New computer/new editing software

I just switched from PC to MAC as a computer. I had tried a couple of editing software programs on the PC, but now have to start again, so I thought I'd come to the vast body of knowledge. What software do you recommend for MAC (OS X Yosemite)? I'm just a rank amateur, so would like something basic that just helps crop, adjust lighting, and perhaps edit out unwanted items in pictures.

Thanks in advance.

Ann

Lightroom + Photoshop CC subscription or Photoshop Elements, depending on your budget. Both are fantastic on a PC and are probably the best bet if you downgrade to a Mac. ;)

Dave

I agree with Dave. I use a Mac Pro and both programs work GREAT. I also use DXO PRO, all three do a great job working with your photos. Give them a try, they will be fun and easy editing your photos. For quick fix I also use Picasa 3, free software, and great to share pictures with your friends.

Tom :cool:

Lightroom + Photoshop CC subscription or Photoshop Elements, depending on your budget. Both are fantastic on a PC and are probably the best bet if you downgrade to a Mac. ;)

 

Dave

Agree with Dave - Lightroom and PhotoshopCC - though Photoshop Elements might be less of a learning curve

DISAGREE with Dave - what do you mean "downgrade"!!!!? :-)

I just switched from PC to MAC as a computer. I had tried a couple of editing software programs on the PC, but now have to start again, so I thought I'd come to the vast body of knowledge. What software do you recommend for MAC (OS X Yosemite)? I'm just a rank amateur, so would like something basic that just helps crop, adjust lighting, and perhaps edit out unwanted items in pictures.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Ann

I find for the most part, I just use iPhoto on the Mac. It's very user friendly, and costs nothing extra. It's basic - but great for cropping, and adjusting brightness/exposure, contrast, shadows, and saturation. Try it out. if you find you need more, then go from there to photoshop elements or one of the other recommend programs.

For most travel photos, I do not need to open up photoshop.

Mary

I just use lightroom on its own, but if you're going to be removing things from images I could see a PS CC subscription. Otherwise as Pierces recommended PS Elements.

I switched to Lightroom 5 from PS Elements and never regretted it. I found Elements very slow and cumbersome. Lightroom is swift compared to Elements. Of course I have over 35,000 pics in my Catalog. Something else to consider is that Lightroom has a much better Organizer based on a Database.

Lightroom normally retails for around $149 but I went on Buydig and searched and found that buying a printer for $49 I received Lightroom for free!! What a deal!!

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Am going to try iPhotos first and see what it does. I got spoiled in the past with a program (no longer available) that did everything I needed and organized things beautifully for a very reasonable price. Story of my life -- find something good and they quit making it/change it for the worse/go out of business. Am I cursed? ;)

Ann

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Am going to try iPhotos first and see what it does. I got spoiled in the past with a program (no longer available) that did everything I needed and organized things beautifully for a very reasonable price. Story of my life -- find something good and they quit making it/change it for the worse/go out of business. Am I cursed? ;)

 

Ann

If you decide later that you want to switch, there are apps that will help transfer your info from iPhoto to Lightroom. But the longer you wait, the harder it will be to switch.

I switched to Lightroom 5 from PS Elements and never regretted it. I found Elements very slow and cumbersome. Lightroom is swift compared to Elements. Of course I have over 35,000 pics in my Catalog. Something else to consider is that Lightroom has a much better Organizer based on a Database.

 

Lightroom normally retails for around $149 but I went on Buydig and searched and found that buying a printer for $49 I received Lightroom for free!! What a deal!!

One of the major differences between LR and Elements is that you can work w layers in Elements. Than can be important if you have to do serious editing.

DON

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Am going to try iPhotos first and see what it does. I got spoiled in the past with a program (no longer available) that did everything I needed and organized things beautifully for a very reasonable price. Story of my life -- find something good and they quit making it/change it for the worse/go out of business. Am I cursed? ;) Ann

Hi, Ann! I have had MacBook Pro computers for nearly six years. Used for a long time the iPhoto for editing and organizing thousands of pictures. Worked well and was very happy with its ease to use, simplicity, etc. About 18 months ago switched to Aperture. Been very happy with it and the added little techniques and tricks that this Mac program allows, provides, etc.

