Information overload- photo editing software

[suzette]

I've been reading up on photo editing software and trying to figure out what I need, but I feel lost and overwhelmed with the information out there. I'm hoping for a recommendation from some of the experienced users here on what would work well for me.

I'm a recreational diver using a very basic underwater camera set up- just an Olympus 1030SW. I get some fantastic shots from it but I sometimes just want to clean them up a bit and get rid of backscatter if possible. I've also read that if you apply some filters to your underwater pics, you can color correct them as well. I"m not familiar with this at all but it sounds intriguing. In addition, I'm looking for software that will help me edit my underwater videos, add music, etc.

I was hoping (in both instances) not to have to read an encyclopedia sized text just to learn the basics of each program. I don't want to overbuy and have software meant for a professional publisher when all I want is to tweak my photos a bit for now.

Thoughts for a newbie just getting into all of this? I'm also open to any good books on the topic- underwater photography in general as well as editing underwater photos.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kim]

I use Photoshop Elements mostly. It has tools like the clone stamp and healing brush that work great for backscatter.

A free one that I haven't used myself, but is supposed to be good, is GIMP. I'm guessing it also has stuff like cloning and healing in it, but I'm not 100% sure (would be pretty worthless if it didn't though! )

For video? Very basic, included in XP, Moviemaker. That allows basic production, adding music, transitions, some filters etc.
Then there's a whole range of stuff that's entry level - from Adobe Premiere Elements (I believe you get a discount when buying the Adobe software together), Ulead makes some simple stuff - Video Editor if I remember correctly.

 

[WOODMAN]

So you just want to get your feet wet, so to speak? I feel your pain, as I have also been here. I have Photoshop Elements (I forget which version- maybe 5?) and although it is supposed to be an entry level version of the Mighty Photoshop full size edition, it is still big and complicated enough to warrant having aftermarket instruction manuals written about how to use it. (whew!) So I see your problem. Let me make a suggestion. Before you jump into one of these more fully featured programs, why don't you try Picasa? I grant you that it is limited in capability, and that you will soon outgrow it if you get at all serious about this stuff, but it is free and is surprisingly powerful for what it is. And it is amazingly simple and user friendly to operate. It makes a marvelous starting place for a photo editor, and all you have to do is google Picasa and you will find it, free for the downloading. Give this a try, and see how you like it. Good luck, and feel free to contact us if you need help. Woody

 

[danclem]

Hi Suzette:

I have used Picassa, Elements, Premier, Photoshop, and Lightroom. My recommendation would be to start out with Elements. It is a pretty quick learning curve. The other advantage is if you decide to move into higher end photography the migration to Lightroom and Photoshop is considerably easier.

Elements has an auto color correction that generally works quite well. There are healing and clone & stamp tools that can clean up backscatter and other imperfections. For me the easiest way of learning how to use the tools is to sit down with someone who knows how to use the program, pull up a shot, and work on it.

You want to be sure to read up on different file formats and your work flow. You are probably shooting JPG. Each time you edit/save, the picture is degraded. So saving your originals is really important. You don't have this issue with TIFF, RAW, DNG formats.

Have fun!

Dan

 

[alcina]

+1 for Elements. It should do pretty much everything you want to do with your photos for a small price tag. It's easy enough to start off with and has more than enough room to grow should you ever want to.

Personally, I'd also buy Lightroom since I do almost all of my stuff in there and don't even open Photoshop a lot of the time. Lightroom's cloning tool isn't fabulous and Elements will give you more options for things like that. But Lightroom can't be beat for fixing white balance (your colour issue), adjusting contrast, various colours, saturation, hues, bumping the clarity (basically makes your images look sharper) etc. I use LR with the files from my compacts including the Oly 720SW - don't really have a need for anything more.

 

[suzette]

Oh, excellent advice! I'm going to download picasa for now and purchase Elements as soon as I can. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the advice and look forward to playing with my images!

Regarding Moviemaker- I did try that out, but for some reason I could not get it to recognize the file format that my movies are in. I'll double check on that and see what the issue is. Hopefully I won't annoy everyone to pieces if I post some additional questions here. You all are extremely helpful and friendly and I appreciate it! Next time y'all are in Key Largo, I'll buy you a frosty beverage

 

[suzette]

Wow, just from playing with picasa a little bit- one of my favorite shots that I just got- what a difference! The color and the detail of the fine hairs inside the coral. Amazing.

After:

Also, just for my knowledge- is it OK to post pics like that directly here? If they're too big or a problem, I won't do it in the future, but I thought for the discussion it would be OK.

 

[divengolf]

FWTW Elements is organized into two programs: An Editor and an Organizer. They easily swap files, but with almost 10,000 photos, the Organizer is an excellent way to keep track of photos.

Another vote for Elements. At Ver 6.0 I believe.

 

[alcina]

suzette - it's great when you post photos! We love photos and always want more!! Make the longest side no more than 700 pixels and most people will be able to view them without scrolling (yours are fine btw) - keep file sizes to around 100kbs and even slower modem connections shouldn't struggle too much.

Edit: nevermind, I see the change now, too...

BTW - will you be at the Invasion? Love to meet you in person

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

fwiw susette, I see the change in the two pictures. What adjustments did you make?