I started with ViewNX (As it was called then) and then bought Lightroom... Shortly after buying LR, Amazon reduced Elements 12 so I bought that too, but I haven't actually used it yet. Now I only use Lightroom, and recently got hold of Nik tools which is basically, awesome!
What is a Good Editing Software for a Beginner ?
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LouCioccio
Senior Member
Depending on which platform you are using (windows,mac and linux) there are some promising "other alternatives" that can be used albeit a learning curve as I found out, being a long time user of Photoshop and Elements. Acorn on the mac is promising but some of the brushes seem kludge like but the blend modes are very photoshop like the same for Pixelmator. Paint.net on the windows side at least the version I have does not have masks but runs very well and the German on Photoline is another one to look at. The linux side has RAW Therapee, Gimp(comes in 3 flavors) and I forgot about Corel's AfterShot Pro that runs in all three OS's. Each has its pro and cons and all do not work with plugins like Nik, Perfect Photo Suite etc; meaning you have to go out of the program to access them.
My biggest worry is the subscription software as I never see a subscription go down in price (look at cable). Also I often wonder if the camera manufactures really give Adobe, Apple or Windows all the info on their RAW as they also (Camera Manufactures) do sell their on software and give out some free. Maybe I am skeptical. I think most may just need a little tweaking of their images.
Again just my 2¢
Lou Cioccio
My biggest worry is the subscription software as I never see a subscription go down in price (look at cable). Also I often wonder if the camera manufactures really give Adobe, Apple or Windows all the info on their RAW as they also (Camera Manufactures) do sell their on software and give out some free. Maybe I am skeptical. I think most may just need a little tweaking of their images.
Again just my 2¢
Lou Cioccio
I've tried plenty of alternatives before I bought LR. The sad truth is that once you have used PS, any alternative simply feels lacking. PS simply is exemplary when it comes to digital manipulation and everything else gives the feeling trying to be PS but not really succeeding.
For basic manipulation of photos PS might be over the top. I used ViewNX2 first and although it gave me some options, it felt crude. I wasn't really impressed by it. I decided to buy LR since Adobe simply specializes in this sort of stuff. I didn't like it much at first but the more time goes by, the more I enjoy it. I rarely use PS for anything else but sharpening these days, about everything else I need, LR provides. You can still buy it instead of PPM which is a bonus too.
Alternatives will always be that; alternatives. A cheaper solution in some cases but mostly a temporary one. You'll always want the real deal in the end.
For basic manipulation of photos PS might be over the top. I used ViewNX2 first and although it gave me some options, it felt crude. I wasn't really impressed by it. I decided to buy LR since Adobe simply specializes in this sort of stuff. I didn't like it much at first but the more time goes by, the more I enjoy it. I rarely use PS for anything else but sharpening these days, about everything else I need, LR provides. You can still buy it instead of PPM which is a bonus too.
Alternatives will always be that; alternatives. A cheaper solution in some cases but mostly a temporary one. You'll always want the real deal in the end.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
I too have used other image editors but Photoshop is the undisputed King, and the industry-wide standard, for about a thousand very good reasons. You simply never get tired of the flexibility and sheer horsepower it brings to editing. If I had to go back to working without layers, or content-aware tools, I swear I'd lose my mind. Then you toss in Adobe Bridge and Adobe Camera RAW and there's just no comparison.
....
The lack of layers was my biggest complaint in LR. Manipulation without layers is like driving without brakes. Then I discovered the "virtual copy" in LR and although it is not quite the same, it's a tolerable solution to the layer problem. If it is really necessary, I still upload several different versions to PS and use the layers there to blend them in. It happens less and less these days.
LouCioccio
Senior Member
Agreed, but the MAC user before Elements 10 never had organizer but they had bridge. Yes Adobe is the standard just like MS Word but others do give it a run for their money.(Libre Office) Look at Elements plus Perfect Photo Suite or Nik would be a good combination (as those products do lyres and have a mask feature. You are still ahead but you could use those software with other but not as seamless as with Adobe.
Lou Cioccio
Lou Cioccio
Englischdude
Senior Member
hi,
im a freeware fan and do all my photo processing with software which costs absolutely nothing!
OS = Linux Mint 17
Raw = Darktable (Equivalent to LR for Linux and Mac, not been ported to Win yet if im not mistaken)
Photo editing = GIMP (Equivalent to Photoshop)
im a freeware fan and do all my photo processing with software which costs absolutely nothing!
OS = Linux Mint 17
Raw = Darktable (Equivalent to LR for Linux and Mac, not been ported to Win yet if im not mistaken)
Photo editing = GIMP (Equivalent to Photoshop)
Englischdude
Senior Member
if the gear was free and satisfied all my requirements I would be using that too. If you find a source please let me know, in the meantime I have to pay.
