Newbie on a budget

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reverb

Senior Member
Hello all - looking for some starter advice.

Recently purchased D3200 with an 18-55 kit lens and 35mm 1.8. Also bought a tripod, a case, a remote......and on it goes.

I use a macbook, with iphoto which seems to do a good job processing my new pics - cropping, adjusting, RAW to JPEG etc. I've never used Photoshop, although my father-in-law claims no digital photographer can really do without it.

Welcome your thoughts and experience - given the usefulness of iphoto, is Photoshop essential or just desirable?

thanks in advance
 
Browncoat

Browncoat

Senior Member
I have the entire Adobe suite, and have used Photoshop for over 20 years. That said, if I had to pick "essential" photography software, it would be Lightroom.

Honestly, at this point, I can't imagine my workflow without it.
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
You're from the UK.....University of Kentucky, right? ;) lol.....just kidding. :)

Lightroom would be the way to go, as Browncoat said. I have Photoshop and Lightroom both, but rely mostly on Lightroom.
 
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emm2600

Senior Member
I'm sure you would be happy with lightroom and perhaps photoshop but if budget is the biggest concern it might be worth looking at free/cheaper programs as well. I think nikon's free ViewNX software might have a few features iPhoto doesn't so it might be worth a look. GIMP is a widely recommended photoshop alternative as well.

Ultimately it would depend on what you actually want to do with your software though - for example if you intend to create heavily-edited composite images photoshop/GIMP might be the best bet. ViewNX (and perhaps iPhoto) could be fine for creating a quick crops, batch re-sizing and converting to jpeg but once you start dealing with thousands of raw files something like lightroom really begins to pull away and shine.

There are plenty of alternatives to the above mentioned programs as well like Corel's Paintshop Pro - many that are free or offer trial versions so it's best to just find one (or a few) that work for you and your needs. If you end up happy with free software or even your current iPhoto you could always put the money you would've spent towards an external hard-drive for backups or another lens/etc.
 
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reverb

Senior Member
now wondering if Aperture is an option too? All these comments have been really helpful, thank you all. Having continued to look online, some sites suggest Aperture is 'as good' (?) as Lightroom for most things. Does anyone have any views on this? Looking for some good editing options (but suspect the heavily-edited composites are something I'd perhaps look at in the future, rather than now).

thanks
 
Browncoat

Browncoat

Senior Member
Most Aperture vs Lightroom debates have Lightroom coming out on top. If you were previously a heavy iPhoto user, I'd say stick with Aperture because the learning curve would be much smaller. But that would be the only reason I'd ever recommend it over Lightroom. Especially if you're considering going deeper into the Adobe suite eventually, like purchasing Photoshop down the road, there's really no reason to deviate from Lightroom.

My personal opinion is that Aperture, like most of Apple, is more about the culture than anything else. It's about having Apple for the sake of having Apple and nothing more. Some of the more die hard treehugging hippie Mac-heads will disagree, but it is what it is. I just laugh as they sputter away in their electric cars and go on my way.

:cool:
 
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riverside

Senior Member
emm2600 said:
I'm sure you would be happy with lightroom and perhaps photoshop but if budget is the biggest concern it might be worth looking at free/cheaper programs as well. I think nikon's free ViewNX software might have a few features iPhoto doesn't so it might be worth a look. GIMP is a widely recommended photoshop alternative as well.

Ultimately it would depend on what you actually want to do with your software though - for example if you intend to create heavily-edited composite images photoshop/GIMP might be the best bet. ViewNX (and perhaps iPhoto) could be fine for creating a quick crops, batch re-sizing and converting to jpeg but once you start dealing with thousands of raw files something like lightroom really begins to pull away and shine.

There are plenty of alternatives to the above mentioned programs as well like Corel's Paintshop Pro - many that are free or offer trial versions so it's best to just find one (or a few) that work for you and your needs. If you end up happy with free software or even your current iPhoto you could always put the money you would've spent towards an external hard-drive for backups or another lens/etc.
Click to expand...

