What photoshop to buy?

[frickenfragger]

So I have been looking at the different photshop products. I just got a Nikon D3100 and the editing software that comes with it is pretty bad. I would like to do some basic photo editing, but would also like to mess with some of the mirroring and stacking I have seen. It looks like CS5 Extended and Lightroom 3 are made to be used in conjunction. I am finishing my degree so I can get both these for $250. Do I need both or just lightroom or just CS5? Also I have very little editing experience. Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[cparka23]

I'm not a lightroom user nor have I tried stacking, but I think it's better to get Photoshop if you're planning to attempt that kind of photography.

From what I've seen of Lightroom, it's more intuitive and useful for photo touch-up (color balancing, contrast, batch processing of multiple files). You can reproduce the same effects in Photoshop as well, but it's more of a nuts and bolts approach to get the same effect (read: high learning curve). But while Lightroom makes things easier with sliders, I'm not sure if you can do stacking in lightroom. Perhaps a seasoned Lr user can fill in the blank for us on that one.

 

[frickenfragger]

Thanks for the response...so CS5 will be harder to figure out?

 

[cparka23]

I feel that Photoshop is harder to learn because there are more tools at your disposal. Lightroom is more photo touch-up software, while Photoshop is built for any type of graphic design and allows for more creative ability. For instance, you could put together a movie poster or a print advertisement in Photoshop that you couldn't do in Lightroom. And while Photoshop can also do anything Lightroom does, it doesn't do it as intuitively. But if you're going to do something that requires advanced photo retouching and rendering of effects, CS5 is the way to go. It seems to me that photostacking is something that falls into this category, so I'd recommend Photoshop.

The good news is that there are tons of step-by-step guides and video tutorials specifically for Photoshop. PhotoshopUserTv is a video podcast that has been running for a few years and has the best production quality. I'd watch an episode or two to get a feel for what goes into photo editing. Some of their episodes also have demonstrations with Lightroom, so it might help you to see what Lightroom can do, too.

 

[m and m]

Get your CS5 extended its alot better and only 200. Also its easy to learn there are membrs on here that could help and then youtube has many videos.

 

[rangerbobb]

I think both are good and cover different roles. Lightroom can do what you want most of the time quick and easy. It is pretty powerful in its own right too. It is really good at managing the thousands of photos you will accumulate with your new (and old cameras) and letting you keyword them and filter them in various ways. I can search through my photos and find specific subjects like sunrise & beach. Photoshop has been mentioned already.

 

[frickenfragger]

Thanks for all the great info. I will watch some of the demos...also I downloaded the lightroom 3 demo and can download the CS5 demo as well...I think I will get both like rangerbobb said, since I can get both for 249, with the student discount that is kind of hard to pass up.

 

[Viva'sReef]

Photoshop in CS5 is essential for what your trying to do. It is made for retouching photo's and creating complex images/art. If your pumped about photography, and really want to get into it, you need photoshop for sure, lightroom is a great add on to photoshop if your processing multiple photo's etc and is a nice tool.

Photoshop shouldn't be used for creating print ad's, or posters etc. btw. Everytime I receive an ad for print created in photoshop, I want to throw up all over my screen. That stuff should be created in Indesign/pagemaker

 

[cparka23]

Viva: You're talking about using vector graphics in order to scale things for large print, right?

I should have said that Photoshop can create a 'look' that can't be done with LR. Photoshop has more tools to create shapes, paths, type layers, composite effects, etc. LR, from what I've seen, is more limited to adjustment layers and layer masks. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[returnofsid]

Cs5 is going to allow you to do A LOT more than "basic editing!" If you're really only interested in "basic editing," I'd suggest picking from the many free online options. If you want to purchase a Photo Shop product, for "basic editing," I'd suggest Photo Shop Elements. Elements will allow you to do most of the things that CS will do, including some pretty advanced stuff, at a fraction of the price.

 

[frickenfragger]

Ok, now I am really confused. I have been playing with them a little last night and CS5 is a touch confusing (I have not watched the tutorials yet)...However Lightroom was very easy to adjust white balance and get the picture to look like it does with your eye. I just don't want to spend the money on Elements and then be mad I didn't get the full thing for a little more than double.

