Beginner Software

What's a good software for a beginner to use? I see people talk about Lightroom and Photshop a lot. I'm not looking for something advanced .... just something basic to play around with and is beginner friendly. I use a Mac, so I've just been loading my photos into an older version of iPhoto, but it doesn't have much in the way of editing the photos. Thanks!

Photoshop Elements is an inexpensive app that is quick to get a "running start" with and also has some very powerful features that you can "grow into".

You can get the app from Amazon or a local retailer and you can also pick up a "primer" book from either source, and take your time, doing simple edits quickly and learn how to do more "fancy stuff" as you go.

A lot of places have Lightroom 3 on offer at the moment.

tonylong wrote in post #13895498
Photoshop Elements is an enexpensive app that is quick to get a "running start" with and also has some very powerful features that you can "grow into".

You can get the app from Amazon or a local retailer and you can also pick up a "primer" book from either source, and take your time, doing simple edits quickly and learn how to do more "fancy stuff" as you go.

I agree. Most people only use about 5% of the capabilities of PS for photography, & most of what we think is important to start with is posted in the "Sticky"s at the top of this section.
When you need to do something not covered here, Google will find at least a dozen tutorials on it for you. Don't make this stuff too hard?

Thanks- yeah I'm not looking to do advanced things. I just want to learn simple procedures and functions with my photos. I saw that Lightroom was on sale, but I have no experience with it and didn't know if it was beginner friendly. Or, if PS was easier for a newbie.

sweetpea44 wrote in post #13896229
Thanks- yeah I'm not looking to do advanced things. I just want to learn simple procedures and functions with my photos. I saw that Lightroom was on sale, but I have no experience with it and didn't know if it was beginner friendly. Or, if PS was easier for a newbie.

Lightroom at "first glance" looks pretty simple to jump into, in that the basic developing features are nicely laid out and very useful.

But Lightroom ain't as simple as first meets the eye!

For one thing, there is a lot to the development tools that, if you don't learn the special and selective techniques, you miss out on much of what you can do with your image and it can show in less than satisfactory results for different types of photos.

For another thing, the "structure" of Lightroom is that of a Digital Asset Management app, built around a "Catalog" which is a database of all your photos that you "Import" into the app, and the catalog has organizational "features" that can be frustrating if you don't understand and use them properly. These "features" can turn people off, especially if one doesn't do a fair volume of shooting that can over time really benefit by the catalog/database approach.

That being said, the "RAW processor" in which you do your development work, what a lot of us call the "digital darkroom", is quite powerful, and if you take the time to learn the tools, can give great results. Also, Lightroom has an integrated interface that makes the organizing, developing an output tasks flow very smoothly. Again, this can make a big difference for photogs that do a fair volume of shooting, giving them the ability to efficiently process batches of photos.

But then, the other big consideration: Lightroom does not have a built-in "image editor" (such as Photoshop or Elements) that can take your processing into areas of pixel "manipulation" that you occasionally want/need to do. Many of us who use Lightroom also have one of those apps on hand because when you need that type of work, well, you need it.

As I said in my earlier post, I really encourage you to grab PS Elements because it can do so much and because even if in time you want Lightroom you will never regret having Elements to call on and taking the time to learn what is possible with your images.

Spend some time in Elements, there are excellent books as well as online tutorials and resources to get you started.

As far as Lightroom, yeah, if you can get the app on the sale, getting an actual retail purchase for less than $100 is a great opportunity, since the normal retail price is about $300. But I'd still encourage Elements as a "starter app". If you do get LR, take the time to read up on it and take some online tutorials before you try to jump into making it your "main" app and I don't think you'll be wasting your time.

But that's just my advice!

Thank you! That was very thorough and informative. I will look into Elements first. That will likely suit my needs as a newbie. Looks like a version 10 is on amazon for around $70. I've seen some people sell the older version (I think 8?) in the classifieds. Would spending the extra $ for the newer version be worth it if I'm just learning?

I think you need to be more specific with what you want in terms of software. Do you want a image editor? photo management with editing tools?

Photoshop and Photoshop Elements allow a lot of editing, creative, and manipulation control. Pricing is reasonable for Elements. Lightroom (LR) on the other hand is a digital darkroom. It incorporates how a photographer would operate his or her workflow in terms of sorting, viewing, editing and sometimes publishing his or her photos. Editing in Lightroom is similar to how photographers developed their photos, hence Adobe named the editing function the "develop" module. For some, conceptually, Lightroom is confusing. But from a practical workflow perspective, its awesome.

if you enjoy iPhoto, you should check out Aperture. It's similar to what Lightroom does but with an Apple flare. Its easier to use and learn (conceptually) than Lightroom in my opinion. However, I personally prefer lightroom's performance and tools more.

