PHOTOSHOP VERSUS PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS

[BEAST]

I have a trial copy of photoshop elements that I admittedly haven't worked too much with. So far, everything I can do on Elements, I can do with most other photo editing programs. I would like to own a versatile editing program and try to create some of the effects we have seen here on the forum. Now, it is true that my knuckles drag on the ground when I walk, so I would like a program that I, with some basic instructions, can use and not get frustrated with.

 

Is Photoshop the program for me? Is Elements? Is Photoshop as complex and confusing as Elements? Is Photoshop a better buy than Elements? Do you have any other photo editing software recommendations?

[ehrentitle]

I don't know the answer to your question but I purchased Corel Paint Shop Pro XI as part of the package for my new Dell computer back in Dec. It's also not that user friendly. I would also be interested in what others say about good, simple photo/image editing software.

[robert60446]

Hi,

I’m using only Photoshop’s. Now I’m running at CS3 version, but I honestly think Elements will do the trick for you on most occasions. If you are not in to the deep photo editing, than go with elements...

[The Meatcan]

Hi,

I’m using only Photoshop’s. Now I’m running at CS3 version, but I honestly think Elements will do the trick for you on most occasions. If you are not in to the deep photo editing, than go with elements...

 

yep, I agree with robert60446. If you don't need it for professional purposes, Elements will give you pretty cool results without the huge expense and learning curve of Photoshop. Corel Paint Shop isn't bad but Elements seems very useful to me. My two cents worth.

[Bob Hudson]

Is Photoshop as complex and confusing as Elements?

 

Photoshop is vastly more complex than Elements. I have been using Photoshop in my work on a daily basis since 1993 and I still don't use (or know) perhaps half of what it does. I have Photoshop Elements on one of my Windows laptops and I would say that if all you want to do is to crop, re-size and adjust the colors and brightness of photos, then there are easier ways to do it. Apple's iPhoto is the way to go if you're on a Mac (which is my normal operating platform) and Kodak and some other companies have their own software offerings. Most digital cameras and scanners come with a software disk and I recommend trying out those programs before going out and buying anything news.

[JLENG]

Training on the programs I believe is the key. I have found a site that offers video training for Photoshop and Corel programs for a reasonable cost and have samples you can view before any commitment. It might be worth checking out before making a decision on which program to use. The site is http://Lynda.com (google it first, not a porn site and don't use www). I am currently using it to understand Photoshop. John

[jagjetta]

Training on the programs I believe is the key. I have found a site that offers video training for Photoshop and Corel programs for a reasonable cost and have samples you can view before any commitment. It might be worth checking out before making a decision on which program to use. The site is http://Lynda.com (google it first, not a porn site and don't use www). I am currently using it to understand Photoshop. John

 

 

JLENG makes a very good point. I often comment to people who want to take "calendar photos", "just because I can buy a scalpel does not make me a surgeon."

 

I use Elements at one of my jobs where all we do is post images to the web. It is fine for that. For my publishing work, however, I use CS2. Why? The main reason is that Elements cannot produce a CMYK tif. It will only produce tifs in RGB. If that isn't important to you (and wouldn't be unless you plan to publish your images), Elements is just fine and a bit less intimidating to use. Even if you should later decide that you want to publish images scanned and processed through Elements, the images can still be batch converted to CMYK tifs.

 

FWIW,

John A-G

Editor, Military Trader & Military Vehicles Magazine

[Bugme]

If Erick is dragging his knuckles then I'm really confused after reading some of the posts. Simple Simple Simple... does it exist?

[rrobertscv]

I have used Photoshop for years, great software, but deep and hard to learn. Here is a link I found last night that is offering Corel Paintshop Pro X for free. After you load it, look for an email to download the add-ons.

Corel Paintshop Pro X

[BEAST]

If Erick is dragging his knuckles then I'm really confused after reading some of the posts. Simple Simple Simple... does it exist?

 

Hey, how did you get my driver's license photo?!?

[bayonetman]

I work quite a bit with photos, and find Photoshop and the like too expensive and complicated for my needs.

 

Some time back, I discovered a FREE downloadable program that does 99% of what most people need. It is more user friendly than most also. Try it, if you don't like it you at least didn't have to pay anything for it.

 

I have used photo editing software since the mid 1990s and honestly believe that this is the best and simplest program that I have ever used. It won't do what Photoshop will of course, but it will edit, crop (in whatever size ratio you want from freescale to any set size), resize, change color, contrast, all kinds of special effects (including one that helps clear skin blemishes on pictures of people), etc. You can add all kinds of lettering and shapes, etc. As you can tell, I really like it, especially since it is free.

 

The name is PHOTOSCAPE - http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/download.php

[ItemCo16527]

I've never used Photoshop or Elements, but two really good photo editing programs are The Gimp and IrfanView. The best part? They're FREE!

IrfanView is very simple to use, albeit very limited compared to The Gimp. From what I'm told by people who know about these sorts of things, The Gimp is the next best thing to Photoshop.

 

Links:

The Gimp

IrfanView

[fortworthgal]

I agree with what several others have already said. I work in graphic design and publishing (and have for about 15 years now) and unless you are doing professional photo work, you definitely don't need Photoshop. It is a very complicated program. It is also expensive. And as someone else said, one of the biggest advantages for me is the ability to convert to produce CMYK images, as I work in printing. Most people won't have any need for that.

 

Elements or one of the other basic editing programs like Paintshop will do pretty much everything you need. And as Forum Support pointed out, most of the software that comes with cameras or scanners is just fine for things like cropping and resizing.

[Abby K-9]

I'm also a long-time Photoshop user and there are still things that I either don't use or don't know how to use in the program. If this will be your first "real" editing program, you should be prepared for a very, very steep learning curve and probably a lot of frustration as well. Fortunately, there are many tutorials available to do specific things, both online and in print, but there's a lot of learning involved to use Photoshop effectively.

 

If you are looking for something simpler to use and not outrageously expensive, The Gimp is a great choice. You can do many of the same things most people use Photoshop for, and it's free for downloading and much easier to use. There are plenty of tutorials online for it as well if you ever get stuck on anything.

 

If you're looking for SIMPLE and want to do just the basics - cropping, adjusting brightness, contrast, colors, etc. - might I recommend ACDSee? It's more of an organization software, but has a dead useful, very simple editing window that allows you to do most of the basics. Plus, you can sort and organize all your computer files, listen to your sound files and watch video in it. For an "a little of everything" program it's the most dead useful I've ever bought.