Photo Editing Software

[renegadze]

OK my g/f has recently purchased a fairly decent SLR camera, and it really getting into her photography.

As a result she is looking for a decent photo editing software.....any recommendations? from reading the write ups they all seem much the same as each other (you can clearly tell how much photo editing I've done lol)

so looking for any feedback

[Jack]

Paint.net(PDN) is a good option for beginners. It has a lot of really nice tools to use and isn't anywhere near as complicated as something like Photoshop. Vanilla PDN is petty basic, but there are thousands of pluggins that allow you to expand it's functionality and atte easily installed/uninstalled. This also means that you don't have to worry about bloat as you can pick and choose what pluggins you want/need and not bother with the rest.

That said, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of stuff like Photoshop. But again, I'm recommending it as an introduction to photo editing. I still recommend later getting some more advanced and specialized programs to compliment it.

Oh, and it's free.

[MEZZANINE]

Photobucket is a pretty good site for FREE online editing/effects and hosting pics for use online.

Simple and easy to use, but does lack the advanced features of the software you have to buy.

TBH Im surprised the camera didnt come with software, most get packaged together now.

[renegadze]

hmm sounds good, I'll definately check it out

Out of the products below, would you say the quality and difficulty goes from top to bottom (top being easiest and less options).

Paintshop Photo Pro x3
Adobe Photoshop Elements 10
Adobe Photoshop CS5

[jedi~tank]

Cs5

[Psyko]

Go here.
I'm a sucker for side-by-side comparisons, and this site has all of the details when it comes to software.

[Zeratul]

We find Gimp fairly decent, though it may take a bit to learn. It has all the complexity found in photoshop, especially with plugins. And it lacks a many-digit price tag, which you find on photoshop. (in fact, like Jack's suggestion, it lacks a price tag, as it is free).

Some of the choice depends on the type of editing you plan to do. (or rather, your g/f plans to do)

It is probably best to go with something semi-simple and free at first. Once some skill has been attained, more complex program can be acquired.

[Jack]

hmm sounds good, I'll definately check it out

Out of the products below, would you say the quality and difficulty goes from top to bottom (top being easiest and less options).

Paintshop Photo Pro x3
Adobe Photoshop Elements 10
Adobe Photoshop CS5

Paintshop seems to have the same options as Photoshop Elements more or less and for less money and easier.

Photoshop is expensive, but CS5 is great for Photo editing. But again, it's incredibly complicated and probably not something someone should start out with, someone new could easily end up overwhelmed with it.

Also, I've never used GIMP but I've heard a lot of great things about it. Definitely something to look into.

Another thought, you might wanna cross post this in the sig section, or get some of the sig makers to post over here. Their opinions would be invaluable for obvious reasons.

[Jack]

My apologies, I was not aware that you were the only sig maker on the forum.

[Neimenljivi]

Photoshop is difficult and hard to learn, but it is THE program for creating graphics or editing photos. It takes years to master it, and a lot of devotion too, but if you really want to have awesome stuff - photoshop is the way to go.
PS: Also check if you go for Photoshop.

~N

[Sol]

Photoshop isn't so difficult to learn really, unless you are doing a 'hard' project to begin with. It is well known, has plenty of support and plugins, and has tutorials (especially free ones) everywhere, not to mention they have several magazines dedicated to it (over here at least). It's usually expensive, if you buy it anyway .
If your gf is keen as bean to get into this photography then go for photoshop because she can go from a beginner to an expert.

[Zeratul]

Photoshop isn't so difficult to learn really, unless you are doing a 'hard' project to begin with. It is well known, has plenty of support and plugins, and has tutorials (especially free ones) everywhere, not to mention they have several magazines dedicated to it (over here at least). It's usually expensive, if you buy it anyway .
If your gf is keen as bean to get into this photography then go for photoshop because she can go from a beginner to an expert.

same can be said for gimp. Its the advanced features that are hard to use. Lots of guides, plugins and support.
The core difference is that you don't have to waste money or sail upon the seven digital seas under the jolly roger flag to get it.

Photoshop is difficult and hard to learn, but it is THE program for creating graphics or editing photos. It takes years to master it, and a lot of devotion too, but if you really want to have awesome stuff - photoshop is the way to go.
PS: Also check if you go for Photoshop.

~N

With mastery, gimp is equally good, if not better.

[Jack]

Photoshop isn't so difficult to learn really, unless you are doing a 'hard' project to begin with. It is well known, has plenty of support and plugins, and has tutorials (especially free ones) everywhere, not to mention they have several magazines dedicated to it (over here at least). It's usually expensive, if you buy it anyway .
If your gf is keen as bean to get into this photography then go for photoshop because she can go from a beginner to an expert.

I'm not going to get into an argument over which software is best, both Photoshop and Gimp have their merits and I don't know enough about Gimp to comment on the differences.

But I don't think the advice to jump in head first is sound. I definitely think that the highend photo editors should definitely be the ultimate goal. But I think it would be better to start with a middle ground. Especially if she has a short attention span out doesn't have much time. The highend editors can be very discouraging for beginners. So it's best to start with something not quite as complicated. That is why I suggest PDN. I would suggest other programs, but I do not know of any.

PDN is how I started, it allowed me to build up enough skill to get into Photoshop. But I don't have anywhere near the skill that the sig makers in this thread do. When I had the time for tutorials, I had not the attention span and now I have neither. Just something to keep in mind.

[Zeratul]

Agreed jack... when we first tried gimp many years ago, it was highly discouraging... it did not help that we had been unable to install the help files then, but still very discouraging it was.