First Post Image Software

[CatherineA]

1) I haven't done any post image processing so far and tonight I downloaded the software that is free from Nikon and is compatible with my Nikon bridge camera. Looking at it, I can see that there will be a learning curve involved and I wonder whether it would be a better investment of my time if I were to instead subscribe to Photoshop Elements or Lightroom. Any thoughts on that?

2) When I post a photo on CIC, members have been able to see its metadata. I tried following the steps for how that is done but I can't be doing right and I can't see my own metadata on the posted images. The steps were straight forward but I'm doing something wrong.

Thank you!

[Manfred M]

1) I haven't done any post image processing so far and tonight I downloaded the software that is free from Nikon and is compatible with my Nikon bridge camera. Looking at it, I can see that there will be a learning curve involved and I wonder whether it would be a better investment of my time if I were to instead subscribe to Photoshop Elements or Lightroom. Any thoughts on that?

2) When I post a photo on CIC, members have been able to see its metadata. I tried following the steps for how that is done but I can't be doing right and I can't see my own metadata on the posted images. The steps were straight forward but I'm doing something wrong.

Thank you!

1. The View NX-D software that ships with the Nikon cameras is quite rudimentary / basic, but is a good starting point to do some image editing. The basic functionality is somewhat akin to the "Develop Engine" in Lightroom. Photoshop is a very complex program with a very long learning curve. It is extremely powerful, but takes a lot of dedication (time) to master. The Nikon website lets you download this software if you don't already have it.

I would suggest that you work with the software that shipped with your camera to get a basic understanding of some of the things you can do with post-processing software before you put down some money on products like Lightroom and Photoshop.

2. If you use Nikon NX-D, then the information palette will display the exit (metadata) for your file.

[JohnRostron]

For post-processing, I would recommend Affinity Photo (AP). It is cheaper than most (£50) and will do almost anything that Photoshop will do. However some users have found that loading raw files is too slow. Many PS plugins also work with AP. You can have a week'free trial.

In windows, the file properties will show metadata, and allows you to selectively remove it. AP shows only the description metadata item.

John

[george013]

1) I haven't done any post image processing so far and tonight I downloaded the software that is free from Nikon and is compatible with my Nikon bridge camera. Looking at it, I can see that there will be a learning curve involved and I wonder whether it would be a better investment of my time if I were to instead subscribe to Photoshop Elements or Lightroom. Any thoughts on that?

2) When I post a photo on CIC, members have been able to see its metadata. I tried following the steps for how that is done but I can't be doing right and I can't see my own metadata on the posted images. The steps were straight forward but I'm doing something wrong.

Thank you!

There're two free programs from Nikon: ViewNx and CaptureNx-D.

I can see your metadata form this one
1/320 f8 iso200 etc. You need a plugin in your browser to see it.

George

[Shadowman]

1) I haven't done any post image processing so far and tonight I downloaded the software that is free from Nikon and is compatible with my Nikon bridge camera. Looking at it, I can see that there will be a learning curve involved and I wonder whether it would be a better investment of my time if I were to instead subscribe to Photoshop Elements or Lightroom. Any thoughts on that?

2) When I post a photo on CIC, members have been able to see its metadata. I tried following the steps for how that is done but I can't be doing right and I can't see my own metadata on the posted images. The steps were straight forward but I'm doing something wrong.

Thank you!

Catherine,

Can you see the metadata within the View NX software? I believe the latest version is ViewNX-i and it is sometimes coupled with Capture NX-D which you have to download from the Nikon website. Both are good starting points but I rarely use either at home, I have both installed at work and it can take some time getting used to. I do believe you'll find other software packages easier to use but I'm not going to get into the subscription packages as I don't use them, I use earlier versions of Adobe products which may or may not still be available. If you find the Nikon software compatible with your workflow then stick with it, what drives me to experiment with other software programs are good noise reduction and sharpening tools; your exploration challenges and others might be different.