Corel's PaintShop Pro/Ultimate is not compatible with the Mac OS. Unless one runs a dual Mac/Windows boot system, not uncommon with Mac users who seek a broader range of software choices.
 
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piperbarb

Senior Member
Since you have a Mac, you may want to look at Pixelmator. It's about $15 US on the app store or directly from the software developer. It's easy to use, has a ton of features, is very stable, and fast. I purchased it a while ago and am very happy with it and you cannot beat the price. I know I am not the only one here using it. I use it in place of Photoshop.

If you want something that is more like Lightroom or Aperture but not as pricey, check out Corel's Aftershot Pro. It is cross platform compatible. I use it on my Mac and Ubuntu Linux laptop. It's about $50 and works very well. Great for someone on a budget. I also like that is available for Mac/Linux/Windows without having to purchase additional licenses for each platform.
 
brads

brads

Senior Member
Don Kuykendall said:
You just moved up a few places in my friends list.
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And you BOTH show total ignorance. I'm happy for a PC user to find their feet but the minute they start to ridicule another platform, I've no time for them. Just simple, ignorant sheep. I suppose you both think that Canon are kid's cameras too.
 
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Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
brads said:
And you BOTH show total ignorance. I'm happy for a PC user to find their feet but the minute they start to ridicule another platform, I've no time for them. Just simple, ignorant sheep. I suppose you both think that Canon are kid's cameras too.
Click to expand...

No, we are both just having a little fun and not insulting anyone specifically by name.
 
brads

brads

Senior Member
Don Kuykendall said:
No, we are both just having a little fun and not insulting anyone specifically by name.
Click to expand...

So it's okay to insult? As long as you don't mention anyone specifically by name eh? I think we call that 'betting both ways'. You can reply to this, I won't be offended.
 
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riverside

Senior Member
In this era of subscription software my recommendation to anyone starting a first learning curve with photography post processing software would be Gimp. For consumers it doesn't get any better than free and Gimp does offer every feature available in Adobe, Corel and other programs on all platforms. If for some reason Gimp fades (after 17 years as open source?) once one uses post processing software there really isn't that much of a learning curve in switching to another product. Different terminology due to shark lawyers poised for lawsuits but software functions are simply functions regardless of name.

One thing to keep in mind when venturing into photography post processing software with subscription software is the slim to none chance of price not increasing right along with corporate provider operating costs. Once users are accustomed to making the payments and the subscription customer base reaches an acceptable level, about 18 months, P&L responsible people will be sporting big grins as price increases are implemented (with appropriate fanfare claiming enhanced features). Accounting software pioneered the subscription game.
 
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RON_RIP

Senior Member
Well fellows,this tree hunger uses Aperture and is very happy with it, as I am with most trees. It is designed to work specifically with Apple computers. There are more sophisticated programs out there and professional photographers who need there features, but Aperture has all the tools I need and some that I will never use and just makes sense for dedicated Apple users.
 
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Browncoat

Browncoat

Senior Member
Wow, brads. Someone's hiney hairs are wound just a little too tight. I can assure you, no tree-hugging hippies were harmed in the making of those posts. Or maybe it's just the language barrier? I see you're from the land down under. Here, let me try again:

Oy, g'day mate! No dingos ate your Macintosh, just throw another shrimp on the barby.
 
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co2jae

Senior Member
Methinks someone needs a snickers.... PS I am a devout Apple user and trust me, no one thinks I am cool or even worth caring what product I use (welcome to VT). As a casual photo editer, I am happy with View NX from Nikon because it lets me correct my shot into what I want, so long as I shoot RAW images. If I ever to decide to commit all my free time to photography, I will likely upgrade then.
 
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RON_RIP

Senior Member
Perhaps they don"t have trees in Australia. I Photo is Apple's answer to the casual photo editor but I think the original poster was wanting something more comprehensive. For Mac, that is Aperture. I think that if you went out and actually hugged a tree you would really like the experience.
 
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