I didn't intend the reply as offensive. I was just wondering about it since I too was busy for weeks deciding what soft to buy and tested plenty a freebie before spending a couple on LR. Yet in a fraction of the time I decided to spend a multitude of that on a different lens.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
You make a good point here...
Post processing software, really, is no different than any other bit of "kit" we need as photographers and is worthy of just as much consideration in my opinion.
....
Englischdude
Senior Member
absolutely no offense taken. goto the tube and watch a couple of Darktable tutorials. I dont know if you are familiar with this software but it really is a very sophisticated piece of kit. There are so many blogs to read through where LR and Darktable are openly compared and make for very interesting reading. Like I implied, as soon as the free options no longer meet my requirements then I have no problem investing in post-processing software, but until such time, the solutions I use at the moment are all I need. The OP is a beginner and is looking for some software to get familiar with the aspects of post processing. Why not start out free!
I'll check out Darktable, thanks for the tip. I'm now using LR and it works perfect with my geriatric version of PS so I doubt I'll change but you never know until you try.
I did test GIMP. I really tried and installed it three times but it felt as comfortable as running the marathon on high heels. I'm too used to PS I fear.
If the OP is unfamiliar with any digital soft, it doesn't hurt to try free first. It's his choice and money after all.
I did test GIMP. I really tried and installed it three times but it felt as comfortable as running the marathon on high heels. I'm too used to PS I fear.
If the OP is unfamiliar with any digital soft, it doesn't hurt to try free first. It's his choice and money after all.
Englischdude
Senior Member
LOL. I can relate to that. The migration to GIMP caused me a number of headaches also as I was a PS/CS1 user, 100% of the functions I commonly used I found to be the same, just the descriptions and implementation were different. It was frustrating, I considered myself to be a PS poweruser, however with GIMP in the beginning I felt like a pre-school dropout!
LouCioccio
Senior Member
It complicated for the beginner. If he/she can get to class at a local Photography club or like our computer club it really helps when someone guide them. Okay here is an image that I open the RAW file with Iridient RAW software (similar to Camera RAW but with other bells and whistles) which I can just upgrade when I upgrade my camera. I can use "lcp" profiles if I choose. When I was done I open in Pixelmator making layers and adjustments and exported as a TIFF not wanting to use Adobe PSD format. So far no Adobe. After I closed Pixelmator I navigated to the tiff file and open in Perfect Photo Suite and used a preset they had for landscapes. I saved it as TIFF with layers intact. I then exported to a JPG but used 50% to keep the file small for here. Phew I was slow compared to my normal Camera Raw + Photoshop CS5 + Perfect Photo Suite only to show another way of doing it.
Just before sunrise. So just an example of not breaking the bank and finding software that will meet your needs. Nothing wrong with Adobe but there are alternatives out there if one chooses.
Lou Cioccio
Just before sunrise. So just an example of not breaking the bank and finding software that will meet your needs. Nothing wrong with Adobe but there are alternatives out there if one chooses.
Lou Cioccio
For the OP, I'm probably about as new at PP as anyone on here. I came at this a little different than probably most on here did. I have a Canon A520 P&S camera. I used the .jpg image it produced and put it into Gimp for a little tweaking here and there. When I started having trouble with Canon's software for downloading the files from the camera I started using Picassa, but I really didn't like the way it cataloged EVERY image on my computer. OK, now to the DSLR. I started shooting RAW almost immediately, because that is "what you do" when you have a camera capable of RAW output. Ha! Now what? I used Nikon ViewNX-2 for downloading from the SD card and then PP using Capture NX-D. So far all free software. Export processed files as .JPG or .Tiff. Then if needed I shrink the file size, add copyright or any other additional processing ie HDR I use Gimp. Having never used PSE, PS, LR or whatever, I don't know what I am missing. Ha! One other program I used, but never have really gotten the results I wanted was Raw-Therapee (also free and is a Raw processing software). I always keep thinking that I would like to see what some of the "not so free" software would be like to use, but at this point I don't really see the point. My monitor and laptop are not "calabratable" and I mostly use the laptop for my processing as it is the most powerful of the machines I now own. Wish list is long, money is short. Ha!
As a side note, I never played with Picassa for PP, but I have seen where some say it can do some of the necessary fixes. I didn't like it, but only used it because it was convenient for downloading pictures from my Canon P&S. I may have to give it another look. Ha!
As a side note, I never played with Picassa for PP, but I have seen where some say it can do some of the necessary fixes. I didn't like it, but only used it because it was convenient for downloading pictures from my Canon P&S. I may have to give it another look. Ha!
Vixen
Senior Member
I am going to say as others have....go for Photoshop CC.
I started with Lightroom and lots of other random software before jumping in and going PS (always thought it would be too high-tech for me) and wish I had just started with PS as I would be able ti use it much better than I can at the moment if I had
There are tons....and tons....of video tutorials for all of the editing software. Even Adobe itself has Adobe TV which is tutorials on how to use their software.