[george013]

When I post a photo on CIC, members have been able to see its metadata. I tried following the steps for how that is done but I can't be doing right and I can't see my own metadata on the posted images. The steps were straight forward but I'm doing something wrong.

She is asking how one can see them in this forum, in the browser.

George

[CatherineA]

Thank you very much for your replies.

- I can now see the metadata in images posted in the forum. Great, thanks!

- I've been poking around ViewNX and Capture NX this morning. Don't love 'em but I'm not intuitive with this type of thing so I need to work with them longer. Once I know my way around a bit I will compare it to AP.

[george013]

Thank you very much for your replies.

- I can now see the metadata in images posted in the forum. Great, thanks!

- I've been poking around ViewNX and Capture NX this morning. Don't love 'em but I'm not intuitive with this type of thing so I need to work with them longer. Once I know my way around a bit I will compare it to AP.

How did you do it? If you use a program, than you must download them first. If you use by example FireFox it's justan addon you must install. I don't know of the other browsers.

[rpcrowe]

I first used the free Canon software that was supplied with my Canon DSLR camera but, decided that I would rather spend my time in learning a program that has more capabilities.

I opted for Photoshop but, that was many-many years ago and I am still learning this wonderful but, very complicated program. I was lucky in that my wife was a professor at a local college and we were able to get an academic version of Photoshop 6 (not CS6)

Photoshop Elements is a less expensive and, some say - easier to master program.

The advantage of PSE is that if you ever desire to use the full Photoshop program, much of your learning is directly applicable to that program.

A quick look at the various editing programs and their prices resulted in this list:

Paintshop Pro: ($44.99 USD) https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/searc...rch=yes&sts=ps

Adobe Photoshop Elements: ($69.99 USD) https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...=Y&sku=1362999

Serif Photoplus for Windows: (89.99 USD) https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...toplus_x7.html

ON1 Photo RAW 2018: ($119 USD) https://www.on1.com/products/photo-r...BoCAaYQAvD_BwE

Lightroom 6: ($149 USD) https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...76,92051677682,,

If you are seriously into editing, Adobe has a subscription service which provides Photoshop, Lightroom and Adobe Bridge at right about $10 USD per month. The advantage of this service is that your program will be upgraded at no additional charge.

There are a variety of free editing programs available.

Such as GIMP: https://www.gimp.org/ Donald, our moderator used GIMP but he has transitioned over to the Adobe subscription service

One word of caution: many of today's free editing programs are aimed at cell phone photography for Instagram and Facebook and do not have the capabilities of the standard editing programs.

If you happen to be a teacher or work for a school or college system, you can qualify for Academic editions of various Adobe and other programs at a reduced price.

Except for my subscription to Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom/Bridge, I prefer to get my programs on a CD ROM rather than to download from the web. That way, I always have the program to reload if anything goes amiss with my computer...

[Manfred M]

Catherine:

There are essentially two types of editing software used for image editing:

1. Parametric Editor - View NX-D, Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, DxO PhotoLab, Phase One Capture One, etc. are some common ones. These can be used to edit jpeg images that come straight out of the camera, but were primarily designed to work with raw data files. Your Coolpix does not give you access to raw data, so the point is a bit moot.

A some parametric editors only make "global" chances to the image; i.e. the change is applied to the whole image, but some, like Lightroom allow some limited local editing as well. What parametric editors have in common is that they store their editing information as "parameters", i.e. instructions on what edits to perform.

2. Pixel based editor - like Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Affinity, Gimp, etc. destructively manipulate individual pixels in a file. This means that one can do a lot more with them than with a parametric editor, including some fairly major "surgery" to an image. All this additional complexity means that this type of software has a much longer learning curve than with a parametric editor.

Which editor to use - first of all, many of the members of this site have cameras that have raw file output, so they have to use a raw converter / parametric editor. Parametric editors can also edit jpeg files. For some, this is all the editing power that they need and they will do all their work in a parametric editor like View NX-D or Lightroom. Others find that they need more control and will use a pixel based editor (I fall into this group).

