What is a good photoshop program?

[MichiganFarts]

Heck, I'm still using CS2...LOL!!

I use CS2 at home, and CS5 at work...I've used CS - CS5 as my company has upgraded over the last 7 years.

I can't think of anything significant that I can't do on CS2, that I can on CS5.

But I hardly ever use it at home for anything major anyway...so there might be something I'm missing.

 

[Syco]

In my opinion, Photoshop Elements 9 is all a digital photographer needs and much more that he or she will ever use. It's what Photoshop used to be back around version 6 or 7, but with added features. However, learning to use it properly is no small feat.

 

[KmH]

Heck, I'm still using CS2...LOL!!

I use CS2 at home, and CS5 at work...I've used CS - CS5 as my company has upgraded over the last 7 years.

I can't think of anything significant that I can't do on CS2, that I can on CS5.

But I hardly ever use it at home for anything major anyway...so there might be something I'm missing.

When you get a chance play with the content-aware feature of CS5.

Many of the tools have been greatly improved since CS2. Camera Raw has also seen some amazing improvements since CS2.

 

[Destin]

In my opinion, Photoshop Elements 9 is all a digital photographer needs and much more that he or she will ever use. It's what Photoshop used to be back around version 6 or 7, but with added features. However, learning to use it properly is no small feat.

I'll second that. Learning to use photoshop is extremely hard. I've been trying for like a year now and I'm just starting to get comfortable with it. And I can still only do the basic stuff. Anything advanced is over my head

 

[Syco]

In my opinion, Photoshop Elements 9 is all a digital photographer needs and much more that he or she will ever use. It's what Photoshop used to be back around version 6 or 7, but with added features. However, learning to use it properly is no small feat.

I'll second that. Learning to use photoshop is extremely hard. I've been trying for like a year now and I'm just starting to get comfortable with it. And I can still only do the basic stuff. Anything advanced is over my head

Yeah, I don't want to hijack this thread, but Photoshop (Elements or CS) has a zillion commands and tools, of which less than a dozen are essential. It's all technique after that. For just regular photographs with no additional trickery, you've got to know to 1) adjust rotation and perspective, 2) crop, 3) optimize size and resolution, 4) adjust dynamic range, 5) correct hue and saturation (globally and locally) 6) sharpen and 7) produce an output. Hardly anyone teaches the essentials, because they want to rush to all the goofy things.

 

[JDRoth]

Has anyone ever used Apples Aperture? If so what did you think of it?

 

[KmH]

Learning to use photoshop is extremely hard. I've been trying for like a year now and I'm just starting to get comfortable with it. And I can still only do the basic stuff. Anything advanced is over my head

Most complex things are that way.

Education and books can really accelerate the pace of learning.

Photoshop is so versatile and complex, it gets used in ways it's designers never envisioned or intended.

I just counted, I have 14 books that deal with various aspects of Photoshop and image editing.

The single most complete Photoshop book for image editing I have is Martin Evening's professional image editors guide to creative use of Photoshop:
Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers: A professional image editor's guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC

 

[peke]

I was told that Nikon Capture NX2 was easier to use than some. I got it for Christmas and to me its easier to use than others.

Peke

 

[Joshua_Lee]

If you or someone you know is in the education field, you can get Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5 Student & Teacher Edition suite for $200 . My wife is a teacher and I am about to jump on this. Adobe told me that all I need is a copy of her teacher badge. FYI, it's a $1000 value, so it's kind of a good deal!

 

[AprilEye]

Photoshop Elements 8.0 here. Also a web-based program that you pay $29/year for and get full editing capabilities. Its good for beginners and the most comprehensivie web-based editing program that I have come across. it is www.picnik.com They also have a flickr group if you want to see samples of edited photos. http://www.flickr.com/groups/picnikers/ A good and affordable place to "practice" editing. Just a thought.

 

[adversus]

Has anyone ever used Apples Aperture? If so what did you think of it?

I use Aperture for 99.9% of my editing. The only time I've used Photoshop if I need to do some heavy editing like removing entire objects/backgrounds. I do not do a lot of heavy editing though, or HDR or things of that nature, at which Photoshop does have more plugins for.

You can download a 30 day trial thats fully functional if you want to give it a try. But if you want to try it, I recommend using the Referenced Library feature when importing rather than the Managed Library, so your images don't get shuffled around by Aperture.

 

[syphlix]

i use lightroom 3 for 98% of my edits... really depends what kind of editing you need to do though...

 

[KDPhotography]

I am just starting out and I use the old PS cs2-- outdated, but it is my first program and I find it great to get started out with.

 

[SimpleFoto]

I make a vote for Adobe's software. If you want to do pixel editing I'd go with Photoshop Elements to start with or the full Photoshop if you want to get serious. If you want to just do minor edits then go with Adobe Lightroom - very cheap and still powerful.

 

[ghaith.salih]

for Photography

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3
The best