BOTTOM LINE?: Use what fits your needs, personal style. With Aperture, I have been fortunate to have two Apple stores nearby hear in Columbus, Ohio, plus have a One to One membership. I have used the staff a good bit to learn, practice, etc., on learning how best to use these various tools. Their "coaching" has been wonderful. Below is just one example of a good picture from last night in Barbados that with just a little "help" became even better. Fun having these various "tools" to help improve the visual images.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 94,920 views for this posting.

As we walked to the nearby beach late yesterday afternoon during our first visit to Barbados, here was my beach sunset picture. We board our ship today to start a 17-day Amazon River "adventure".:

A quick note on Aperture:

Last year in June, Apple announced that it will be terminating the development of Aperture and will be focusing on their new photos app included in the latest version of OS X. If someone is currently using Aperture, I'm sure there will be a transition to the new app but for new users I wouldn't invest time or money in an end-of-life product.

Dave

Terry,

You are helpful as always and your pictures are always amazing. Enjoy your cruise.

Ann

For $10 per month you can get BOTH Lightroom and Photoshop (you pay $120 a year) and you always get the latest updates. Lightroom stand alone is about $150 and Photoshop (when you could buy it outright)was about $700, Elements is about $100(+/-).

Lightroom is not really an editing program. It is mostly a organizer and it has adobe's raw converter built in. It does do some basic editing, but it is NOT a pixel editor. (It doesn't actually change anything on the photos, the originals are left untouched and all the changes are really just instructions LR uses to display the changes when you look at them in LR (probably not explanined very well i know). Where as PS and PSE actually change the photo.

In my opinion you might as well just go for Photoshop CC (It is the photoshop and lightroom combo is called) and start learning. You can download them and try them for free for 30 days to get a feel for them. PS does have a lot to learn, but if you get some books (or youtube videos, not my thing I prefer books, but to each his own) and take a little bit at a time you will be fine.

 

 

 

Lightroom is not really an editing program. It is mostly a organizer and it has adobe's raw converter built in. It does do some basic editing, but it is NOT a pixel editor. (It doesn't actually change anything on the photos, the originals are left untouched and all the changes are really just instructions LR uses to display the changes when you look at them in LR (probably not explanined very well i know). Where as PS and PSE actually change the photo.

I am sorry to say but that is incorrect. Lightroom is an extremely powerful image processor that is non-destructive. Any setting that is applied can be modified in the worklfow and all corrected images can be exported as flattened (corrected) images such as jpegs. Lightroom can also connect to popular online photo sharing services. It is coupled with Blurb.com to make photo books.

Photoshop is a compositing tool and very powerful for image manipulation but photoshop is a graphic design tool.

For colour correction, cropping and image correction such as removing red eye, photographic blemishes and about 90% of the tools you'll ever need...lightroom is my strong recommendation.

Photoshop allows the next level of compositing photographic images but it is more complex and permanently changes the file source. Yes i know filters can be saved on layers and layers converted to smart objects, etc.

Lightroom is a very powerful image processor. It is far easier and more suited to the majority of photographers and their photographic needs. Photoshop is the next more advanced tool for compositing.

I am sorry to say but that is incorrect. Lightroom is an extremely powerful image processor that is non-destructive. Any setting that is applied can be modified in the worklfow and all corrected images can be exported as flattened (corrected) images such as jpegs. Lightroom can also connect to popular online photo sharing services. It is coupled with Blurb.com to make photo books.

 

Photoshop is a compositing tool and very powerful for image manipulation but photoshop is a graphic design tool.

 

For colour correction, cropping and image correction such as removing red eye, photographic blemishes and about 90% of the tools you'll ever need...lightroom is my strong recommendation.

 

Photoshop allows the next level of compositing photographic images but it is more complex and permanently changes the file source. Yes i know filters can be saved on layers and layers converted to smart objects, etc.

 

Lightroom is a very powerful image processor. It is far easier and more suited to the majority of photographers and their photographic needs. Photoshop is the next more advanced tool for compositing.

I am glad you know what 90% of the tools we will ever need are. :roll eyes:

"easier and more suited to the majority of photographers.....".....again I'm glad you know what the majority need. :roll eyes:

and strange, I use both and my original file is not touched. I just export a copy of the .dng file (with any adjustments) from LR to edit in PS and then send the edited one back to LR where it sits right next to the "untouched" original file. So I guess that means you are incorrect. (see I can play that game as well).

