Help Please-Photo Editing (Page 5): I have LOVED Picasa (Picnic) for years now. So easy and so many things that can be done easily. I have CS5 and use it too but for some things like...

bruce Loc: Vancouver, Wa

I have LOVED Picasa (Picnic) for years now. So easy and so many things that can be done easily. I have CS5 and use it too but for some things like straightening and several other things Picnic is just faster. It is going off the market as of April 19th. Sooooo disappointed.

woodworker236 Loc: Western, Pennsylvania Home of the first JEEP

bruce wrote:

I have LOVED Picasa (Picnic) for years now. So easy and so many things that can be done easily. I have CS5 and use it too but for some things like straightening and several other things Picnic is just faster. It is going off the market as of April 19th. Sooooo disappointed.

Does that mean you will not be able too use it?

aa123rr Loc: from Garland, TX but live in FL

I use PSE almost exclusively to edit just the things you described. I love it. For the more complicated editing I consult Google and for most everything there is a tutorial. But basic photo editing I find to be pretty simple in PSE. If I can't figure out what I need to do quickly (patience is not really one of my virtues), I ask Google and have usually found an answer without any hassels.

MtnMan Loc: ID

I believe Picasa is different than Picnic and not closing.

I seem to recall that there was a link from Picasa to Picnic...if so that might be a cause of confusion.

woodworker236 wrote:

bruce wrote:

I have LOVED Picasa (Picnic) for years now. So easy and so many things that can be done easily. I have CS5 and use it too but for some things like straightening and several other things Picnic is just faster. It is going off the market as of April 19th. Sooooo disappointed.

Does that mean you will not be able too use it?

alienmurphy Loc: Alaska

bkford wrote:

I am having a difficult time and would like to be ... (show quote)

The best answer is this: Editing software is much like a camera. One has to be patient over time and learn how to use the camera. The more you experiment the better your photos get. The same is true of any graphics software. You have to be patient. Play around with it, try things out. Most of the available software even has 'youtube' videos that will assist you. The learning curve is the same for both the camera and the graphics software. If your immediate expectations are too high; you will quickly be disappointed. I personally use PaintShop Pro 4X. It does what I need. Nothing fancy.

ckcs Loc: Sacramento CA

I use PS Elements 9. I am also baffled on how to do layers. I have purchased books, to no avail. It is also a mindset with me. I am a visual person. Does anyone have any ideas where there is a book video etc. that can help me idiot about layering.

MtnMan Loc: ID

I strongly reccommend Kelby and Kloskowski's book on photoshop elements 10. They have one on 9 also I think but you'll have to decide which to get.

It is a visual book: color photos of every step.

ckcs wrote:

I use PS Elements 9. I am also baffled on how to do layers. I have purchased books, to no avail. It is also a mindset with me. I am a visual person. Does anyone have any ideas where there is a book video etc. that can help me idiot about layering.

Meredith Images Loc: Stratford, CT

randym77 wrote:

You can avoid the layers, but I think you'll really like them once you learn how to use them. They are one of the best things about Photoshop. They make it easy for you to try different effects, compare, and combine them.

For example, that thread about the Orton effect. You can't do that without layers.

FWIW...the original version of Elements didn't have layers. It was one of things reserved for regular Photoshop.

I agree completely! I teach Elements in seminars and adult ed programs -- if you want to learn Elements, you should look into some classes in your area. I teach most of them as "hands on" so students are working along with me. Layers are a wonderful tool that let you go back and make additional changes later. You CAN get the same results without layers, but have less flexibility.

ab7rn Loc: Portland, Oregon

bkford wrote:

As a matter of fact, maybe I should ask this: the ... (show quote)

I feel for you in that layers gave me a real fit at first. Now I realize that they are at the heart of a good system and it is well worth while putting real effort into learning them. They enable you to do so many things with so littlew effort. After awhile you can find yourself doing things that aren't even in the book.

pinkycat Loc: The Garden State

ACDSee or Paint Shop Pro. Easy to use and a wide range of choices when it comes to creativity.

veryfastrapids Loc: Falmouth, Maine

I agree completely with the first paragraph of randym77's comment. Layers will help you with the kind of editing you want to do. First you can make a copy of your original on a new layer. Then perhaps you change the saturation of the overall photo on that layer. You can click on the saturated photo to temporarily eliminate it from your view, in order to compare it with the underlying original. You like the saturation so you click that layer back into view and make a copy of that because the next thing you want to do is increase the overall contrast in the photo but are not sure you will like it. So you increase the contrast (via one of several methods available). You think it needs a bit less contrast than you've applied so you either revise what you've done on this third layer or delete the layer and make another copy of layer two and start again. If this sounds complex, believe me it is not. You will discover the beauty of it in a short while. "Layers" can be much more than this but even with simple editing it is a dream (come true).

randym77 wrote:

You can avoid the layers, but I think you'll really like them once you learn how to use them. They are one of the best things about Photoshop. They make it easy for you to try different effects, compare, and combine them.

For example, that thread about the Orton effect. You can't do that without layers.

FWIW...the original version of Elements didn't have layers. It was one of things reserved for regular Photoshop.

bruce Loc: Vancouver, Wa

woodworker236 wrote:

bruce wrote:

I have LOVED Picasa (Picnic) for years now. So easy and so many things that can be done easily. I have CS5 and use it too but for some things like straightening and several other things Picnic is just faster. It is going off the market as of April 19th. Sooooo disappointed.

Does that mean you will not be able too use it?

That's my understanding. They are giving everybody their money back. I think I pay something like 29 to 39 dollars a year. Money will be given back and until the deadline, anyone can use the Picnic for free. Picasa is free already, I pay for Picnic.

ShakyShutter Loc: Arizona

veryfastrapids wrote:

I agree completely with the first paragraph of ran... (show quote)

Veryfast you illustrate the problem with the software very well in your comment. All valid steps in the enhancement process unless the user does not understand "duplicate layer" or where to find it. If this is the case everything after that turns into gibberish. It's often like a neurosurgeon explaining to you how to remove a brain tumor. If you were unable to find the #11 scalpel and make the prescribed U shaped incision in the scalp everything after that would become a distant hum in your ears.
Wait go back... put the patient to sleep first!

ckcs Loc: Sacramento CA

Layering is so important because you do can so much to your photo. I am going to work via telephone with an individual who is a member of Hedgehog. I WILL coquer!!!

Abbigirl

bruce wrote:

quote=woodworker236 quote=bruce I have LOVED Pic... (show quote)

I'm suffering over the whole idea that Picnic is going out of business because they have the greatest templates. I use them all the time for scrapbooking and for prints. I wish they would put the program on the market and I could just buy it from Amazon.