Image editing software

[Polyphony]

I know what an art department is, I was being facetious.

My girlfriend is enrolled in an art school. She can't get Photoshop or the CS package for less than a student discount. I wish she could, believe me.

Maybe you/she knows someone who can.

 

[o hey tyler]

If I knew someone that could, I'd be rolling in all the latest Adobe Shwag!

 

[KmH]

I am not aware of any way to get Photoshop legally, at no charge.

If there is, I would doubt that method would be readily available to the masses.

It isn't readily available. But there is a chance you know someone who can get it. I got both from a friend whose school makes them available to students in certain programs.

Which sounds like, if you are not a student in one of those 'certain programs', you posess stolen, not legal, software.

Your 'friend' should closely read the use license terms of the software.

 

[ann]

i teach at a not for profit school and we get a serious discount for the school, but i can't get the same discount, and they only get one liscense.

 

[KmH]

i teach at a not for profit school and we get a serious discount for the school, but i can't get the same discount, and they only get one liscense.

Teachers, administrators and staff can shop in their own section of Adobe's Education Store:

Adobe.com Site Requirements

 

[Taylor510ce]

I have seen people mention EXIF data and database features comparing Lightroom to CS5. Noone has mentioned the fact that CS5 comes with both ACR and Bridge. While I am sure Lightroom is a great program, these threads almost always gravitate towards the "Lightroom does everything Photoshop will do, aside from some stuff you don't need" which is a load of crap. CS5 is lightyears away from Lightroom. Its the same as when people say "Gimp is as good as CS5" All it boils down to, is whether you are a novice who wants very mild control of your photos, or whether you are aiming to be professional at some point and wanting extreme precision when altering your photos. Thats the simple choice between the two. Yes Photoshop has a bit more of a learning curve, but it also is like a scalpel compared to a butcher knife.

So if you have Elements 5 and think that will be sufficient then by all means use that. The best part is, you are getting that for free, so it doesn't hurt if you decide a month from now to move up to a higher level.

 

[o hey tyler]

I have seen people mention EXIF data and database features comparing Lightroom to CS5. Noone has mentioned the fact that CS5 comes with both ACR and Bridge. While I am sure Lightroom is a great program, these threads almost always gravitate towards the "Lightroom does everything Photoshop will do, aside from some stuff you don't need" which is a load of crap. CS5 is lightyears away from Lightroom. Its the same as when people say "Gimp is as good as CS5" All it boils down to, is whether you are a novice who wants very mild control of your photos, or whether you are aiming to be professional at some point and wanting extreme precision when altering your photos. Thats the simple choice between the two. Yes Photoshop has a bit more of a learning curve, but it also is like a scalpel compared to a butcher knife.

So if you have Elements 5 and think that will be sufficient then by all means use that. The best part is, you are getting that for free, so it doesn't hurt if you decide a month from now to move up to a higher level.

So I'm a novice because Lightroom does everything I need it to and has a better workflow?

That makes sense, and I can also tell that you posted this without any Lightroom experience. :-/

You could have just shortened your post to:

"While I am sure Lightroom is a great program, I've never used it and I can't give an educated comparison of the two, so I'm going to say it's for neophytes and people that aren't serious about photography."

Not to mention, the scalpel and the butcher knife analogy was pretty bad also.

 

[pbelarge]

If a person is receiving a free copy of any program from a 'friend' at school that is part of the school's program, it is a criminal act and the copy is stolen. Free copies, or lowered cost copies are for the students belonging to the school's program.



Not that LR is the answer for all, although it has been designed strictly for photographers. It performs a certain level (pretty high level) of work that a lot of people are looking for when they are editing. Not all photographers are looking to manipulate pixels. There are also plug-ins available that help to accentuate LR's performance and extend its potential. Lets not forget that LR also has Adobe Raw as part of the installation, and Adobe Raw has some great features as well.

Photoshop is for those who have the financial resource, and also are willing to spend the extra time (which for some can be a substantial amount of time) for the learning curve that goes along with using/learning the program. It is the defacto program that is available today, and can do more than what most people use it for, as it is not designed for photographers alone, but many other areas of interest. The program is vast and most photographers who use it are not using all of the program's features.

And...

There is a whole slew of other programs, most of them are a lot less costly/free and most likely can/do perform enough that keeps them in business. Go to Google, find some of the sites, and you will see that there are 100's of thousand of other programs being downloaded every year other than LR, CS5, or Elements.

So, to answer the OP, you may need to do some research of your own to see what is available. Try the free trials and see what strikes your fancy.
Good Luck.

 

[ann]

Keth, thanks, i know, i was just pointing out that nothing is free at least legally