kmac2400

I’m a hobbyist and not a professional photographer. I’m looking to upgrade my post-processing abilities. I’m a Nikon shooter, Mac user, and currently use iPhotos and Polarr Pro. I’ve read previous posts which seems to separate the group into Capture One, Lumiar, and Photoshop CC. All of these seem to involve much more program options then someone like me appears to need. As a result, I’m looking at Photoshop Elements 2020. Is this a decent program or is there some critical reason I’m missing that is important for me to reconsider the other options? I try very hard to get it right straight out of the camera the first time so I usually only use post-processing software maybe 100 times a year right now. Maybe with the right program, I would do it more frequently.

Are their critical considerations I am missing? Any suggestions are welcome, I really want to make a well informed decision and figured this group knows far more than I do. Thank you.

JBGLADSTONE Loc: Oregon

Look at ON1 the price is similar to PSE20

rcarol

The advantage of using PSE20 is that it provides a great stepping stone to the more robust Photoshop CC should you decide to got that route sometime in the future.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Are you shooting raw or jpeg? If you are primarily shooting jpeg and rarely or never plan to shoot raw than PhotoShop Elements, and Affinity Photo are probably your best options. If you end up becoming a hardcore raw shooter than Lightroom, Capture One, DXO PhotoLab, Elite and ON1 PhotoRaw should be on your shortlist.

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

To get the most out of your camera, you should be shooting in RAW. All RAW images need some PPing. You may find that Lightroom will cover most of your PP needs and it's fairly easy to pick up on.
I would recommend Lightroom over PS as just a casual shooter.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Photoshop CC is complete. Raw converters-only do a great job at creating high quality proofs, but fall short of proper photo finishing, and they cannot perform layer and mask based operations - which are the strengths of Photoshop.

Getting PSE is a route many take, because they fear buying (paying for) functionality they may never need (use). That is not a great reason to reject or choose software.

PSE will cost you $70, and you get a very decent photo editor with some raw conversion capability. It cannot be upgraded. When you purchase a new camera or lens, and it is not supported by your current version, you have to purchase the new one, and there is no value attached to the current one - in other words, it is not an upgrade - you just buy a new version.

The concept of "getting it right in the camera" is one of the most overused and least understood terms in photography. What does "getting it right in the camera" actually look like? Does it mean that the image that comes out of the camera is perfect and needs no adjustment? Or does it mean that the camera has recorded what is necessary, with the help of a little post processing, to produce a great image? Or something in between.

You can come very close to the first definition when you have 100% control over the light - as in a studio setting. But if you shoot landscapes, wildlife, botanicals, etc, you often have little control over the light other than choosing the right time of day and avoiding direct sunlight.

With the second definition you have the opportunity to leverage raw accessible dynamic range, which is, by definition, not really available to photographers who are content to accept the in camera jpeg as the final image.

I like that you are looking down the road and trying to choose a path that will allow you explore and grow your editing skills, and explore and better utilize your camera's capabilities.

I have been a Photoshop user since it was first available on the Windows platform - around 1992. I realized back then that since I was not a creative artist, or involved in creating content for websites, or illustration work and other common uses for Photoshop back then, I would not likely use all or even most of it's capabilities. But I did recognize the full suite of tools it contained to be able to allow me have the creative expression I wanted for my images. At the time the competing software packages were Paint Shop Pro, Corel, and Picture Window Pro. I liked that I could customize the Photoshop workspace to my specific needs and workflow, so I settled on Photoshop.

Today I use Photoshop, Lightroom, DXO Photolab 3, Capture One, and On1 - each brings something slightly different to the table, and part of the decision to use one or another comes from having learned them all and understanding where the strengths are, and how one may produce a result that is more to my liking than another.

I would say I use Lightroom 100% of the time for it's catalog and culling/rating/keywording, as well as Photoshop for finishing 100% of the time. My workflow also includes On1 for special effects, DXO Photolab for its excellent perspective correction tools, Prime noise reduction and image enhancement, and its integration with Nik software, which I also use for special effects, Capture One for its very close to finish quality editing (unusual for a raw converter), and how it renders the colors and contrast in Sony camera images.This is what works for me, your mileage can and probably will vary.

