Which photoshop program is for me?

[hansiedejong]

Hi,

I'm new to the mac and just bought it (not a real reason). So now I just want to design some nice logos, edit some easy photo's and do some other easy stuff with photo's because I think it will be pretty cool. But which Apple program is the best for me as beginner!

So a program that isn't boring, what's fun and where I'm going to be addicted to!!

Which program for a beginner?

I already made a list: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Pixelmator, Lightroom, Aperture and for the logos Adobe Illustrator.

Which one?

 

[spinnerlys]

Photoshop might not be what you really want, it can be fun, but depending on your skills and will to learn, to use PS in the beginning might be a little bit frustrating.

Photoshop Elements might be better suited for you, as it is made "simpler" to get results faster.

Lightroom is more like a photo management software with some retouching and development tools attached, which are quite strong, but maybe not as fun as you'd like.

Then there is Pixelmator, which I don't know nothing about.

Then there is Gimp, which is free, and while hard to get used to, can get some pretty good results.

Then there is iPhoto, which comes with iLife, so look on Apple's site what it can do, or open it.

Also know that all the applications you talked about have trials, so in order to find out what is best for you, download them and try them out.

We don't know what do you want to do with what kind of images, so it is better you try it yourself, or tell us what you want to do.

 

[Hellhammer]

You can download 30-day trials of all of them from Adobe's and Apple's site and give them a try and decide what's the best. It's very hard to say which one suits best for you because it depends on how intensive stuff you will be doing and what's your budget.

 

[Queso]

If you're just learning the concepts Photoshop is probably way too much for your needs. It would be like buying Logic Studio and using it like GarageBand.

Pixelmator is probably the closest match to where you are. It will allow you to build your understanding of how to manipulate layers, masks etc. It's quicker than Gimp and you'll be able to take what you learn back to Photoshop if you wish to upgrade later on.

 

[hansiedejong]

Hi, thanks all. Like I said, I'm new to the photo editing process. So I also don't really know what I'm going to do when I have a photoshop program. So I have to discover the program first. i.m.o. Aperture 3 looks very nice, and it's an Apple program . I saw that you can just simple edit photo's in Aperture 3, it' between iPhoto and Photoshop Elements. Or do you guys say that Aperture isn't good for me, that it's too simple (for in the future or so). And that I better already now take a more Professional program as Photoshop Elements. And is Adobe Illustrator really worth it to design logos?

 

[Hellhammer]

Hi, thanks all. Like I said, I'm new to the photo editing process. So I also don't really know what I'm going to do when I have a photoshop program. So I have to discover the program first. i.m.o. Aperture 3 looks very nice, and it's an Apple program . I saw that you can just simple edit photo's in Aperture 3, it' between iPhoto and Photoshop Elements. Or do you guys say that Aperture isn't good for me, that it's too simple (for in the future or so). And that I better already now take a more Professional program as Photoshop Elements. And is Adobe Illustrator really worth it to design logos?

Aperture 3 trial
Illustrator trial
Photoshop trial
Elements trial
Lightroom trial

 

[IntelliUser]

Hi, thanks all. Like I said, I'm new to the photo editing process. So I also don't really know what I'm going to do when I have a photoshop program. So I have to discover the program first. i.m.o. Aperture 3 looks very nice, and it's an Apple program . I saw that you can just simple edit photo's in Aperture 3, it' between iPhoto and Photoshop Elements. Or do you guys say that Aperture isn't good for me, that it's too simple (for in the future or so). And that I better already now take a more Professional program as Photoshop Elements. And is Adobe Illustrator really worth it to design logos?

What's enticing about Photoshop is that, in the CS5 version, the content-aware spot healing tool. Aka you can easily make objects disappear from photos, or at least that's what it looks like from the demo videos. Otherwise if you're a beginner the other packages will be fine, you just have much more control and power if you use Photoshop (but you'll have to learn more too).

And yeah, Illustrator is pretty much the best vector drawing program out there. IF you know how to use it, and of course if you get good at design, there's pretty much nothing (in 2D and some limited 3D) you can't design with it.

 

[allan.nyholm]

You can't go wrong with Pixelmator as a beginner. But if you hate floating palettes then avoid Pixelmator - they are all over. One of my dislikes with the app.
It's a great tool however before you decide you want the real deal and go buy Photoshop. There's a Pixelmator podcast on iTunes where you can learn the ins and outs of Pixelmator. You can also buy previous podcasts at a better quality.

 

[R.Perez]

Its semi limited, but there is always Picasa too. Its free!

My instinct screams GIMP, but sounds like you want something easier, check out Picasa. Can't go wrong when the program is free.

 

[Juice011785]

really depending on what your looking to do, I have always been a fan of fireworks for logos and banners and what not