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Photo Processing Question
I've outgrown the simple post-processing software that came with my cameras, and want to step up a notch.
I shoot mostly jpegs, occasionally raw and am not looking for the capabilities of the Photo Shop full version, or it's learning curve. The choice has come down to Lightroom 5 ($109) and Elements 12 ($49).
Anyone use both? Any advice on which would be better for me. In particular, can anyone explain what "non-destructive" means in terms of the differences between how the two save edited files? LR5 has that feature, E12 does not.
I shoot mostly jpegs, occasionally raw and am not looking for the capabilities of the Photo Shop full version, or it's learning curve. The choice has come down to Lightroom 5 ($109) and Elements 12 ($49).
Anyone use both? Any advice on which would be better for me. In particular, can anyone explain what "non-destructive" means in terms of the differences between how the two save edited files? LR5 has that feature, E12 does not.
Keep your stinkin' government hands off my Medicare.
Replies
Elements is a stripped down version of Photoshop but is still very powerful and allows you do to things like swap a face from one photo into another (which I had to do on family photos the other day) or selectively brighten just certain tones/areas in a photo. It also has a version of Photoshop's "liquify" tool which is invaluable if you shoot photos of naked people and occasionally need to modify their body outlines to match their aspirations with their reality. ;-)
Non-destructive means that all edits in lightroom are done as entries in a database -- the original image is never touched. Very handy because it allows infinite levels of restore points -- you can back up to any point in an edit sequence, branch the photo out and take multiple editing paths and compare the results. THAT is very very handy.
If you only have time/budget for one of the tools, get Lightroom, without question.
I'd offer the same advice. Though I am having issues with LR 5 and Mac.I have the free trial and I'm not going to upgrade for awhile. I think there are bugs to be worked out yet. Some of the issues I've had were with importing slowly, to not at all. Also the program closes itself for some reason. It's never running when I open the laptop and I never close it. Not a big deal but it shouldn't be doing that.
Another little piece of amazing software that you can add as a package to lightroom is the Nik collection. I'm using the trial version now and I'm pretty sure I'll be buying it (rather then the LR upgrade). I've been wanting the Nik tools for awhile but they used to be much more expensive.
http://www.google.com/nikcollection/
Scott, have you ever played with these^? You should check them out if not.
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html?kw=semgeneric&sdid=JTGIR&skwcid=AL!3085!3!34421170218!e!!g!!adobe%20photoshop&ef_id=UpVfmQAAANiDBNiX:20131129181158:s
Moved to Montana, gonna be a dental floss tycoon.
I've seen them advertised -- I am just old school enough that I have a hard time bringing myself to use "style in a box" tools to automate a look -- which is one reason my post processing is always a bit clumsy looking and never very consistent, I insist on doing it from scratch or pre-sets that I've made myself.
I probably ought to get over it, but for now, I find that I'm still learning a lot by trying to emulate certain looks on my own. I'm sure sooner or later I'll buckle under and pick them up.
yeah, I've been weighing that option in the past few days. It's a good deal, actually, if you trust Adobe to keep the price somewhat constant. my problem is that I don't trust Adobe much at all, but I am tied to their tools for better or worse....
I have been highly skeptical of Abobe's "Cloud Program" but my version of Photo shop is kind of long in the tooth and being a geek and knowing Photoshop as well as I do, I took the bait and signed up. I am also with you on the trustworthiness nature of Adobe, but... if it goes up $5.00 a month next year, I don't find that a horrible price to pay.
The price they are offering this is very hard to pass up.
YMMV
Moved to Montana, gonna be a dental floss tycoon.
George before you....hope I am not too late. I have elements and lightroom. What Scott says is pretty much true except I disagree with him on the use of lightroom for the common everyday edits. It's fine for NEFs but when playing with simple jpegs I'd rather use Picasa, it's really fast and free. For NEFs and stuff requiring a little extra I use elements. There certainly is a learning curve but it's not that bad. For me lightroom was a waste of money on normal everyday jpegs, Picasa does pretty much everything LR does (and a lot that is found in elements). If you aren't shooting NEFs, lightroom is a waste. Some like it but I really don't have a lot of need for it on my computer anymore and am thinking about removing it.
note to Scott--i shoot a bit more in NEF--with an accompanying fine jpeg
I find the willingness to give it up frightening.
But your post does point out that as with cameras, there is a fair degree of subjectivity regarding which tool to use.
I find the willingness to give it up frightening.
In lightroom, unlike any other tool I am familiar with, I can apply the edit to one photo, then synch up the edits to every other photo in the batch. Viola! a 15 second editing operation on one photo is now applied to the other 150 shots in the batch in about 5 seconds.
If every shot in the batch is different, or will be edited in different fashion, then Lightroom loses some of its advantage.
http://lifehacker.com/lightzone-is-a-free-awesome-photo-editor-and-alternati-1445640040
****...Free alternative to Photoshop
[url]http://www.****.org/[/url]
DP review put a small list together also that contains some free software.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/51472832
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Crooow:This music would work better with women in bikinis shaking all over the place. I guess that's true of any music really.
Mike
it's a one trick pony -- it helps you put together HDR photos in a variety of looks ranging from fairly subtle to full on, over the top "that looks like a painting (or a cartoon)" landscapes with the alien looking clouds -- but it does the job it's designed to do pretty well If you do a lot of HDR work, it's worth the price -- if not, it won't help you do anything ELSE other than HDR.
There are a TON of presets you can create or upload. There are plenty of plug in's that you can purchase that can take it to a another level. The way it stores your images and edits is nothing short of amazing. It's like you have a personal assistant keeping track of your work. Considering what it can do, it's worth every penny. Hands down one of the most important purchases anyone considering getting into photography can make. IMO
I use it quite often, super user friendly. I would recommend it, it's real good place to start. It even allows you to do simple layers.
I find the willingness to give it up frightening.