New Software Question

mad_malteaser

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I finally have my first digital SLR on it's way to me and I've recently changed laptops so I'm currently without any graphics software. To date, I have been using Adobe Photoshop Elements which, for little unskilled me, was quite satisfactory.

I'm looking to purchase some new software but don't want to overspend for something way out of my league (seriously, 500 odd quid for Photoshop, really?!?!). What suggestions can people give me? Should I just go with what I know and get the latest version of Elements? Or is there something better for around the same price tag out there?

Thanks for your help!
 
I haven't tried too many different packages...but Elements is certainly a good program.

You might want to think about adding a workflow software. I particularly like Raw Shooter Essentials (free download)...but that company has been bought out by Adobe...who is/has developed a new program called Adobe Lightroom. A free Beta version of Lightroom has been avaliable...but since the actual software is forthcoming...the Beta test is coming to an end.

RSE may still be avaliable...but it may not support the new camera you are getting...which would make it useless for you anyway.
 
Lightroom would be a goodplace to start.
 
You might want to think about adding a workflow software.

I keep hearing this term but I don't understand the difference. Is workflow software much more limited than image editing software or does it serve a much different purpose? The Lightroom beta allows exposure changes, curves, cropping, color corrections, all things that you can do in Photoshop but maybe easier?
 
I think that workflow software like Lightroom...is designed to let you work with many images, quickly and efficiently. Sure it allows some image editing...but it's a far cry from the image editing tool that Photoshop is.

Not everyone needs software like that...but then again, some people would be better off with Lightroom than they would with just Photoshop.

Check out http://www.luminous-landscape.com/ the operator of that site is very big on 'work flow'...and has already developed tutorials etc. for Lightroom.
 
I think that workflow software like Lightroom...is designed to let you work with many images, quickly and efficiently. Sure it allows some image editing...but it's a far cry from the image editing tool that Photoshop is.

Not everyone needs software like that...but then again, some people would be better off with Lightroom than they would with just Photoshop.

Check out http://www.luminous-landscape.com/ the operator of that site is very big on 'work flow'...and has already developed tutorials etc. for Lightroom.

Thanks for the info. I think that sounds exactly like what I need. I tend to use DPP for most editing for the reasons you stated. I like working with multiple images as opposed to one at a time and mostly I want to capture the best pictures possible and minimize my time editing. I love looking at the pictures I've taken and I don't really enjoy intense editing. Usually all I want to change is the overall exposure and maybe a touch of saturation or contrast if necessary, and maybe cropping. Photoshop just seems too tedious for what I want to do. I want to take good pictures, maybe improving a little. My thinking is that if I take a good picture to begin with, all the tinkering in Photoshop (which I don't enjoy anyway) becomes unnecessary, though I stress that this is my way of thinking and everyone doesn't agree.

I do, however, enjoy doing cool effects with Photoshop :mrgreen:
 
Lightroom is designed to let the user go through tons of images quickly and do basic editing. All the other things need to be done in photoshop.
 
I haven't tried too many different packages...but Elements is certainly a good program.

You might want to think about adding a workflow software. I particularly like Raw Shooter Essentials (free download)...but that company has been bought out by Adobe...who is/has developed a new program called Adobe Lightroom. A free Beta version of Lightroom has been avaliable...but since the actual software is forthcoming...the Beta test is coming to an end.

RSE may still be avaliable...but it may not support the new camera you are getting...which would make it useless for you anyway.

Thanks Big Mike, for that response. After reading through what this Lightroom is all about I think Elements is probably all I need, at least for the time being. I don't take enough photographs on a regular enough basis at the moment to need something like workflow software. I like editing each of my photographs on an individual basis and, for the moment, bulk editing is really not a necessity for me. That might well change once I get my hands on this camera though! :lmao:
 

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