My 1st day... Pentax DSLR pictures...

[MinnieForMe]

Here are three pictures, straight out of the camera/no editing, well I cropped the butterfly one. I'm a true beginner as I've never used a DSLR before (or one of my own).

I'm currently learning photoshop but I don't have it on my laptop at home. Which package would you suggest? I was thinking Elements would be good to start but I've been hearing Lightshop lately. Any comments on either program?

I've got a long way to go when I see the pictures on here!

 

[ukcatfan]

Looks pretty good for a first try! You seem to have a good eye on composure.

As for software, those are actually different purposed programs. Elements is the light version of Photoshop targeted towards everyday people. The full version is around $500! Lightroom is a RAW image processing program. If you are not going to shoot RAW, then you would never need it. Also, the RAW program you got free with the camera is not bad if you are only going to do a little. I personally use Bibble Pro, which I prefer over Lightroom and is a little cheaper. They also offer a Lite version which is even cheaper. I cannot speak on its features since I also have used the Pro version. For basic editing, Elements is good. Paint Shop Pro is another affordable option. I do not do much editing like that, so I use the free program The GIMP. It is not quite as easy to use or quite as powerful, but you cannot beat the price! Another basic program that is free is Irfanview. It is great for processing batches like when you need to resize alot of pics at once.

 

[MinnieForMe]

Thanks. I have so much to learn it gets overwhelming!