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I'm totally flusterated by you guys.

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Errol Gibbs

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Guy's & Dolls you just frustrate me. I mean, I use (basically) one software package and a few plugins. And that's it!

But some of you seem to use 2, 3, and/or more software packages per photo.

"Oh, I open it in xyg, then denoise in hjk, then resize in plu, and send it to dum dum for printing."

Honestly is all that required? Is Photo Shop not enough? You all know by now that I'm a rabid PSP X4 guy. I pretty much use the one package and I'm really not a pixel peeper. I have my preset icons set up along the top and move thru them left to right till the work is done. Like so:





But the advice given newbies is rather appalling, you need this, this, this and that or forget it you'll never make it. Well I admit to not hearing it that bluntly put, but close.

I'll be the first to admit that there are geniuses on this forum. People who's talent impresses me no end. But could you not get by with One maybe two software packages?

If your life really depended on it, which package could you survive alone with?

Vaya Con Dios
Errol
 
It all boils down to one thing, what works for the individual.

I have read many forums lately about software (mainly Corel vs Adobe and recently Photoline) and am also appaled at some of the responses given in these forums. And I do agree that Adobe is the most over-rated software package there is. And I do agree PSP X4 is the best - for the dollar - image editing software now. And yes, I do use ALL of them, including Xara. The one that works for me is CorelDraw. And yes it may not have content aware scaling or object remover tool (in X5) but THERE IS MANY PLUGINS THAT DO. In fact, I believe Adobe was the LAST to have them, yet when you read about it on these forums you would be led to believe they were the first.

I was once an Adobe user but switched to CorelDraw because it worked for me. The intuitiveness was unmatched (in fact very similar to Photline). My output was always better with Corel, and it allowed me to work on much larger files. it allowed me to work in ALL native files including PSD (and this is where Adobe fails miserably) and to work in a true 16 bit environment - not 15 (like Adobe). Import an AI file to Corel, no problem, how about a Psd, well, no problem, work with over 30 000 pixel dimension in layers with Psd or Cpt, no problem.

Like I have said before, it is not what the software can do for you, it is what you can do with the software.

--
Only when you can criticize yourself, should you criticize others. Mikes.
 
The truth is, all software has it's strenghts and weaknesses.

So, to be able to do anything you like, you probably need more then one program or plug-ins.
 
Ralph
Errol Gibbs said:
Guy's & Dolls you just frustrate me. I mean, I use (basically) one software package and a few plugins. And that's it!

But some of you seem to use 2, 3, and/or more software packages per photo.

"Oh, I open it in xyg, then denoise in hjk, then resize in plu, and send it to dum dum for printing."

Honestly is all that required? Is Photo Shop not enough? You all know by now that I'm a rabid PSP X4 guy. I pretty much use the one package and I'm really not a pixel peeper. I have my preset icons set up along the top and move thru them left to right till the work is done. Like so:





But the advice given newbies is rather appalling, you need this, this, this and that or forget it you'll never make it. Well I admit to not hearing it that bluntly put, but close.

I'll be the first to admit that there are geniuses on this forum. People who's talent impresses me no end. But could you not get by with One maybe two software packages?

If your life really depended on it, which package could you survive alone with?

Vaya Con Dios
Errol
Click to expand...
 
Errol Gibbs said:
Guy's & Dolls you just frustrate me. I mean, I use (basically) one software package and a few plugins. And that's it!

But some of you seem to use 2, 3, and/or more software packages per photo.

"Oh, I open it in xyg, then denoise in hjk, then resize in plu, and send it to dum dum for printing."

Honestly is all that required? Is Photo Shop not enough? You all know by now that I'm a rabid PSP X4 guy. I pretty much use the one package and I'm really not a pixel peeper.
Click to expand...
I don't see any merit in restricting myself (or others) to working with one package. To me it's a matter of productivity.

I do enjoy and value the information about new and interesting tools that appears in this forum. Saves me hours of browsing the net and often directs my attention to tools I wouldn't have found otherwise. The advice like "you can do it all in PSP, Photoshop, GIMP or any other single package" may work for some budget conscious individuals, but it's not necessarily what every member of this forum is after.

If PSP is sufficient for your needs, enjoy your little world but please do not impose your views on everyone else. Different people have different needs.

--
Peter
 
Would a pro photographer use . . .
1- One camera?
2- One lens?
3- One filter?
4- One flash?

A pro needs many tools. He or she needs the right tool for the job.

An infrequent snapshooter need only carry his cell phone!

Me, I use every tool that makes my work more fun . . . and easier. Can I do 99% of it in PS CS5? You bet.
--
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com
 
--
-Lois-

Don’t let your victories go to your head, or your failures go to your heart.
 
I only use Photoshop or PSP but mostly I use PS but maybe what you are referring to are the different plugins some of us use in PS aside from the usual corrections in PS. I have other programs that I use is a Photo frame software because they have awesome frames and they are quick to add to the picture.

