fishkid6692
New member
i am thinking about getting photoshop for my mac and i wanted to know it it's worth it. can i improve my pictures that much? what can i do to improve them? easy to use? thanks!
photoshop worth it?
- Thread starter fishkid6692
- Start date
ludnix
New member
Photoshop is absolutely huge, and in my case I felt it was worth the cost (at a student discount price at least). If you haven't downloaded the 30 day trial yet, go for it. It's not an easy program to learn and there are lot of intricate details that take a while to remember, if you're not interested in some of the really technical aspects of editing images it might not be the best option for you. There are a lot of free or at least inexpensive programs that can do simple cropping and adjustment of color levels.
I don't actually use photoshop strictly for photography as much I do for creating images for websites. My avatar to the left was made entirely in photoshop for example.
I don't actually use photoshop strictly for photography as much I do for creating images for websites. My avatar to the left was made entirely in photoshop for example.
woowoodengy
Upgrading my 20gal
i gotta say if you dont know about photoshop and just want to make your pictures better it is deffinatly not worth the cost (if you are buying it =) there are many apps on mac that can make your pics look great and dont need years lol to learn it.
that being said i cant live without it but like stated above its generally for creating stuff rather than making pics look better
that being said i cant live without it but like stated above its generally for creating stuff rather than making pics look better
TitusvileSurfer
New member
Students get GREAT discounts! 
fishkid6692
New member
i was going to get photoshop elements. but should i get photoshop lightroom also? thanks for all the feedback!
Maxxumless
To the Max...
Photoshop is for editing photos (and some creation) while Lightroom is for managing work flows and making adjustments to photos and large groups of photos. Two different needs really - but if I HAD to pick one I would pick Photoshop because with Adobe RAW and Adobe Bridge (both ship with Photoshop) you can automate many processes whereas Lightroom does not, at least not in the sweeping way Photoshop does. You can download each and have a look see.
Some tips I would recommend would be 1) If you or someone in your house is a student (college or primary) you can get a very good deal via an online academic store or college book store. Amazon has the best prices on Lightroom as far as I've seen. 2) You probably would not require Photoshop Extended which has things like 3D tools. Photoshop Standard would be just fine and costs much less. Elements is fine as well, but if I remember it doesn't include the same masking tools as full Photoshop and masking is probably the second reason behind layers as the selling point of Photoshop.
Hope that helps.
fishkid6692
New member
so photoshop elements will do everything i need? honestly if i get it i will have NO clue what to do. what do i "adjust"? exposure? anything else? thanks for all the help everyone!
xtm
Active member
First, let me clear up some confusion:
Photoshop and Lightroom are two different animals. They are NOT designed to compete with each other-- they are designed to complement each other. LR doesn't deal with layers just like PS doesn't deal with cataloguing. Totally apples and oranges.
Given your experience level and what you are trying to do, I honestly believe that Lightroom is all you need. It is an all-in-one package that helps you deal with photos from the moment you import from the camera all the way to uploading the JPG. Lightroom controls are much more intuitive than PS, and pretty straightforward. For instance:
On Lightroom, you can just select the brush tool and tell it what to do (sharpen, exposure, soften, etc) and start "painting on the image". In Photoshop, you have to use "Sharpen" or "Unsharp Mask" while specifying radius, threshold, mask, etc. I think that is a little bit complicated for beginners, whereas with LR, you just pick a tool and apply. Everything is "plain English". For what you are trying to to, Lightroom is more than adequate.
By the way, Lightroom can accomplish what you would normally do with ACR -> Bridge -> Photoshop. Think about it as a non-stop flight as opposed to a flight with 3 stopovers.
sedor
New member
Speaking as a graphic designer Photoshop is probably the most valuable tool on the market. I think for your needs Lightroom would work, but IMO your best bet would be to get Photoshop Elements. Its a watered down version of photoshop and although its a little bit more involved than Lightroom, its a lot more powerful as well. Lightroom is mostly a tool for professional photographers that don't want to spend the time learning all the ins and outs of photoshop.
Make sure you watch alot of video tutorials online on how to do basic things in elements and before you know it you'll be able to do almost anything you can imagine with elements.
Make sure you watch alot of video tutorials online on how to do basic things in elements and before you know it you'll be able to do almost anything you can imagine with elements.
The mistake, and it's been mentioned here already, is that Photoshop (any version) and Lightroom do not compete with each other. They are extremely complimentary. There are things that I do in LR that have no analog in PS and vice versa. It's not a case of LR being "dumbed down" for photographers; they're different tools for different things.
fishkid6692
New member
thanks everyone! i think i'm just going to go with lightroom.
Maxxumless
To the Max...
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15525009#post15525009 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
Sorry but that's false. Not only can you do that in LR, you can do it faster than you can in PS and Bridge.
With Photoshop actions you can do just about anything to photos - things LR in itself cannot. There is far more versatility in PS IMO.
I'm a Aperture guy so maybe I missed something. I was under the impression that LR relied on PS for actions and requires droplets (PS actions). I know there's a post-processing ability and it's pretty strong, but besides the organizational ability of LR, PS can do everything LR can - it just requires more skill to do so.
Sorry - but that's still not true. Sure there's crossover but it's not really a skill thing in as much a time issue. The only thing LR uses from PS is Abode Camera RAW, only it's embedded and not a standalone application.
If I go out and shoot 500 images with a dusty sensor, I can fix all of them 500 in about 10 seconds. (Same thing for white balance.) Try that in PS.
Open an image in PS, make a bunch of edits and close the file. What just happened to your history? It's gone. If you're not using layers there's no way to go back to a previous state. LR history is always available. I can see, and reverse, every edit made to any image. Yes, you can do that with layers but in LR it doesn't take up any additional space.
The web and printing modules are also significantly better than what's available in PS. Don't get me wrong, I still use PS because there are a few things that it does better, primarily selective sharpening, but LR can stand on it's own for most folks.
Cheers
Go to http://www.academicsuperstore.com
You can also buy direct from Adobe by going to their "Education Store" online.
