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WOW! I found a goldmine of information on Photoshop!


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PEJ

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Hello All Photoshop Pros,
I am new to this site and am so excited to be able to connect with people who have used photoshop with Mac. I am a photographer and want to purchase photoshop, however, I am overwhelmed by the wide array of products.
I have been using iphoto and messed with Aperture, however, as an artist, these applications are very restrictive. I am really interested in finding someone who can give me guidance on what photoshop product I should purchase to edit, design and add special features to photos. I was told that I should get CS5. However, I understand there is a CS6 and a new photoshop CS7 is possibly due out soon. I need to know if I should just wait and purchase the CS7?

I also want to be able to create professional looking books, and professional looking wedding albums. I have searched the internet for information on wedding album products and haven't found much. I am hoping that there is a book making feature on CS7 and I can create a great looking album.

I haven't ever used photoshop, but am up for the challenge because I am bored with the other programs I have used.

That was a bit long for an introduction, but I am honestly grateful for people who know what they are doing and can provide professional advice. Look forward to finding Mac people who can guide me in the right direction. Thanks!
 
You're bored with other programs you used perhaps a list of those other programs so we don't bother putting those out here. Nice program that does a lot of the work for you from Topaz labs might be of interest to you
 
That is a good point...I didn't mention that :)
I have been using iphoto and aperture. I really like the book making features in iphoto and it is very user friendly, so no complaints about the program. I started using aperture and all of my files are in 2 places. Bouncing the pictures from editing photos in aperture and moving them to iphoto is a lot of "monkey business" and hoping I can load my pictures from my camera to photoshop and just stay in one program. I would like to use some more creative features that photoshop offers. I have talked with many people who are at about my same level of photo ability and they have advised me that photoshop CS5 would be a perfect fit for what I want to do. However, I got confused when I heard that CS7 was coming out and wondered if I should just wait and purchase that when it comes out soon? I am really hoping whatever photoshop I end up getting, it will have a great layout system for making a beautiful book.
 
iDad said:
You're bored with other programs you used perhaps a list of those other programs so we don't bother putting those out here. Nice program that does a lot of the work for you from Topaz labs might be of interest to you
Click to expand...
That would be iPhoto and Aperture.

If you could buy a legitimate copy of CS5 someplace you can save some money but I would be wary of buying from anyone but Adobe.

Consider PS Elements.
You can download it with a 30 day trial.
After 30 days you can download CS6 and try that out for 30 days.
 
Thank you...I found out that I would have to pay for a NEW photoshop version if I choose to upgrade from a CS5 to CS7. Apparently they only upgrade from one version to the next, but not 2 versions back.
I appreciate the information on Elements....I have gotten so many pro and con comments on Elements that I am really confused about going with anything other than one of the CS versions.
 
Welcome, PEJ!

With respect to your comment that you are an artist, and your question, "...what ... product I should purchase to edit, design and add special features to photos...", you've already received some very good advice to try out products such as PS Elements. I strongly second this advice. The full version of PS (ie, in the CS series) has an extremely steep learning curve, so I would strongly suggest starting with "Elements".

With respect to starting with one of the pro versions of PS. Yes, it's do-able - just be prepared to spend a year or two before you will become familiar with say 50% of the available features. Obviously, you don't need all of these features to start out, but you may think you do.

With respect to selecting CS5, CS6, or CS7, I would predict that you or anyone in your situation (ie just starting out in PS) won't even notice the difference between them. If you can find a good deal on a properly licensed copy of any of these, and really don't want to start with elements, go with it. There is no way anyone just starting to learn PS might purchase CS5, and then, a few weeks later, feel that they are being limited by only having that version.

Another comment is that a couple of the functions and tasks that you listed, e.g., "producing books and wedding albums" are best handled by Adobe inDesign, not Photoshop. Unfortunately, InDesign also has a fairly steep learning curve. Lightroom can do it in a pinch, but as I recall, LR tries to steer you to one specific commercial printer, Blurb.

That being said, there are a large number of commercial printers who allow you to lay out wedding albums with easy-to-use on-line software. They supply a large number of page and album templates, take care of arcane printing issues (eg, conversion of color spaces, bleed, dot gain, etc.). To find such firms, just Google {wedding album printer}. To be honest, I would never, ever recommend someone who has never before produced a wedding album try to learn InDesign. It is a top-the-line, pro product with another steep learning curve.

HTH,

Tom M
 
PEJ said:
Thank you...I found out that I would have to pay for a NEW photoshop version if I choose to upgrade from a CS5 to CS7. Apparently they only upgrade from one version to the next, but not 2 versions back.
I appreciate the information on Elements....I have gotten so many pro and con comments on Elements that I am really confused about going with anything other than one of the CS versions.
Click to expand...
Fyi
I bought an upgrade to CS6 from CS3 for the upgrade price less than 6 months ago. Both were purchased as DL s from Adobe.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2
 
Thank you for the numerous ideas. I really appreciate the advice.

Can someone help me with a posting issue? I do not understand the responses made by iDad....is this sarcasm or did I miss something in the posting etiquette about having to "HI" in my post?

I highly respect opinions from professional photographers, however, I don't want to get into any "word games" with people who are not willing to respect another person's question or comment. Thank you for your understanding.
 
Thank you Paul. I appreciate your help in clarifying this for me. I was hoping to connect with professionals who can share advise based on their personal experiences with the products. While I appreciate a good sense of humor, I don't like getting my "chain yanked"! I could use some help in connecting with people who will give helpful and practical advice and not just waste my time....thanks :)
 
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