I went all out and get PS CS6. I've used all the other versions and I can't be more pleased with Photoshop CS6 with today's big files, and new technologies/techniques.
you already should have iPhoto. also check out Aperture for $79 in the app store.
we use aperture and photoshop (from adobe's cloud subscription which i think also includes lightroom) mostly although sometimes i do use iPhoto and lightroom. can't have too many tools.
lots of options. you have to find a workflow that makes sense for you. elements incorporates a bit of both photoshop and lightroom (conceptually at least).
aperture has a new "skin tone" WB feature which is really handy.
iPhoto, lightroom, aperture don't have much in the way of retouching capability (i find aperture has the best for that of the 3 which is partly why we use it).
also even google picassa has some good features for free.
its not an either or thing. Lightroom doesnt come with layers (altho I think someone has an add on for it?). PSE sucks for batches. a side by side comparison will give you a long list of functions that one has and the other doesnt. Ideally you would use both. or get something inexpensive to replace the missing functionality.
do you do a lot of "ok these all need to be a bit brighter" or do you do a lot of dodge and burn to fix stuff?
Someone mentioned picasa. its got great instagram style filters (had em before instagram) but theres no select tool. you cant apply blur or sharpening or anything on a portion of the image. wanna get some sparkle in the model's eyes? well get some on their knees as well. its a brute force tool (I use it every day but I avoid its limitations).
They're not really competing products, more complimentary.
LR4 is sufficient for most simple 'fixing' stuff and is great at RAW conversions. PSE is useful for pixel level retouching and a few things LR can't do like liquify etc., although if you're trying to save pennies, GIMP is free and has a liquify tool too.
-B-R-U-N-E-S-C-I- wrote: They're not really competing products, more complimentary.
LR4 is sufficient for most simple 'fixing' stuff and is great at RAW conversions. PSE is useful for pixel level retouching and a few things LR can't do like liquify etc., although if you're trying to save pennies, GIMP is free and has a liquify tool too.
AVD AlphaDuctions wrote: PSE is on sale so often, its worth buying over having a free GIMP. GIMP still has the best light source but everything else it has been surpassed.
PSE is also included in a bundle with certain hardware items, so it's very possible to get it along with a drawing tablet for around the same price as just purchasing the PSE software alone.
Michael DBA Expressions wrote: Elements:Lightroom::Ford F150:Ferarri
This analogy doesn't make much sense. Lightroom is better suited at dealing with a large number of images, making global changes, batching and cataloging.
If anything lightroom is the F150 because it hauls alot of images easily.
In terms of editing/retouching both are around similar level in capability.
Elements is more like a midsize sedan, generally suited for most needs
R_Marquez
Posts: 4,575
San Francisco, California, US
If Elements includes Adobe Bridge, that'll take care of some of the functions of LR. LR is great, and I use it a lot, but it can't do many of the things PS can do because it's not supposed to.
I only use LR, even the skin retouching with the portraiture plugin ... rarely use PS5, but that's just how I work and I agree that elements complement LR rather than compete with it.
I'd start with LR.
I only use PS now for paint style editing which means masking areas out from multi layered LR files of the same image, or essentially removing blemishes.
Elements can do all of this too.
LR is the essential app for me, many of my pix are never opened in Photoshop as I already gave them their look in LR.
You can do some very minor pimple removal in LR, but it is clunky, and not efficient.
Michael DBA Expressions wrote: Elements:Lightroom::Ford F150:Ferarri
Yingwah Productions wrote: This analogy doesn't make much sense. Lightroom is better suited at dealing with a large number of images, making global changes, batching and cataloging.
If anything lightroom is the F150 because it hauls alot of images easily.
In terms of editing/retouching both are around similar level in capability.
Elements is more like a midsize sedan, generally suited for most needs
this is why we use aperture. the aperture retouch/clone brush is pretty good. we can usually do an entire wedding without going into photoshop except maybe for eye/head swaps on formals and special effects.
Neil Snape wrote: You can do some very minor pimple removal in LR, but it is clunky, and not efficient.
Adam Photog
Posts: 34
Virginia Beach, Virginia, US
I'll make it easy for you. Buy LR4 and forget about Elements.
Before I got LR, I used The GiMP (Open Source software that is really killer) and really like the flexibility. But with LR, I can do much more and do it more quickly. Elements would be about 3 steps back, if you got it first, you'd 'grow' into LR4 pretty quickly and then wonder why you bothered with Elements in the first place.
True, no layers in LR4, but there are some alternatives that give you layers for free. And the few times that I actually DO need to break something into layers, it works just fine.
For an efficient workflow, Lightroom 4 (on a PC) is the only way to go, unlike PS6 it is non-destructive. Additionally, Lightroom is simply impossible to beat for organizing your photos into files and stacks that are easy to use, access, create galleries and web albums, etc. Personally, I frequently create a virtual copy, so I can edit the same photos different ways and see the images side by side.
If you need Layers, OnOne Perfect Photo Suite 7 does all that and more. It makes little sense to me to spend a wad on a camera and lenses and then go cheap on editing software.
Personally, my editing software consists of
Lightroom 4, PS6, Topaz Adjust and DeNoise, OnOne Perfect Photo Suite 7 and Nik Silver FX Pro 2
I use Lightroom4 for sorting, archival cataloging, and image organization, and Elements 11/AdobeCameraRaw for editing.
If I had to choose just one or the other I'd just choose Elements 11 because in addition to the Elements Editor it does have the good Elements Organizer built in as well...all for about $60 at Costco.
But, many folks swear by the Lightroom Editor (called Developer) as being all the editor that they need. I don't care for it, but to each his own.
As far as Lightroom's "non-destructive" editing...I can get pretty much the same thing in Elements by just creating a duplicate layer of the "original image"...and shutting the layer off...so I have an exact "untouched original" saved as a separate layer if that's what I need.
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