When should I get Photosmart?

[Sanibelblondie]

I just got a new Canon T1i and am learning all about it. I'm beginning to take decent pictures (in my opinion) and am wondering at what point do people start getting into the photoshop end of it. I know my pics can be so much better if I used it, but just don't know if and when it's appropriate to start a new learning curve. Please advise.

[faeriegodess612]

You can start learning editing software as soon as you feel comfortable doing so. If you want to start out small, download Picasa. Its free from Google. It has simple editing tools, and is great for organizing photos. If you want to try out something more complex without the price tag of Photoshop, try out another free download called Gimp. It works with layers like Photoshop, but everyone says its a bit harder to learn. I had no problems. Or if you want to try before you buy, the Photoshop website will let you try any full version of Photoshop free for 30 days. Then you can purchase a key code after that if you like. You can try as many of them as you want. So, if you like one more than the other, then you can purchase that one.

[Sollie_Nevina]

I use photoscape. It's a free download. It's really simple to use, but has so many features. I used it when first learning to learn about how saturation (for example) works. I highly recommend it, especially for a beginner.

As for when...whenever you want! The sooner the better, I would think.

[Sanibelblondie]

Thanks for the suggestions. Appreciate all the good advice.

[Biomech]

Originally Posted by Sanibelblondie

.... but just don't know if and when it's appropriate to start a new learning curve.

A well placed pun if ever there was. Check out this:
Photoshop tutorial: Tonal range and the Curves tool

[theosus]

Originally Posted by Sanibelblondie

I just got a new Canon T1i and am learning all about it. I'm beginning to take decent pictures (in my opinion) and am wondering at what point do people start getting into the photoshop end of it. I know my pics can be so much better if I used it, but just don't know if and when it's appropriate to start a new learning curve. Please advise.

I played with photoshop long before having a digital camera, but it was just that, playing. Never tried to do any serious learning, it was mostly cut, paste, resize, clone stamp...

We would grab stuff from google images or scan in magazine pictures and mess around with them. It helps if you have an idea where you want the image to go, instead of just messing around. A friend and I for a while would compete over who could make better fake ads for stuff.

[lizhop]

I also entered the Photoshop world long before I ever touch a DSLR. You can start learning whenever you want. Just make sure you are not taking on too much at once. Enjoy photoshop is good fun!!

[douglas]

Agree with "faeriegodess", try playing with Picasa, it's free and is very good. Gimp is free but more difficult to learn. If you are going Photo Shop, I would suggest Element 9...not the full PS There are lots of tutorials available on all these.