At the end of the day, both are powerful programs (Elements is pretty much PS lite). The good part is you can download both and try them for free for 30 days. With the price of Photoshop CC vs the price of buying LR and/or PSE stand alone the CC model is a better deal in my opinion.

With the price of Photoshop CC vs the price of buying LR and/or PSE stand alone the CC model is a better deal in my opinion.

True - it is a better deal considering the price of Photoshop and Lightroom if bought separately. You also get upgrades and corrections as part of your subscription.

I sometimes use Photoshop CC without using Lightroom - mostly for snapshots. But before I do anything to the picture, I make a duplicate and just work on the duplicate - the original stays untouched.

I am glad you know what 90% of the tools we will ever need are. :roll eyes:

 

 

 

"easier and more suited to the majority of photographers.....".....again I'm glad you know what the majority need..

The internet and opinions. Everyone has both.

I was not intending to be critical of you personally; only to adjust the information.

With many other users it has been my experience that lightroom has been an easier learning curve and satisfied most image processing needs. Photoshop is a more advanced tool with a steeper learning curve. I find it the next logical step for advanced photo compositing.

I prefer to make recommendations that many users can move to easier with enjoyment as well as information on the more advanced tools should they want to move to those. Walk before you run so to speak.

I'm sure you have taken many wonderful images and are quite comfortable with PS.

Enjoy

Terry, You are helpful as always and your pictures are always amazing. Enjoy your cruise. Ann

Appreciate, Ann, your nice comments. My live/blog is now up and running. Have several dozen pictures already posted. My MacBook Pro and Aperture are both doing well. Check out the results and let me know any needed photo items/info, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

As we are commencing our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo back-to-back sailing over 26 days on the Silversea Silver Cloud, here is the link below to that series of posts on my live/blog. Lots of great visuals from the first three Caribbean Islands, plus many food pictures, etc. Much more to come. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Terry,

Am loving your blog with the pictures. The color saturation is amazing, so I have to ask-- did you adjust it in Aperture, or is it just that incredible in person?

Thanks for all you do.

Ann

Terry, Am loving your blog with the pictures. The color saturation is amazing, so I have to ask-- did you adjust it in Aperture, or is it just that incredible in person? Thanks for all you do. Ann

Appreciate the kind comments and good questions from Ann. The honest truth? In many cases, real life looks better and more impressive than what any single picture can capture and reflect. BUT, yes, on many of the pictures I do certain fine-tuning with Aperture. Nothing too wild or crazy. Many times it is adjusting the cropping, maybe a little brightening of the scene, adding a little "definition", etc.

Happy to share more as needed. Part of the key is shooting RAW on a good camera. Have a Nikon D7100 on which I shot 8,000 pictures while doing Australia, NZ, Hawaii, etc., a year ago as connected below. Have that bigger base of picture data allow more "material" with which to work, edit, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 96,236 views for this posting.

Is there a way to edit & add a discription to pics when I am off line. I have a Mac Book Air ?

 

Part of the key is shooting RAW on a good camera...

"Mr. Twain, I really enjoyed Tom Sawyer. You must have a really good pen!"

C.mon Terry. You know that the secret to a good photo is subject, composition and attention to exposing correctly. ;)

A good camera, like any good tool, makes it easier to capture fine detail and RAW can help if you really hose up the exposure but neither are key for a "good picture".

Saying that your photographic success is a result of your expensive equipment or choice of image capture format diminishes the really important factors...a "good eye" and a steady hand.

Dave

"Mr. Twain, I really enjoyed Tom Sawyer. You must have a really good pen!"

 

C.mon Terry. You know that the secret to a good photo is subject, composition and attention to exposing correctly. ;)

 

A good camera, like any good tool, makes it easier to capture fine detail and RAW can help if you really hose up the exposure but neither are key for a "good picture".

 

Saying that your photographic success is a result of your expensive equipment or choice of image capture format diminishes the really important factors...a "good eye" and a steady hand.

 

Dave

As the saying goes "If you want better photo's...stand in front of better subjects"

Is there a way to edit & add a discription to pics when I am off line. I have a Mac Book Air ?

:confused:

If you are talking about the pics on your computer than whatever editing software you use will be able to edit them offline.

Photos you have already uploaded to a social network or photo sharing site can only be edited online.