Editing software

In an earlier thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=365520

several people suggested software to edit digital pictures.

It really wasn't part of the question, but I think it deserves some more detail. What are your thoughts on the various software programs out there?

I use Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006 and really like what it offers. I can do the usual cropping, rotating, etc. But I can also eliminate part of the picture, clone sections, paint the same color, and lots more. Here is a small example. Before and after:

PS. This happens to be my summer home: Lair of the Bear.

I use Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006 and really like what it offers. I can do the usual cropping, rotating, etc. But I can also eliminate part of the picture, clone sections, paint the same color, and lots more.

I think something like that is good for the very basic editing stuff, and for beginners who don't know as much about digital editing, or who aren't interested in learning something a bit more complex but with tons more power.

But once you get interested in photo editing, and have begun to see the fun and power of things like cloning, levels, color dropping, etc., you should seriously consider moving up to a more serious photo editing system. MS Digital Image Suite 2006 is quite basic, and missing hundreds of features and abilities that Adobe's Photoshop or Corel's Paint Shop Pro can offer...the difference is night and day.

I've been using Jasc (now Corel) Paint Shop Pro 8 (now they are up to 10) for 3 years...and have several plug ins that work with it to exppand my workflow. It is a fantastic editing system, tons of power and ability, and quite reasonably priced (same as the MS system, I believe).

Scripts, Plugins, tubes, unlimited layers, masking, multiple selection tools, hundreds of brushes, levels, curves, histogram stretch, gridlining, distortion palette, deformation grid (with 4 selectable modes), perspective correction, multiple lens corrections, motion blur and focus corrections, 3 forms of sharpening (high-pass, USM, and standard), two kinds of noise reduction, contrast masking - I could go on and on...all of them have proved priceless to have in doing detailed photo editing.

A sample shot - bad day, post-hurricane Key West...I loved the row houses, and decided to take the shot, despite the ugly sky, tourist walking in the shot, and ugly power lines stretching to the houses. Due to the bad lighting, I had to overexpose the sky a bit, and that resulted in purple fringing and chromic abberation along the lamp, and color bleed on the pink house in the white posts. And, the perspective was askew due to my long lens shooting wide:

All of those issues corrected, and I get a usable, printable shot of the row houses I wanted:

I think because this is a cruise forum, you'll find alot of people are amateurs with photography and with editing...so they may do better with recommendations for more simple systems that can make a few quick fixes with the least fuss. Those of us who are enthusiasts always want to recommend the top-of-the-line system...but not everybody is looking for the most features. You've moved to a mid-level editing system, and by the look of it are starting to get more enthusiastic about photo editing...for someone like you, I'd recommend considering a move up to the more advanced editing software that can do even more!

I use PhotoShop Elements 4 and like it very much. I allows you to do most of the things that PhotoShop has but at a much lower price. If I were a professional photographer I would probably go with the full blown PhotoShop but then I would have clients who would be paying for the software. I haven't found anything that I wanted to do that I couldn't do with PE4 except make a blurry picture sharp and PhotoShop can't do that either.:rolleyes:

If you are a real novice and want something easy, cheap, and good then try Picasa. It is free at the Google website. You can't remove things because there is no clone tool but it does a good job of correcting improperly exposed pix as long as they aren't too far off. There are also some interesting effects. It also has a nice organizer and a very attractive interface. Once you get comfortable with a program such as Picasa you will probably find that you will want to upgrade to a more sophisticated program like PE4 or Paintshop Pro.

I live by Photoshop CS2, nothing compares IMHO. :cool:

I will check into the programs you mention above. The results you show are very impressive. I wonder if there is a price comparison somewhere. Is it hard to learn the details of these more sophisticated programs?

As a amatuer (not a beginnere) photographer I enjoy shooting pictures of people, scenery and general subjects like most of us. I also enjoy seeing the artistics compositions others have an eye for. However, being who I am, I will only dabble in making minor adjustments of the pictures I take. They are not intended for publication other than on my web site.

But who knows? As I learn more, I might want more. So thanks again for your replies.

I wonder if there is a price comparison somewhere. Is it hard to learn the details of these more sophisticated programs?

