Photoshop

I started the other week. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

Hi Dan,

I love using PS. The images that I begin with are in the PD, not mine at first. What I produce, I register with the copyright office.

The key for me to PS early on was squaring things like an engineer or engineering tech would. Not being extremely creative with the software, but with my concepts. Then growing further into using the program. I also looked for ways to do something different, and somewhat unexpected.

Dave

I use Photoshop Elements which is a scaled down version of big daddy Photoshop. (Using it for a few decades.)

As a "street" photography (in my real life) I do very little post-processing so big daddy Photoshop would be overkill for my purpose.

As a "fine art" photographer, I use Photoshop Elements most every day on my "pretty" images.

I also belong to "Smugmug" which has a very creative editing program. For that matter, even "Flickr" has a basic editing program.

i use photoshop for everything. i don't rely on the camera to get the shot i want. i don't have the newest version i have cs 5.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

I use an older version, along with other tools. Don't really have the memory for updated version, but don't really feel the need.
High learning curve; I'm self taught, but I feel it's an awesome set of tools that can take you on journeys that years ago weren't possible.
Love it!!

 

Hello Dan. I used a versatile photo editing program, Photo Impact for many years. An artist teaching at the same college I was a few years ago, was a Photoshop proponent. She was astounded on seeing what I could replicate using less costly digital software. I'd been invited to create and present a summer program in digital art, & on my recommendation, the college installed the software in the lab set up for my program.

About 3 years ago I decided to investigate PS -- love it -- there are many features that Photo Impact doesn't have. I'm also heavily into 3D digital modeling, and animation, and a lot of my workflow is via PS & other Adobe products.

I agree with Mike Breau, high learning curve -- well worth time invested.

carmenhathaway.com

Of course, I was joshing when I said I don't use PS, but it's fun to say that.

I actually think that PS is the closest thing to magic there is... :)

I actually have been using the latest versions of PS since version 1. And I use it on anything that will help and add to a photo. If Michaelangelo had had PS, I'm
sure he would have used the hell out of it. And that also goes for Ansel Adams, right? The old codger actually used the equivalent of PS in spades, in his
fancy darkroom.

Actually, the other versions of photo editing programs you guys mention are quite appropriate for editing, so as to not making your life any more complicated.

Dan

PS. Abbie, did you actually start using PS the other week, or are you pulling our legs?

when you work with a raw image, you have to use some kind of editor. would love it to be an all in camera shot, but until it can self clone things out, it won't happen.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Dan,

Many of the top fine artists working today are using computers to mock up their designs. Koons' sculptures were all mocked up on computers, possibly in PS first.

It would be like any of us making something in PS and then printing it ourselves, which some here do.

Dave

When I was trying to come up with something profound to make a point, the closest thing that came to mind was... Once you got used to using a smart phone, would you ever just get rid of it?

That's funny for me to say since I've never owned a cell phone of any kind (and I'm NOT "joshing"), but it's still the best response I could come up with.

For the relative newcomers to the software... be patient and stick with it, learning the portions you need the most first, and you will eventually progress to the point of thinking you couldn't do without it! Save those YouTube video tutorials in a folder in your "Favorites".

I am with Mike, I use Photoshop for most everything and have CS5 as well. Lightroom was one I tried, but went back to Photoshop as my base software. There other types of software used for certain effects but I usually finalize in Photoshop.

Been using Photoshop for 25 years. Wouldn’t do my work without it.

I have been exposed to Photoshop by a friend above me (waving at Rick) and am excited to learn the program but I have a long way to go. What I do know is it elevates photographs to a new level and some form of editing is required for any individual who wants to get to the next level as an artist. At least that is my opinion.

That's right Ellen. Besides providing a means of improving our images, it also allows us to use our creative abilities in an artistic endeavor.

Been using it since 2000... I have the online subscription. Love it...I think I've used PS on about 98% of the images I have up.

Right now, I'm satisfied with GIMP.

Maybe someday, I'll graduate to Photoshop

Brian mentioned You Tube; I'm sure there are many great tutorials and many utilize them, but I find many of them more quite difficult to go by.
Often they jump through too many hoops and some are really confusing.

The best way for me anyhow, was to find my own way and was able to create many work-a-bouts that are much quicker.

Some things I have learned that way seem to sink in better, and have taught me how to do some things that the programs don't readily offer.
Little discoveries that I envision when I start uploading will make many wonder just what I am using and how did I ever enable those programs to do that.
It's fun, time consuming but forever exciting.

Just wish it did all the keywords,descriptions and loading. That would really help.

