What’s Your Preference?

stephejm · #1 (**permalink**) 05-26-2010, 09:50 PM

im pretty new to the photo editing/processing software game. i would really like to start getting the most out of my photos. especially salvaging photos that have a great setting but have a few blemishes. i hear a lot about lightroom, CS5, elements and many others. i would like to know what software would be best for my needs. if anyone could offer any advice, it would be greatly appreciated!

Wooglah · #2 (**permalink**) 05-26-2010, 10:56 PM

Well, if you are new, and don't know how to use any of them, you could go with GIMP. It's free, open source, and powerful in the right hands. You can combine it with Raw Studio if you use GNU/Linux.

There is Photoshop, which is the ultimate tool, but you probably won't need 90% of it's filters and tools. You can look for Photoshop Elements, but it costs more than Gimp and can do less, but is easier for beginners.

inkista · #3 (**permalink**) 05-26-2010, 11:41 PM

Like buying photography hardware, buying photography software boils down to: what do you plan on using it for, how much can you spend on it, and what platform are you on?

The Gimp is a no-brainer if you're on Linux and a UNIX geek.

Photoshop & Lightroom is a no-brainer if you've got $800 to spend and you're NOT on Linux.

Aperture and iPhoto only work if you're on a Mac.

It all depends.

stephejm · #4 (**permalink**) 05-27-2010, 12:59 AM

well im using a windows based computer. now as far as pices go, i dont believe that im am "serious" enough to part with $800 for software.

dcclark · #5 (**permalink**) 05-27-2010, 01:13 AM

Weird. I thought I'd posted this, and it disappeared...

There are also ports of Gimp to OS X and Windows -- just google for them. I highly recommend them (and use Gimp myself). It's hard to beat the price!

inkista · #6 (**permalink**) 05-27-2010, 06:05 AM

Hopefully it's changed, but back when I first looked at the Gimp, the OSX port required that X11 has been installed. This isn't a default on OSX--it's a developer tool option that most people don't include when they install OSX. For most folks that means digging out their OSX install disks... And the X11 windows interface looks really ugly if you're only used to the usual OSX Aqua GUIs. And the main reason that there's an OSX-specific version of Mathmap is because the Mathmap plugin is apparently harder to port to OSX.

The Gimp, while it's a great tool, is not the same experience on all platforms. As I said, it's a no-brainer on Linux (and usually comes by default on a lot of the distros), and it's pretty darn good on Windows, but on OSX, it was (at least four or so years ago), something less than stellar as a user experience.

Just because there's a port doesn't necessarily mean it's supported identically on all platforms.

@stephejm: nice to know that you're not willing to spend $800, but an actual budget figure would be more helpful. Are you willing to spend $60? $100? $200? $500? It's gotta be free?

And what are the main tasks you want this software for? Workflow tools? Cataloging? Metadata editing? Photo restoration? Basic post-processing? Compositing? Masks and Layers? Noise reduction? Lens correction? What are the features you want the software to have?

Torria · #7 (**permalink**) 05-28-2010, 01:36 PM

I would suggest to start with free, so GIMP or even Picasa should do a great job for a beginner.
Then if you would be interested, you can invest in something more serious.

dcclark · #8 (**permalink**) 05-28-2010, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by inkista

Just because there's a port doesn't necessarily mean it's supported identically on all platforms.

True, but I don't see why this matters... try it on your platform, see if you like it, and call it good!

That said, I do run Gimp in X11, but I don't think you have to. I built my own copy, but there are many different ports out there whose purpose is to make Gimp more Mac-friendly.

inkista · #9 (**permalink**) 05-28-2010, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcclark

True, but I don't see why this matters... try it on your platform, see if you like it, and call it good!

That's true. It's just that you start wondering why everybody else is raving, if you're on, say, Solaris, and the thing won't even compile & run.

Quote:

That said, I do run Gimp in X11, but I don't think you have to. I built my own copy, but there are many different ports out there whose purpose is to make Gimp more Mac-friendly.

Cool! As I said, I was looking at Gimp three or four years ago, and that's an entire epoch, in open source development time. The official Gimp release is still saying that X11 is required for OSX.
---
Addendum. Ah. Found one. Seashore. But it's not a port. It's a based-on-GIMP package. No GIMP plugins.

Gimp.app is still experimental.

jbm1991 · #10 (**permalink**) 06-03-2010, 08:34 PM

I'd download the GIMP personally as has previously been suggested and get familiar with it. Then when you are familiar with it download the Photoshop 30 day free trial and see whether you think its worth the money. The reason I say get familiar with GIMP first is that both the GIMP and Photoshop are very similar in layout, and so by being familiar with GIMP you won't waste as much of your 30 day trial trying to figure out where everything is than you would have done otherwise.

I apologise for the poor grammar and length of that last sentence