I've been complaining lately that my pictures just seem a little dull, lacking sharpness and good color clarity. I've been blaming my camera, a little Cannon point-and-shoot, and my goal is within the next six to eight months invest in an SLR since I'm kind of making this photography stuff a real hobby. On Easter Sunday my daughter and grandson were over and I took a few pictures with her camera. This one of the cat was okay but then she took it home and did some enhancement just with her Mac, which is great for photographs and graphics. She also has a Photoshop program but it is one of the more expensive ones normally used by graphic artists. So the information and advice I need from all my bloggie friends is 1) do you use photo software; 2) if so, which one and which version; 3) what do you like best and least about it? I would appreciate hearing from any who happen to read this post. You know more about photography than anyone else I know and I would love to get some feedback from my favorite photographers. The things I think I'd most like to have in a program is some type of color enhancement, being able to level my pictures (I am always surprised when I take a picture of a building it so frequently isn't straight on the horizontal), removing unwanted objects. Feel free to leave a comment or if you would like to leave a more private suggestion, my email is listed in my profile.
Oh, by the way, this little kitty hangs out in the neighborhood. I think I know where it belongs. Its owners allow it to freely roam. It almost acts like a feral cat because if you try to approach it, it zips away at the speed of lightning. While I was using daughter's camera I was also practicing with her zoom lens so I was able to get this pic of kitty lounging underneath my oleander bushes without getting so close as to scare it away. Please don't think I like this cat. I think it's the one that uses my side yard as a litter box!
13 comments:
He's cute even though he thinks your yard is a litter box!
I have no photo editing program, but will be interested in what you find out, because I'm wanting to get one too.
I have just started experimenting with Photoshop Elements 8 (you can download a free 30 day trial). I think it will do everything I need but I need to take the time to learn how to use it.
I always think your photos look great!
I'm with Tracy...your shots are awesome. I only use whatever photo program comes with Windows. I would need to take a class to really learn how to use anything else. But maybe that's not such a bad idea!
I think you can do a huge amount of stuff in Elements, and it works on PCs and Macs. Do try the 30-day trial. I'm pretty sure you can adjust the rotation. I hate it when landscapes are tilted, especially the horizon with the ocean tipping out of the photo.
But see if you can get someone to show you Camera Raw format, what you can do with that. My new little Canon S90 is TINY and fits in my jeans pocket and can do amazing stuff, including the camera raw format. I couldn't believe my eyes when a friend showed me how an over-exposed photo could be pulled into being a truly fabulous photo. A jpeg could never do that, even if you had the full Photoshop and knew how to use it.
I love your photos! Investing in a new camera is always fun :) I've got my eye on a couple lenses right now..sigh.
I use Adobe Lightroom. I just downloaded the newest version (beta 3). I use it for watermarking purposes mainly. But if you want to do other things, it can handle all of that too (including leveling!). Definitely shoot in RAW format if you can!
Love this photo. I use a program called Paint Shop Pro XI by Corel. I use it to crop and enhance photos when needed. It will do a whole lot more, but it isn't easy to understand and since I'm still working full time, I haven't had the time to dedicate to learning how to use it that well. I keep thinking that there must be a better piece of photo software out there, but I've not heard of one.
I agree that shooting in RAW is the way to go.
Your photos are very good. The Picasa photo editor is pretty good, and the price is right (free). Enjoy!
I am with Sandy. Picasa is a very powerful software and extremely easy to use.With a single button-the "I am lucky button"- it makes magic with your pictures. You can upload your photos directly from Picasa to your blog as they are both from Google. I use a second software, "InfranView", for resizing and optimizing for web. This is also free and much appreciated by users.
It has no sense to kill your computer with Photoshop and lose precious time to learn to use it (and spend money).
Much success!
First, great shot!
I also have a Mac and would agree it is the best. The iphoto software the comes with the computer is great for quick fixs, but I use Photoshop CS3 to edit most of my photos.
I LOVE photoshop. I have been learning how to use it through internet tutorials and books/magazines. It is insane how much there is to learn with photoshop. There have to be 500 paths you could take to accomplish the same task!!! So there is a lot to learn.
I like photoshop for its creative potential.
For quickies....I use Picnik.com. I know a lot of people that use Picasa and love it, but when they started they didn't support Macs so I never bothered with them when they finally came around.
What type of DSLR are you going to buy??
Just looking over recent entries and saw this question - I agree with those who choose Picasa. It's free and it's very easy to use, might take you all of 10 minutes to master the program. It doesn't do all the fancy stuff some programs do but it does have that straightening tool which comes in really handy!
I am guessing what you want in your photos is a little more contrast. Some cameras allow you to boost the contrast and color saturation right in the camera with the settings. But before you buy anything try Picasa, you can do the basics with that. I now use Picnik which is free for the basics but only 24.95 per year for the full blown option. I LOVE Picnik. You can do so much with it and it is user intuitive which makes adjustments quick and easy. Picnik keeps adding new things too. I also have PSE 8, but it is so cumbersome I only use it when I need something Picnik can't do.
I used to shoot in raw and think it is over rated. I know tons of people would gasp. But your goal is to get things correct out of the camera and not have to adjust it later. Raw takes up TONS of space on your cards and your hard drive. I only use it for really important shots now. Pioneer Woman did a post on how she doesn't shoot in raw anymore either and that vindicated me!
Good luck.
I just installed Photoshop Elements 8 on my computer but haven't tried to use it yet. I had Elements 3, and used that until my computer crashed, and decided not to re-install it. I'm planning on learning how to use it by taking a class at my local community college. In the meantime, I use Picnik, which I like a lot. I purchased the "extra" options (I think for around $24.95) and I think it's a great little program.
BTW, thanks for your comments on my photoblog!
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