Photo Editing

[rubsal70]

I am a new photographer. I have a Canon Rebel T2i. I wanted to know what is a good program for editing photos. I also would like to know what is a good program to do layers and move objects in or out of pictures. I am new to that, but I have done some layering for video editing on motion. I was looking at aperture and pixelmator or photoshop elements? I would love to get some feedback.
Thanks

 

[nburwell]

Since you're just starting out in photography, I would probably recommend you go with Photoshop Elements to start. I think you would get a little too overwhelmed if you went with Photoshop since it's such a vast program.

 

[rubsal70]

Since you're just starting out in photography, I would probably recommend you go with Photoshop Elements to start. I think you would get a little too overwhelmed if you went with Photoshop since it's such a vast program.

That is true... I already was going to wait on photoshop because of how expensive it is...That is why I need advice on whether to get "photoshop elements or Aperature/Pixelmator"?
thanks

 

[Designer Dale]

I have both Aperture and PhotoShop cs3. Aperture is a digital darkroom, it lets you adjust color saturation, shadow detail and stuff like we used to do in our wet darkrooms. PhotoShop is a digital paint program and allows for the advanced modifications like removing objects and adding layers and effects. Elements has some of the features of PS at a lower price. A lot of us start with iPhoto and Elements.

Dale

 

[rubsal70]

I have both Aperture and PhotoShop cs3. Aperture is a digital darkroom, it lets you adjust color saturation, shadow detail and stuff like we used to do in our wet darkrooms. PhotoShop is a digital paint program and allows for the advanced modifications like removing objects and adding layers and effects. Elements has some of the features of PS at a lower price. A lot of us start with iPhoto and Elements.

Dale

Thanks Dale... That is something that I am looking for. So far elements is looking like the winner. Have you heard for pixelmator?
Thanks

 

[Sunn8760]

That is true... I already was going to wait on photoshop because of how expensive it is...That is why I need advice on whether to get "photoshop elements or Aperature/Pixelmator"?
thanks

I'm in the same situation. I'm leaning towards buying a Bamboo Capture tablet, to make editing easier, and you get a copy of Elements included. Just a thought...

 

[mustang_dvs]

I am a new photographer. I have a Canon Rebel T2i. I wanted to know what is a good program for editing photos. I also would like to know what is a good program to do layers and move objects in or out of pictures. I am new to that, but I have done some layering for video editing on motion. I was looking at aperture and pixelmator or photoshop elements? I would love to get some feedback.
Thanks

Why do you need/want to "move objects in or out of" your photographs? From a (no pun intended) big-picture perspective, if it's because you would like to incorporate elements that cannot be incorporated in reality, that's one thing… if it's that there's things in the photo that you didn't intend to photograph, then I suggest working on learning composition, as opposed to learning photo manipulation.

I have both Aperture and PhotoShop cs3. Aperture is a digital darkroom, it lets you adjust color saturation, shadow detail and stuff like we used to do in our wet darkrooms. PhotoShop is a digital paint program and allows for the advanced modifications like removing objects and adding layers and effects. Elements has some of the features of PS at a lower price. A lot of us start with iPhoto and Elements.

Having started out in actual darkrooms (and with Photoshop 3.5) I'd argue that Photoshop is a digital darkroom and Aperture/Lightroom are for organizing and minor touch-ups.

 

[rubsal70]

Why do you need/want to "move objects in or out of" your photographs? From a (no pun intended) big-picture perspective, if it's because you would like to incorporate elements that cannot be incorporated in reality, that's one thing… if it's that there's things in the photo that you didn't intend to photograph, then I suggest working on learning composition, as opposed to learning photo manipulation.



Having started out in actual darkrooms (and with Photoshop 3.5) I'd argue that Photoshop is a digital darkroom and Aperture/Lightroom are for organizing and minor touch-ups.

I think it's more like effects and of course better pictures. Add special effects to the photos. Sometimes I might two different things in two different pictures that I want in one. I hope that makes sense. Thanks

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I'm in the same situation. I'm leaning towards buying a Bamboo Capture tablet, to make editing easier, and you get a copy of Elements included. Just a thought...

I will look into the bamboo capture tablet
thanks

 

[thekev]

I have both Aperture and PhotoShop cs3. Aperture is a digital darkroom, it lets you adjust color saturation, shadow detail and stuff like we used to do in our wet darkrooms. PhotoShop is a digital paint program and allows for the advanced modifications like removing objects and adding layers and effects. Elements has some of the features of PS at a lower price. A lot of us start with iPhoto and Elements.

Dale

I don't see photoshop as just a paint program. You can do quite a lot with it, and many of the adjustments and masking available there were carried over from the darkroom. You have a lot more freedom than Aperture especially as you have real masking tools (quick mask, vector paths, alpha channels). That alone just adds so much to it.

I think it's more like effects and of course better pictures. Add special effects to the photos. Sometimes I might two different things in two different pictures that I want in one. I hope that makes sense. Thanks

A lot of detailed effects you see involve a lot of painting and masking. If you want a lot of control, I suggest you learn to mask really really well without going much beyond 100%. I see people zoom way in beyond that, and it's stupid. It takes too long. 100%, 200% if you really must, and keep a really steady hand. Also if you want something, learn to break it down into pieces. Most complex stuff isn't applied in a single stroke. Fadeoffs, gradients, highlights, etc. can be painted in via separate passes, sometimes separate layers, although I dislike the way photoshop does some of its math.

 

[rubsal70]

I don't see photoshop as just a paint program. You can do quite a lot with it, and many of the adjustments and masking available there were carried over from the darkroom. You have a lot more freedom than Aperture especially as you have real masking tools (quick mask, vector paths, alpha channels). That alone just adds so much to it.



A lot of detailed effects you see involve a lot of painting and masking. If you want a lot of control, I suggest you learn to mask really really well without going much beyond 100%. I see people zoom way in beyond that, and it's stupid. It takes too long. 100%, 200% if you really must, and keep a really steady hand. Also if you want something, learn to break it down into pieces. Most complex stuff isn't applied in a single stroke. Fadeoffs, gradients, highlights, etc. can be painted in via separate passes, sometimes separate layers, although I dislike the way photoshop does some of its math.

So is photoshop elements a good place to start?
thanks

 

[thekev]

So is photoshop elements a good place to start?
thanks

Pixelmator seems good too. It depends on just how detailed you want to get. I haven't messed with Pixelmator on the level of 2GB comp files. I've done that with photoshop. Pixelmator seems remarkably impressive for its price even though I haven't played with it that much. If you're buying a wacom tablet, see if they still bundle elements. They used to include it at least with intuos purchases. A VERY long time ago they used to run promotions where you could upgrade to full PS for $350 from the bundled one that came with the intuos purchase. They haven't had that in years though. If you're a student by any chance, Adobe does have student discounts. It's how they get you hooked.

 

[rubsal70]

Pixelmator seems good too. It depends on just how detailed you want to get. I haven't messed with Pixelmator on the level of 2GB comp files. I've done that with photoshop. Pixelmator seems remarkably impressive for its price even though I haven't played with it that much. If you're buying a wacom tablet, see if they still bundle elements. They used to include it at least with intuos purchases. A VERY long time ago they used to run promotions where you could upgrade to full PS for $350 from the bundled one that came with the intuos purchase. They haven't had that in years though. If you're a student by any chance, Adobe does have student discounts. It's how they get you hooked.

Thanks man... I will look into it. I wasn't sure if I wanted a tablet, but I checked them out at best buy and apple store and they are still bundled with photoshop elements and other software.. Maybe something to think about
Thanks