photoshop/light room

[Jaycar85]

just got my new to me dslr and i want to use it to its full potential. which photoshop does every one use?i am looking for one that i only pay for once or free altogether dont want to do the pay each month thing. it didint come with any software so i cant use that, its also a nikon if that makes a diff. i downloaded some software off the nikon website but i didint have time to mess with it. thanks for the help in advance

[Hillary]

Honestly, now days if you want to stay "in the game" your best bet is it pay by the month for post-processing software.
The plus: It is a much lower $$ in the long run, and you are always upgraded to the newest available updates.
I don't even know if adobe lets you front the thousands of dollars that Photoshop costs anymore.

If you are not going to shoot enough pictures to justify, there are other options like Photoshop elements. I am not familiar with their pay scale.

I highly recommend lightroom. I have lightroom and Photoshop and mainly work out of lightroom.

[TexasWicked1]

Lightroom effects

I'm using Elements 12, which I thought at the time was a good buy, however the more I shoot and use the software, I find it to be very limiting.

I would suggest going with LR. It is optimized for PP and there are several plugins that you can use in conjunction with it to really make your shots appealing.

The following photo is not mine, but it were taken by my friend, Ted, who has mentored my photography. He and I have debated the pros and cons of both LR and PS for PP, while many of them work very similar, he feels LR is best for augmenting photos, where PS is optimized for creating graphic content for site and other things. However he and I will share photos with one another and critique the composition.
I plan to transition from PS elements 12 to LR here very soon, because I keep my camera on me now every where I go.

360 Bridge Overlook outside of Austin, TX:



-Note, this again are not my picture. This was taken from a dear friend of mine in his travels over the Great State of Texas and within them illustrate the effects that can be achieved when using light room.

[Jaycar85]

It is optimized for PP

what is pp?

[Shane]

what is pp?

Post Processing


Lightroom is the way to go for photography. Hands down. I've not done the monthly subscription deal, but I probably will at the next upgrade. I use Photoshop Elements occasionally, but mostly when I want to create graphics of some kind. I use Lr for 99.99% of all my photography stuff.

[Jaycar85]

is "light room" just a generic term or is the brand?

[Shane]

is "light room" just a generic term or is the brand?

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html

[TexasWicked1]

what is pp?

PP is shorthand for Post Processing.

is "light room" just a generic term or is the brand?

No, not quite. Light Room is a extension from Adobe, inc. They offer several channels that people use in order create websites using Dream Weaver, or creating content in Photo Shop, editing photos in Lightroom, ect... You can buy/lease one or buy/lease everything in Creative cloud. They have several items that are very creative solutions.

[billinkb]

Lightroom

[hoythitman]

Honestly, now days if you want to stay "in the game" your best bet is it pay by the month for post-processing software.
The plus: It is a much lower $$ in the long run, and you are always upgraded to the newest available updates.
I don't even know if adobe lets you front the thousands of dollars that Photoshop costs anymore.

If you are not going to shoot enough pictures to justify, there are other options like Photoshop elements. I am not familiar with their pay scale.

I highly recommend lightroom. I have lightroom and Photoshop and mainly work out of lightroom.

This ^^^ I got the "photographers bundle" I believe it was called has lightroom and PS. They get updated for free any time there is a new update. I also got Acrobat Pro for work for super cheap because I already had the monthly account for PS and LR.

[Leftridge]

I second LightRoom.. Soooo many great YouTube videos how to maximize use of LR. I'm not paying for the monthly cloud but might start. Next to my 70D, LR might be the best investment I've ever made in photography.

[Snakelover]

Has anyone who was already using one of the stand-alone Lightroom versions switched over to the Creative Cloud Photography bundle? I'd like to hear the opinions of someone who's made that journey.

I'm currently in Lr4. Mindy has gotten into photography and I'd like her to have her own Lr. It would make it easier for me to help her if we were on the same versions. On Amazon, Lr5 has quite a lot better reviews than Lr6, which concerns me. I know what it's like to have a software you're happy with only to have them break it on the next version. Trying to decide between getting us both on Lr5 or going ahead with the monthly subscription.

[Shane]

I haven't switched to CC, but I installed my Lr on MC's laptop as well. That way we both have the same version.

[Snakelover]

I haven't switched to CC, but I installed my Lr on MC's laptop as well. That way we both have the same version.

What version are you on, Shane?

[Shane]

5, I think. I'll check. Don't think I've upgraded to 6 yet.