Learning PP

[Amanda0102]

I have iPhoto at the moment and all I do is adjust the histogram and saturation.

Am going to take a PS class - soonest availability looks like February.

Curious if anyone could recommend something to get me going prior to then. Should I buy PS and noodle around? Should I try Lightroom and then upgrade? Should I just wait?

Frustrated/impatient and not sure the smartest route to take.

TIA!

[jml79]

I am no expert on the differences between all of the different programs but I use GIMP which is more powerful than I need at this point and comes for the low, low price of free. For raw conversion I use UFRaw again for nothing. Both are available for PC, Mac and Linux. I am told they are comparable to some of the Adobe software.

[RecurrentNerve]

If you can afford it, get Photoshop. If you are a student or teacher, or if you know anyone that is, you can get an education discount of up to 80% - a considerable amount!

If you can't afford the full version, have a look at Photoshop Elements. It's a more basic version but does all the essentials and is much, much cheaper.

Or you can try GIMP, which is free but is a little clunky and does have some operational differences from Ps. If you are going on a Ps class I'd recommend you stick with some version of Ps rather than confusing yourself with GIMP though.

If you've got any questions or want some tips on where to start, this is the place!

[teaking]

Not to start a GIMP vs Photostop war ... theres far too many!! lol most pointless like PS3 vs Xbox360 I would love God of War 3 on my Xbox anyway my point.

If you can get photoshop fair enough, but if its a choice between elements and Gimp im sorry but Gimp offers soo much more for a price of nothing. I can understand the other way round CS or Gimp.

As a Gimp user who follows many Photoshop tutorials I find most of the operations the same theres not that much transition the tool may be under a different menu but its the same tool. In some cases I have found Gimp to be more intuative especialy when applying images, and the grain extract and grain merge modes are brilliant for Hi pass and frequency seperation where in photoshop you have to apply images.

Swings and roundabouts spring to mind I guess my point is why choose elements over Gimp? an interesting debate you can do more with a free product and still follow most if not all photoshop tutorial. Where as with elements you are limiting your self and paying for it.

[Amanda0102]

I have a student ID for the local community college (am taking a simple photography class now), so am thinking/hoping I can get a student discount on PS.

Honestly, PP is really intimidating for me at this stage and I don't want to complicate it w/applications I may not wind up using (Aperture, Lightroom, GIMP).

Sounds like I'm just making an excuse to buy PS, huh?

[RecurrentNerve]

I think you need to be either in full-time education or be an educator to qualify, but do check it out.

No need to be intimidated...no one's holding a gun to your head demanding you get amazing results right away (I hope), and it's really not all that tricky. There are heaps and heaps of tutorials online, and of course there's always DPS, not to mention your training course.

Swings and roundabouts spring to mind I guess my point is why choose elements over Gimp? an interesting debate you can do more with a free product and still follow most if not all photoshop tutorial. Where as with elements you are limiting your self and paying for it.

IMO GIMP has a horrible interface.

[jml79]

Originally Posted by RecurrentNerve

IMO GIMP has a horrible interface.

So change it. There are add-ons for GIMP that are supposed to make it look and feel like PS. Not sure how well they do but you aren't stuck with things out of the box with GIMP.

Anyhow, if you can afford it and are taking formal classes then sure get PS. If you can't afford it GIMP might be better than some of the less expensive options.

[teaking]

Originally Posted by RecurrentNerve

I think you need to be either in full-time education or be an educator to qualify, but do check it out.

No need to be intimidated...no one's holding a gun to your head demanding you get amazing results right away (I hope), and it's really not all that tricky. There are heaps and heaps of tutorials online, and of course there's always DPS, not to mention your training course.



IMO GIMP has a horrible interface.

I hear what your saying I have used numerous programs and sometimes used a different product because I like the way the UI is.

Dont get me wrong I think Gimps UI could be more shiny the preview boxes could be large. I really cant wait for the single window mode to hit an official build either. But the power is there and it is up and beyond that of less expensive options than photoshop.

I think the common theme is if you can get the discount photoshops the best option.

[Amanda0102]

Okay, so now that I'm looking at it - which Photoshop version/package?

A friend is pushing me towards Elements 9. Is that comprehensive enough?

[teaking]

I think the version people are thinking of in this thread is the CS versions of photoshop being cs3, cs4 or the new cs5?

Im sure someone will pop back and confirm that as im not really qualified to answer they have much more experience using photoshop.