Photo software.

[AdrianRose]

Hi folks.

With Christmas just around the corner, my wife inevitably has the annual task of trying to decide what to buy me. However, like most blokes, I have no idea what I want - much to my wife's annoyance!!
In fact we usually have that tango dance around of ideas wherein she suggests everything ever created since the dawn of time and I respond with "nah, don't want that", "no, it's not my cup of tea", "no thanks love, I've already got one"! Etc etc
This usually ends with her making outrageous statements like "you're a bloody nightmare" or "well I give up, you can have socks and a toblerone like last year then"!

However this year is different, she hit on a great idea - buying me a new DSLR camera!! I've got plenty of HD Video gear but no dedicated stills camera. As I studied photography at college when I left school (a mere 182 years ago!!) I thought it would be great as nothing much will have changed - surely one still loads film into the camera on a large glass plate and set off a small explosive charge for a flash!!

Well apparently I was wrong!! (I guess there's a first time for everything!)
Seemingly, one simply takes a photo, manipulates the colours etc on a computer (the strange, scary box that sits in the corner whirring to its self like an asthmatic bull dog) and hey presto! Great photos abound!!

To this end, could one or more of you fine folk please recommend some photo software that is primarily inexpensive and easy to use.

Thanks in advance.

Ade.

[FishyFolk]

As I currently work with these things (well, learning to work with is the right word). I am tempted to recomend Adobe Lightroom. But since Adobe wants the price of your first born child, your left arm and the right of prima nocta if you have a daughter who plan to marry, for it, Adobe Elements is quite good enough for most beginners in the dSLR world.

Else if the camera will be a Canon, the software that comes with it is quite adequate for developing RAW files.

But then...I use Lightroom CS 5 and Adobe CS 6 for these things.

Else Picasa 3 is free and will do a nice job of sorting your pictures. Just don't let it preview your pics...it will do stuff to them that most photographers hate it doing....

[AdrianRose]

Thanks buddy. Much appreciated.

I've also been told that GIMP software is good too, have you ever tried it?

Ade

[cave dweller]

I've used The Gimp. It's pretty powerful, but the workflow and interface are quite different to the Adobe stuff. There are two good reasons for trying it though.

First, it's free, so for the effort of downloading it you can find out for yourself if you like it or not. Second, there are lots and lots of tutorials, videos etc to help you learn to use it.

Give it a try. If you don't like it, uninstall it and you will have lost nothing but some time.

I bought Photoshop Elements a while ago, and I keep finding that I want to do stuff that I can't work out in Elements (maybe it just can't do what I want!). For most basic jobs though it's fine.

[David_JAFO]

hello,
Problem with posting this morning hopefully this isn't a double post
Serif software tried & tested for a number of years I mainly use Adobe CS-6 & Lightroom plus plug-ins
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/ hopefully of interest.
Regards
David

[FishyFolk]

Thanks buddy. Much appreciated.

I've also been told that GIMP software is good too, have you ever tried it?

Ade

I have tried it a little, but was already to entrenched in the Photoshop world to appreciate it. But a lot of people love it, and as said there are plenty of tutorials pnline to learn from.
I learned LR and PS from YouTube myself.

The nice thing with The Gimp is also that it's free, so nothing to lose if you end up not liking it.

[AdrianRose]

Well I've downloaded gimp and watched a few tutorials and so far it looks like it will fit the bill nicely.

Many thanks folks. Yet again this forum and the great members step forward to help out.

Ade

[David_JAFO]

hello,
*Edited. I was notified that the e-book I uploaded via my online account is now requesting the person downloading to open an account as to access the file (I had no idea this was the case. must be new) anyway I have 3 of the best Gimp tutorial e-books I can send you on Cd-Rom (no charge). Sorry about the inconvenience.
Regards
David

[David_JAFO]

hello,
Received your PM I'll mail the Cd-Rom with Gimp tutorial e-books asap ok? No charge
Regards
David

[AdrianRose]

hello,
Received your PM I'll mail the Cd-Rom with Gimp tutorial e-books asap ok? No charge
Regards
David

Thanks again buddy. Much appreciated.

Ade