Apeture, Photoshop, or Lightroom?

[gamerz]

Hey guys,

My new imac is arriving within the next few days and I want to get a photo-editing program for it. I have found photoshop's layers to be a little confusing, but I might give it a try again, I have never tried Aperture or Lightroom.

So... Which photo-editing software would be the best?

[Black Belt]

It really depends what you are planning on doing. I LOVE Lightroom. It is really a Professional Photography Workflow program. You can go through photos quickly and do some great color correction and cropping as well as edit Xif. The tools are brilliant. All changes are non-destructive to your original files. In addition, it is a fantastic library. It is much faster than Photoshop and I use it for most of my stuff and only pull out Photoshop for more extensive manipulations. They are well integrated.

[Lovesong]

There are about 50 threads on this... just in the Photography forums.

Both Lightroom and Aperture have free 30 day trials, and you should give them both a try before you buy. It's a matter of preferrence- they both do the same thing, and less than photoshop.

Edit: And to retort to Black Belt- Aperture, which I use, is equally easy to use and integrates with PS just as easily.

[redrabbit]

Please search next time. There are MANY insightful posts and sites on this subject. Search google for this and you will find a lot of them. But...

In terms of photo-editing, LR and Aperture are poor choices, especially when compared to photoshop. For photo organization and RAW workflow, though, LR and Aperture are good programs.

[Eric Piercey]

LR and CS3. I own and used Aperture until I tried LR and switched. Why? Better RAW retouching tools. You can get the same results in either, and both are competent, but I like the tools better in LR. I like the interface in Aperture, but there are more hoops to jump through for the same results. Others will disagree. To each their own.

Neither is a replacement for PS. PS allows pixel level editing and is a must have for the serious photographer regardless of which application you choose. Elements has many of the same tools, and is a solution for many but I prefer the real deal.

[Westside guy]

I almost never heavily process my photos, so the editing/adjustment tools in Aperture (or, if you prefer, Lightroom) do the job for me 99% of the time. For work stuff I find myself using Photoshop more; but I could get by without it for my own photos.

You really do need to try both Lightroom and Aperture out yourself though - peoples' preferences are just too different. I strongly prefer Aperture, but others prefer Lightroom with equal fervor.

[M@lew]

Depending on what you want to do, you might want to get Photoshop first. It's the featured programs and then get an organiser like Aperture/Lightroom.

[John T]

Hey guys,
.......and I want to get a photo-editing program for it.......
So... Which photo-editing software would be the best?

Aperture and Lightroom are not for you! As has already been said these programs are primarily for photo organisation and workflow.

[Macanadian]

If you need photo editing and find CS3 overwhelming.. Try Photoshop Elements....