Must Have Feature of Photoshop?
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This is a very good question. Now that I have lightroom, I hardly use PS at all. The key functions are all there. The things you need from PS are the ability to use layers and filters. Elements has these features but with less functionality. I don't think you can justify the expense unless you really get these differences or you are planning to invest a lot of time (and money) getting to grips with the finer points of PS.
If you read the photomags and follow their tutorials, you will get some good results, but it takes HOURS per photo. I prefer a quick workflow that gives me nice piccies but gets me away from the computer ASAP. Lightroom is great for this. It also helps that I came from film and prefer natural pics (mostly) so don't go in for the really clever PS stuff like HDR etc.
If you read the photomags and follow their tutorials, you will get some good results, but it takes HOURS per photo. I prefer a quick workflow that gives me nice piccies but gets me away from the computer ASAP. Lightroom is great for this. It also helps that I came from film and prefer natural pics (mostly) so don't go in for the really clever PS stuff like HDR etc.
There isn't a must-have feature, there's a collection of must-have features. However you really need to be using them to justify the outlaw of the full package. A less expensive option is the cut down Elements package which is fine for most users.
Lightroom is fantastic but it is a different type of program to Photoshop and does a different job. Lightroom is aimed at digital Photographers only and is a work flow solution. Processing photos in Lightroom is much quicker than in Photoshop.
Photoshop is an artists tool as much as it is a photographers. The possibilities of manipulation are endless right down to a single pixel at a time if you wish. There are all kinds of tools available such as layer masks, smart filters, HDR, the list really goes on and on.
If you want to lovingly work on individual shots either to correct them or create a whole new picture out of them then Photoshop is the king of bitmap image manipulation software (and Illustrator rules for vector imaging).
Follow the link for a list of some of Photoshop's top features
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/photoshop/features/?view=topoverall
Lightroom is fantastic but it is a different type of program to Photoshop and does a different job. Lightroom is aimed at digital Photographers only and is a work flow solution. Processing photos in Lightroom is much quicker than in Photoshop.
Photoshop is an artists tool as much as it is a photographers. The possibilities of manipulation are endless right down to a single pixel at a time if you wish. There are all kinds of tools available such as layer masks, smart filters, HDR, the list really goes on and on.
If you want to lovingly work on individual shots either to correct them or create a whole new picture out of them then Photoshop is the king of bitmap image manipulation software (and Illustrator rules for vector imaging).
Follow the link for a list of some of Photoshop's top features
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/photoshop/features/?view=topoverall
N
nbroadsman
Guest
You could always use the Open Source GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) software instead which is absolutely free and works in Windows and Linux and has many of the features of Photoshop.
I use it at home and at work (both the Windows and Linux versions) and find it works well and has all the features I actually use/need. There is a bit of a learning curve to get to understand it but it is well worth mastering.
Take a look here http://www.gimp.org
and you can download the Windows installer version here.
http://www.gimp.org/windows/
You have nothing to lose by downloading it and trying it out. If you like it it may just save you some valuable kit money, If you don't like it just bin it!
Regards,
I use it at home and at work (both the Windows and Linux versions) and find it works well and has all the features I actually use/need. There is a bit of a learning curve to get to understand it but it is well worth mastering.
Take a look here http://www.gimp.org
and you can download the Windows installer version here.
http://www.gimp.org/windows/
You have nothing to lose by downloading it and trying it out. If you like it it may just save you some valuable kit money, If you don't like it just bin it!
Regards,
There's a Photoshop 'feelalike' version of Gimp called 'Gimpshop', for those that feel more at home with PS.
Jim
Jim
I started off with Paint Shop Pro and liked it a lot, but as my photography improved I kept on hitting the sides of the box.
It was good enough for most things but couldn't quite do this.... or that......
Eventually I started to realise that for the best results I needed to edit in 16 bits and back then PSP just didn't support that, so I had to make the swap to Photoshop and I hated it at first. It all seemed so complicated compared to PSP.
A few years further on I wouldn't go back for any reason, once you get your head around it, it is a superb program and if it's set up right it can be very fast to use.
I've never used Elements but I believe it does most of what Photoshop does. Possibly most important though is that the step up from Elements to Photoshop is much easier than from other programs because it works in similar ways.
I guess you just have to ask yourself how far you might want to take your photography in the future?
