which editing program should i use?

[Ballistics]

Have a student buy it for you for $189.

 

[JoeyV]

^This guy is actually telling him to do something "wrong" to get a better price on a program.

Same as any other post. Conversation. The OP didn't ask anything about which is the best for his money, just which is the best. This is why I don't see the point in mentioning prices of software in this debate. $800 or free is irrelevant when simply looking at quality. Photoshop is by far the best, everyone knows that. Therefore the simple answer to OP is "Photoshop, now go find it." and he will do so in which ever way he wants, be it legal or not, free or full-priced.

And you felt it was your obligation to point out to him that it can be pirated to avoid the cost, because to you that's a valid point.

But you don't advocate it.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight... :er:

I wasn't pointing it out to him. I was pointing it out to those who were getting riled up about it being "too expensive an investment" when he never mentioned anything about price.

Look, if you want to think I'm guilty of making people go along with piracy, go right ahead. I just put in some info to balance out a useless "argument" when debating quality regardless of price. Some will say it's too expensive, but when a free alternative exists, what now? We go purely to the quality of the program and debate that, which you debated to a definite victory might I add.

 

[jowensphoto]

The Kenworth/Kia analogy isn't worthless. Someone BRAND NEW to post processing doesn't NEED the capabilities of Photoshop. The same way I don't need the capabilities of an 18 wheeler and therefore drive a VW.

My 2 cents: a program like GIMP or Paint.NET will give the guy/gal a start and a cheap way to figure out if PP is something s/he would like to pursue further. You have to crawl before you can walk. And you have to walk before you can run!

At least OP has lots of opinions to take into consideration!

 

[JoeyV]

Again, why mention price? All he asked for was which program was best.

It's like if he asked which is the fastest production street-car and people were saying it's not the Bugatti Veyron because it costs $1.6 million. and that the Honda S2000 is much faster when comparing speed/price. Price is irrelevant.

 

[jowensphoto]

And while everyone agrees that Photoshop is the best, some of us are also looking out for OP's pocketbook!

Just because that is the industry gold-standard doesn't mean that it's the most rational option for the OP at this time.

 

[Buckster]

The Kenworth/Kia analogy isn't worthless. Someone BRAND NEW to post processing doesn't NEED the capabilities of Photoshop. The same way I don't need the capabilities of an 18 wheeler and therefore drive a VW.

So then, when someone pops in looking for a camera, we should give them a link to the cheapest point and shoot available. After all, they've got to crawl before they can walk, right?

 

[JoeyV]

I don't think he needs people ona forum to look out for his wallet. I'm pretty sure he can do that all by himself. The OP didn't ask for a rational option. He asked for a fact: which is best. You just said it yourself, everyone agrees that Photoshop is best, so why is there even a debate? Simply because people want to answer questions that have not been asked.

 

[Buckster]

And while everyone agrees that Photoshop is the best, some of us are also looking out for OP's pocketbook!

I don't recall the OP asking anyone to look out for his pocketbook. He asked what's the best and he asked specifically about Photoshop. One can logically assume he understands that it's expensive and is asking anyway, which logically means he can probably afford it.

Just because that is the industry gold-standard doesn't mean that it's the most rational option for the OP at this time.

Right. It doesn't mean that. It means it's the best, which directly answers his question. I would go further however and suggest that it is indeed the most rational option, assuming the "IFS" that I specifically posted as caveats to that recommendation.

 

[KmH]

All he asked for was which program was best.

Uh, that is only part of what he asked.

Re-read the OP.

im looking to start learning to edit my photo's and was wondering which program would be best? is photoshop what i should be buying or is that jumping the gun? are there more basic programs to use for beginners? is it worth getting a more basic program to get to grips with editing? any advice or info would be huuuuugely appreciated. thanks in advance, james.

The OP needs to start simple and work their way up as needed.

And this was way out of line:

I just want to point out that there ARE ways of getting expensive programs for very cheap if not for free... Just sayin'. :meh:

 

[sanderso]

To the OP: I've used Elements (older version), Lightroom and Photoshop. (I legally own them all.) I've found the best for me is LR. It does 90% of my PP and has given me a leg up in climbing the PS learning curve.

My $0.02.

 

[jowensphoto]

The Kenworth/Kia analogy isn't worthless. Someone BRAND NEW to post processing doesn't NEED the capabilities of Photoshop. The same way I don't need the capabilities of an 18 wheeler and therefore drive a VW.

So then, when someone pops in looking for a camera, we should give them a link to the cheapest point and shoot available. After all, they've got to crawl before they can walk, right?

No, but I wouldn't recommend dropping a grand on a DSLR to someone who's never picked up a camera.

 

[Ballistics]

The Kenworth/Kia analogy isn't worthless. Someone BRAND NEW to post processing doesn't NEED the capabilities of Photoshop. The same way I don't need the capabilities of an 18 wheeler and therefore drive a VW.

So then, when someone pops in looking for a camera, we should give them a link to the cheapest point and shoot available. After all, they've got to crawl before they can walk, right?

No, but I wouldn't recommend dropping a grand on a DSLR to someone who's never picked up a camera.

I would, and have. If they have the budget for it and know they are going to make it a permanent hobby, why tell them to get cheap products that they will outgrow in 2 months?

 

[sm4him]

Car analogies and pi**ing contests regarding who has the OP's best interests aside...

Buckster's advice is great. At the end of the 30-day trial period, you can then decide whether Photoshop is for you, or, if you're broke, you can go for PS Elements and what you learned during your 30 days will still be useful.

Another thing to consider: someone mentioned getting a student to buy it for you. An alternative is to BECOME a student. The student version is just ridiculously less than what the rest of us yahoos have to pay.
My sister enrolled in the certificate program at the university here; by spending about $200 on a class, she was then able to qualify for the student pricing of Photoshop. Yes, she also had to spend that other $200 (more, as she has continued taking classes there)...but for the $200, she also came away with a very sound foundation in her photography skills.
A word of warning though; You need to check before you enroll and make sure the classes you sign up for qualify for Adobe's student pricing. For instance, I take the occasional online course at ed2go, but those don't qualify me for student pricing.
Luckily for me, I don't care, because my employer paid for both my Windows and Mac versions of the entire CS5 package.

 

[Dominantly]

Gimp will only confuse you, so will CS5, and maybe even PS Elements.Download Adobe LR3.Not only will this streamline your photo catalog and make everything nice and tidy, but all the editing most new folks could ever want to do is layed out for you on the right side. You just scroll down in logical order tweaking whatever your heart desires.

 

[JoeyV]

All he asked for was which program was best.

Uh, that is only part of what he asked.

Re-read the OP.

im looking to start learning to edit my photo's and was wondering which program would be best? is photoshop what i should be buying or is that jumping the gun? are there more basic programs to use for beginners? is it worth getting a more basic program to get to grips with editing? any advice or info would be huuuuugely appreciated. thanks in advance, james.

The OP needs to start simple and work their way up as needed.

And this was way out of line:

I just want to point out that there ARE ways of getting expensive programs for very cheap if not for free... Just sayin'. :meh:

There's a learning curve for ALL editing programs. The PS interface and functions are pretty easy to use and intuitive. If he's never touched and editing software, there isn't going to be much difference in the learning curve, therefore leaving only which is best as the question.