Photoshop- which version should I get

[shawnsgirl]

Hi ladies..I was just going to PM this to Brandi since she is our resident photoshop queen, but I thought maybe other might be curious about this too.

I'm looking to buy software like photoshop to play and edit photos with, maybe make my own banner for the one wed here to put in my siggy stuff like that. Mostly I want to do another edit job with my wedding photos. I found a lot of red eye, and I would like to play around with some different effects. Nothing fancy, easy to use software. I looked into photoshop but it looked not only a little more for the pro's out the and website designer's but also like 200 bucks too! Does anyone have any suggestions on what versions I should look into...If it helps any I have an HP computer, Windows XP.

[Kirby]

I have Photoshop Elements 5.0 and it has everything I need to edit photos, make banners, etc. I doubt you will need the pro version, so I recommend this one which is the cheapest I think. See review here (http://www.shutterbug.net/equipmentreviews/software_computers/1206photoshop/).

I noticed that there is now a Photoshop Elements 6 (https://store1.adobe.com/cfusion/store/index.cfm?store=OLS-US&view=ols_prod&category=/Applications/PhotoshopElementsWin&distributionMethod=FULL&nr=0), which is the newer version of above. You might want to get that one instead because it is newer.

[RevMatty]

Photoshop is an expevsive software program. However gives you the best options (as you can see with my siggy, I used photoshop)
When ever I tend to look for software, I try download.com. They have lots of try before you by, free software etc.
Or for free, try Gimp. Go to www.gimp.org (http://www.gimp.org) It's similar to Photoshop, and is 100% free. I have used it before, and would recomend it for a good starter program.

[lizardbnorton]

Another free program is paint.net. It's very similar to photoshop and it's free.

[WebLady]

If you want to get Photoshop for photo editing and minor graphic stuff then Elements should do fine for you. It is the less expensive of the versions out there.

As others have said, there are other some similar programs out there that may be cheaper and/or free, but I don't know anything about them.

Good luck :)

And thanks for the nice comments ;) I know enough to do what I want, but I am by no means "queen" at all there is to know about the program. There is alot that is posible in Photoshop that I have no clue about :geek:

[Danielle9608]

Picasa is another free photo editing program you may want to look at.

[frenchie]

You could go for the Gimp. Since you have no professional use for the software, Gimp is quality, and free and open-source. It's nearly as good as photoshop, but doesn't have the price tag :D

[shawnsgirl]

Thanks everyone for your advice! I got a great deal on photshop elements 5.0...I just got it today! I spent $12 on ebay!! I'm still playing around with it and well getting a little frustrated. The one thing I wanted to do was take a color photo, turn it black and white, and then add color to just like the bouquet or something. So far I haven't had much luck. Hopefully, I'll figure out here soon! Any help you could offer would be great!!

[miranda]

Wow, I was just about to post a similar topic!!! I've also been wanting to purchase a good photo editing program! My problem is, I'm not techno-savvy at ALL. The one I downloaded had a lot of neat options, but I'm too dumb to do any of them :(

Is Photoshop Elements user friendly? And by user friendly, I mean idiot friendly. What about that gimp software?

[shawnsgirl]

I didn't try gimp...And well so far I'm doing ok with the photoshop..I just can't figure out the above situation..I'm still working at it...lol Other than that elements 5.0 has been extremly easy to use so far..

[lizardbnorton]

When the photo is in color, select whatever it is you want in color and copy it and paste it into another layer. This will allow you to change everything in the first layer to black and white and keep the color of the flowers or whatever.

[shawnsgirl]

When the photo is in color, select whatever it is you want in color and copy it and paste it into another layer. This will allow you to change everything in the first layer to black and white and keep the color of the flowers or whatever.


I must be really dumb about this but it doesn't allow me to copy and paste!

[WebLady]

Here are a couple of ways to get the "hand colored look" ...

1. Start with a color photo and "desatuarate" it so it looks black and white. Then select the area you want to color and use the paint bucket tool in "color" mode to add the color of your choice back in where you want it.

2. Start with a color photo and select the area that you want to remain color; then inverse the selection and desaturate and viola. You can then play with the staturation levels to give the remaining colored area a pastel look :)

You can also use a black and white pic and change it to an "RGB" image and then add color with the paint bucket tool.

Hope this helps :)

[Danielle9608]

I would duplicate the layer. Desaturate the top layer. Then make a mask over the object you would like to colorize then take away the top image to reveal the color one below.

I found some basic photoshop elements tutorial online that may help you learn the program too.
http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/Photoshop-tutorials/Photoshop-Elements-tutorials/Most-popular/1/

[WebLady]

Here is another tutorial - http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/pselements/ss/partialcolor.htm

[miranda]

Oh my goodness...the past few posts have made me feel so stupid!!! I have absolutely no idea what you guys are talking about!!!!

[Danielle9608]

Oh my goodness...the past few posts have made me feel so stupid!!! I have absolutely no idea what you guys are talking about!!!!

You are not stupid! Please don't feel that way. I use photoshop everyday for my job. I went to school for many years to learn it.

[Jess]

To keep color in one part of the picture, but keep the rest black and white, you should select the colored part of the picture, and then do an inverse selection, and make everything else black and white. I know that most likely did not help at all (I'm better at showing things than explaining, especially when it comes to photoshop).

I did a quick search for photoshop tutorials for you, and here's a different method, that seems like it may be easier to use:
http://www.picturecorrect.com/photoshoptips/colorspots.htm

Edit: Okay, everyone else found tutorials already... I'm a bit late in this haha.

[PNS777]

What I usually do is I get the picture I want and I use either the magnetic poly tool or just the poly tool it self. I duplicate the layer first and I cut out the part I want colored and that makes a layer with just the flowers themself and I go to the duplicate layer and convert it to black and white and the flowers should just be colored!! I hope that helps :frogg:

[shawnsgirl]

Oh my gosh!! I got it!!! YEAH!! I couldn't have done it without you ladies!!!