Well .. I bit the bullet!

[thebutler4]

Went out this evening and bought Photoshop Elements 9 .. now I just have to figure out how to use it ... lol

 

[Trever1t]

congrats. Have fun

 

[vtf]

Use the "Help" in the file menu, there you will find a forum and videos and tutorials.

 

[thebutler4]

very nice vtf! I will for sure check that out, I really want to learn to do HDR .. so I am excited to get going.

 

[480sparky]

I hear tell of a bunch of wierdos on that innernet thingy where's you kin axe a qwestshun and dey'll ansur it fer ya.

 

[scotch59]

also besides the "Help" function of PS, Youtube and the internet in general has Tons of tutorials that are worth checking out

 

[flyin-lowe]

IMO photomatix will do better HDR, although it won't do all the other stuff elements will do. Since HDR was the only thing you mentioned I figured that must be important to you.

 

[WesternGuy]

Went out this evening and bought Photoshop Elements 9 .. now I just have to figure out how to use it ... lol

Well congrats, I have seen very favourable reviews of this new product from Adobe - granted it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the full version does, but it will have more than enough to keep you occupied and doing decent work in editing and organizing your images. Some things you might want to consider...there is an excellent site here...Photoshop Elements Techniques, Tutorials, Downloads, Video Tips, Newsletter and more - Photoshop Elements User...dedicated soley to Photoshop Elements (PSE). There are lots of videos and tutorials, some are free - you have to register first - no problem - and others are only available to subscribers of their magazine Adobe Photoshop Elements Techniques. There is a free forum under the "Community" tab that is open to the public and has a lot of very knowledgeable folks that can give you all kinds of advice - I certainly learned a lot from it. I started about 4 or 5 years ago with version 4, then 6 then 8, before moving on to Lightroom 3 and CS5 - but that's another story. I would recommend that you think about subscribing to their bimonthly magazine as it contains a wealth of information that you probably will not find elsewhere. You might also want to get a copy of Kelby's book on PSE 9 http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Elements-Book-Digital-Photographers/dp/0321741331 and then download the images in the book (not all of them are available, but enough are) and then work through the book with the images - he doesn't cover every little detail, but it will give you a lot of the functionality and definitely enough to get you up and running (I did this when I started learning Lightroom 3 and it got me going quite well)

The web has a huge amount of stuff on PSE. You can find this out by running Google and using combinations of search words like "photoshop elements 9 tutorials" "...videos" "...tips"...well you get the idea. When you have been using it for a while, you might like to get a hold of http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Elements-9-Missing-Manual/dp/1449389678 by Barbara Brundage - it also has some download files that you can use to work through the book. I wouldn't recommend that you get this book too early in your learning curve, because the detail could be a little overwhelming, but it is a good reference to know about.

When I was just stating out with PSE, I took a six week course that ran once a week, three hours a night and that was an introductory course, at a local technical college. If you have a local community or technical college in your area, you might like to see if they have this sort of offering as it is always nice to start something new like this with a knowledgeable instructor available.

Well enough of my wanderings for now, I hope some of this information helps you to learn about your new software and I wish you good luck in all your PSE endeavours.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

 

[WesternGuy]

very nice vtf! I will for sure check that out, I really want to learn to do HDR .. so I am excited to get going.

I wouldn't rely on PSE to do HDR, it has something called Exposure Merge, which is not really true HDR. To do HDR properly, you will need a software package such as Photomatix Pro 4, Nik Software's HDR Efex Pro, or one of a number of other packages that are available to do this sort of work (you do,of course need the properly exposed range of images for the software to process). I know that both Photomatix and HDR Efex Pro come with plugins to Lightroom 3 and CS5, but I do not think they come with plugins to PSE. Both packages will work in standalone mode, and the results can be edited in PSE, but I do not think there is an interface between each of thes programs and PSE. Both can be downloaded and have a trial period so that you can test them out. You can find them here:

HDR Efex Pro - Nik Software, Inc. | HDR Efex Pro

Photomatix - HDR photo software & plugin for Lightroom, Aperture & Photoshop - Tone Mapping, Exposure Fusion & High Dynamic Range Imaging for photography

There are others, some of which are freebies, but like anything else, you get what you pay for. These two are at the top of the list - Photomatix has been the standard for many years, however, HDR Efex Pro is giving it a run for its money. I have them both and find that I use HDR Efex Pro more often than Photomatix, but that is just me and I know others who only use Photomatix Pro. HTH a bit.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

 

[KmH]

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