Photo Shop or Photo Shop Elements

[KmH]

I used to shoot in all raw until the program started taking out the color and making the pictures hazy gray. I was having fun when the program functioned in a usefull manner. I want to go back to raw but I am taking pictures for business reasons and need a good clear shot so I have to take them in jpg.

It sounds like you are having color space issues.

Do you know about color spaces, sRGB, AdobeRGB, ProPhotoRGB?

If you are going to bother taking a class, why not take one on photoshop instead and get the student discount on CS5?

You don't need to take a Photoshop class, you just need to be a higher education student to qualify for buying Student Editions of Adobe software.

Adobe Student Editions are exactly the same as the full retail price versions, however the use license only allows installation on a single computer.

For Photoshop, a student would get the Student Edition of Adobe Photoshop CS5 - Extended ($199) at the Adobe Education Store (link below).
PSCS5 - Extended at full price is $999, so students are getting an 80% discount.

https://store1.adobe.com/cfusion/st...SPECIALS&view=ols_cat&store=OLS-EDU&loc=en_us

 

[Bryce]

I have no idea what a color space is.

 

[Lipoly]

I always have to suggest GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program as a free alternative to Photoshop.

 

[Bryce]

I tried the gimp and I realy like the features but the basic contrast and other corrections I found not so good.

 

[Lipoly]

I tried the gimp and I realy like the features but the basic contrast and other corrections I found not so good.

Not sure I understand what is lacking in its "basic contrast" department, but as long as you're aware of it and tried it out.

 

[amber.martin]

i threw myself right into photoshop, and WOW. i def should have started with elements or lightroom even, although now that im confortable with ps id never look back. the adjustments and ability to create the exact look your going for is priceless. totally worth the money to invest in ps

 

[Taylor510ce]

All you need to know in PS to start out is: how to add adjustment layers, andhow to create masks. These are two simple things once you learn how to paint on a mask the sky is the limit and you can atleast do the basics while you learn more. You can use ADOBE CAMERA RAW for the global adjustments beforeopening in PS. ACR is bundled with PS and handles the RAW conversion.

 

[Gaerek]

I'm going to take the unpopular route here. What's your budget? Would getting CS4/5 prevent you from getting a new lens or more equipment? If the answer to that is yes, then get elements. I've used PSE7 since it came out, and I have never been in a situation where I was like, "Well, I wish I had THAT feature." The only time I came close is when it comes to doing layer masks. It's not a native tool in elements, but there's a very easy way to do actual layer masks in PSE.

It's strange, because I downloaded the demo of CS4, and I can tell you that there was nothing I did in CS4 that I hadn't be able to do in PSE7. If you're just starting out, focus on glass and equipment. Get Elements, and wait to see if you outgrow it. If you do, you can upgrade from Elements to CS5 with a pretty good discount, so you don't really lose anything, in terms of money.

 

[KmH]

I have no idea what a color space is.

Color space - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Color space is covered in Part 2. Don't skip parts 1 & 3. Bookmark the tuts because it will take a few visits for all of it to sink-in.
Overview of Color Management

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/sRGB-AdobeRGB1998.htm

In fact, bookmark all of the Cambridge in Color tutorials.

 

[astroskeptic]

you should also get Adobe Lightroom 3.

I used Lightroom for color and lighting adjustments and use photoshop for additional effects and touch-ups.

And yes..the full version will NOT have those issues.

What's the difference between Lightroom and Bridge? From the scant description on the Adobe product page, it sounds like a management app very similar to Bridge. There must be some meaningful difference, however, because a lot of people seem to use LR (which aint cheap), many of which probably already have Bridge (since it comes bundled with PSExtended).

 

[KmH]

Lightroom is database management software.
The editing capability that comes with Lightroom is a secondary function, and is just a slightly different version of the same Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) rendering engine that comes with photoshop CSx.

Bridge is just a browser. Bridge is used with all of the Creative Suite software applications, not just Photoshop.

 

[amberl]

oooh i am sooooo excited! I teach kindergarten and i qualify for the teacher/student price of CS5!