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Which Software ? (1 Viewer)

Pete007

Well-known member
As a student interested in photography and media studies I would appreciate any advice as to what software is recommended for someone serious to learn all aspects of digital photography and hopefully take this up as a career when I finish my exams.
I think Photoshop seems to be what most people use but I've heard about programs called Aperture (Apple) , Lightroom, Bridge etc etc so wonder whats really best or do I need more than one ?
I can get some of the software cheaper as I'm a student but obviously want to start off with software thats most suitable.
I've been told I will need to process RAW files and learn how to handle process them. I understand they have to be compatible with my camera so how do I know which one to use ?
I've also heard about Noise software and Plug-ins !
It seems I have quite a lot to learn yet but in the first instance what software do I need to get the best out of my Photography ?
If I need Photoshop what is the best or latest version to get ?
Sorry if its obvious to all others but any help is appreciated ( I also use an Apple Mac)

Pete
 
Pete, welcome to birdforum!

Some initial thoughts, from someone who does not know Aperture, so no comments on that.

There are two kinds of software, one for keeping track of your images, and the other for doing editing.

The first type includes bridge, lightroom, (both from Adobe and bridge included in Photoshop) and ACDSee -- at least some of these can process raw images from many cameras (list available from producers web site). I personally prefer ACDSee for this, and can actually do most of my editing (starting from RAW) with this program.

For editing with layers, selections, combining images, etc, nothing beats the full version of photoshop (called CS - which I do not have). However, most operations can be done using Photoshop elements (I have an old version of full photoshop from before it became CS but the feature set of the latest elements sounds like everything I have is included).

Finally, plugins: these can add extra functions or replace functions in Photoshop -- noise reduction on severely noisy images is the only situation where I use one.

Cheers
Niels
 
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If you are going to do this commercially then it is better to start out using the Adobe range of products. They are, like it or not, the industry standard and they are what you will use if you go into any business using digital photography.

The main Adobe products to consider are:
Lightroom. This program combines RAW processing and image cataloguing. You can process RAW images, catalogue them and produce different print and web outputs.

Photoshop. This is an image editing program. It can do the same RAW processing as Lightroom. They both use the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) plugin. Plus it can do a massive variety of image processing and generation tasks on both whole images and areas of images, using its own tools and third party plugins. Photoshop and the rest of the Adobe Creative Suite range come with Bridge which is a file manager and cataloguing program, although not a capable as Lightroom in that respect.

If you are setting out to do this as a career then don't bother with anything other than the latest version of Photoshop or Lightroom, as a student you can get massive discounts.

Noise reduction processing can be done successfully in Photoshop's own tools but there are a wide range of third party plugins that some folk prefer.

For some reason I don't understand the camera makers want you to use their own software for RAW processing and to that end every new camera has its own software demands, this means that Adobe have to constantly bring out updates to ACR and these updates only work with the current version of Photoshop. Some camera makers are trying to produce a standard format for RAW but the big boys for some reasons don't want to play.

Hope that helps, any questions I'm sure the good folk on here can help.
 
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Thanks for the info to date Niels & Mono much appreciated.
Having just joined the forum I have been browsing through some of the older posts and it seems quite a few people seem to prefer Lightroom over Photoshop.
I'm sure Photoshop is extremely good but I guess its probably more than a lot of people need for there own way or working and actually find Lightroom more than sufficient. ( As well as cheaper).
I've been using Elements on an Apple Mac upto now but want to learn the best way to process Raw files as my understanding is this gives better results than jpeg.
It seems a little daunting at the moment but I'm sure I'l get the hang of it eventually.
I'm not sure at this stage if to go for Photoshop or Lightroom to process my Raw files but with a little more reading etc I'm sure I'l reach a decision soon.
 
Why not sign up for a free account with Adobe then download a trial of the software & see if it`s really what you want/need.

Steve.
 
Pete, I would strongly recommend Lightroom which with student discount is incredible value. You will be able to do 95% of editing from RAW files in it, and it is excellent for managing large numbers of photos. You may still have a need for some additional tools for more complex work. Photoshop Elements will provide just about everything else you need. Although Elements has the same RAW processing engine as Lightroom I much prefer initial editing in LR... quicker, easier, and once you get the hang of it much more logical.
 
What camera are you using?

With the Nikon cameras, the free software Nikon View NX2 is a good starting point and a solid RAW converter. Nikon Capture NX2 is the editor of choice in the Nikon family. These are low cost solutions that will handle 98% of your editing.

In the Adobe family, most people seem to be moving to Lightroom. It's a good editor and a lot more user friendly than Photoshop or Elements. Photoshop and Elements are of more value if you are doing design work and modifying the actual content of an image.

Capture NX2 and Lightroom each can handle 95-98% of editing needs. There are pluses and minuses of each, but both do the job nicely.
 
Pete,

It took me ages to take the plunge with LR but I haven't looked back since.

I would recommend Scott Kelby's book "the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 book for digital photographers" which is where I started. The book is easy to follow and well structured. Obviously LR has moved on since and the book will have done so too.

Robin
 
My favourite Lr guide (in addition to the excellent Adobe help) is Victoria Bampton's "The Missing FAQ" in pdf/ebook form: I've got the pdf on my PC and the ebook on my smartphone, which I dip into on my commute to work, for example.

I like it because - as its name implies - it answers the kind of Real World questions Lr users actually ask.
 
Loads of good advice here and mine would be to chose a good programme and stick to it.That way you can learn all the processing capabilities and menus which will cut the time down on your workflow.It is so easy to change your programme each time a new version comes out and having to learn it all over again.
 
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