Photo Editing Software

[dzacco]

It seems everybody is using Photoshop to do special effects. What version would be recommended? Is there a less expensive option available from another company?

[VernonRobinson]

There are many different options. Actually, too many options. But I would encourage you to stay with Photoshop for the very reason that youj stated. There are lotsssss of people using it. That means more tutorials, support, and free stuff.

You could try Paint Shop Pro, Gimp, and others. They all work. But sometimes it pays to run with the herd. You can get Photoshop Elements ($80 USD) couple it with Premiere Elements for under a $115. That is an awesome combination. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i ... x=premiere

Regards,
-Vernon

[kabeeo]

I use Photoshop Elements (Version 7) and love it. Much like Producer its easy to do the simple things but packed with features for the more complex things you might want to do.

[dzacco]

Does this look like a good deal?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ADOBE-Bundle-PREMIE ... 414cac8ab7

Thanks so much for the information.

[royandjean]

Wow!
Good deal or what! These are the best programmes of their type and new versions too.
Just check to see if they are totally upgradeable when the time comes and they can be legally registered with the manufacturers. We had a few sellers in GB who were just copying the programmes to disc and trying to sell them on e-bay but over here they have all been stopped now.
Roy

[moehler]

Since you asked for a recommendation, I would say CS4 Extended. It has the highest price, but I have also found that it has the best value of all of them. The more I use it the more impressed I am with it. Particularly the 3D and animation portions of it. Other versions can do the animation, but the fact that you can build and animate 3D is great. I have done a little 3D and animation in other programs. That has worked well, but I also found that I was constantly upgrading software since everyone was on a different schedule and I was moving between and having to learn different programs constantly, too. For me, one program, one interface, and one vendor is the best fit for me.

If you are looking for a way to do that in a more cost effective way, I recommend you take a continuing education class (heck make it a Photoshop class while you're at it) at your local community college. When you do you qualify for the student pricing from Adobe. It will still be more than the elements pricing, but they do heavily reduce it for students.

Best of luck,

Mark

[kabeeo]

Does this look like a good deal?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ADOBE-Bundle-PREMIE ... 414cac8ab7

Thanks so much for the information.

That's a good price but there are some things that I don't trust e bay for. You can get Elements alone from Adobe direct for $80 with a $20 rebate which is just as good a deal. I do not use the Premiere program. In fact it was the shortcomings of that program that brought me to Proshow.

[VernonRobinson]

That is a great price. Both of these programs are leaders in their respective areas. Concerning the comment about Premiere Elements versus ProShow. These are two different programs with entirely different strengths. Handling stills and creating slideshows is where ProShow really shines. When it comes to video editing, this is where Premiere Elements shines. Like a true craftsman, it pays to have more than one tool in your toolbox. I guarantee you will need it.

Regards,
-Vernon

I MIN.04 SEC
About a year ago I submitted a video using a
photo art program called Topaz Adjust
Its a fun program to use where the results cannot always be predicted
For all of those that haven't seen it, it is worth a look

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewsho ... 5156&alb=0

Fred Charles Sheppard

[Ron]

Hi Dzacco
I believe it all comes down to how much your willing to spend and how much time are you willing to put into it. Photoshop CS4 is definitely the leading candidate but the learning curve is very high. If your not willing & able to make that time & money commitment then go with Elements. I also agree with staying away from bundles & eBay. IMHO
Hope that helps
Ron
PS: Adobe allows a 30 day free trial, fully functional, if you want to get a taste - I find its truly an amazing piece of software and look forward to all their updates!!!!

[debngar]

I MIN.04 SEC
About a year ago I submitted a video using a
photo art program called Topaz Adjust
Its a fun program to use where the results cannot always be predicted
For all of those that haven't seen it, it is worth a look

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewsho ... 5156&alb=0

Fred Charles Sheppard

Nice samples Fred.

I have Topaz Adjust too. It's a nice plug-in that works with Photoshop. There is no stand-alone Topaz Adjust program. According to the product's website, it looks like it works with Elements too. Without compatible photo editing software to go with it, Topaz Adjust isn't usable by itself.

http://www.topazlabs.com/adjust/specifications.html

[dzacco]

Great Information from all. Regarding the learning curve, I have a limited amount of time to spend learning the software so ease of use is important. Having said that, I downloaded the GIMP freeware but I find it difficult to navigate and too time consuming to use. It soulds like Adobe and maybe Paint Shop Pro would better suit my needs. Can anybody identify what Adobe Elements can do that Photo Shop cannot? I'm also considering taking a class to learn the capabilities of the software. Does Topaz work with Photo Shop? I really like the effects it produces.

Once again, Thank You for all the information.

[gpsmikey]

Yes, the Topaz stuff works with Photoshop (the more expensive/full featured program - Elements is the little brother to Photoshop ). Check out the video tutorials at lynda.com for Photoshop - you can view a number of them for free and you can subscribe (like I do) for $25 / month and watch as many as you want on LOTS of subjects, not just Photoshop. Here are a couple of links you might want to check out for Elements vs the full Photoshop ...
http://photo-editing-software-review.to ... rison.html
http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/photos ... ompare.htm

I'm still running Photoshop CS2 here (and busy learning scripting for it). Any program with significant power has a definite learning curve - be it Photoshop, Sony Vegas (video editor) or even Microsoft Excel (amazing what you can do in Excel using Visual Basic behind it to make it do things !! ).

mikey

[DickK]

Elements as an editor is very powerful. One author of books on PhotoShop indicated that Elements 6 was roughly the equivalent of the full PhotoShop program as it was 5 years ago. I have Elements and find I use maybe 25% of what it can do. The only limitation I've run into is the ability ot use all the plugins and automation tools that are out there for the full version. I don't use an editor often enough ( a few times per month) to ever get over the learning curve for even Elements but I like it a lot.
Dick

[PhotoBob]

Although I use Photoshop CS4, Lightroom 2.6 and Nikon NX2 depending what kind of image I am working on and just what I am wishing to do with the image, there is software that is well used by photographers and the price is free. It is put out by Google, http://picasa.google.com/. Picassa is widely used software for doing editing on images.