Photoshop Elements or CS or Aperture?

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Photoshop Elements or CS or Aperture?

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swame_sp

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Hello everybody,

I have a panasonic FZ28 and I will be buying a new Nikon DSLR by this thanksgiving holiday and that's another story of deciding about the model.

Coming to the question, I have a MBP13" and the iphoto edits are very limited. Looking to buy a software for it. Should go with PS elements or CS or aperture.

I do not do RAW conversion for now (I hope I would never do it) but mostly like editing the photograph with layers and masks. I have very little knowledge on using PS but very sure that I would learn to use it. I will also be using it with the SLR that i buy.

Any suggestions?

Posted 2 years ago #
djdphotos

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i have very little experience (read- no experience) with Photoshop Elements, but I've used Aperture 2 and 3 extensively over the past few years.

Aperture is a fantastic workflow solution for me. If I want to quickly look at a couple hundred shots and make some quick edits to the photos it is perfect for that. And with the 3.0/3.1 version you are able to do a bit more with making selective adjustments to your photos (previous versions most of the edits were an all or nothing affair... with the current version you can apply contrast/saturation/color/sharpening/etc to selected portions of the image). I would say that for 98% of my photos aperture is more than enough to suit my needs. FOr the other 2% i go into photoshop cs3 to close the deal, per se :P

But it doesn't do layers... and it isn't a photo manipulation type of software... if you want to add labels, or layers, or make any image changes outside of cloning or skin smoothing you will probably want to head towards Photoshop and that is probably going to have a much more extensive feature set in that arena.

and remember that Aperture and Photoshop Elements are going to be hundreds less than Creative Suite... so price will more than likely have an bearing on your decision as well.

Posted 2 years ago #
padlockd

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I've just recently moved from iPhoto to Aperture, and so far I'm really happy with Aperture. Like djd said, Aperture will work for most edits (I think it may even have a batch edit option), but if you need to manipulate the photo, PS is the way to go. I have PSe 6, and that works just fine for anything I might need. Plus, it's way cheaper than CS, which may or may not affect your decision.

I also downloaded the Nik software package demo, and let me tell you, if you want more editing ability than Aperture, the stuff from Nik will blow you away. I would definitely take a look at what Nik has to offer, it's worth it. I plan on buying the package once my demo runs out.

Posted 2 years ago #
swame_sp

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Thanks guys, I would also like to have the software for editing fliers. I work for a non profit organization and they give me their flier asking for a change in the date or venue or whatever. I should be able to do that as well. Should I go with Elements or aperture.

As suggested I can try the Nikon software too but will it add/remove texts like I've mentioned above?

I think CS is ruled out as it is beyond my budget.

Posted 2 years ago #
djdphotos

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i say investigate elements... as much as I love my aperture your ability to create fliers with it is going to be extremely limited (as you will be essentially hacking the book creation utility within Aperture to get this done).

this isn't a knock on Aperture, per se... it's just not what it was designed for... it was designed almost strictly for image adjustment/fine tuning, which it does exceedingly well.

Posted 2 years ago #
swame_sp

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Thanks djdphotos.... I will not be creating fliers but will be editing it. Just a modification here and there will work for me.

FYI, fliers will be in jpg format.

Posted 2 years ago #
padlockd

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swame_sp said:
Thanks djdphotos.... I will not be creating fliers but will be editing it. Just a modification here and there will work for me.

FYI, fliers will be in jpg format.

Elements is the way to go. =)

Posted 2 years ago #
warprints

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Why are you leaving Lightroom out of your inquiry. I don't have hands on experience with Aperture. I have used Elements for many years (since version 1), I have played some with Photoshop (CS), and now primarily use Lightroom (I have used LR1, LR2 and LR3). (I also have and occasionally use Nikon's Capture NX2.) For me, Lightroom, especially LR3, is the way to go.

Get the free trial of LR3 and give it a go. I think you'll like it.

Posted 2 years ago #
PB PM

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The curves tool in Aperture 3 is why I choose it over LR3, and with the ability to brush in different curves you have a lot of editing power that Lightroom cannot do.

Posted 2 years ago #
Anaxagoras

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My vote goes for Aperture.

Basic photo improvement and asset management - iPhoto

Advanced photo improvement and asset management - Aperture or Lightroom

Special affects and changing images radically (e.g.layers) - Photoshop or Elements.

Posted 2 years ago #
Gareth

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why don't you want to edit raw files? it is the best way to get the best image possible.

what are you using the masks for?

as you are editing a jpeg and not a layered tiff or psd, it may not be that much easier to use photoshop than other alternatives (remove old date in aperture or lightroom) bring it in to a publication sortware like publisher (cheap) or freehand or illustrator and add it.

the clone stamp tool is far superior to the circular lightroom tool though.

Posted 2 years ago #
Worldcrossings

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Lightroom for sure. I can do anything in Lightroom that you would want to do in a real darkroom, or in Aperature. You can edit pretty much everything such as; curves, histogram, presets, crop, spot removal, graduated filters, brush, Tone Curve, Color, Split Toning, Lens correction and various other options and effects, you name it... I use Lightroom to manage my 54,000 photos in my 500GB photo library.

If you want a more robust application than elements or whatever cheap versions of software you are looking at, but don't have the money for full-version of photoshop, try out GIMP. I have a GIMP on both my Windows install and my Ubuntu install and it is awesome and it is FREE. It has everything the full version of photoshop has. Gimp is awesome, Ubuntu is awesome to on a side note!

