Photo software

[emiller]

What i s a good photo editing software?

[caseydog]

Well, the number one choice of professionals is Adobe Photoshop. That's what I use. Very expensive.

There is a consumer version called Adobe Photoshop Elements, that my dad uses. It runs about 80 bucks. It is quite good.

Both are available for mac or windoze.

[eatatjoz]

There's always Gimp if you're looking for free.

[Toytaco2]

For most of us, Photoshop Elements is all you will ever need. I have been a pretty serious amateur for a long time and it satisfies all my needs. I also use Nikon Capture NX for Nikon camera raw format images with excellent results. Whatever you choose, put in the time to really learn the software and discern what your images need to look their best. If you enjoy your photography already, you'll be glad you took this step.

If you don't mind buying Photoshop Elements 7.0 instead of the latest Photoshop Elements 8.0, you can pick it up on Ebay anytime for about $20 incuding shipping (and there's very little difference between the two).

Mike

[myoung]

What i s a good photo editing software?

Eddie,

What computer operating system are you using? If it is Mac OS X, I've got quite a few apps that you might try. I always start with Aperture and then embellish, if desired, with a half dozen or more plug-ins. There are other solutions too, depending upon how intensively you wish to post-process.

If you are curious about some of the tricks, have a look at the pseudo-HDR images on the gallery linked in my signature below.

[emiller]

It is a Dell with Vista.

[myoung]

It is a Dell with Vista.

... I second the vote for Adobe Photoshop Elements. It has most of what the vast majority of non-pros want without the complexity and expense of Photoshop.

If you shoot primarily in RAW, then you might enjoy Lightroom, also by Adobe.

[Shadow Catcher]

I learned photography at Brooks Institute of Photography using a 4X6 view camera and it was only a couple of years ago that I bought a Nikon Digital camera.
Up till recently I have done very little processing that does not happen during the picture taking and used Microsoft Office Picture Manager.
I am about to order Photoshop Lightroom 3.

[caseydog]

I learned photography at Brooks Institute of Photography using a 4X6 view camera and it was only a couple of years ago that I bought a Nikon Digital camera.
Up till recently I have done very little processing that does not happen during the picture taking and used Microsoft Office Picture Manager.
I am about to order Photoshop Lightroom 3.

Photoshop and Lightroom are different programs. There is some overlap, but they have different missions. Lightroom is a lot like Aperture -- more workflow oriented.

I use Photoshop and Bridge. Bridge is a lot less powerful than Lightroom, but it works for me.

CD

[caseydog]

It is a Dell with Vista.

... I second the vote for Adobe Photoshop Elements. It has most of what the vast majority of non-pros want without the complexity and expense of Photoshop.

If you shoot primarily in RAW, then you might enjoy Lightroom, also by Adobe.

If you have the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw for Elements, you should be able to open RAW files for almost every camera on the market.

If you have Photoshop or Elements, you can download the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw from the Adobe web site for free. You shouldn't need Lightroom to use RAW files in Elements, unless you have really old version that Adobe doesn't support anymore.

CD

[myoung]

... I didn't mean to suggest that Elements wasn't suitable for RAW files. It's just my experience that once someone shoots predominantly in RAW, it implies that he or she is inclined toward more high performance or more capable software. I'd judge Lightroom to be a step above Elements for many pro or pro-am uses.

[ssrjim]

What i s a good photo editing software?

Photoshop is best but Photoshop elements is good enough.

I really like the new version of Photoshop, teacher discounts are great.

[cuyeda]

What i s a good photo editing software?

To help clarify your needs, what type of editing do you intend to do?

If you want a good photo processing and managing editor, I like ACDSEE Pro. I use it for 90% of my management, and processing. If you want software to manipulate, color, design, etc... there are programs mentioned by others. I use Adobe Photoshop for the creative stuff.

http://www.acdsee.com/

[Ratkity]

Please be careful with ebay software. I tried to go that route to buy a Photoshop 7 so I could upgrade to the new Photoshop 8. It was a hacked software setup. The box was perfect, the disks professional. Everything was included (these Asian counterfeiters are good!). It even had a software key (it was bogus). The software even worked flawlessly. However, I could not upgrade to PS 8. I got my money back, fortunately. The seller said she didn't know it was counterfeit.

I finally got Photoshop Elements 8. It has a great organizer and will process RAW files. The new professional Photoshop has a cool replace and fill for photos and has CMYK drivers for professional printers, but other than that - Elements and Pro are virtually identical for editing and using filters.

Gimp is a good editing program if you want free.

Hugs,
Ratkity