I started with Lightroom and lots of other random software before jumping in and going PS (always thought it would be too high-tech for me) and wish I had just started with PS as I would be able ti use it much better than I can at the moment if I had
There are tons....and tons....of video tutorials for all of the editing software. Even Adobe itself has Adobe TV which is tutorials on how to use their software.
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
I'll say it time and again, if I had to use only one piece of PP software it would be Lightroom. It's not only a powerful and straight forward post processing tool, it also has a ton of other functions from catalog and workflow management to printing and presentation. The controls may look a tad daunting at first, but they are the simply the fundamentals of light manipulation that you want - no NEED - to learn as a digitial photographer. And while you have many tools at your disposal you can easily live with just the Basicpanel in the Develop module if you wanted and expand out into the rest (it's what I did).
If you want free, download the free trial and give it a shot. It's not expensive as a standalone purchase, but at $9.99/month with the CC offer I would recommend buying it that way, particularly since you get to keep the catalog and print functionality from it if you decide to cancel your subscription. Then get on YouTube and the Adobe sites, and just search for video tutorials on each module (i.e. "How to use the LR Basic Module", "LR Adjustment Module", "LR Sharpening", "LR Noise Reduction") as you want to grow.
If you want free, download the free trial and give it a shot. It's not expensive as a standalone purchase, but at $9.99/month with the CC offer I would recommend buying it that way, particularly since you get to keep the catalog and print functionality from it if you decide to cancel your subscription. Then get on YouTube and the Adobe sites, and just search for video tutorials on each module (i.e. "How to use the LR Basic Module", "LR Adjustment Module", "LR Sharpening", "LR Noise Reduction") as you want to grow.
Everyone that wanted to make some changes to a photo has been where the OP is/was.
He has evidently chosen to use a particular PP Software program, and will now embark on a fun and useful journey. I am sure everyone wishes him great success...
One consideration not thought about in detail is your "time". Time in learning how to use the software. Time it takes to accomplish what you want to achieve. Time spent.
Money spent can be replaced. Time spent is gone forever.
I have spent a lot of my time using a *lot* of different PP software. Not all...but enough. Yes, it was interesting, and yes, I learned from the different approaches to fine tuning photos. Still learning, and do not claim to be very good at any one thing yet.
All the hours and hours I spent on this program or that program were at the same time exciting and frustrating...I am sure most can relate.
I wish now that I would have browsed the user Gallery for the Photographer's Photo's that I like and admire the most...(in their Gallery, you can usually see what PP software they use). I know now that the majority of the Photographer's work that I like the most use Photoshop and/or Lightroom. I could have started spending my time with them...books, on-line tutorials, and general info online is amazing.
Those two progams are what I finally figured out is the best for me, and fastest to achieve what I want. If I would have started with PS and LR, I would be much better now. My time spent was mostly wasted on other products that claimed to be as good as, or similar to Photoshop. I regret that now. (9.99 a month for the PS/LR is a bargain...compare that to your total investment for equipment)
Don't respond to this post, as if I am "slamming" your non-Adobe software. I am not. I have been there, done that. I understand. It is a big, wide, world, and I am only to happy to argue in "your favor" to choose to use and buy whatever you want.
This, after all, is only my opinion.
He has evidently chosen to use a particular PP Software program, and will now embark on a fun and useful journey. I am sure everyone wishes him great success...
One consideration not thought about in detail is your "time". Time in learning how to use the software. Time it takes to accomplish what you want to achieve. Time spent.
Money spent can be replaced. Time spent is gone forever.
I have spent a lot of my time using a *lot* of different PP software. Not all...but enough. Yes, it was interesting, and yes, I learned from the different approaches to fine tuning photos. Still learning, and do not claim to be very good at any one thing yet.
All the hours and hours I spent on this program or that program were at the same time exciting and frustrating...I am sure most can relate.
I wish now that I would have browsed the user Gallery for the Photographer's Photo's that I like and admire the most...(in their Gallery, you can usually see what PP software they use). I know now that the majority of the Photographer's work that I like the most use Photoshop and/or Lightroom. I could have started spending my time with them...books, on-line tutorials, and general info online is amazing.
Those two progams are what I finally figured out is the best for me, and fastest to achieve what I want. If I would have started with PS and LR, I would be much better now. My time spent was mostly wasted on other products that claimed to be as good as, or similar to Photoshop. I regret that now. (9.99 a month for the PS/LR is a bargain...compare that to your total investment for equipment)
Don't respond to this post, as if I am "slamming" your non-Adobe software. I am not. I have been there, done that. I understand. It is a big, wide, world, and I am only to happy to argue in "your favor" to choose to use and buy whatever you want.
This, after all, is only my opinion.
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