iPhoto or Photoshop Elements?

I am only going to explain this very simply.

iPhoto is a great database for photographs and basic editing of photos. Photoshop Elements is a more serious photo editor with many advanced features. You can actually use both together if you would like. Here is a link that will explain how you can use them together.

Photoshop Elements Help/Use With iPhoto | Mac OS

Step up from iPhoto to Aperture and then use Elements 12 as your pixel editor. You can likely find a good bargain on Elements 12.

iPhoto's probably best for your needs. Elements, as has been noted, is for photo editing. iPhoto, while it has plenty of editing features (just not good enough for serious amateurs and pros), excels at organizing, displaying, and sharing photos. Elements does not organize photos, and does not integrate with the Mac/iOS environment.

iPhoto ties into iCloud Photo Stream, iTunes syncing (iOS devices), Apple TV, mail, etc. - the whole Apple ecosystem approach.

iPhoto is free, and as has been noted, Elements can still be used for the sake of editing.

iMas70 said:

Ok, first of all I don't do much photo editing. Just once in awhile so I probably already know the answer to my question. My daughter has a copy of Photoshop Elements 10. Is there any reason why I should install it and use it instead of iPhoto?

Thanks!

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As others have said above, the 2 are different tools:
- iPhoto is designed primarily for photo organisation with a few simple editing tools built in,
- Elements is designed for heavier photo editing, but lacks any organisational features for your photo collection.

To answer your question of "should I install it?" - if you ever feel like the editing tools in iPhoto are too limited for what you're trying to achieve then yes. Elements will let you do a LOT more editing & manipulation to your photos. However, if you're perfectly happy with the results you get in iPhoto then just stick with that and don't bother installing Elements.

Hope that helps

iMas70 said:

Thanks for the info! After reading these replies I figured that I'd install the program. Then I realized that I forgot that I don't have an optical drive. Maybe I'll just install it on a Windows machine for now.

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Lol you can always plug one in! Or download off the internet and use the serial number...

iMas70 said:

Ok, first of all I don't do much photo editing. Just once in awhile so I probably already know the answer to my question. My daughter has a copy of Photoshop Elements 10. Is there any reason why I should install it and use it instead of iPhoto?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

If you don't edit photos you don't need it. However if you do get PSE you will also want to KEEP iPhoto or Aperture. iPhots is for organizing, PSE for editing.

In the preferences panel in iPhoto you can choose a "default editor" Make that PSE and then the two are very well integrated and work together well.

But PSE has a larding curve, like everything else. It is not worth it if you use it only a an hour a month

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iMas70 said:

Thanks for the info! After reading these replies I figured that I'd install the program. Then I realized that I forgot that I don't have an optical drive. Maybe I'll just install it on a Windows machine for now.

Click to expand...

You don't need the disc. Adobe has in on-line on their web site. You can download it.

iMas70 said:

It's very rare that I edit photos now and if I do, it's usually just to resize them. I used to use Photoshop in the late '90s and through the 2000s. Old version that worked pretty good for me but even then I didn't need it to it's full potential.

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I guess I am one of the few that really find iPhoto to be a really bad show in every way. The editing tools not only are poor but people get bad habits when trying to modify/edit photos. You would be far better off with Aperture or Lightroom. Unless you are doing beyond normal modifications to an image file, they should work fine and you can also get third party plug ins that add power.

I work with Photoshop CS6, Capture One Pro 7 and have used in the past both Aperture and Lightroom. For friends starting up to manage their photos and also do some adjustments, again Aperture and Lightroom are to be praised. I wont champion one over the other since each do more than a decent job at managing/catalogue work of files and also adjustments plus the 3rd party plugins (NIK, OnOne etc.).

Take some time and read up on them. My guess is you will find Aperture to be to your liking.

Just to correct some misinformation here, Elements 12 does include an organiser.
On the Mac App Store you can buy a cheaper version that is the editor portion only, intended for use with iPhoto but if you have the full retail version of PSE 12 it has a full featured organiser.

Tumbleweed666 said:

Just to correct some misinformation here, Elements 12 does include an organiser.
On the Mac App Store you can buy a cheaper version that is the editor portion only, intended for use with iPhoto but if you have the full retail version of PSE 12 it has a full featured organiser.

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Do you mean Elements version 11 is the editor portion only?

iMas70 said:

It's very rare that I edit photos now and if I do, it's usually just to resize them. I used to use Photoshop in the late '90s and through the 2000s. Old version that worked pretty good for me but even then I didn't need it to it's full potential.

Click to expand...

Based on this, I recommend you only install Elements if you wind up needing editing features that iPhoto doesn't have.

killwilly said:

Do you mean Elements version 11 is the editor portion only?

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Yes if bought in the APP store, for full blown PSE the organizer came in several versions back.

And my bad I see its version 11 not 12 on the App Store, its an edit only app that doesn't include the organizer.

Full version of PSE, not bought on the app store, includes an organizer.