Photo editing software

[ann]

Since you have a Mac , check out Pixelmator , it is about $20 and does amazing things considering the cost .

And for $5 there is a video that goes into great detail about how to use the various tools.

 

[JoeW]

Since you have a Mac , check out Pixelmator , it is about $20 and does amazing things considering the cost .

And for $5 there is a video that goes into great detail about how to use the various tools.

I agree. Definitely worth looking at. I think the support materials aren't great (i.e.: instructional books and courses) but it's also much easier to learn (IMHO) than the Adobe options and you can't beat that price.

 

[KmH]

Lightroom lacks the tools, features, and functions to do advanced editing and is designed to compliment Photoshop as a front end application.
That's why Adobe's $9.99 a month Photography program includes both Photoshop CC 2014 and Lightroom 5.

 

[Waterbug]

Lightroom lacks the tools, features, and functions to do advanced editing and is designed to compliment Photoshop as a front end application.
That's why Adobe's $9.99 a month Photography program includes both Photoshop CC 2014 and Lightroom 5.

I mainly stick with Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 5. Pretty rare I find myself using another software outside of those two.

I went with this as well. Thanks

 

[LaShonda]

For ease of use and most useful features, what is the best editing software?

I have read multiple reviews, but would like advise from someone who actually use the product.

I use photo impact prox3 and psp to do my work on photo graphics I think these two are both great also got photoshop elements it's pretty good too photo impact is on sell if you would like to see graphics or photos from psp or photo impact....

 

[AlanKlein]

What kind of camera do you use?

 

[astroNikon]

Lightroom
and Photoshop elements

if you are looking for one product that does everything ... then you'll be looking for a while and then some especially with your budget.

 

[goooner]

I've started using LR5 recently and was very impressed. Can you do focus stacking in PSE? I can't afford Photoshop.

 

[rudimaes]

I've started using LR5 recently and was very impressed. Can you do focus stacking in PSE? I can't afford Photoshop.

Focus Stacking can be done in PSE,
Focus Stacking in PSE 11/12 - Elements Village
Rudi

 

[DslrGuy]

Yes you can although it looks like it may be limited to PSE 11 and up.

 

[goooner]

Thank you. I don't need it yet so I will buy the newest version of PSE if/when I get time to experiment...

 

[Gary A.]

I have tried many many programs from LR to Aperture to Capture 1 to PhotoNinja to CS6, et al.

I have found that generally there isn't a significant difference between them all when comparing the final image, they all do about the same thing and they all do those things pretty well, (especially for the neophyte). The biggest differences between these programs is the User Interface (UI), how the program interacts with the user/photographer. This is a personal preference. I suggest you download a few different programs and see which one 'feels' best for you. Most of the processing programs have a free trial period so you can play with them prior to purchase. There are some very good free processing programs, GIMP and Lightzone are free programs that I've just with good success. A listing of some free photo processing software is here:

Best free photo software - Digicamhelp

It is hard to beat free, but on the flip side you get what you pay for.

Download a few programs for trial use and try out a few free programs and see what works for you. I use a combo of Aperture and CS6 for my processing. (Unfortunately Apple is phasing out Aperture so I will probably be moving to Capture 1.)

Gary

 

[WayneF]

For ease of use and most useful features, what is the best editing software?

I have read multiple reviews, but would like advise from someone who actually use the product.

You have to make the distinction, a raw editor, or just an ordinary photo editor? Day and night difference.

IMO, and in the opinion of a very great many, Raw is a really big deal, the modern way, and a game changer.

It takes more than a paragraph to describe Raw advantages, but you might see Why shoot Raw?


Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) is the most popular, and comes in three versions, all using the same ACR module, but with differences.

Photoshop (quite expensive).

Photoshop Elements (inexpensive, but omits many features, including many ACR features)

Lightroom (not expensive, and well featured, but file management is sort of a different approach, but price makes it very popular.

 

[4rum]

First, what do you want to do to your images? If it's size, crop, rotate, brighten, sharpen and minor things like that I use Irfanview. It's totally free (you may make donations). It has a very easy user interface and will handle a lot of tasks. For example, if you get an image in email from a family member that has a 'wonky' extension, Irfanview will change the file extension to any of the most popular, most used extensions. It also allows you to 'batch' size your photos. It has a video player (I don't know why). There are some borders which are very easy to add to your images. For free, it is worth checking out.

 

[theraven871]

There is no right or wrong software. Software is just a tool to help you achieve a goal.
Similarly, your question is akin to asking "which hammer is the best to drive in a nail?".

What you're going to discover, in most cases, is that the all these pieces of software attempt to do the same things, but may do it in very different ways.
With that said, the industry standard is still Adobe Photoshop. Lightroom integrates well with Photoshop (both are made by Adobe Software) and is highly recommended.
Think of Lightroom as a photo editor. Think of Photoshop as a photo manipulator.
You CAN use photoshop to do almost everything you can do in Lightroom, but it will take twice as long. You cannot use Lightroom to do some of the more serious actions that are available in Photoshop (such as background swapping, layers, ETC).