Post by Snappersforum on Aug 18, 2014 7:50:15 GMT
This is probably gonna annoy some purists out there, however as stated before I do not believe in a one size fits all scenario.
I started off editing many years ago using one of the free software programmes available. At the time it suited me well, unfortunately I cannot recall the name of it.
Then around 5 years ago I downloaded a trial version of Photoshop Elements
I believe it was 8 or 9 - and was hooked. I found it easy to use and user friendly. So splashed the cash - a downfall in a way was the rapid "upgrades" I do love current one Photoshop elements 15 as it as some great guided edits such as depth of field and you can use layers too. I have found lots of brilliant video tutorials on-line as well - see the Photoediting section on this forum.
As time when by and after attending my first one day course on how to use your dslr Nik Silver Efex was recommended as the bench mark for black and white images. At the time it was over 300 so beyond my means - then google bless there hearts bought Nik out and you can get the whole package for around £150..................love it. - Again I found lots of online tutorials for Nik which you can find by clicking here
My next major upgrade was earlier this year to Lightroom 6 which again lots of help and support online - all of which I have found useful can be found here I now do most of my editing in this and found that Nik and photoshop elements work as plugins for Lightroom which means by click of a button I can move between programmes.
A couple of negatives or points to remember on this set up is for some of the features in elements such as guided edits you still need to use it as a standalone programme - which means you must first export the image from lightroom - (which in plain english is their way of saving an image.) then open Elements up and open image in elements. Then import image back into Lightroom so you ensure you have the latest version in your Library.
Another thing to remember is as far as possible use Lightroom all the time as the gate way to your images or things get in a real mess.
Bonus time folks you can get loads of free presets for Lightroom and Nik - click here for the ones I have found so far
I started off editing many years ago using one of the free software programmes available. At the time it suited me well, unfortunately I cannot recall the name of it.
Then around 5 years ago I downloaded a trial version of Photoshop Elements
I believe it was 8 or 9 - and was hooked. I found it easy to use and user friendly. So splashed the cash - a downfall in a way was the rapid "upgrades" I do love current one Photoshop elements 15 as it as some great guided edits such as depth of field and you can use layers too. I have found lots of brilliant video tutorials on-line as well - see the Photoediting section on this forum.
As time when by and after attending my first one day course on how to use your dslr Nik Silver Efex was recommended as the bench mark for black and white images. At the time it was over 300 so beyond my means - then google bless there hearts bought Nik out and you can get the whole package for around £150..................love it. - Again I found lots of online tutorials for Nik which you can find by clicking here
My next major upgrade was earlier this year to Lightroom 6 which again lots of help and support online - all of which I have found useful can be found here I now do most of my editing in this and found that Nik and photoshop elements work as plugins for Lightroom which means by click of a button I can move between programmes.
A couple of negatives or points to remember on this set up is for some of the features in elements such as guided edits you still need to use it as a standalone programme - which means you must first export the image from lightroom - (which in plain english is their way of saving an image.) then open Elements up and open image in elements. Then import image back into Lightroom so you ensure you have the latest version in your Library.
Another thing to remember is as far as possible use Lightroom all the time as the gate way to your images or things get in a real mess.
Bonus time folks you can get loads of free presets for Lightroom and Nik - click here for the ones I have found so far