celluloidprop
Well-known
LR3, Color Efex Pro & Silver Efex Pro when desired. I have the CS5 design suite but I haven't found a use for Photoshop CS5 itself aside from resizing scanned files - it's been so long since I used it regularly (CS) that I now find the LR controls far more intuitive.
peterm1
Veteran
I almost exclusively use a program that most photographers know little about - Corel PaintShop Pro x4.
It is basically the same in essential respects as Photoshop - somewhere between Elements and CS but without their complexity.
I like it as it has the following advantages:
- It is cheap - much cheaper even than PS Elements but with more powerful functions (Elements has some of CS's functions disabled to encourage you to buy the much more expensive CS.)
- It is powerful. It basically has all of Photoshop's more esoteric and powerful functions like selections and layers if you wish (and know how) to use them.
- It is simple. It has a lot of wizards and tools not found in many (perhaps any) other software. Too many to describe here and most designed especially for photographers.
- It is compatible. Most Photoshop compatible plugins (like the powerful and excellent Nik ones) work fine.
One small disadvantage is that most tutorials and so forth found on the web are for Photoshop not Corel's offering and Corel sometimes uses different terminology to Adobe so if you are still learning and need to use tutorials you have to work out which are the Corel equivalents and translate them in your mind before trying them.
I really cannot speak too highly of this product and definitely prefer it to PS.
Also whilst I have tried Lightroom and think its fine so long as you do not want to use layers and so forth I do find it a little limiting.
And as for Photoshop, its too expensive and in some respects more complex to use as its primarily a tool for experts and graphic designers.
It is basically the same in essential respects as Photoshop - somewhere between Elements and CS but without their complexity.
I like it as it has the following advantages:
- It is cheap - much cheaper even than PS Elements but with more powerful functions (Elements has some of CS's functions disabled to encourage you to buy the much more expensive CS.)
- It is powerful. It basically has all of Photoshop's more esoteric and powerful functions like selections and layers if you wish (and know how) to use them.
- It is simple. It has a lot of wizards and tools not found in many (perhaps any) other software. Too many to describe here and most designed especially for photographers.
- It is compatible. Most Photoshop compatible plugins (like the powerful and excellent Nik ones) work fine.
One small disadvantage is that most tutorials and so forth found on the web are for Photoshop not Corel's offering and Corel sometimes uses different terminology to Adobe so if you are still learning and need to use tutorials you have to work out which are the Corel equivalents and translate them in your mind before trying them.
I really cannot speak too highly of this product and definitely prefer it to PS.
Also whilst I have tried Lightroom and think its fine so long as you do not want to use layers and so forth I do find it a little limiting.
And as for Photoshop, its too expensive and in some respects more complex to use as its primarily a tool for experts and graphic designers.
nightfly
Well-known
The thing with programs like Lightroom, at least when working on RAW files is that all the editing is non destructive and reversible so the idea of layers isn't really relevant anymore. The reason to use layers was to create something on top of the image that you could turn on and off and adjust at any time without altering the underlying image.
With Lightroom and it's equivalents, all the things you do the image are in effect layers (really an XML file telling the machine what to do to the image) that never touches the original, at least that's my understanding.
With Lightroom and it's equivalents, all the things you do the image are in effect layers (really an XML file telling the machine what to do to the image) that never touches the original, at least that's my understanding.
peterm1
Veteran
I do not fully agree. While layers are a non destructive form of editing I have never used them for that purpose - I find that with photographic post processing unlike in graphic design the need is not so great and its easy to use the history tool to step backwards thru edits in the unlikely event that changes are needed.
But I find layers very useful in other situations. Powerful even!
Firstly layers allow you to use different blending modes. For example creating a duplicate layer and changing its blending mode to "multiply" immediately makes an over exposed image much darker and more contrasty. The opposite applies if you use the "screen" mode on a too dark image. What could be easier than a 2 step fix to an under or over exposed image.
There are also many more complex recipies you can apply to photos to fix various problems using combinations of blending modes. And believe me they are not too hard complex or difficult. But they do work very well indeed.
Secondly I like to use layers as a very effective way of applying selective edits.
