Photo Editing Software

[Jcas]

I have been doing digital photograpy for a couple of years now, and when i first
started i found the processing part so much of a learning curve that i tried with this
and that as far as editing programs go.

I think the first place i started was with picasa, but didnt like it, since then i have gone from
program to program looking for one that i feel comfortable with.

I can see that the majority use and love PS, i have dabbled with it and LR, but still
don't use the same program constantly.

I know that the only way to get savvy with a program is to stick with it and persavere
but for some reason i never did that and i regret it now, because i still dabble in a few
but master at none IYKWIM.

How did you start out with the processing bit, did you get one main package and stick to it
or do we all dabble with a few?

[Canon_Matt]

I started with Photoscape as it was a free download. A lot of it is automated and there is not a great deal of freedom.
I then got my hands on CS4 and have not tried anything else. Would prefer to get used to it. Popular program with a lot of plug-ins, actions, textures etc
available. There is also millions of sites that have tutorials and other avenues for assistance.

I am also considering getting Photomatix for HSR and tone mapping. That is about it for me.

[Granniebea]

I have used CS3 & CS 4, there are lots of applications for photo editing. Once you know the basic then the rest is playing around with the photos.I always copy the original and play with the copy.
That way you always have the original to play with and it is better to copy from that, than copy from a copy.
You'll never get comfortable with a programme if you don't stick with it. What programme do you have now? I started with Microsoft Digital Image and learnt techniques on that .
Then I went to CS and started to experiment with layers,saturation etc. I am no expert but I do like to play on the programme and see what I can come up with...some good some bad.

[Jim]

I did the dabble thing as well and was pretty much getting no where fast Julie. I tried them all and then just stuck with the industry standard CS4, yep it's not the easiest to begin with but in the long run it really is the easiest to persevere with. I bought some really great books and downloaded some instructional vids. These made the learning curve to be able to do some simple editing a lot easier. I also downloaded a lot of Nik, Topaz etc add ons and these help tremendously.

I've been mucking around with CS5 the last week or so and it's a lot of fun.

[Hokey]

I did the dabble thing as well and was pretty much getting no where fast Julie. I tried them all and then just stuck with the industry standard CS4, yep it's not the easiest to begin with but in the long run it really is the easiest to persevere with. I bought some really great books and downloaded some instructional vids. These made the learning curve to be able to do some simple editing a lot easier. I also downloaded a lot of Nik, Topaz etc add ons and these help tremendously.

I've been mucking around with CS5 the last week or so and it's a lot of fun.

I followed the same path, way back in the days of Photoshop 5. Then Photoshop 5.5 came out and as a webmaster building sites it just offered so many good features that I never looked back.

Every now and then I grab a plug-in or stand alone prog that does something unique... but I just use Photoshop Vanilla about 99.9% of the time... mostly because I am lazy :-)