Advise on what photo imaging software to buy

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19 Feb 2010 - 12:02 PM

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zander

10

19 Feb 2010 - 12:14 PM

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Photoshop Elements will have most , if not everything that you will need for photo editing and it's much cheaper than the full Photoshop. Even more affordable is GIMP as it's free and apparently it's very good (it's like Elements). There are plenty of tutorials in the technique and video section on here.

colmar

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19 Feb 2010 - 12:18 PM

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Elements 8 is out now and can be had for around £80 .... it is a grand editing programme and will cover most if not all eventualities for you Colin

cattyal (e2 Member)

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19 Feb 2010 - 12:23 PM

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Paint Shop Pro is also excellent. I reckon your options are Paint Shop Pro (I'd not go any more recent than X2), Elements (an earlier version will cost less and be perfectly adequate) or GIMP which of course is free.

Probably the best option is to download trial versions and give them a go - and bear in mind that there are users of all three on here so there is bound to be someone that can help in times of crisis

Jestertheclown

4

19 Feb 2010 - 3:16 PM

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I sometimes use GIMP portable if I'm not at home and as Jon says, trying to work it out is a strange experience especially after CS2 which I normally use.
If you want something that's a match for Elements and better than GIMP, find a copy of Serif PhotoPlus. Old versions can be had for free online and more recent (not the most recent) versions can be had for very little money.
A friend of mine recently bought PhotoPlus X2 from Serif themselves for £13.00.
I've had a copy of that since it came out and it's pretty good.
I believe X3 is available now but if it will cost closer to £60.00 and I'm not sure it's that much better. As cattyal says re. Elements; an older version will be good enough.
Have a look on Amazon.
Jester.

ellis rowell

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19 Feb 2010 - 11:15 PM

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I have used The Gimp for several years now, it is very versatile. If you are not conversant with the paid for software and are starting from scratch it should be no more difficult to learn.

Toonman

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20 Feb 2010 - 7:40 AM

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I find The Gimp very heavy going but, many peopple swear by it. Why not try Paint.net it is free, easy to use but, has every tool you could want. Personally if you can afford it I would go for Elements 7 or 8.

Adam

Overread

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20 Feb 2010 - 1:51 PM

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But you have to be very rich to buy the full Photoshop
I would also argue that such a large sum of money is not the best investment for a beginner or early level photographer - I would far rather put that money toward a really good lens/tripod/filters/etc... ie good quality products that help you capture the image. You can always edit an image at a later date if you get better editing tools (as well as editing skills) but you can't go back an retake an image that you missed because you didn't have the right gear.

Get the shot first then worry about editing it. That is not discounting editing as a part of the photographic process its mearly saying that its dependant upon having the image to start with.

Elements will do a lot for you - it is hobbled and many of the advanced tricks can't be easily or well done with it (which is one reason I hate many photoshop mags and articles because they are always made with full photoshop interface and features). However you can still do a lot of what is needed with the program. Further there are some good free addons and also 3rd party packages that you can add to the setup that will serve you well. (we have a thread around here somewhere that details some of these addons)