Hello I'm New

[Kameragirl41]

Hello, I'm new to the forum. I wrote a while back and did not see a reply to my post, so I thought I would try again.

My basic questions are, what is a good post production software for a beginner? I'm thinking about Photoshop Elements. Also, after you do all of your post production work, how do you get your photos printed? Do some of you have a really great printer and you do them your self, or do you take them to a Walgreens or upload them online and have them printed and mailed to you? Just wondering how everyone else is doing it....thanks for your input!

[Dangelica]

Im a fan of going the whole hog on PP gear, but it depends on your budget and whether or not you are going to expand a hobby into a consuming passion or more.

I have just about every program Adobe produce on my Mac. I started off years ago playing with a friends copy of Pshop and Illustrator. It led to an awful Adobe addiction that i hope they never find a cure for.

Pshop elements is a good starting point but if you can stretch the budget a little (or if you have a student card for the discount) consider grabbing one of the studio packs with a couple of adobe programs in it.

As for printing. I use a local photolab to get my prints done. Its a more economical way to print what you want. It is however handy to have a photo quality printer for the occasion where you just want to pop off a quick print as a one off. For more expensive prints like Giclee there are great services around that will tell you exactly what they need to make the best of your prints.

Welcome to forum

[EnchantedNM]

Thanks for posting this question Kameragirl and thanks for the response Dangelica! I was wondering this myself....

[wingsabr]

I think that Lightroom is one of the best PP software programs for all levels of expertise. It is relatively easy to use with great results and you can always add to it later with PS. Lightroom Beta 3 is available till end of June or July (can't remember) so you can try it out for free.

[Aegea]

I use Gimp, which is similar to Photoshop, but has the advantage of being free. Since it's freeware it isn't as polished as Photoshop, but I am happy with it.

[Dodge]

I use lightroom as it's so straight forward and I am just too lazy to learn photoshop, so I'd recommend that simply because of its ease of use. Not tried anything else though.......again, too lazy

Welcome to DPS too !