However, it doesn't really matter how many software programs I use, they won't anything better than if I use just one program. What matters is I like certain things from one program and something from another and that makes me happy. As long as my monitor is calibrated to make everything look right that's all right with me. and that's what really counts.
--
Melissa aka mustang_fan
 
To each his own! Some people use one camera and one lens in a standard way and others are always trying new things. Same with software.

If you were to tell a cook that you can cook with only 5 ingredients every day of the year they might say that's fine but I like to tempt my palate with more variety. Same with software tools.

But if you don't care for it, don't worry about it!
Errol Gibbs said:
Guy's & Dolls you just frustrate me. I mean, I use (basically) one software package and a few plugins. And that's it!
Click to expand...
--
Judy
http://nichollsphoto.com/
 
I use Lightroom and Photoshop CS5 at home on my "big" machine..

At events I use Lightroom and PSE on a laptop.

I'v tried PSP (the new version) and its just dead slow on all my computers.

More often than not photos exported from LR into Photoshop need nothing further than resizing and or printing. The more I use LR the further I can take the photos using only LR.

The point Im trying to make is, the alternatives to Photoshop (PSP, Photoline, et, al) are NOT as good, not as quick, and not as simple to use, BUT if you do as much as you can in raw development they MIGHT be enough to get you buy.

PSE 10 is only $99 (US) and I feel its far better than any of the non Adobe competition. I really like it on my Laptop.

--
Larry Lynch
Mystic, Connecticut

'If we ever forget that we're one nation under GOD, then we will be a nation gone under.'
-Ronald Reagan

In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.
Oscar Wilde
 
For many the end result is what matters the most. For others getting there is the fun. Programs are a hobby in themselves for many folks. Taking the photos is only a means to 'playing' with the software available. The more 'toys' the better.

I once met an old man who build a 36 foot timber sailing boat. His tools would fit in a bag. It was a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Now days walk into any boat shed and you'll find many thousands of dollars worth of tools of every shape and size. But are the boats they build any better?

Regards.
 
Errol Gibbs said:
I use (basically) one software package and a few plugins. And that's it!

But some of you seem to use 2, 3, and/or more software packages per photo.

"Oh, I open it in xyg, then denoise in hjk, then resize in plu, and send it to dum dum for printing."
Click to expand...
using your plugins are no different than using standalone applications
 
The ends justify the means and the quicker you can get to those ends the better. No one program can do everything efficiently. I use whatever tool that I know can get the result the quickest and if it requires multiple tools so be it. Why pidgeon hole yourself to one program. :)

--



Psalm 109:8
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20109:8&version=KJV
 
I like Ralph's post about should the artist use only one brush. However beginners should understand what they can do with the software they have before buying plugins and additional packages.
Claude
 
Is you use what you need to use to accomplish what you are looking to do. I remember back when many photographers said that post processing was not real photography, only fake photos. Now you hardly ever hear any statements like that anymore. Many like using Photoshop, others like Gimp, Corel Photo Painter, Photoline and other programs for their touch ups. I enjoy creating image based art and have sold quite a few of my works and had them published. Take image based watercolors for example. To create a work that looks like a real hand painted watercolor, you need several programs, I know one image based water-colorist who creates darn good work and he uses an HDR program first, then Dynamic Auto Painter and finally Photoshop. You can bet that his work is excellent, looks just like real watercolors that have been painted by hand. So it really all depends on what it is you are looking to accomplish as to what tools you will need. I have around six or seven image based art programs because each one is best for a certain type of image based art. If you are only interested in touch up work, then you can get by with only one program that you know how to use. There really is no such thing as a do it all program as far as post processing goes or maybe I should say for certain types of post processing like image based art. The more tools you have and know how to use them, the more options you have open to you. But it all boils down to just what you are looking to do and then finding the tools to do it. When you are working on a car, you generally have more than just one screw driver or wrench, but it may only take one tool to do the job you need to do. It's the same with post processing.
JD
 
software is the new hardware.

Just as the "gearheads" will tell people to buy multi-thousand dollor kits to "do it right"

so the "codeheads" will insist on having every available "tool" for their box of tricks.

But the fact is many of these tools were developed to solve problems that no longer exist in digital images.

The result of better sensors and even better processing algorithms in the camera makes much of the previous advice in this area obsolete.

Add in the fact that much of what the "third party" tools do is now built into the major image editing platforms, one is indeed right to question the sometime byzantine workflow some suggest.

For me, bridge and photoshop do the job.

occasionally, I will go to a plug-in for a specific task; but I have pretty much given up on most of the "effect" tools from other people.

But that is due to the "seat time" I have. I know how to do many of the fancy trick effects without buying the yazoo interface that costs 50 or 100 dollars.

--
Photons by the bag.
Gravitons no longer shipped outside US or Canada



-----.....------

if I mock you, it may be well deserved.
 
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