Which editor to use is also a matter of opinion. The one that shipped with your camera is the obvious place to start. Adobe ow the "elephant in the room", and their Lightroom / Adobe Camera Raw / Photoshop are the defacto "industry standard", much like Microsoft Office is in the office suite line. Adobe offers these products on a subscription basis, so there are monthly fees; $10 US plus applicable local taxes, if you take an annual subscription. Not everyone likes using Adobe software for personal reasons, so there are other products on the market that one can purchase, or in the case of Gimp, download it for free. Many products offer time-limited trial periods.

As for learning how to use the software, there are online tutorials and videos on the products, but the quality does vary.

Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop do have the broadest selection of training material:

1. If you prefer learning from a traditional book; I highly recommend the Adobe Classroom in a Book series.

2. Online - there are numerous online options; free and paid ones.

Sticking with the free ones. Adobe has quite a few tutorials on their software that you can access from the Adobe site. If you are a member of the Ottawa Public Library; you can access the Lynda.com training site. It has excellent, in depth tutorials on many subject (including photography) as well as material on Lightroom and Photoshop.

3. If you prefer a more traditional classroom approach, living in Ottawa gives you some advantages; Algonquin College offers Photoshop, Lightroom and other photography courses. SPAO (School of Photographic Art - Ottawa) also offers courses. I can vouch for the Algonquin College courses, as I have taken a number of them. SPAO, I have not, but am taking a course there soon and will form my opinions, based on my experience with it.

[CatherineA]

How did you do it? If you use a program, than you must download them first. If you use by example FireFox it's justan addon you must install. I don't know of the other browsers.

Hi George,
Step 1 was to call son who is away at university and receive gentle ribbing along with the help. I do use FireFox but it doesn't seem to me that I am using a FireFox plug-in when viewing the metadata. I think it is something that comes with Windows: from what I see, I am using my E Drive and the Pictures Folder in Windows.

[CatherineA]

Thank you very much Richard for all the information you have just passed on to me. It was kind of you to write all that out and helps me understand the editing options available. I think I will use the free stuff that came from Nikon for awhile and if I find that either it just doesn't work for me or that I want to become more adventuresome and creative when editing, then I will switch.

[xpatUSA]

Hi George,
Step 1 was to call son who is away at university and receive gentle ribbing along with the help. I do use FireFox but it doesn't seem to me that I am using a FireFox plug-in when viewing the metadata. I think it is something that comes with Windows: from what I see, I am using my E Drive and the Pictures Folder in Windows.

George might be referring to an "Add-On" like this: In FireFox, click and hold on the three-bar thingy at top-right then move down and click on the jigsaw puzzle icon - captioned as "Add-ons". Here's what I get:



You'll see that I already have an EXIF viewer add-on as part of my FireFox.

Then go up to top right and click on "Get Add-ons". In the search bar at top right, type "exif" - that will get you close to mine in the list of add-ons:



Hope this helps . . .

[CatherineA]

Thank you Manfred! Now I have a good sense of where to start for my current needs (View NX-D) and what is out there and what they do should my goals and knowledge level change. I did try to google to gain an understanding of the world of editing but snowed my under and I didn't get a sense of context.

I have been eyeing some Algonquin courses but didn't know anyone who had token any. Glad you liked them. I went to SPAO open house last night to try and learn more about them but left after a few minutes. Too crowded and hectic to find out anything last night. And I'm going to the library on Tuesday to renew my lapsed library card, want to check out Lynda.com.

Thank you so much for being so generous with your time!

[CatherineA]

Wow, Ted, that is so much better than whatever it was that I was using! I know that I should be able to figure out what that Add-On was, and maybe one day I will go and try to figure it out, but for now I'm just now I am just really pleased to have this new improved EXIF Viewer. Thank you!!