Photo Editing

DanMojo82

DanMojo82

New member
My special lady friend just got a new Nikon D3200 for her to try and take her photography hobby to the next level. I want to get her some editing software to help her out. So what I would like to know is what would be a good starter program for her. I am not an avid photographer and really only know of photoshop from my high school days. I would hate to shell out a grand for a program that she wouldn't know how to use, but I also wouldn't want to spend $250 on something that an iPhone has more editing options than.

So this is what I'm looking for:
-Ease of use
-Professional level of editing options
-cost=worth

Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. :yup:
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, Photoshop is pretty much the only thing I would use. You might be able to pick up a light version for less and it should be able to do most of what you're wanting to do.
 
Hellfire

Hellfire

New member
Lightroom version 3 & 4 are awesome for quick editing & organization. You can also export the photo into photoshop if you have it & re-import it back into lightroom when your finished. You can also setup presets for your tools too in lightroom.

Photoshop is the king of all photo editing software...there's some learning curve to it but end the end you can get some great results.
 
nmwranglerx

nmwranglerx

Caught the Bug
I would look into Lightroom 4. While photoshop is the king of photo editors, Lightroom is a program that has a lot of very powerful editing tools and is also a great organizer and editor. In some aspects it's more useful to photographers than owning only photoshop because of the cataloging features. I used to use photoshop for all my work, but now Lightroom for the bulk of my work. For the price, it's a really powerful program and practical for beginners and professionals
 
nmwranglerx

nmwranglerx

Caught the Bug
DanMojo82 said:
How much does regular photoshop have that lightroom doesn't?
Click to expand...

One major difference is that photoshop utilizes layers and Lightroom does not. It's an essential feature for doing composite imaging, like combining a sky from one photo with a landscape from another photo. Photoshop also has intricate selection tools that allow for very specific edits to parts of a photo. Again, very useful when doing composite photos or when precision is very important. You can download a free 30 day trial of both programs fyi. For the three things you've listed, I'd give Lightroom a serious look
 
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czebley24

czebley24

New member
If you have a Mac, aperture is an amazing program, and super easy to learn but it is professional! Totally worth it, photoshop is used for WAY more than just some simple editing.
 
DanMojo82

DanMojo82

New member
Well I'm thinking of buying Lightroom 4 outright and doing the subscription to Photoshop CS6. But then again, I've never been known for monetary discretion :doh:
 
JKBANDIT55

JKBANDIT55

New member
czebley24 said:
If you have a Mac, aperture is an amazing program, and super easy to learn but it is professional! Totally worth it, photoshop is used for WAY more than just some simple editing.
Click to expand...

How much does aperture cost? I have a Mac and just bought a used NikonD70. Still learning how to work the camera but plan on getting some good edits too.
 
Gary Palms2Pines

Gary Palms2Pines

New member
OK, the OP is saying his lady doesn't use any post processing currently. Her new camera is an entry level DSLR.
Maybe a basic post processing application like the FREE Picasa program might be the place to start. Or the inexpensive iPhoto, if she is a Mac user. Or Photoshop Elements 11 at only $79.
Seems like overkill to leap into LR4 and CS6.
Just saying.
 
JKBANDIT55

JKBANDIT55

New member
Gary Palms2Pines said:
OK, the OP is saying his lady doesn't use any post processing currently. Her new camera is an entry level DSLR.
Maybe a basic post processing application like the FREE Picasa program might be the place to start. Or the inexpensive iPhoto, if she is a Mac user. Or Photoshop Elements 11 at only $79.
Seems like overkill to leap into LR4 and CS6.
Just saying.
Click to expand...

Even if it is a beginner DSLR camera, isn't it true that its the lens that makes the more significant difference? I'm just not sure if its true or not.

I was talking to a professional photographer at work and he was telling me that you can use a cheaper DSLR camera with a nice high end lens and make the photo look just as good with editing as a photo taken with a more expensive quality camera..

Just wondering if this is true or not?
 
jkjurny

jkjurny

Member
Start with Lightroom. I tried Aperture also and like Lightroom a lot better.

Lightroom does plenty out of the box. I think your subscription approach for Photoshop is right on. She may never use it depending on what she gets into.
 
jkjurny

jkjurny

Member
JKBANDIT55 said:
Even if it is a beginner DSLR camera, isn't it true that its the lens that makes the more significant difference? I'm just not sure if its true or not.

I was talking to a professional photographer at work and he was telling me that you can use a cheaper DSLR camera with a nice high end lens and make the photo look just as good with editing as a photo taken with a more expensive quality camera..

Just wondering if this is true or not?
Click to expand...

Yes, the lens is more important than the body.

For the body, pixel count and frame size are key. More pixels for either printing very large images, or if you plan on cropping/zooming a lot while editing.

Body features are for how you will use the camera. Frames per second, focus points, a lot of great features, but it comes down to if you'll need them.
 
JKBANDIT55

JKBANDIT55

New member
jkjurny said:
Yes, the lens is more important than the body.

For the body, pixel count and frame size are key. More pixels for either printing very large images, or if you plan on cropping/zooming a lot while editing.

Body features are for how you will use the camera. Frames per second, focus points, a lot of great features, but it comes down to if you'll need them.
Click to expand...

Ok I got ya! Thanks :)
 
flotto

flotto

New member
if your a Mac user Aperture is a great program. Photoshop is good to but Aperture tends to be more user friendly with tons of options to get more detailed and in depth. Just my 2 cents.
 
dis_dis

dis_dis

Banned
I also think lightroom is the way to go. Its pretty easy to pick up and for basic editing and photo organization it is great.
 
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