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Looking for photo editing software

7 years ago

DD just had twins and the photos are flowing! DSIL has a terrific digital camera with good lenses. I'm looking for editing software to do things like smooth skin tones, blur backgrounds, change color intensity, etc.

I looked at buying Photoshop only to learn that it is now a monthly/annual fee service. I know me. I'm highly interested right now, but my interest is likely to wane. I don't want to be locked into a monthly payment.

I looked on eBay and found some Photoshop packages for sale. I'm skittish about that because I'm not sure it is legal or ethical.

Several years ago, I got fairly adept at using Picnick, only to have it shut down!

What would you recommend for a hobbyist? (sometimes the terms like "layers" baffle, although I finally learned what "Bokeh" meant, so it would be helpful if there were online tutorials)

Featured Answer

cacocobird

7 years ago

Photoshop Elements is excellent. It has most of the basic Photoshop advantages.

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Comments (7)

User
7 years ago
caco has good recommendation.

As Photoshop Element is such a popular software, you could find many users, and it is unlikely the company would be out of business in the foreseeable future.

Costco or Amazon have good price on the software.

You could also take a Photoshop Element class at your local community college through online or in person. I took one years ago, and am planning to register for the spring session to learn about updates in the current version.

The course is still very affordable, it offers structured learning, and you will have a instructor and classmates to help you with questions, tips & tricks.
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yeah, i knew that was a great price. and i also knew she was wanting it, so i grabbed the last copy & she repaid me. i didn't even realize that elements had add ons you could buy. there are tons of plug ins made for regular ps- i guess i never thought about the fact that they could work with elements, too. i don't know if you can change brush tips in elements, but if you are a halfway serious user, go to adobe's website and look through the user forums. people make all these neat actions, tips and brushes and you can download them for free. i've gotten some indispensible stuff on there i use every day in cs2. i'm not as familiar withelements, because i only use it when i'm at mom's 3 states away from home and have no other way to edit/look at my digi pix from when we're there. at home i use cs2, all the way. i was really impressed with how much elements has in it for a fraction of the price. and, i assume they've had some updates since the version i gave mom that came with my camera.
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Are you on Mac or Windows? I use iPhoto for almost of my editing - it does just about everything that needs doing: cropping, levels, effects, etc. Also what kind of camera are you using? My Nikon Coolpix can do a number of those things right in the camera. Oh hhah - just noticed the date of the OP - imagine the class is over now... This post was edited by carolb_w_fl on Sun, Jan 25, 15 at 10:43
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I use photoshop. I don't know if photoshop elements has this option. I recommend making a copy of your file, then working off the copy. First, convert the copy of your photo to grayscale: Open the copy of the image, then select IMAGE, then MODE, then GRAYSCALE Doing that will then activate the DUOTONE option. Re-select IMAGE, then MODE again, but this time choose DUOTONE. When the window opens up, it'll have two basic selections: PRESET which will have "Custom" in the window, and TYPE which will have "monotone" in the window. You can select "Monotone", "Duotone", "Tritone", or "Quadtone" as your type. That controls how many levels of additional color (1, 2, 3, or 4) you want to add to your grayscale photo. Under "preset" you can select from numerous types of preloaded toning combinations. The name implies the type of tone it will impart to your grayscale photo. For a "chocolate" look, you might want to take a look at "brown 464 bl 1" or something in that group. You can also tweak the tones to your liking. Best, Mongo
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Here's an example of the sort of thing that can be done with it. In the first picture, choosing to give the sky reasonable lighting ended up darkening the barn to the point where the image was delete-worthy. But Silver Efex Pro not only salvaged it, but created a dramatic image that I like a lot. Other than color removal, the only change was to the lighting.
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bbstx
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks all. For Christmas, I ended up buying my SIL a one year subscription to the online Adobe Photography Package. It includes Photoshop, Lightroom, and Lightroom mobile (or something like that). If he likes it and learns to use it, he can do all the editing. And, I can keep renewing his subscription every year for his Christmas present!
Elizabeth
7 years ago
Paint Shop Pro. A one time purchase and all the features of Photoshop.
bbstx thanked Elizabeth
User
7 years ago
GIMP
bbstx thanked User
groundbeef1
6 years ago
Get lightroom 6. It was the last one sold by Adobe that doesn't require a subscription. Unless your SIL is a professional photographer (in which case she should be getting the subscription for a tax writeoff) Lightroom will more than suffice.
bbstx thanked groundbeef1
bbstx
Original Author
6 years ago
gb, thanks for your thoughts. My question was from nearly a year ago. I ended up paying for a subscription to Photoshop for my son-in-law.

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