By applying edits on a duplicate layer you can then erase part of the top layer to let the unedited layer below show thru in those erased areas. A good example is when you want to darken up part of the image but not other parts. This is about the simplest and most effective way of selectively applying filters and edits I know.
Thirdly you can use layers to infinitely adust the strength of filters and plugins. By applying a filter to a layer instead of to the original you can then use the "opacity" slider to back off the intensity of the filter. This works great for example with sharpening, where its easy to over do it. But the same can be said for any filter as sometimes the effects strength slider in the filter does not give enough control.
And if you wish to be fancy you can do all of the above.
Before I learned to use layers I used to be skeptical, thinking much the same - that they were only good for non destructive editing.
Now I know better!
Turtle
Veteran
LR3 and Elements. All I could ever ask for right now.
LR3 changed digital photography for me.
LR3 changed digital photography for me.
Kent
Finally at home...
LR 3.6 and CS4 (Thanks to the educational licence system!)
And playing with LR4Beta.
And playing with LR4Beta.
ColSebastianMoran
( IRL Richard Karash )
For processing all the images in a shoot, lens corrections, selecting and rejecting, cropping, color balance, adjustments, dodge/burn, gradients, and output for intended purpose it's Lightroom. Revolutionary. Fabulous tool for working with 100's of images.
For a few images, Photoshop CS5. Fabulous tool for ultimate tweeks to one image at a time.
For HDR compositing for contrast management, PhotoMatix.
For compositing into panoramas for an ultraside shot or to get enough pixels for extreme print sizes, PTGui.
For a few images, Photoshop CS5. Fabulous tool for ultimate tweeks to one image at a time.
For HDR compositing for contrast management, PhotoMatix.
For compositing into panoramas for an ultraside shot or to get enough pixels for extreme print sizes, PTGui.
nightfly
Well-known
Your use and needs are far more sophisticated than mine in regards to photo manipulation.
For me, I used to just create adjustment layers for levels and curves in black and white and levels and curves and color balance in color in Photoshop and that was it so Lightroom is a good substitute.
Also the batch tools are much better than recording actions.
For me I love taking pictures and I like developing film but post processing, whether printing in the darkroom or using the digital tools is my least favorite part so I try to apply as little manipulation as possible to get the photo where I want it.
For more complex use of layers like you cite, something like Lightroom would not be an adequate substitute.
For me, I used to just create adjustment layers for levels and curves in black and white and levels and curves and color balance in color in Photoshop and that was it so Lightroom is a good substitute.
Also the batch tools are much better than recording actions.
For me I love taking pictures and I like developing film but post processing, whether printing in the darkroom or using the digital tools is my least favorite part so I try to apply as little manipulation as possible to get the photo where I want it.
For more complex use of layers like you cite, something like Lightroom would not be an adequate substitute.
I do not fully agree. While layers are a non destructive form of editing I have never used them for that purpose - I find that with photographic post processing unlike in graphic design the need is not so great and its easy to use the history tool to step backwards thru edits in the unlikely event that changes are needed.
But I find layers very useful in other situations. Powerful even!
Firstly layers allow you to use different blending modes. For example creating a duplicate layer and changing its blending mode to "multiply" immediately makes an over exposed image much darker and more contrasty. The opposite applies if you use the "screen" mode on a too dark image. What could be easier than a 2 step fix to an under or over exposed image.
There are also many more complex recipies you can apply to photos to fix various problems using combinations of blending modes. And believe me they are not too hard complex or difficult. But they do work very well indeed.
Secondly I like to use layers as a very effective way of applying selective edits.
By applying edits on a duplicate layer you can then erase part of the top layer to let the unedited layer below show thru in those erased areas. A good example is when you want to darken up part of the image but not other parts. This is about the simplest and most effective way of selectively applying filters and edits I know.
Thirdly you can use layers to infinitely adust the strength of filters and plugins. By applying a filter to a layer instead of to the original you can then use the "opacity" slider to back off the intensity of the filter. This works great for example with sharpening, where its easy to over do it. But the same can be said for any filter as sometimes the effects strength slider in the filter does not give enough control.
And if you wish to be fancy you can do all of the above.
Before I learned to use layers I used to be skeptical, thinking much the same - that they were only good for non destructive editing.
Now I know better!