Paint.NET????
 

I am an extreme novice photographer. I definately cannot plunk down $1000 on Photoshop, but I noticed a free site called Paint.NET. Any experience/knowledge of this program? I don't have expensive cameras or lenses but would like to tinker with photos more than just the generic options offered with Picasa or many of the other photo hostin sites.

I am really enjoying this particular forum here on FlyerTalk. I love taking pics as I travel, and I am find that everyone seems to be really helpful here when it comes to constructive criticism.

Thx in advance!

Students often get very low prices on software. Perhaps register for a course, and then you can buy it for a couple of hundred? I'm sure Google would pick something up. Or perhaps have a student buy one for you? :)

So there is nothing out there that even comes close to PS then? Not even GIMP? I am afraid that if I DO spend a good chunck of change on PS there is no way I will figure out how to use it, and alot of the technical terms used on alot of forum go right over my head, even in the tutorials that are supposed to be "for beginners"...

There are a lot of software packages out there. What kind of editing are you looking to do? There are some packages under $100 that are pretty good for basic and moderate editing. If you're a Costco member, it might even be a good way to evaluate software, and if doesn't work for you, return it.

Shrlirley, May I call you Shirley?:D See this thread about The online version of Photoshop called Photoshop Express There is also a pared down version of Photoshop called Elements that comes with many cameras. Convenient to have if there's no wifi available.

Yes actually this is what I have been using since seein it on here. But I want to do more that the options they give me. I read alot on here about layering and sharpening, etc. The closest I have found its this Gimp.com. It looks very similar to PS, and it too, is VERY complicated, so I am trying to take tutorials off the web. When It comed to these types of thing I like for it to be explained in some sort of lanuage that I can understand:D. I was hoping someone here would check it out and give me their scoop on it. Seems like there is a lotof potential at GIMP, If I can only figure out how it works. Who knew manipulating photos requires a lifetime of study????

Gimp is an interesting problem. It has many of the features that Photoshop had maybe around version 7.0. It certainly does have most, if not all, of the editing capability.

However, it does not have full 16-bit support, CMYK support, or color calibration. I believe that these features are in active development, but I'm not sure how close they are to being finished. It does not yet have non-destructive editing (like Photoshop's smart filters and adjustment layers). The user interface is also ancient and is now in the process of being redesigned to be more sane and easier to use (theoretically but until they do so its not exactly fun to use). You'll also likely find less documentation than for Photoshop, though since they have similar features you can probably use Photoshop documentation to understand the basics of how to do something.

As for complexity, the simplest answer is that these tools are designed to appeal not just to a person editing photographs but to digital artists, publishers, and many other people. You will probably only touch on some of what something like Photoshop provides but to get all that functionality into Photoshop requires a more complicated interface than something like Elements.

Paint Shop Pro is a capable, and cheaper product.

OMG, watching the GIMP tutorials on You Tube is mind numbing. I CAN NOT wrap my brain around layering. I swear I might be slow. I am so frustrated right now with the whole thing. It amazes me how young some of these people are that are doing the demonstrations, yet they know so much. I downloaded the gimp program, and the PS free trial (which I have yet to even try). Was anyone else supremely discouraged right from the git-go?

They are mind numbing because the GIMP UI is terrible. That's what happens when open source developers have control over UI vs. a marketing team that actually wants money for the product.

I use Paint.NET on my laptop as a nice paint replacement. It's does about 1/1000th the things that PS does. It is a good MS Paint replacement, not a good Photoshop replacement. I'd go with Paint Shop Pro before I went for Paint.NET for photography.

Photoshop Elements is around $100, I think, or maybe even less if you shop around. That is what I use and I'm very happy with it. I've read reviews that state it is more than adequate for non-pros like you and me, doing a lot of the things that regular Photoshop does. See, e.g., this article: http://www.graphic-design.com/Photos..._elements.html

I, at least, do not need all the advanced options of reg. PS that are geared toward the professionals.

Good luck (and be patient with layering -- I'm still working it out, even after three years, but then I'm a total computer doofus).

I just watched a GIMP video on youtube. I've got a headache! As a PS CS3 for Mac user, I'm astounded at how clunky it is.

If you're having problems with the idea of layers, you may not be ready for the next steps in photo editing. Maybe it's time to think about your photography philosophy?

Some people put a heavy emphasis on layers because that style of editing is suited for the end product that they want. As a photographer who personally believes that photography should be about recreating life, and to an extent a visual truth, layers aren't as valuable. So I would think about what the end product that you, as an artist, want - do you want heavily stylized photographs with lots of editing, or do you want to take the images that you've taken and tweak the color, cropping, etc to enhance what you've already taken?

Both tracks are equally valuable but they produce very different results. It's up to you.

I would definately say the latter. I honestlywas watching the video thinking that the only way to do anything to make photo's "artistic" was by layering. Granted, I have only been trying to figure all this out in the last few days, and I am a very impatient person when it comes to picking up new skills. This all seems so complicated. But I REALLY enjoy taking the actual pictures. I would like to make them look as good as they can, but I do not want to create something that isnt wat it was when I took the photo (if that makes ANY sense)...

I am looking at all of the suggestions everyone has offered here. I appreciate it, and any other tips y'all may have to offer a beginner.

You should probably focus on the actual taking of the picture, rather than the editing, then. Work on composition, metering, depth of field, etc and the rest will come. Don't be afraid to make mistakes and have fun!

Yes, as I've mentioned GIMP's UI is horrible. And it's not because of open-source. Many open source UIs are equal to, if not better than, their commercial counterparts. This is especially true of large projects, which GIMP is. Unfortunately, the GIMP developers specifically have said "We like it this way and we don't care that everyone else doesn't agree with us". It's unfortunate, but the nice thing with open-source is that if other people want to, they can take the project, make a copy of it and redesign whatever they want to. And yes, this has happened to major projects before.

One piece of software you might want to play with if you're shooting RAW is UFRaw, a very capable RAW processor that has most, if not all, of the functionality of Adobe Camera Raw and similar quality. Definitely not as integrated, but you can still play with it.

Another piece of software that might be useful is Krita, which is another Photoshop competitor. It probably won't be available for Windows until the end of the year but it looks promising. The UI is also clunky (for different reasons than GIMP), but a brand new version is coming (along with the Windows support) so it might turn out good towards the end of the year.