software

[tarahj]

Does everyone use photoshop? Im looking for a new program , not sure what to get

[Pita_146]

What are you trying to do?

I use lightroom.

[tarahj]

Just looking for a new program to edit my photos on. Right now I have Corel PaintShop Pro x3 and Im not to fond of it.

[CAL Imagery]

Unless you're getting a mad discount or really know how to PP (which I doubt the question would arise if so), PS is vast overkill for most people. Try Elements or another comparably priced program.

[murtaugh]

i'm in the same boat, i am to am newer to PP. i hear lightroom is very popular, and i think not certain but think i just saw lightroom 2 on sale it bhphoto.com for $90, don't quate me, hope that helps

[murtaugh]

whoops i spoke to soon, it was $90 but it was the upgrade package, sorry

[CAL Imagery]

You can download at least Adobe software for a 30 day free trial on their website. That way you can ostensibly check it out if it's something you want to purchase. I would rather have PS than LR if I had to choose one, but I use LR way more because it's a RAW converter/file management program. Enjoy.

[Gnhntn]

I use Photoshop Elements, and it does everything I need it to do. Have thought about giving Lightroom a try , as I have heard nothing but good about it. Either of those should do the job for you.

[dugcross]

I have Photoshop and have been using it for just over 20 years. It's a great program but a couple of things to consider. It's very expensive and it has a very high learning curve. If you never used it, it will be quite a while before you will get the hang on it.

[Snydremark]

I've been using Lightroom 2 for a while now, and am going to upgrade to LR3 when my 30day trial is up. I really like how it handles RAW conversion and the PP controls offered in it more than meet my needs; especially now that LR3 has added dodge/burn controls to the local adjustment brush.

Photoshop certainly has its uses, but as others have mentioned, it can be a bit of overkill and is quite expensive.

[Organic Treats]

Like most said I would get LR3 trial a go. I just got LR3 and CS5 with the educational discount and I'm loving them so far.

[tarahj]

Thanks everyone for the input, Looks like I might be giving LR a try!

[TGrundvig]

I have LR2 and Photoshop CS4. I've heard a lot of good things from Elements users but I have never used it myself. I also use Topaz Adjust, and unless things have changed, there is no plug in for LR. I'm newer to LR but it's growing on me more and more. Primarily because of the image management.

The best way I heard it described was like this...."Photoshop was designed for designers and photographers learned how to use it for their needs. Lightroom was designed FOR photographers." Feel free to agree, disagree, or ad your own thoughts to that statement. Since getting LR, I personally feel that statement to be pretty accurate, but there are still some things I do in PS.....because I haven't figured out to achieve the same effect in LR. I'm still learning.

[dugcross]

Lightroom and Aperture are the same programs but Lightroom and Photoshop are not. The following I posted a good while back explaining the differences between the two. This is not coming from myself but from Adobe's web site.

Adobe Photoshop software is the industry standard in digital image editing. Photoshop holds an important place in the pro photographer's toolbox, for detailed pixel-level editing and compositing, but photographers face a variety of workflow concerns beyond image editing. Lightroom 2 addresses these needs in a photographer-centric way. Each module in Lightroom is dedicated to an essential photographic task — use the Library for importing and managing photos; the Develop module for fundamental photographic adjustments and processing hundreds of photographs at a time; and the Slideshow, Web, and Print modules to easily present photos onscreen, online, or in print. Lightroom also goes further, enabling you to manage raw files, even if they are offline, with automatic importing from the folder on your computer used for tethered shooting.
Lightroom excels at processing large volumes of photographs, creating the perfect negative, and outputting collections to the web, print, and slide shows. Photoshop remains the ultimate pixel-level, individual image-editing, and compositing application. Together, Lightroom and Photoshop are the comprehensive software duo for post-processing and editing of digital imagery.
For example, you may have 2,000 photographs and need to quickly preview, sort and rate them, embed your copyright on each, correct white balance, change tonal and color values, and make monochrome copies (or add a wide array of other special effects). Then, you need to output to a slide show, print, or the web, and all under the pressure of time constraints. For this common type of photographic workflow, Lightroom is the ideal solution.
Now perhaps some of your photographs are destined for an advertising layout. After choosing the best images, you may need to add a special effect to a model's eyes or change the pattern of a dress or pull the model completely away from her background to create an intricate, multilayered composite. For this, Photoshop is the ideal solution.

[tarahj]

Originally Posted by dugcross

Now perhaps some of your photographs are destined for an advertising layout. After choosing the best images, you may need to add a special effect to a model's eyes or change the pattern of a dress or pull the model completely away from her background to create an intricate, multilayered composite. For this, Photoshop is the ideal solution.

When you say photoshop, do you mean the 600-800 dollar program of the elements 8 for 90 bucks?