Photo editing

[Jetguy]

Hi everyone,
Well i just registered and this is my first post.
I bought my DSLR a few weeks ago - A canon EOS 600D + 18-55mm lens + 70-300mm lens. I'm still learning to use it but so far my photos look quite good (i will upload some of them here in the coming days).

After taking the photos it's time to edit them....i heard a lot about Photoshop so i downloaded the trial version. I just can't seem to find my way around with this software...it's really difficult to use (at least for me).

Can you guys recommend an easier software for editing?

A friend of mine suggested 2 software:
PhotoScape (free) : http://photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php
Kestrel GX (Commercial) : http://www.cerieus.com

I tried both but Kestrel GX was much easier to use...it has a kind of 10 steps wizard for editing photos. I'm planning to buy it (On their FB page they said that on Monday they will be offering a 50% discount....... http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/kestrel-gx/) but just wanted to get some advice first.

What software do you guys use....apart from photoshop?

Thank You!
Charles

[L-5jockey]

Try:
PhotoFiltre 6.5.3 Portable-zipped (free) or with the installer (just uncheck the boxes to install ASK toolbar, when installing..unless you want it also).
Also photofiltre v10: a shareware version, and photofiltre7 for X86 or X64 systems (no plugins).

Other good low cost editor: Adobe Elements (sort of a light version of photoshop).

http://photofiltre.free.fr/download_en.htm

[Malcolm Clarke]

One of John's suggestions is the one I have used for a number of years, namely Photoshop Elements. I have a copy of the "full blown" version of Photoshop but find that Elements contains all I find myself needing for editing.
I have Elements version 10. The programme allows you to choose the level complexity, thus you can begin with a fairly simple routine and extend it as confidence grows.

I can help by suggesting a processing procedure should you decide to choose this software.

Malcolm.

[FBE]

Charles,

http://www.gimp.org/

is also a freeware programm, that offers a lot of features!

DPP, offered by CANON (it comes with the camera), is also not a bad solution!

greetings

Fritz

[Doug Robertson]

My Canon PowerShot A720 IS camera came with Canon's Zoombrowser edit and file software, which has a lot of features and is all I need as I don't intend to do miracles removing certain print areas or distort a photo in ways Photoshop can. More important to me is digital camera pocketability, an optical finder is a must and have sufficient optical zoom range for close on-airport usage.

My late friend who spent his career in Hollywood as a Film Editor and owned advanced-grade Canon digital SLRs for aircraft photography agreed that Photoshop could be very difficult to understand or manage, depending on what you wanted to try to do.

[red750]

Hi JetGuy,

I have used Photoshop Elements, Kestrel GX and Gimp, but find a good editor that is simple to use is XnView, a free downloadable editor which has virtually all the options you are likely to require. Most of the images in my gallery (see link below) have been edited with XnView. Google it for a link.

Contact me via the link below one of my gallery images and I will email you a pdf workflow I prepared for a friend. A couple of images from the workflow are shown below.


Cheers,

Peter.

[Jetguy]

Thank You so much everyone for your suggestions. I am a bit free this weekend so i will download and try each software you guys suggested.

Have a great weekend!
Charles

[L-5jockey]

Another excellent free image viewer, converter, editor database app, is; FastStone Image viewer
Has the ability to open (link-to) all other editors, directly from within the fastStone viewer. I've used this for years, very convenient.

http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

[Jetguy]

Hey everyone,
Well i tried quite some software during the weekend....pheeew. FastStone Image Viewer looks like a good choice and i found it quite easy to use too.

I've also purchased Kestrel GX this morning ( http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/kestrel-gx/ )....i love its "wizard editor". Both software are awesome and will use these two from now.

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions!
Charles

[red750]

I gave PhotoScape a try and found it easy and intuitive once I located where the tools where placed. The most recent 10 photos in my gallery show the results.

Here is a screen print of the crop screen.