These programs have a range of prices. If found these prices at Amazon.com which has good prices on software. Adobe PhotoShop CS2 costs $590. It is a professional program which probably the majority of professional photographers use. PaintShop Pro X and Adobe PhotoShop Elements 4 both cost about $80. I bought PE4 at Costco for the same price. Picasa is free online at the Google website.

Generally the more expensive the program the steeper the learning curve. Picasa is easy but you are limited in what you can do. PE4 is more difficult and to really use the program effectively you would need to purchase 3rd party books because the manual that comes with the program is extremely limited. However, there are great books available for the program. PhotoShop CS2 is more complex than the others and therefore has an even steeper learning curve. You would also need 3rd party books to get full use from the program.

My personal opinion: I would not invest in PhotoShop CS2 unless I were a professional because it is so expensive. PE4 does a great job and it does it the way PhotoShop does it. The program just lacks some of the commands that CS2 has. I really like PE4 and I have used the program since it first came out several years ago. It is a very powerful program. I think many pros belittle the program because "since it is so much cheaper, it couldn't possibly be any good.":rolleyes:

Thanks for a good comparison. I had a feeling that the Pro versions maybe a bit out off my price and skill range for now. Maybe it is fair to classify digital editing as:

1. Novice: -- simple cropping, rotating, exposure adjustments, etc.

2. Intermediate -- enhancement including cloning, painting, color adjustments, etc

3. Advanced -- all of the above on a professional level???

I like your pictures, especially some of the shots in Alaska. Brrrrrr, but whoooow! They are the kind of "cruise" or vacation shots I take as well.

In case you want to see a typical series of mine go to our web site http://www.*****.com/sunrise.htm

Lair Bear,

I have looked at your pictures before and they are beautiful. Of course, you had wonderful subject matter for your pix. :rolleyes: At one time I said that Alaska was so beautiful that you can't take a bad picture there but I was wrong. I have seen some pictures that entirely missed the beauty. Of course, most pictures can't really show what a place is like. You have to experience it and you can't do that with pictures or words. They serve as great reminders though.

If you want to take a step up form your current editor I highly recommend PE4. It also has a very good photo organizer.

Thanks for a good comparison. I had a feeling that the Pro versions maybe a bit out off my price and skill range for now. Maybe it is fair to classify digital editing as:

1. Novice: -- simple cropping, rotating, exposure adjustments, etc.

2. Intermediate -- enhancement including cloning, painting, color adjustments, etc

3. Advanced -- all of the above on a professional level???

I would say that's pretty close - I'd tweak your summary a bit, as follows:

1. Novice: -- simple cropping, rotating, exposure adjustments, color adjustments, sharpening, resizing.

2. Intermediate -- enhancement including cloning, painting, layers, blending, masking, noise reduction, UnSharp Mask (sharpening), levels and curves (it sounds fancy, but most of these are fairly easy to learn).

3. Advanced -- all of the above, plus highpass sharpening, dynamic range stacking, focal alignments, distortion adjustments, and a much more detailed knowledge of all the things in intermediate, including more advanced tools within each function.

Photoshop Elements is an intermediate level program. It also has add-on plug-ins available to make it more functional as you get more advanced. Paitn Shop Pro X is a high-end intermediate program - it has more built-in features than Elements, but a similar layout and interface. There are probably some features that an intermediate user wouldn't be able to understand, but could just use the tools they can master and ignore those they haven't leanred yet. Photoshop CS isn't that much harder to use than Elements, but has many many more buttons and options that intermediate users wouldn't know what to do with or would just ignore.

The great thing about most of these is that they have some very simple and basic fix-em-up functions which are automatic, and require no input. So you can charge right into one of these programs without too much fear that you'll be stuck with some advanced program you'll never learn to use. As you have the time, or get more brave, you can start learning how some of the more advanced tools work, and go online to the many instructionals and message boards for both Photoshop and Paint Shop to find tutorials and suggestions.

Both PS Elements and PSP X will be good intermediate level programs. With the prices basically the same, I find that PSP X gives you more for the money, since it does incorporate most of the advanced capabilities of Photoshop CS2, at a price that compares to the stripped-down Elements. I've had both Elements and PSP8...and I use PSP8 more than Elements mostly because it does have more advanced features...enough so that I haven't really felt the need to move into Photoshop CS2 (yet!).

Good luck - you can't go wrong with either one.