 

[Viva'sReef]

Viva: You're talking about using vector graphics in order to scale things for large print, right?

I should have said that Photoshop can create a 'look' that can't be done with LR. Photoshop has more tools to create shapes, paths, type layers, composite effects, etc. LR, from what I've seen, is more limited to adjustment layers and layer masks. Thanks for clearing that up.

@Cparka - Yes and NO - The YES- Vector IS preferred for scaling line art images in large print. The NO - Ads, brochures, catalogs, Menu's, publications etc, the layout should ALWAYS be created in a layout program such as InDesign/Pagemaker. It really has nothing to do with what the OP is talking about LOL but it set me off when you said you can create a print ad. Yes you could, but its not optimal and will drive your printer's graphics dept crazy LOL

 

[returnofsid]

Unless you're doing professional photography or editing for publications, Elements will offer you everything you need. However, you can actually download free trial versions, of both. Download Elements and play around with it. The trial version is a full version, limited to 30 days of use, I believe. I actually have Elements and Cs5. However, I rarely use Cs5. Then again, I rarely do any photo editing, other than cropping. I'm going to shooting a lot more, in RAW, in the near future, so will be getting more into editing. I also need to learn more about photo editing, so the above mentioned video tutorials may come in very handy!!

 

[Sea MunnKey]

Photoshop all the way!!

Paul

 

[WWC]

If you can get both for $250 then it's a no brainer. GET BOTH!!!

 

[frickenfragger]

I actually ended up getting Creative Suite 5 (comes with photoshop cs5 extended) and Lightroom 3. On amazon for the student price was 350 for cs5 and 80 for lr3. This is like 2000 regualr price so I couldn't pass up that kind of a deal.

 

[cparka23]

I hesitate to critique your reasoning for that purchase, but someone reading this thread in the future may want to know.

None of the Adobe products outside of Photoshop and Lightroom will be useful for editing photos. Even then, if you know Photoshop and don't mind a few extra steps, Lightroom is redundant. The organization, filtering, and metadata tagging that Lightroom does so well can also be done in Adobe Bridge, which is a free download with Photoshop CS5 or Photoshop CS5 Extended.

If you're interested in flash development, need to create PDFs or webpages, then that's a different story. Otherwise, this sounds like a splurge purchase. Let me explain what I can, and someone with more insight may add on to this. v v v

 

[Dave3112]

I have elements and it does all I want it to do. It is also pretty basic to use. I shoot ALL of my photos in JPEG and RAW modes. RAW mode allows for the best full editing. JPEG you can only partially adjust. Or at least I can only partially adjust. LOL. But RAW I can type in the color temp. of my lights and my pictures look exactly like what I see in my tank.

 

[cparka23]

Photoshop is good for working on images, but it uses raster graphics, also called a bitmap. This means everything on the screen is just a grid of pixels, which works fine for most of us. But if you've got to make big prints or zoom in really closely, you start to see jagged edges on all your curves once those pixels get large. That's why vector graphics are useful.

Vector graphics basically draw everything with mathematical formulas. So when you zoom in at 500%, the computer will redraw your lines and curves instead of just zooming in on the pixels. Adobe Illustrator is a program specifically for creating vector graphics. If you don't work with vector graphics, there is almost no reason that you'd use Illustrator with Photoshop.

I am not in the design field, but I did have Illustrator CS3. It's useless for someone like me because I never need to create vector artwork. So it's not like you're getting such a great deal by purchasing a design suite. There are a lot of good tools there, but it's a total waste if you'll never use it. Creating PDFs can be more common, but most of the programs are pretty useless for amateur photographers like you and me.

 

[Reggie]

When you start working with hundreds or thousands of RAW files at a time then you'll appreciate Lightroom. For example, in Lightroom, you can select a batch of images taken in the same location and lighting and correct white balance or rotation based on the the changes you've done of one image. Sure you can apply a Photoshop action to a batch of images using Bridge, but it's just not that dynamic. Of course, if you need to be more granular with the editing, you can open the image in Photoshop from Lightroom.

When you are working with numerous projects/shoots, you'll appreciate Lightroom.