Photoshop for beginners...

[E.intheC]

My wife just bought me a new Canon T3i for my birthday (turning 30 does have its advantages...lol).

Anyway, I'm having fun learning about the different modes, ISO settings, aperture, etc, and taking pictures, but at some point I'm going to need to try my hand at post-processing. I'm looking at Photoshop, but I'm confused regarding which version to buy, or if the free trial is worth it.

Photoshop Elements 11 is at the top of the list for now (and is about $70). Considering I'm a complete, 100% noob with cameras and Photoshop (or similar programs), is this a solid decision? Are there other programs that are a better choice for beginners?

Thanks for the help!

 

[jorda9095]

I'm not sure if any actually buys photoshop besides businesses and professional users. i've never used photoshop elements but any of the adobe programs will probably be tough for a beginner. they are a lot more complex and 10000 times better than MS paint. the best way to learn is to take a picture and play around with it for hours and go through all of the tools. after that you will know about 2% of the program you can do so much with it and after years of using it i barely know how to use all of its features. there are tutorials online as well. some geared specifically for coral photography.
i found this thread which has a link to a lot of good info
http://www.*********.com/forums/pho...res-your-corals-camera-settings-tutorial.html

 

[Misled]

Elements is good. I still use an old copy, 9 I think. It will help clean up shots, adjust white balance, exposer, tint, sharpness and lots of other things. It's not that hard to learn. There are tutorials that are only available through the software. It is cheap for what you can do with it.

 

[plantastic]

I'm with Misled...I also am using version 9.

It is a great tool for fixing things in post production...it is also a compatible host for various plug-ins...like The NIK softwares, which I also use. (Does not do HDR...it is the only NIK plug-in Elements does not host)

Alot of people recommend Adobe Lightroom, but I have not played with that one at all...been really satisfied with the Elements & NIK plug-ins combo.

 

[NTP66]

Elements probably has everything you need, minus stuff like the healing tools, etc. Even though I'm a Photoshop CS6 user, I'd recommend Elements over it for stuff like this.

OTOH, I think you should also look at Lightroom, too. Download trials of both and see which you like more. Lightroom is probably easier to use than Elements.

 

[E.intheC]

Thanks for the help everyone. I think I'm going to try the trial versions first and see which one I like best.

It's so much fun taking pictures. I can't believe I went so long without buying a real camera.

On a side note.. I took a few pictures of my anthias and some acans, and it has completely reinvigorated my interest in keeping a reef tank. Good stuff

 

[IslandCrow]

Definitely dedicate some time to each of those programs when you try out the trials. Both can be initially intimidating, but once you get a handle on them, I think you'll be very impressed by them both. I currently use both Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 4, but I used Photoshop Elements for many years as well. I actually found Lightroom the toughest to learn, even though it's probably the simplest to use. It just uses a different methodology from what people are generally used to, so you have to get your mind wrapped around that first, before you can give it a fair shake.

Anyway, all of those programs are excellent. Lightroom is primarily an image organizer, but it has evolved into an extremely powerful image editor as well. If I absolutely had to choose just one program, though, I'd have to go with Photoshop (CS or Elements). On the other hand, having both, I find myself using Lightroom 90% of the time just because I can process photos much quicker with Lightroom. There are occasionally times I need more than what Lightroom has to offer, though.