PS is truly an astounding program. I don’t think anybody knows everything about it. Like chess, you can go at it on different levels and almost any function can be achieved in two or three different ways. My interest is as an amateur photographer. Apart from the normal functions such as cropping, contrast and colour, I find the perspective control exceedingly useful. In effect it makes my Canon Rebel a view camera. I am a hit with ladies because I erase their wrinkles and hickies, brighten their teeth and trim five or ten pounds from them.
I have fun by making impossible images such as one of myself, two "me’s" on a beach in Cuba, one in snorkel gear and the other in winter clothes covered with snow.
Two things bother me.
Too often, when shooting a picture, you think "Well, I’ll fix this in Photoshop."
And it really blurs the line between reality and fantasy. It’s not a major ethical concern for an amateur photographer. But it raises some serious questions about news and documentary photography.
Part of me misses the old days of safelights and trays full of chemicals. But the whole digital revolution, both the camera and the "desktop darkroom", makes traditional photography positively archaic. (Anybody want to buy my Speed Graphic, Rolleiflex, Canon and two Pentaxs? I don’t think I’ll ever use them again. I’ve already given away my darkroom equipment.)
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"Mike Russell" wrote in message
"aidenbdud" wrote in message
Should I get this? Currently I am using Paint and Paind Shop Pro 4, and I am in DIRE need of an upgrade. Just how powerful is Photoshop? Or is there a reasonable freeware(or cheaper shareware) program that has a better value.
I’m inclined to say that Photoshop is well worth the upgrade, even without knowing what your requirements are. The longer answer is that it’s worth it, provided you have the budget and that you use enough of the features. It’s hard to give you a good answer without knowing what areas of functionality are of interest to you.
If most of your work involves manual painting operations, you’re likely to be disappointed, and something like Painter will be more like it. If you want image processing and color adjustment, and the ability to layer things, Photoshop will be right on the money. Adobe provides a 30 day free eval – I suggest you try it out.
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Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com