When You like me did photograph very much in pre digital times You know that Yiou have to edit 99 % of all images to get a result like i.e, with slides.
This is not (only) a sign of insufficient technology but mostly a wanted base for processing in each possible direction with enough resources in the file.

For editing You do not need the expensive PS. Also for the online subscription You pay more in one year than for Your own PS Elements.
I use an older PS Elements version since 2014. Gimp is for free. Including the free NIK filters You have enough tools for fixing all inadequacy.

:::::::smacking Dan:::::::

Welcome to the club! LOL

Dan, about 2 weeks ago I started using it. A week before that I was watching tutorials. I'm a bit lost right now but I'll get there

with photoshop its best to learn each feature one at a time, or as you need it. there is a lot of stuff in there, i almost shudder to think what better versions have.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

I use Photoshop Elements for many years now. Can't imagine doing photography without it! I also can't live without NIK

I use Lightroom only.
PS is for graphic design purposes in my case.
I only use PS if there's a strange object (A hair, a dust spot or similar) that needs to be removed.

Thank you for posting your question about PS, I cannot wait to read the responses.


When I started in 2014, my son was in college for the arts and it was a program he had to purchase....200.00 per month but the student rate was like 32.00 per month. Now I pay about 20.00 because I only use Adobe PS 2018 CC.

As you can imagine the college students are being taught to use expensive programs to professionalize their work and when I started in 2014, I wasn't reading much about the program on the forum, people were talking about scanning. Adobe is user unfriendly, but I had a tutor and it takes a lot of effort to learn how to use it effectively. I still have questions almost weekly as to whether I should use it as well.

Do I think it's amazing? Yes, I do and I believe that probably the best selling artists are most likely using it...but not necessarily. And that is why I cannot wait to read the responses here.

Hi Dan
I regularly use Photoshop and love it. I used to hand color images...but not now. There is so much depth to be had from Photoshop and I only use a small element of the program.
Gary

I've been using PS for at least 20 years, along with 3rd party plug-ins like NIK. I use Fireworks in conjunction with PS for special effects, or Fireworks alone if I need to make PNGs.

I'm with Jessica. PSE + NIK works well for me.

Photoshop is an amazingly powerful tool. I suspect that many users commenting above, like me, are only using a fraction of its capabilities. But it was a very worthwhile purchase and I use it on the vast majority of my serious work. I am also using CS5 and am not sure if the subscription would be worth it for me. I experimented with Gimp and OnOne but have settled on PS. I also use all of the Nik filters & plugins.

I have been using Photoshop for 25 years. I use it every day. Combined with Lightroom, it is the developing tool of choice for me.

Some photos are tweaked, some are full-blown artistic recreations. It is a tool. Some like it, some do do. Me? I love it.

My experience with PS was minimal until they decided to charge "rent" for their products. I just don't make enough money from this to pay rent on software. My interest is not much on creating images as it is editing photos, so I decided to go with the Skylum products. I started with them when they were new and their apps (which were all Mac) have evolved rather quickly to where Luminar is quite good at photo editing; it's effective and easy. One of these days I will pony-up for Aurora, their HDR-specific program, but for now I have been using the free version of HDR FX pro.

At this point, I can't imagine going with Adobe. Aside from the photo editing world, their Flash software is the bane of computers, hacker-laden, used on many web sites, needed to be updated every time you turn around due to another malware exploit and being annoying and nagging about the updates. If I didn't need it for certain non-photo uses, I would definitely banish it from my computers.

I won't pay rent to Adobe either. I've been using CS6 since its release and it fulfills my requirements. CC offers nothing I need.

Been using PS for about 4 years now. Part of my workflow, depending on image, will use color grading, lumonsity masks, layers, dodging and burning and other features. may jump in and out of other plugins depending on what I'm doing.

Thank you for showing us an example, John Haldane.

Couldn't live without my Photoshop! To me, the in-camera photograph is almost always just the beginning of the adventure. There are so many things you can do in Photoshop...it's a playground for anyone with creative inklings. I can spend many hours almost in a trance while I experiment in Photoshop. Don't get me wrong, I love being out in nature taking photographs too, but PS is a whole other kind of fun.

I've used it for more years than I care to remember (since 1996). How do I feel about it? It's the same as the dodging and burning I used to do in the darkroom. Image enhancement, not manipulation.

I couldn't live without my photoshop! I don't use Lightroom I feel all I need is in Photoshop!

PS can be a powerful tool but there is a learning curve to it that turns people off. I primarily use LR but the more I learn different editing techniques in PS the more I find myself editing first in LR and then moving a file to PS to finish. It also helps that I just bought an iMac that is much faster at processing making it easier for me to move files back and forth and also makes the PS functions faster. PS could be really slow with my old MacBook.

