mckinneylove Loc: San Diego

Thank you all for the advice. I have been debating this issue for months. :)

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

I am a big proponent of GIMP and you can't beat an editing programs as powerful as PS and is free including regular free updates and upgrades.

gordnanaimo Loc: Vancouver Island

If you are thinking of going pro you have no option but to get the professional equipment which includes photoshop cs 6, full frame camera, and lots of lenses and lights. but why fool around with halfway projects like elements and gimp and corel. I have used them all by the way. Get the real thing and spend the time learning how to use it. CS-6 in photoshop.

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

I guess you think GIMP has not as much as PS. Open Source apps are highly customizable so GIMP has nearly 1000 plug-ins.

gordnanaimo Loc: Vancouver Island

I won't dignify this with a response.

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

Not at all surprised.

gfinlayson

There has been much debate about photo software lately. If you're ultimately looking to go into business as a pro, then you need to start off with a very good method of organising your photos. Loits of people suggest Elements CS6 etc, but my recommendation would be to start with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. It has superb organisational capabilites via custom tags and ratings, can apply the same edits to multiple photos as a batch process during import or editing, works well with external editors such as Photoshop CS, and has most of the adjustment tools you would ever need. If you shoot in RAW it also allows fully non-destructive editing.

It's not expensive and is relatively easy to learn.

Start off with a good workflow process - if you start off with a bad workflow process, you'll regret it later when you've got thousands of images and need to find a better way of sorting them out.

Lightroom is generally the preferred choice of most pros. CS6 is complicated and expensive, and only really needed if you're going to do very heavy editing or working with masks and layers. If you find you need it, you can add it later on, configure it as an external editor to Lightroom and still catalogue CS6 edited files in Lightroom.

gordnanaimo Loc: Vancouver Island

Well there you go. I don't like lightroom. I find it poorly organized and like greek olives, I have tried to like lightroom. But then again its a matter of taste. However, lots and lots of pros love lightroom and I understand their reasoning. I organize my files in Windows. its something I have grown used to and works great for me. Once again. what ever program you use it should be cutting edge if you are going pro. And CS-6 is , today, cutting edge.

pixbyjnjphotos Loc: Apache Junction,AZ

I too have used PSP for years. I have tried many many other programs. I own Photomatix and NIKON Capture NX and use them occasionally. But, I keep coming back to PSP. I just upgraded to X5 Ultimate. Very nice. PSP X5 Ultimate comes with several NIK Efex plugins. It has an HDR module that works reasonably well. And X5 will handle RAW reasonably well. I use Faststone Image viewer in conjunction with PSP and it works well. I am not impressed with the organizers built into post processing software such as PSP or Lightroom since I have my own way of cataloging pictures. I just tried Lightroom 4 for 30 days and decided that I can do most all that Lightroom does in PSP. Corel has a really good special on X5 Ultimate right now. I would suggest downloading the fully functional trial and give X5 a chance.

http://www.corel.com/corel/product/index.jsp?pid=prod4900069&cid=catalog20038&segid=8100006&storeKey=us&languageCode=en

Brian in Whitby Loc: Whitby, Ontario, Canada

Which Corel program do you use?
I assume it is some version of PaintShop Pro.
If you shoot in RAW, I suggest you try Corel's new AfterShot Pro. It is very good. I rarely use anything else unless I have to use masks or clone. It is non-destructive editing so you will always have the original. You can download a free 30 day trial.

rob s Loc: La Mesa, CA

Me too. But the Organiser still sucks. I thought I'd revisit it and wasted a LOT of time because it crashed so often.

I too got it for $50. An absolute steal - especially now the RAW editor is substantially improved.

rob s Loc: La Mesa, CA

I forgot to add to the recommendation for PSE that you should also get the Photoshop Elements 11 Missing Manual at the same time. The absolute best guide for someone new to Elements.

MidnightManiac

Have been using Lightroom for a while. There are many courses out there to explain it...Once understood it's very easy to work with and you can use Photoshop with it...By itself it is a fine program...I have use elements and, personally like this better...Just a matter of choise.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Yes but be sure to buy 11. You can find it on sale for $50.

It is much easier to learn than all previous versions. Also get Kelby and Kloskowski's book on it and you'll be good to go.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Interesting view. I found the Organizer awesome and it never crashed.

I am using Lightroom now but have to say I don't like it for cataloging as well as the Elements 10 Organizer.