Photo editing software help for a noob ;)

[CharlieTheGinger]

Anyways, I really want to get into photography, it seems like a fun hobby. I am currently saving up for a d5000, and I assume when I purchase that, I should probably get a photo editing software too. I have searched around on google, and everything seems to be like 600$. Is there any certain software you guys suggest? I want to be able to lots of stuff like, well I don't know what its called, but like be able to take the face of someone and put it on a different picture, draw stuff on pictures, change up colors, contrast and what not. Stuff like this-

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Any help is helpful

 

[CharlieTheGinger]

Anyways, I really want to get into photography, it seems like a fun hobby. I am currently saving up for a d5000, and I assume when I purchase that, I should probably get a photo editing software too. I have searched around on google, and everything seems to be like 600$. Is there any certain software you guys suggest? I want to be able to lots of stuff like, well I don't know what its called, but like be able to take the face of someone and put it on a different picture, draw stuff on pictures, change up colors, contrast and what not. Stuff like this-

Film Setup | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Login | Facebook

Any help is helpful

links worky?

 

[CharlieTheGinger]

oh and also i have a mac, if that makes any difference :/

 

[Croissant Seven]

My suggestion is to start with Photoshop Elements to get used to how the program works, and save up for Photoshop CS5, because honestly, you're going to end up there at some point anyways if you get serious about photography, and you're better off not buying your way there via a bunch of other programs. You might be able to score a copy of CS4 for a discount if you look around, I still haven't converted to CS5 and it works fantastic for what I do.

 

[skieur]

Paintshop Pro X3 for around $49 Canadian perhaps cheaper in the US is better than Photoshop Elements and can be used with Photoshop Plug-In programs. It is very photoshop-like in its features and capabilities but more user-friendly and faster. Express Lab built-in to the program is similar to Lightroom but without the extra cost.

skieur

 

[CharlieTheGinger]

My suggestion is to start with Photoshop Elements to get used to how the program works, and save up for Photoshop CS5, because honestly, you're going to end up there at some point anyways if you get serious about photography, and you're better off not buying your way there via a bunch of other programs. You might be able to score a copy of CS4 for a discount if you look around, I still haven't converted to CS5 and it works fantastic for what I do.

Thanks, I've been looking into that and I think elements is what I'm gonna get when I get the money.

 

[Marc-Etienne]

If you are planning to have photography as a hobby, I would recommend you to learn with GIMP 2 and RawTherapee. They are both open source software (free) that are pretty good in my humble opinion. If you think you need more advance program in a while, by all mean go for it, but it's worth it to have a look first I would say. I do all my basic PP with RawTherapee (somewhat similar to Lightroom I think...) and do more "advanced" PP in Gimp 2 that is similar to Photoshop Element.

 

[RJT]

My suggestion is to start with Photoshop Elements to get used to how the program works, and save up for Photoshop CS5, because honestly, you're going to end up there at some point anyways if you get serious about photography, and you're better off not buying your way there via a bunch of other programs. You might be able to score a copy of CS4 for a discount if you look around, I still haven't converted to CS5 and it works fantastic for what I do.

Thanks, I've been looking into that and I think elements is what I'm gonna get when I get the money.

You might think about Adobe LightRoom 3 as a start...its a great organizer and will work great with CS/5 when you save up...now ,if you can buy both (bundled) you can save a bunch of money....like a hundred bucks.

RJ.

 

[carusoswi]

If you decide to try Gimp (why would you not, it's free!?), also download UFRaw (also free) which will give you RAW compatability. UFRaw (similar to RawTherapee) is a plugin for Gimp, so, your RAW photos open in UFRaw, you make your adjustments, click ok, and the image opens in GIMP for further editing.

I have Gimp, and own CS4. Use GIMP all the time, as it is free, free upgrades forever, and is very powerful.

Give it a try.

Caruso