I rarely open photoshop anymore unless I'm building a website. If you want to do fliers, do it in an application that does fliers like M$ Publisher, Google Docs, or even GIMP if you are used to Photoshop, etc...

You can check out my photos at worldcrossings.com, especially the family and friends category, I use a lot of lightroom presets. Definately Lightroom. Mmmm-Hmmm (Sling Blade reference LOL)

Posted 2 years ago #
Worldcrossings

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Also, if you are shooting jpg, Lightroom is non-destructive, which means all your edits are saved in the database, you can always revert your jpg to it's orginal state. I shoot raw, then import them into Lightroom as DNG files. All the edits are kept in the DNG file and not in the database, which is better in my opinion. I don't like raw side-car files, the dng keeps everything in one file.

Posted 2 years ago #
swame_sp

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warprints said:
Why are you leaving Lightroom out of your inquiry.....For me, Lightroom, especially LR3, is the way to go.

Get the free trial of LR3 and give it a go. I think you'll like it.

Yeah good question buddy, it did not strike me. Surely will look at it.

Posted 2 years ago #
swame_sp

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PB PM said:
The curves tool in Aperture 3 is why I choose it over LR3, and with the ability to brush in different curves you have a lot of editing power that Lightroom cannot do.

Anaxagoras said:
My vote goes for Aperture.

Basic photo improvement and asset management - iPhoto

Advanced photo improvement and asset management - Aperture or Lightroom

Special affects and changing images radically (e.g.layers) - Photoshop or Elements.

thanks to both, for a vote on the APERTURE.

Posted 2 years ago #
swame_sp

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Gareth said:
why don't you want to edit raw files? it is the best way to get the best image possible.

what are you using the masks for?

as you are editing a jpeg and not a layered tiff or psd, it may not be that much easier to use photoshop than other alternatives (remove old date in aperture or lightroom) bring it in to a publication sortware like publisher (cheap) or freehand or illustrator and add it.

the clone stamp tool is far superior to the circular lightroom tool though.

My pany FZ28 takes RAW but I heard it needs some special software for its workflow and my JPEGs have been comparitively good so never really looked into it. I'm thinking to start using RAW after I buy DSLR. I would love to see the potential behind this "complex" RAW thing.

I learnt about Layers and masks for modifying the picture. I'm using iphoto but felt it offers very basic options.

Posted 2 years ago #
jonnyapple

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Lightroom and Aperture are very similar. I think you ought to get GIMP, which I think runs well on a mac and doesn't cost you anything, and see if you need aperture. As others have said, aperture is great for batch processing, organization and photo tweaks. Gimp would work well for the flier editing you mention. It's a full-featured layer editor.
edit: start here http://www.gimp.org/macintosh/

Posted 2 years ago #
adamz

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I would go for iPhoto + PS Elements, especially when You shoot jpg's only. Aperture is great, but it works nicer with bigger files and might be an overkill for You. As for PS and PSE, if You doesn't print commercially (CMYK), than You will not see too much difference in this what can be done in both of this programs. Sure PS allows You to do much more, but in the aspect of pure photography You will not fell the price difference.
If You will go for PSE than try to get it with some other product, as a bundle, i.e. with Wacom Bamboo.

Posted 2 years ago #
swame_sp

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jonnyapple said:
Lightroom and Aperture are very similar. I think you ought to get GIMP, which I think runs well on a mac and doesn't cost you anything, and see if you need aperture.

Jonnyapple, I already tried installing GIMP on my mac and it crashed very often. I have used GIMP on my friends PC and it worked fine without any crash. That's one of the reason for buying a software.

Posted 2 years ago #
swame_sp

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@Adamz.. Will PSE work in case if I wanted to try RAW? Will I be missing something?

So the software has to be for light to medium photography edits, low level flier edits.
RAW and HDR preparation will be plus. All the more it is for MAC.

I have shortlisted to:
- Lightroom
- Photoshop Elements.

PS is out because of budget and aperture because very few spoke for it.

Let me know if I'm going in the right direction.

Posted 2 years ago #
Worldcrossings

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Yeah get it with a Wacom Tablet... the tablets are the way to go!

Posted 2 years ago #
swame_sp

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Is that like a wacom tablet costing $99 and including adobe photoshop elements...???

Posted 2 years ago #
Worldcrossings

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If you happen to decide on Lightroom, PM me and I'll make available a zip file of all the LR presets I have collected. You can find a lot on the web, I have them all in one zip. They are easy to install.

Posted 2 years ago #
swame_sp

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Hey guys, final decision made... I would be going towards PSE because it is more towards JPEG as LR is on RAW.

- JPEG easier with PSE.
- within budget.
- Allows more edits.
- Also useful to edit flier content. (My other main reqt)
- downside, edits are destructive.

After my nikon DSLR I might go with LR if required. Hoping to give these a try with a trial version before I buy them. Thanks to everybody for your helpful comments. Appreciate it.

Posted 2 years ago #
JorPet

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To me it sounds like the need is for photo software that can also add text or other graphic elements to the picture. Especially if you are doing brochures you aren't just adjusting levels, adding filters, etc.

I don't have any experience with Aperture or Lightroom, but have used PSE since version 2. PSE will handle your Nikon RAW images as if they are jpg, no special handling is required. Just download them, edit them and save them to jpg. It also allows you to take an original and add layers of graphics and text (say a starburst with your message). This isn't tweaking a photo, it is developing creative.

While I like and highly recommend PSE for people who want to do artistic things with their images, I am likely to migrate to either Lightroom or Aperture in the future as I just want to tweak pictures, not create something that wasn't captured.

Posted 2 years ago #