It was good enough for most things but couldn't quite do this.... or that......
Eventually I started to realise that for the best results I needed to edit in 16 bits and back then PSP just didn't support that, so I had to make the swap to Photoshop and I hated it at first. It all seemed so complicated compared to PSP.
A few years further on I wouldn't go back for any reason, once you get your head around it, it is a superb program and if it's set up right it can be very fast to use.
I've never used Elements but I believe it does most of what Photoshop does. Possibly most important though is that the step up from Elements to Photoshop is much easier than from other programs because it works in similar ways.
I guess you just have to ask yourself how far you might want to take your photography in the future?
I would have a look at Picture Window Pro http://www.dl-c.com/
Written by photographer and original programmer of Lotus 123. Introduced many feature in advance of Photoshop, and if you search through the help forums you will find comparisons between Photoshop and Picture Window from people who use both.
The only reason I can see for normal photographer to use Photoshop over Picture Window Pro is that the books and tutorials for Photoshop make it much easier to learn and appreciate what it can do.
It seems that if you produce files used directly in printing industry you need to be able to produce digital files with precisely matched colour profiles (I've forgotten what they are called), which Picture Window cannot do, but is irrellevant to all but a minority.
I now fnd that LightRoom, with a minimal amount of tweaking gives me more than satisfactory images. But in the days when I was professional photographer, I would have wanted something like Picture Window Pro, or Photoshop. Probably Photoshop, but just because it is the industry standard, not because its any better than Picture Window Pro. Indeed, I stopped using Photoshop, once I had Picture Window Pro.
Graham
Written by photographer and original programmer of Lotus 123. Introduced many feature in advance of Photoshop, and if you search through the help forums you will find comparisons between Photoshop and Picture Window from people who use both.
The only reason I can see for normal photographer to use Photoshop over Picture Window Pro is that the books and tutorials for Photoshop make it much easier to learn and appreciate what it can do.
It seems that if you produce files used directly in printing industry you need to be able to produce digital files with precisely matched colour profiles (I've forgotten what they are called), which Picture Window cannot do, but is irrellevant to all but a minority.
I now fnd that LightRoom, with a minimal amount of tweaking gives me more than satisfactory images. But in the days when I was professional photographer, I would have wanted something like Picture Window Pro, or Photoshop. Probably Photoshop, but just because it is the industry standard, not because its any better than Picture Window Pro. Indeed, I stopped using Photoshop, once I had Picture Window Pro.
Graham
The fact that Photoshop is the industry standard means it would get my vote.
There are thousands of tutorials, plugins, actions etc available. There's a great colour-correct action that Cobweb posted which makes my snapshots look so much more vibrant, for example.
Chances are that anything you want to achieve in Photoshop has been done by someone somewhere, and there'll be a post online showing you how.
There are thousands of tutorials, plugins, actions etc available. There's a great colour-correct action that Cobweb posted which makes my snapshots look so much more vibrant, for example.
Chances are that anything you want to achieve in Photoshop has been done by someone somewhere, and there'll be a post online showing you how.
Matthew.Passmore
Settler
Download the 30 day trial of photoshop form adobe.com and try it out ;-)
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop&promoid=EBYEU&loc=en
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop&promoid=EBYEU&loc=en
Thanks guys.
Most of the above is way over my my head I'm afraid but then I only figured out last weekend, by chance, how to add more contrast to an over-burnt sky and not darken the under exposed sections too! I honestly thought the only option available was to increase or decrease the whole picture
"Elements" came with my camera so guess I should first get to grips with what can be done with this wee box of tricks. Then there are all those RAW files I've yet to open and .....................
Thanks again and I note the point that the answer to most questions will be found on this site.:You_Rock_
Cheers
Most of the above is way over my my head I'm afraid but then I only figured out last weekend, by chance, how to add more contrast to an over-burnt sky and not darken the under exposed sections too! I honestly thought the only option available was to increase or decrease the whole picture
"Elements" came with my camera so guess I should first get to grips with what can be done with this wee box of tricks. Then there are all those RAW files I've yet to open and .....................
Thanks again and I note the point that the answer to most questions will be found on this site.:You_Rock_
Cheers
If you are anything like me you'll be fine with elements for a year or two at least.
It's a pretty capable program.
It's a pretty capable program.
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