Photo editing software?

Momto2whosews · Jun 8, 2007

I think we need a little more than the basic MS Photo editor that we currently have, but I need opinions.

I'm no graphic artist but I do have a few years of desktop publishing experience from my old job and I know the Windows environment.

I think Photoshop might be a bit much for us. I have heard that it's difficult to learn all the features and it costs a lot, so why pay the $$ if I'm not going to use all the features?

I was thinking of Microsoft Digital Image Suite but see that it's been discontinued.

I really just need something for photo editing. It would be nice to combine pictures together into one file, add things like frames & filters, etc. I want more than the basic program that we use for cropping and red-eye removal, but I don't need a "professional" grade program either. Just something that's easy to use and not too expensive (under $100 would be great!).

Thoughts?

Jewels · Jun 8, 2007

I use PhotoPlus 6 (its free), I have used Picasa and Corel. I wasn't a huge fan of Picasa but I did like the free trial of Corel.

LuvBug · Jun 8, 2007

I have the MS DIS here at work, its ok but I like paint shop pro better for working with people. Office Max still has it last time I was there. We actually just purchased it in the past couple of months.

You can often times do a 30 day free trail of the editors. I would definitely try before I buy.

southpawboston · Jun 8, 2007

speaking of free trials, there are lots of freeware/shareware editors that are actually pretty decent. i'm not sure if this is made for windows also, but there is a mac program called "graphic converter" that is amazing, and it only costs about $25. you can try it for free...

Morganthe · Jun 8, 2007

We use Roxio photosuite 5 -- that's probably a couple of years off the newest version. If I remember correctly, it was around $40. Easy to use when I do need it, which is rarely

Patriot201 · Jun 8, 2007

Thanks for asking this. I have been wondering the same thing lately... what should I get?

solmama · Jun 8, 2007

Hi, I would recommend Photoshop Elements. It's a more basic version of Photoshop with enough to satisfy someone who is tired of the photo software most cameras come with. My husband uses Photoshop cs2-very difficult for me to use. But at work, we have Elements. Much easier, more user friendly. Elements 5.0 will cost about $80. Good luck!

southpawboston · Jun 8, 2007

solmama said:
Hi, I would recommend Photoshop Elements. It's a more basic version of Photoshop with enough to satisfy someone who is tired of the photo software most cameras come with. My husband uses Photoshop cs2-very difficult for me to use. But at work, we have Elements. Much easier, more user friendly. Elements 5.0 will cost about $80. Good luck!

yes!!! i forgot about that! 80% of photoshop for 20% of the price! :thumbsup: i didn't know they still make current versions of it... i had an ooooooold version of PE years ago... like 1.0 or 2.0...

vonfirmath · Jun 8, 2007

I use Adobe Photoshop elements 4.0 Very easy to use and does everthing I want.

Pawy · Jun 9, 2007

Photoshop is the best..!

Paul

Patriot201 · Jun 9, 2007

Does Photoshop Elements have enough to please most amateur photographers?? Maybe that would be a good one for me to check out.

solmama · Jun 9, 2007

I think so. The fellow I work with is someone I'd consider an amateur photographer, and he uses Elements. He's also pretty tech savvy and still likes it. I guess it depends on your desires. For a product review and feature list, go to: http://photo-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/photoshop-elements-review.html

Have fun!

Patriot201 · Jun 9, 2007

Thanks, Solmama!!

Jewels · Jun 9, 2007

I think you should be able to download a free trial of the Photoshop elements so that you can try it if you want.

vonfirmath · Jun 9, 2007

Patriot20171 said:
Does Photoshop Elements have enough to please most amateur photographers?? Maybe that would be a good one for me to check out.

Well. I bought it to fix up scans of antique photographs, then used the photographs to make a calendar (in Word) for our family's 100th Reunion. And everyone was very pleased how it came out.

so I'd say its fine.

Patriot201 · Jun 9, 2007

I just bought it!!!!

I can't wait to play with it!!!

Thanks for your help, guys!

Momto2whosews · Jun 9, 2007

My mom has Photoshop Elements. We both have Photoshop Album and when she installed Elements it changed the way Album works. She isn't able to view her pictures the way she used to and pics get saved in wierd places and she can't find them later. When she originally installed it (with album already installed) it must have overwritten the first version of Album (not the free one either) and she lost a bunch of pictures that were previously on her hard drive.

I like the features, but I don't want to give up what I have with Album, it has all of our pictures cataloged and taged.

solmama · Jun 9, 2007

Oh, that's too bad, that's happened to my mom too. I've decided that I don't like ALL my pics on a computer. Kind of scary. I'm even considering going back to film!! Anyway, you can burn pics to a DVD-/+R before installing any new program. DVD's hold a lot more info than CD-R's. You may want to ask a question to a more tech savvy forum about what to do when installing a new photo-editing program. Perhaps, upon installation, you can put what your preferences are so as not to lose pics. Sorry if this is too wordy. Have a good weekend!

southpawboston · Jun 9, 2007

solmama said:
I've decided that I don't like ALL my pics on a computer. Kind of scary. I'm even considering going back to film!! Anyway, you can burn pics to a DVD-/+R before installing any new program. DVD's hold a lot more info than CD-R's.

it's actually a very good rule in general, to ALWAYS have a recent backup of all your photos on either CD-R or DVD-R... regardless of whether or not you're installing new software. you never know if and when your hard drive will crash, causing you to lose all your pics.

all our digital pics fit on 2 DVDs... we back up every month.

ignora · Jun 10, 2007

Ok... dumb question maybe. Can you use a dvd-r to store your pics even if you only have a cd writer? Or, do you have to have a dvd writer?

Photo editing software?

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