Couldn't live without it. But I use CS6, not CC, and I usually only use it for final tweaks, everything else is first done on an iPad. I hope I'll have better options before I get desperate enough to use a subscription service.

___________
Susan Maxwell Schmidt
So-so Group Moderator,
Sometimes Board Moderator and
Artist Extraordinaire

I can't for the life of me figure out why some people are so against paying a monthly fee for Adobe CC? You can get both LR and PS for only $9.99 per month and you get all the updates. I love knowing I have all the newest features each program has to offer and that I won't have to buy a new version (which will likely be equal to what I have been paying for a monthly subscription) every couple of years. It also makes it super easy to move files between programs and if you want to add other programs like Premier Pro for video you can do so with a click of a button. But to each his own I guess.

Donnie, it's not just that I'm opposed to that business model. I don't have a spare $120 to pay them every year for the rest of my life. Property taxes alone take more than a month and a half of my annual income. It's all I can do to keep a roof over our heads and keep everyone fed. I can't feed Adobe too.

Hello guys,

Yes indeed. PS, to me, is the closest thing that you can get to magic, in art, that is.

And many of you are correct; there are some very excellent other programs out there that one can use. But for those who do use PS, it is simply fantastic. And I can not
exaggerate the value of having the latest versions. The improvements are simply amazing. So, if by chance, you're not using the latest version(s), you're missing
out on a lot. (BTW., I get nothing from Adobe for this. I simply love it.) :)

Of course, there is a long and hard learning curve. T'ain't easy!

But now, here's some great info for you all. In perusing YouTube, I found someone very special. Some of you might know of him? I will give you guys a great resource for tutorials and really learning PS with much less confusion.

You can search him by "Piximperfect." It is a young Indian fellow who I believe has been born to teach. His tutorials in any PS subject are simply incredible.
His clarity of explanation, his pleasing and enthusiastic personality, etc., are quite amazing. Whatever tutorial you have seen in the past about any given PS subject,
check out to see if he has something in that area and then, compare. You will be shocked with the clarity of this young man's tutorials. He simply makes understanding the subject
so simple and clear that you'll love him and watch all of his tutorials at one point.

Go ahead. Look him up and post here as to what you think of him and his tutorials.

Best regards, Dan

Dan,

I totally agree with you about the improvements with updates on PS.
I've heard many people tell me they're still using old versions of Photoshop... like Versions 7 !!! and for some reason aren't convinced they could be improved sufficiently for them.

I'm also one (so far) who would rather stick with PS-CS6 then pay monthly but I know they'll be some cool improvements I'll miss out on.

When you were describing the Indian YouTube instructor, I knew from your description who you were referring to but I only came across some of his tutorials recently and I too was very impressed. I wasn't however familiar with the search "Pixel Imperfect". I searched for that and found you made a slight error...

It should be "PiXimperfect"... NOT "Pixel Imperfect".

Cheers!

In short, always.

As far as I'm concerned the press of the shutter is just the beginning. Of course I strive for a well composed and well exposed image at the time of capture, the camera doesn't "see" what I see that compelled me to make the photo in the first place.

Though technically Lightroom is my main photo editing, organizing, enhancing software.

Donnie, I'm right there with you! Another argument for the subscription that is seldom mentioned, eventually older versions of PS will no longer be supported by new operating systems. When that happens you're stuck. Yes there are free alternatives, but few if any have the online support that PS and LR do.

Hey folks, I have never owned a copy of PS, but I have used a number of other affordable options. I did buy PS elements last year and only now am I getting around it a little better but it wasn't one I would go to everyday.

If you want a alternative to PS CC, try Corel Paintshop Pro, that is a very good one and the closest to PS you will find on the market today. I used it prior to Win 10 and for some reason once I upgraded my OS, the Corel version I had didn't work anymore because of the drastic changes the OS got compared to Win 7 and older. It was an outdated version and I didn't bother to address the problem with tech support because I wasn't using it much at the time so wasn't worried about it. But it is a very good program.

Heres a link to Corel's products: http://www.corel.com/en/special-offers/?affiliate=48872

I was using Tiffen's DFX for many years, but they changed last year to DFT and I have not tried that yet. But there really are many great options if you are looking to get creative digitally.

When I first started out in 2006, learning editing software went hand and hand. Because I am a nut for details and things needing to look finished. I always hate starting out using a new software, but like everything in the digital age it does get easier each time you do it.

Take the leap and try a new software to keep up with the improving tools and additional options. Because staying relivant in this game is very important.