Photoshop

[sambrody44]

Which version is a necessity for an aspiring photographer?

 

[KhronoS]

Any version... you could do most of the things with photoshop CS, CS2 and CS3.try it and see what suits you.

 

[ericande]

Which version is a necessity for an aspiring photographer?

Not sure what you meant by your question but if you meant you were choosing between Photoshop Elements, Lightroom and CS3, go with lightroom for sure.

 

[reg]

you were choosing between Photoshop Elements, Lightroom and CS3, go with lightroom for sure.

Ohh, good one.

Op: we need more info than "aspiring photographer". How heavy of editing?

 

[Overread]

Most people are not ready for the full version of photoshop - starting out money like that is best spent on gear that lets you get the photos - you can always come back again later and edit a shot better, but you can't wind back the clocks to take a shot you missed because of a lack of kit.

Elements does more than enough and is in version 7 soon and granted is it hobbled, but it is enough to start learning with. Lightroom I am less sure about - its a RAW batch processing program so unless you are already working in RAW I would skip it for now - it does have the advantage that it is designed to copliment the full version of photoshop so it is a program that you will keep around.

 

[sambrody44]

By aspiring I meant beginner who doesn't really know what he's doing. I want to be able to make adjustments and crops and some of the special effects I've seen around. Being a beginner I don't really know how to word it (Sorry). I have access to CS, I'm only concerned that it's a little out dated at this point. Would that be enough with CS3 being the new standard?

 

[Flash Harry]

cs might be outdated and so are the earlier versions of the program but all can do much more than you'd think possible, I'm a "Pro" have worked all versions since no.4 and gave up updating to the latest version with CS as the money is better spent on other essentials, Adobe has had enough from my pockets. So, as a beginner I'd advise you to get whichever version you can get for the lowest output cash wise, then spend a couple of years trying to learn it, and, I'm not joking either. H

 

[chrisburke]

Not sure what you meant by your question but if you meant you were choosing between Photoshop Elements, Lightroom and CS3, go with lightroom for sure.

ugh. why do so many people lump lightroom in the same category as photoshop.. its not the same, it doesnt do the same things (yes it does some, but not most) lightroom just does color edits.. nothing else...

it drives me crazy when people put them in the same category... lightroom is a photo organizing application.. you store photos and can do batch edits, and color edits.. its a great app for anyone who takes a lot of pictures (i.e. at a wedding) because even once you have the photos imported, theres is a whole labeling system you can use (for rejects and picks and so on)

the question should never be lightroom or photoshop (as it wasnt in the OP's post) the reason it shouldnt be, is because they are 2 different programs... I use both photoshop and lightroom (CS3)

But as for which version of cs3.. they all kinda do the same things.. .there are a few changes in the newer ones, but if you can get away with a cheaper one, do.. I have the CS3 design suite, because it didnt cost me a penny..

 

[JerryPH]

The latest version of Lightshop (v.2.0) is great for beginners and intermediates but I also know a lot of pros that use it successfully.

For real beginners, just go download Picassa and/or Gimp (these are free) and learn the basics.

 

[sambrody44]

I can get CS for free. Would I be satisfied and be able to follow most guides, say in Digital Photo magazine, with CS3 being the new standard?

 

[Call_me_Tom]

I've used just about every version of PS. I'm no pro at using the software but I've found CS3 the easiest.

I've also used Lightroom (LR) but I stopped using it once I got my hands on CS3. Since CS3 comes with the latest Bridge and ACR I stopped using LR as those two combined are exactly like LR.

GIMP is free and just as powerful as CS but it doesn't have the support like CS does.

Honestly, if I didn't get many of these editing programs free through my work I'd still be using GIMP in combination with FSviewer. Both of these programs are free and can do just about everything that LR and CS can do.

If you can get CS for free then that is a no brainer.

 

[bhop]

CS is perfectly fine for basic edits. There aren't a lot of differences between the CS, CS2, and CS3. If you can get it free, then what's the harm in trying it out?

 

[TamiyaGuy]

Also, you should really give The Gimp a try. It is a very good image editor, and is freeware. It is basically a "lite" version of Photoshop Elements (although that's not to say that it is bad).

And, of course, if you don't like it, then there's nothing lost!

 

[sambrody44]

How does Gimp work? It opens but only says Gimp in the finder bar. Keep in mind I'm on Mac.

 

[Call_me_Tom]

I'm a PC guy...not sure if they make GIMP for Mac.