photo editing for a poor college student and beginner

[stoopidhead]

i'm looking to get some photo editing software. i'm a beginning photographer, and i don't know alot about photo editing. i also have very little money. i found some software called picasa, which is free... will this be good enough software to start out with and do basic editing or is there something better?

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

I haven't used Picasa in a while, but I remember that it was pretty good for image organization and cataloging. I think the newer versions have more editing tools, but there are better options for actual editing.

You will probably want to check out GIMP. It's a free image editing program that is supposedly pretty good. There are many members here who use it.

The best editing software is, of course, Photoshop...which is very expensive. However, they have discounts for students and they are pretty good discounts. You could also check out Photoshop Elements, which is basically 'Photoshop Lite'. It's much less expensive...there might even be a student discount on that as well.

 

[Gaerek]

I will second GIMP and Elements (if the price tag isn't too high). Either of those programs will do everything you need and some. Picasa's photo editing isn't bad, but you are pretty limited on the adjustments you can make.

 

[aliciaqw]

You can get the student version of Photoshop for about $200 at your campus bookstore or online (you have to provide proof of enrollment in classes or something).

I use PSE8 and it was less than $100. I find that I can do most things that you can do in Photoshop but sometimes it just requires a few extra steps. And there are TONS of PSE actions out there that make it really easy. Not to mention lots of tutorials online and books for you to check out.

I know Corel makes something called PhotoImpact X3. It's about $20 and is similar to PSE. There isn't a whole lot as far as online tutorials, forums, etc-- but it's simple and can do a lot of the same things Photoshop can. It also has a built in HDR application. I haven't used it, so I can't speak to it's quality.

 

[Abby Rose]

The student discount on PSE 8 at my university is $59. I'm using the free trial, and I like it better than GIMP. But GIMP was good too.

 

[mtfd635]

I use acd pro 3 for 95% of my PP, I use it 100% for sorting.
When I need layers or similar work I found paint.net to be a very useful program.
It is a free version of the old ms paint program but is a powerful update
not as extensive as Photoshop or gimp, but is intuitive and easy

 

[KmH]

Adobe has an Education Store that sells Student Editions of some of it's software. All the college bookstores and other online sellers still must go through Adobe.

As noted above the Higher Education discount for Photoshop CS4 Extended ($999) is/was 80% off, reducing the price to $199.00. The regular Education discount (K-12) lowers the price to $299, a 70% discount.

Student Editions are exacttly the same as the full retail versions but only come with a single license. (Retails versions come with 2 licenses)

There are some other restrictions that vary geographically. For example, in North America the Student Version of Photoshop CS4 Extended can be used for commercial purposes, but not elsewhere on the planet.

Adobe Education Store - North America


Adobe.com Site Requirements
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[Alter_Ego]

Download illegal cracked software... Oooo

 

[usayit]

No .. Don't download..


Look into student discounts... that's what they are there for. did you camera come with some software?

 

[Alter_Ego]

Dont the student discount versions have missing filters and such? I remember at school using photoshop it was missing a lot of functions.

 

[usayit]

Dont the student discount versions have missing filters and such? I remember at school using photoshop it was missing a lot of functions.

Student versions of software is the same as the full version... basically the manufacturer is working with the educational system to provide software at a reduced price for students.

Perhaps you are confusing Photoshop CS* with Photoshop Elements? Elements has 90% of everything most photographers need at a fraction of the price... but it does have less functions as a result.

[EDIT]

What sort of "editing" do you plan on doing? Perhaps you might be better served by Lightroom? Ever since I got lightroom, I only leverage photoshop once in a while.

 

[KmH]

Dont the student discount versions have missing filters and such? I remember at school using photoshop it was missing a lot of functions.

You took a Photoshop class at school?

 

[joeamy05]

I am currently taking Photoshop at school (college level) The student version was $200, as mentioned above, and it is not missing any bells or whistles. Picasa is ok for some very basic editing..such as exposure, saturation etc. Good luck with your classes!

 

[talltexan]

I'm as novice as you can get as far as this whole digital thing. I just purchased PSE8 at Wal Mart for 90 dollars. I also purchased a guide from Books-A-Million. I'll post the name of the book in the morning. Looks to me like it has everything we need and a lot more. All together I spent about $160.00. I think it was money well spent. I actually can't wait to start posting pictures on here. Good luck to you! Hope to see your work soon.

 

[hazy,lazy]

check out paint.net