Choosing editing program
Dec 11, 2017 12:19:18 #
I love GIMP. it is FREE and handles Raw, HDR and layering. It is a wonderful program. YouTube has a ton of videos to teach you.
Dec 11, 2017 12:25:41 #
mwsilvers
Loc: Central New Jersey
roadapplemax wrote:
I need to step up to a more advanced editing program. I think Adobe Photoshop Elements would do it ($100.00).....or is it necessary to get the actual Photoshop( $250)? I want to learn RAW, layering, HDR etc. I know that I will need to get some training programs to go with it. Any suggestions?
If you have previously been using your computers built in processing functionality or a simplistic program such as Picasa and are ready to move up at to real post processing, then Adobe Photoshop Elements is a great way to start. It has about 90+% of the functionality in the full version of Photoshop, and is far easier to use.
If you are a quick study or have the time and willingness to deal with the steep learning curve that Photoshop requires, then by all means use the suggestions of others here to access Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC for $10 a month. It's a great choice if you going to use both of those products extensively on a regular basis. One usually starts out with Lightroom and does all the adjustments necessary to the raw file and then from within Lightroom you send that file to photoshop for final processing using layers etc. But if you want a process that might be easier for you to get your head around, Photoshop Elements may be a better choice for you. I am not sure if the latest version of elements has built-in HDR software or not.
Dec 11, 2017 13:25:33 #
One property of LR that wasn't mentioned is that it catalogs your images. I save mine by date so all the images on a given date are in the same folder. There are many other ways to catalog your folders--location, people, etc.
Dec 11, 2017 14:46:37 #
Bob Boner wrote:
One property of LR that wasn't mentioned is that it catalogs your images. I save mine by date so all the images on a given date are in the same folder. There are many other ways to catalog your folders--location, people, etc.
As does Elements. If you decide to go from Elements to Lightroom, Adobe has provided an easy path for moving the Elements catalog to Lightroom.
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/help/import-photos-various-sources.html
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Dec 11, 2017 16:32:56 #
roadapplemax wrote:
I need to step up to a more advanced editing program. I think Adobe Photoshop Elements would do it ($100.00).....or is it necessary to get the actual Photoshop( $250)? I want to learn RAW, layering, HDR etc. I know that I will need to get some training programs to go with it. Any suggestions?
"Photoshop Elements" would be a good choice but you may want to look into "Affinity Photo" or "ON1 Photo RAW 2018" too before deciding for sure. "Corel Paint Shop Pro 2018" is also good. The "ON1 Photo RAW 2018" and "Corel Paint Shop Pro 2018" cost about the same as "Photoshop Elements" and have more features. "Affinity Photo" is only about $50 and feature wise is a very good substitute for the regular Photoshop program. I never tried doing HDR in Photoshop Elements but the other 3 that I suggested all handle RAW processing, Layers, Masking, etc. and also handle HDR and Panoramas very well too. The $50 for Affinity Photo makes it an extremely good value. Whichever you ultimately choose, there are loads of videos available to help you learn just about anything you might be interested in learning.
Dec 11, 2017 17:00:47 #
Buy Affinity Photo outright for $50 US. No need to pay for any monthly subscriptions. These lots of tutorials online. https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/
Dec 11, 2017 17:22:03 #
Try the latest version of Corel PaintShop Pro. Easy to use and inexpensive. Upgrades are also inexpensive.
Dec 11, 2017 22:39:13 #
Dec 11, 2017 22:39:51 #
Dec 12, 2017 00:14:24 #
I have always been one to swim against the current so let me do so now. Depending on the kind of editing you need to do, you may not need all the horsepower (and steep learning curve) of Lightroom. I find that Corel Paintshop does everything I need. You can get a 30 day free trial to see if it suits you.
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