Say hi to everyone!

[i3d]

Came across this site when watching CB's (Carey Baker) show and just registered. I do not know anything about image postprocessing software but eager to learn. First of all, my question is, I heard many big names in the air such as pse, ps, lightroom, Aperture, etc... What's the start point for me? A new guy just started playing slrs and wanted to learn some postprocessing skills? What's Pse6? And what differences between Aperture, PS? What's lightroom? There are some basic questions that I want to know. Maybe someone here can help me a bit or at least point me to some tutorials or links so that I can start reading before I fire more silly questions... :)

Thanks!

[NMarti]

A good place to start is the Photoshop Elements User site that has a learning center to give you a taste of what Elements is about and some simple tutorials. If you decide on Elements you should become a subscriber because there are hundreds of tutorials and videos to teach you Elements start to finish. You can go to the site here (http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com). You can always get questions answered here too!

[MazG]

Hi
Photoshop Elements 6 (PSE6) is the cut-down, consumer version of Photoshop (currently in version CS3). It is way cheaper (about $99 vs. $649) but has most of the same functionality, and if you buy the Windows version also comes with a photo organizer program (the Mac version comes with Bridge, the same organizer as Photoshop - which I don't like as much myself).

Aperture is written for the Mac environment and is the only program mentioned that isn't put out by Adobe. It is not as functional as Photoshop and is more akin to Lightroom.

Aperture and Lightroom are designed for photographers only. The edits you make are applied to the whole photo rather than specific areas. Photoshop and Photoshop Elements allow you to make changes to either the whole photo or just parts of the photo (much more flexible in my opinion). However, I have used Lightroom and it is probably easier/faster to edit the bulk of your photos as long as you don't have a problem in a specific area (in which case you can't fix it with those tools).

Funnily enough Lightroom and Aperture are both positioned price wise between PSE6 and Photoshop CS3, but I think PSE6 is the better buy if you can't afford (or don't know whether you need Photoshop CS3).

If you purchase PSE6 and decide to upgrade, you get $100 off Photoshop CS3 (basically getting your money back).

I would suggest downloading a trial version of PSE6, there is a link from this page http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/?promoid=BPDEM

[i3d]

Cool, thank you man! I'll check out the site and start learning... Also can you give me some simple words on those image processing applications? What's the differences and emphasis areas for each? I am sure each will probably need a quite a long to learn, so knowing what they are and what's the strong areas each of them have would be very helpful. Well, if I put in another way to ask, is it ok if I just stick with Element if only what I need is to post process my photos?

[i3d]

Great! Thanks MazG! You just answered my question.

[chestnutmare]

Is it ok if I just stick with Element if only what I need is to post process my photos?Most definitely! I find it amazing how much Elements is capable of doing. Several months ago I was in your shoes and my decision was to go with PSE and subscribe to this site. I haven't regretted it since. The knowledge you glean from the tuts on this site is astounding. And this forum is the best when it comes to help in getting any question you might have answered. Later you might decide to stay with Elements or you might want to move onto another program-then you can take what you've learned with you. It's a win/win situation. All this for $100-you really can't beat it.
Good luck,

[Fernan]

Hi welcome to the forum.

[ljameso1]

Suggest try before you buy. All of these programs have a 30 day trial download. I have elements myself and no plans to shell out for full photoshop-PSE is a very good program.

[i3d]

got it. Thanks for all the tips! Also, btw, I saw people recommending using pen device while doing image editing. Is that much better than using mouse? Should I buy one or its not really helpful for beginners?

[Hankw]

The pen is better. IMHO, But the mouse is OK, I used the mouse for quite awhile before I bought a pen. Some don't like the pen at all and go for a good tracking mouse. On the other hand if you got the bucks to spend, go ahead get the Pen. you can learn to use it along with the programs that you end up with. The pen is used in some other apps as well. I use mine with Excell ( Yes, I still key in numbers) as well. It will however add to the learning curve a bit.

Do a search about Graphic pens on this Forum. Mine is a Graphire 4 and is now quite outdated. but it works for me.

[chestnutmare]

I too use a Graphire and love it. A recommendation I got from someone on another site was to put away the mouse for a good month and only use the pen. A bit frustrating at first but you soon find it very natural.
Enjoy,

[i3d]

Cool I see. Thanks for helping out guys! I feel home here... :)

[Aussie Nan]

I can't add to the answers already given, but did want to say Welcome to the Village.
Toni

[Tina_B]

Welcome to the Elements Village. I think Photoshop elements will work just fine for what ever you have in mind. You will learn to edit your photos like a pro here. Just ask any questions and someone will come with the answer. We are all at various degrees of skill here and help each other out when we get stuck.

[lionsleeps]

I have both PSE6 and PSCS3, and each have their uses. I'm still learning CS3. It's much more involved, and there are things you can do there you just can't do with PSE6. But I still use PSE6 for the majority of my work, because most of my photos don't need TOO much fixing, and PSE6 is more than adequate and it's easier to use. I estimate that I use PSE6 maybe 60% of the time.

*I actually even use PSE4 occasionally, because it has a couple of small items that Adobe took out of PSE6. (Clear emboss text being the one I use most--that's what I usually use for my ©, because while it's visible, it's not intrusive--makes a great watermark ©!) ;)

(If you're listening, Adobe, bring back that clear emboss text filter!)