Is Photoshop a MUST?

[Dave Humphries]

Does photoshop do everything that Elements does? Is there any benefit in running both of them?

Hi Cherie,

Yes and No in that order, for your two questions above.

Not that I have used CS4, but one is just a cut down version of the other.

The picture viewing bit in Elements is replaced by something called "Bridge" in CS2/3/4.

Whereas Elements is just "Elements" or occasionally "Elements (Editor)" when viewed as the right click "Open with..." dialog in Windows file explorer.

Cheers,

[Amberglass]

Wow, I am starting to wonder how I would ever get ahead without everyone here!

My next question is:

Does photoshop do everything that Elements does? Is there any benefit in running both of them?

Here you go: http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/pho...ntscompare.htm

You can also compare products on http://www.adobe.com/.

Elements is the beginner's or watered down version of the full version of PS CS line.

[Colin Southern]

If you have PS CS4, then you won't need PSE (it's a bit like owning a shovel when you already own an excavator!).

[KentDub]

Wow, I am starting to wonder how I would ever get ahead without everyone here!

My next question is:

Does photoshop do everything that Elements does? Is there any benefit in running both of them?

Yes, its everything and more

[Colin O'Regan]

I picked up my copy of CS4 Extended from Academic Software.
It only cost me $200.

Of course I had to qualify for this great price by paying 10k per year per student (Ihave twins).
Hmmm....I'm not an accountant but it seems I've paid around $22,000 for this awesome program. Not including the tutorial books that have run an extra $150 and just climbed a bit more due to suggestions on this site.
It's still cheaper than the camera and lenses that I need/want.

I truly am having a great time with this new found love of photography and sites like this that provide knowledge, inspiration, and encouragement.

Colin

[paulherrin]

good on ye colin.


now straws, i might dare say that elements is of no use whatsoever if you have the full version. just takes up space... so i'd get rid of it.


happy thanksgiving everyone! yes, even those of you not on the continent...

i spent last year's in europe, but i'm definitely glad to be home for this one.

peace and thanksgiving,

paul

[strawbs77]

Excellent. I was tempted to download the trial after I got the book from the library, but now I know it isn't needed I wont waste my time.

I think I need to remove Paint Shop Pro from my PC so I am forced to use CS4.

Gee .... I am looking forward to the day when I can contribute to the forum instead of asking so many questions!

[Dave Humphries]

Gee .... I am looking forward to the day when I can contribute to the forum instead of asking so many questions!

Don't worry, it'll come sooner than you think - e.g. somebody will be starting out and you'll have just done what they're still trying to do, and because it's so recent, you'll understand their POV far easier than the more experienced members.

That's what I found ...

[Colin Southern]

Hi Cherie,

I find that in photography there are always some who will know more than you or I, and always some who will know less - it's a thought that always keeps me "grounded" when my over-inflated sense of self-importance starts to give me a swollen head!

[rpcrowe]

I am not sure about the U.K. but, many community colleges here in the U.S. have courses in Photoshop and Photoshop elements which are either free or are offered at a very slight charge. I have not seen similar programs locally in the other editing programs.

That might be the way to decide if Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Lightroom might be the program of choice for your needs (after all, individual needs do differ).

Additionally, in the U.S. enrolling in a community college course will give you student status which makes you eligible to purchase an "Educational" version of an Adobe program either directly from Adobe or from an authorized Adobe Vendor.

I enrolled in a free six week course in Adobe Photoshop at the San Diego Community College Adult Education Program and was eligible to purchase a copy of Adobe Creative Suite at a fraction of the cost of a commercial version. I also learned a lot about using Photoshop by taking the course.

[KentDub]

The "problem" with the Academic versions is you arn't eligible to upgrade it to future versions - you must pay for a full license. While the Academic licensing makes it cheap to get into Photoshop, it's not the cheapest way to own the software as time progresses.

[Benboxer]

You can also get earlier versions online at a substantial savings! I use Photoshop 6 and it does everything I need it to do (not RAW though). Colin is right, you WILL have to crack some books! Photoshop does not lend itself to intuitive learning, you will thrive with the use of some good instruction. I also find it helpful to watch people, with more experience than myself, using Photoshop themselves, then reverse engineering what they did at home! Photoshop has saved a lot of photos that I would have otherwise buried in a file, titled " Almost got it!"! So, yes, you will definitely find it to be a valuable tool!

[mrsoto]

It depends

If you want to super-retouch probably yes, but

If you need to post process your photos, raw or jpg, you may use:

Rawtherapee and Gimp, all for free, and will be impressed what can you get from they, and yf google a while will see that some tests show RT better than camera raw

Gimp works only in 8bit file so you have to make all color, levels and curves in RT and use Gimp only to compose layers from tiff files

P.D.
Factory default today is blackberry, way?, because you can read email and my friend has one !!

[Colin Southern]

some tests show RT better than camera raw

You can probably also find "tests" to show that the world is round and that a go kart is faster than a formula 1 car when raced inside an average-sized bedroom - but often when you look into these things you find issues like:

- they're referring to old versions, or

- the "tests" come down to someone who knows nothing about colour management saying that "they prefer the colour from this one over that one", or

- the "tests" come from someone who is so anti-Adobe that any degree of objectivity is purely coincidental.

I've been privilaged to know a little more of the internal workings of ACR than the average man on the street - there is some awfully clever code in there - and if anyone wants to have a little competition in RAW file processing I'll step up to the plate with ACR anyday.

[Benboxer]

. Old school here, I prefer to get my images correct on site and in camera while I still have the subject in front of me while time allows.

It's like getting a hole in one!