions.
Ty
Tom

doctp Loc: ny

Ty Linda,
I was recently given Adobe photoshop elements 2020, I HAVE NOT OPENED IT.
is it any good, should I return it for a better version? From the description seems TOO simple, I might grow out of it quickly? Really stuck here!
Ty,
Tom

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I gave those examples as a way to ease you into the process

Elements is far from "simple." A feature of the software is it is organized into 3 modules: quick, guided and expert. The "expert" mode is for working with layers and layer masks - awesome tools for composites, selective editing and much more.

It took me months to understand and master working with layers. PS Elements has many of the same tools as the full Photoshop. Often the tutorials posted to PP Forum from photoshop users are workable within Elements. Here's one example of dozens:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-636826-1.html

You can even make your own brushes. The silhouettes below are my home-made brushes, and the textured background a layer from another pic. The original is a heavily manipulated shot of sunrise taken through the side mirror of my car

(Download)

doctp Loc: ny

Hi all,

Is Adobe photoshop Elements 2020 Significantly different from prior versions of Adobe Photoshop elements?

Tom

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Here's a comparison with the three versions previous:
https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements/buying-guide.html

.

doctp Loc: ny

Ty so much, that is what I needed to know!!
Tom

JW from PA

I am not a computer whiz by any means, I would say you have plenty of power in both laptops to run PSE 2020. To learn the program look up How To Gurus on YouTube, George Pierson is very good. Rick Peterson also is very good. Both are on YouTube.
Good Luck,
Semper Fi,
Joe W.

doctp Loc: ny

Ty Joe, Really appreciate your time and more importantly, your service!
I’m try to do my part, I’m the chief surgeon for the NYS Troopers, do what I can to help the guys out who protect us!
I also found a copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.
Didn’t even remember that I had it, don’t even know if I registered it!! Lol.
If I can use it or upgrade it, which should I use, Lightroom 6 or PSE 2020?
Thx,
Tom

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Tom, I only scanned your responses. Apologies if I missed / misunderstood any of the details.

Are you saying you now purchased several overlapping software?
Are you saying you own multiple computers, or are considering buying a new Mac or a Windows?

If you purchased, but never installed and registered the Lightroom v6 software, you might not be able to use this unsupported software today. Personally, I continue to use LR6 along with PSE-10. Both software were purchased and registered with Adobe back around 2013 and have been transferred across several h/w changes for both Windows-based laptops and desktops. I can do this because (a) I carefully saved the original installation files and (b) saved the registration keys / serial numbers and (c) saved all the point-update installation files and (d) properly registered the software keys on Adobe's site. You'll have to contact Adobe Technical Support (if you can via a 'chat' from their website) and see if they will let you register 'new' this old LR6 software.

Before trying to register, you should check your Adobe profile at their site and see if you did register the purchase in the past. If you did, try installing LR6. There may be an issue that it can't be done on a 'modern' Apple computer due to Apple's recent and ongoing changes to their OS, but for Windows10 it should run fine. What can't be done is get the 'software update' function to run. You'd have to have someone give you a link to the final update file that pushes LR6 to their final Dec-2017 update to v6.14. Adobe can give you a link, or post a response to this thread as we can point you to a URL to download.

If you decide to go the LR6 & PSE2020 route, both software should work together, at least on Win10. You have to first install LR6 through the v6.14 update and then install PSE2020 so the integration between to two is enabled.

All that said, your less conflicted approach will be to start fresh with currently supported PSE software, particularly if you've already purchased. There are numerous free training videos on You-tube and the Support section of the Adobe site. Just google ideas like 'PSE 2020 getting started video' and begin to watch the results. Save the useful URLs / Authors and return to the video or investigate other offerings from author(s) you like.