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Photoshop Elements
Meercat
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I would like to learn Photoshop but seeing it is so expensive I was considering buying Photoshop elements to begin with.
Has anyone here used it? Is it worth buying as a first step to Photoshop.
Thank You
Has anyone here used it? Is it worth buying as a first step to Photoshop.
Thank You
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They are much more functional than elements and both free. Once you get good at that a week or so with the free demo of PS and you'll be laughing. They're very much the same.
Myself I use paint shop pro
I'd still use the free one though if I were you.
The earlier versions of Elements are pretty weak, but each version has inherited extra features from its big brother, so its a very functional package now.
All the above are available on free trials - it's probably worth trying all of them, especially if your hardware is limited. For example, Lightroom can be slow unless your PC is up to date.
GIMP could put you off photo post-processing for life. It was, and still is, most at home on Linux systems and is notorious for its quirky interface and steep learning curve. Paint.net is a lot better, but much of its power comes from add-ins and you need a lot of patience to a) find out what you can with it and b) find the right add-in to actually do it. Both GIMP and Paint.net are free, and that's their main advantage. If you must have free, I'd suggest Paint.net, but in this area of software, you pretty much get what you pay for.
As such, I'd go for Elements whenever possible. Gimp I found rather fiddly. Paint shop pro was great, but I don't have any experience with the newer ones.
Either way, spend plenty of time watching tutorials on Youtube. Once you've learnt the basic techniques, everything else falls into place. Cloning/airbrushing is a fun place to start.
Light room is awesome, I use it more than any other editing program. It's got quite a specific use though - editing and organising lots of photos quickly. On pure editing, it's less powerful even than elements, though again, every new version gets more tools added to it.
Light room + elements is a great combo, and what I use on a daily basis. Most photos just need a bit of light room work but anything more complicated I use elements.
I agree with this.
You would be much better off buying Paint Shop Pro. It is far more capable than Photoshop Elements and is by far the most advanced photo editor other than Photoshop. What you learn in Paint Shop Pro could also later be used in Photoshop as photo editing tools and knowledge is similar.