Both LR and Aperture offer free trials. Try it out with test photos. If you do not like, you do not have to buy. If you strictly want a photo editor, try the Photoshop Elements. Sometimes Elements can be bought fairly cheap. I've seen it for $45 usd on amazon.com. OR give GIMP a try. its a free photoeditor with many of Photoshop's functions.

sweetpea44 wrote in post #13898093
Thank you! That was very thorough and informative. I will look into Elements first. That will likely suit my needs as a newbie. Looks like a version 10 is on amazon for around $70. I've seen some people sell the older version (I think 8?) in the classifieds. Would spending the extra $ for the newer version be worth it if I'm just learning?

if you went with v8, you might not get raw support for your t3i. im looking at elements, i think only v9 onwards will support t3i raw.

http://www.adobe.com …oduct=40&platfo​rm=Windows

You can always download a free trial of Elements to see if it fits your needs. No need to buy something youre not sure of.
http://www.adobe.com …toshop_elements​&loc=en_us

Ahh .... thanks!

I think Lightroom can be perfect for a beginner. Because its Develop module is divided into several different sections that are closed until you are ready for them, the beginner can use only the Basic panel (which in LR4 has been revised and made much more intuitive) and never delve into such esoteric areas as Split Toning, Graduated Filter, etc. until he wants to. He doesn't even need to understand the Curve Editor (I rarely use it, although others do so constantly). And most people seem to just leave sharpening on default anyways. And the moment you want more of anything there are hundreds of presets that with one click will give you any "look".
In the Library module it is entirely possible to ignore all the organizational features until you feel you need them.

When I originally posted the question, I was thinking more of an image editor vs a management system since I have iPhoto. The Aperture program is intriguing though since I'm use to a Mac and have some experience with iPhoto. I don't know if I can justify the extra price for Aperture vs Elements though. However, the 'all inclusive' program is appealing. I'm assuming I would have to duplicate photos from my iPhoto (so as not to lose the originals) and then transfer them into Elements to adjust them and then transfer back? I will have to try the trial versions. Thank you for your suggestions.

imjason wrote in post #13898171
I think you need to be more specific with what you want in terms of software. Do you want a image editor? photo management with editing tools?

Photoshop and Photoshop Elements allow a lot of editing, creative, and manipulation control. Pricing is reasonable for Elements. Lightroom (LR) on the other hand is a digital darkroom. It incorporates how a photographer would operate his or her workflow in terms of sorting, viewing, editing and sometimes publishing his or her photos. Editing in Lightroom is similar to how photographers developed their photos, hence Adobe named the editing function the "develop" module. For some, conceptually, Lightroom is confusing. But from a practical workflow perspective, its awesome.

if you enjoy iPhoto, you should check out Aperture. It's similar to what Lightroom does but with an Apple flare. Its easier to use and learn (conceptually) than Lightroom in my opinion. However, I personally prefer lightroom's performance and tools more.

Both LR and Aperture offer free trials. Try it out with test photos. If you do not like, you do not have to buy. If you strictly want a photo editor, try the Photoshop Elements. Sometimes Elements can be bought fairly cheap. I've seen it for $45 usd on amazon.com. OR give GIMP a try. its a free photoeditor with many of Photoshop's functions.

tzalman wrote in post #13900442
I think Lightroom can be perfect for a beginner. Because its Develop module is divided into several different sections that are closed until you are ready for them, the beginner can use only the Basic panel (which in LR4 has been revised and made much more intuitive) and never delve into such esoteric areas as Split Toning, Graduated Filter, etc. until he wants to. He doesn't even need to understand the Curve Editor (I rarely use it, although others do so constantly). And most people seem to just leave sharpening on default anyways. And the moment you want more of anything there are hundreds of presets that with one click will give you any "look".
In the Library module it is entirely possible to ignore all the organizational features until you feel you need them.

I agree. Use as little or as many of the features that you want. As you get better, the program will grow with you. I use Aperture and recommend it or LR for beginners.

I have Photoshop Elements 10 and now LR3.

I was brand new to both when I got them. I had never owned either before. LR blows PSE out of the water as far as the RAW editing capabilities go. (If you dont shoot RAW then the gap closes substantially - prob have to give PSE the win there - but RAW rocks - try it - you'll like it!!!). You give up the pixel level editing, but if you arent into compositing or removing things that are in the photo, etc...then ya dont need it. In my case, I shoot mostly landscapes, and LR3 handles them like a champ. I very very rarely have to open one in PSE for further tweaking.

PSE10 drove me crazy.....the "organizer" as they call it is pure crap. Cant even sort a folder by shooting/capture time. LR has a great "catalogue" approach that takes a bit of getting used to, but its very very powerful. You'll love it once it really "clicks" with you. I have about 14,000 photos catalogued on it...travel photos...and the database approach makes dealing with them a snap.

I vote for LR3...especially for 100 bucks...I paid $150 bucks about 3-4 weeks ago from Adobe....a download. Got PSE on sale for 50 bucks over black thursday (Thanksgiving). It came with a trial of LR3, and after getting frustrated with PSE i popped in the LR3 demo and havent even opened PSE but one time since.

LR3 seems WAAAAY more intuitive and user friendly as far as editing...easier to learn your way around by just playing...and ya cant mess anything up.

And again...if you shoot RAW, the hands down winner is LR. Its extremely powerful.

Thats been my experience...hopefully it will help a bit.

nutbolt

Thanks for your thoughts. Is there much difference between Aperture and Lightroom as far as capabilities? Looks like Aperture is a beefed up version of iPhoto. It seems like more people favor Lightroom though.