Below is my favorite example of gettin it right in the camera, and a typical creative director's markup for a headshot, ready for the retouchers and colorists to execute. What is striking about the headshot is that most photographers would be perfectly OK with the shot as it came out of the camera. Yet there is much work to be done to get it ready for publication, as you can see. By a wide margin, Photoshop and Lightroom are a very complete solution, lacking nothing that one might need to do anything to an image. PSE would be the entry level version.

.

contact print, no adjustments


after post processing



(Download)

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

We don't know which camera model you have or how proficient you are "getting it right in camera" (you're speaking about exposure, I assume) or whether your results would hold up to a professional critique of technique. My personal experience:

I fell in love with PS Elements six years ago. Have you downloaded the free trial? If you like it, learn and use for a year, then switch to PS/LR if you feel you're being held back.

Editing only 100 times a year, it doesn't seem like you're at some major decision-making point yet. On the other hand, in 2013 I would never have predicted how much I now enjoy editing raw files, especially using layers and layer masks. I have Nik Collection as a plug-in to PSE, so that widens the options immensely.

nikon_jon Loc: Northeast Arkansas

Paint shop Pro seems to be treated like the red-headed step child in the online community, but I have used it for over 20 years and love it. It has applications for high dynamic range compilations and will process raw files. I haven't looked at the very latest version, but I would hazard a guess that they have also added application for focus stacking. It is reasonably priced and you can find it on Ebay. I, like you, try to get it right in camera and Paint Shop does everything I want.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Choose an editor based on your needs.

Everyone has different requirements and will always promote the one that they like to use.
If your editing requirements are like "Joe Schmoe's", try the editor he uses.
Pick one, try it.
See if it meets your needs...
Or, you can select the one that has the most capabilities and be done.
Even if you don't use all the capabilities, they are available.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Take all the ideas and find the free download / trial period for any of the packages that seem interesting. Do this sequentially so you can work with one package at a time for the full duration of the trial period. When you say you spend a lot of time getting it correct in the camera, this sounds like capturing in JPEG. There's nothing wrong / inferior with this approach. Ignore the suggestions to change to RAW that is not the answer to your question about a better digital editor. Seriously consider the standalone PhotoShopElements that will give you basic database management tools (search 'look-up' for your images) and all the advanced tools you'll need for editing JPEGs. The PSE software can last for years, if not forever. I have a copy of PSE10 from 2011 that I continue use every single day for layer-based editing on JPEGs.

bleirer

I'd try a trial of Photoshop elements. It has a good organizer built in, if you shoot raw it automatically opens in a slightly watered down version of Adobe camera raw before jumping into the main editor, which is similar to Lightroom (or Lightroom is similar to it). For jpeg or raw you can choose which level of editor you want with a simple click: basic, guided, or advanced. The editor is similar to Photoshop, just lacking some of the more advanced features.

kmac2400

Thank you all for a quick reply. You have all given me much to think about. Just to clarify my comment about “straight from the camera”, I started shooting 35 mm film in the 1970’s with a Canon AE 1. With film, there was no do overs and you needed to to get the shot right the first time (or close enough). I carried that concept over to shooting digital. I shoot for fun and will admit I’m an amateur compared to many on this forum - thus why I came to the group for advice. I really do appreciate the help. Thanks, again.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Getting it right in the camera now simply means little or no editing. A great time saver!
But you're right, the ability to tweak is wonderful.
If you are using a Canon, have you use their DPP software? I use that 99% of the time,
but I also have Elements 19 and Photo Impact Pro.
I shoot for fun also and my editing needs are not great.

(I have my AE-1 and Ftb in the curio cabinet.)

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

While I completely agree with you in general, the problem for newbies is that they usually do not know their needs yet. And even if they do think they know they may find that their requirements have changed once they dip their toes in the water and see the possibilities.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

One downside of PSE is that the majority of tools are 8-bit.