>I too, give a hearty thumbs up to Picture Window. As a photographer I >have found it to suit my needs quite well - and yes, the price is much >lower than Photoshop.
Having used Photoshop 3, 4, and 5.5 since 1998 may I throw in a couple a pennies? If I knew then what I know now, I would have liked (pretending that it was available at the time) somebody to recommend Photoshop Elements to me. Reasons: It is true that most photographers processing images on computer will never use the full Photoshop's capability. However, if you are truly serious about progressing through your passion, possibly towards career aspirations, then using the 'Adobe way' is going to make things easier, and keep things familiar. It's not just about palettes and menus, it's about keyboard shortcuts. A professional Photoshop user has one hand on the stylus (mouse/trackpad), the other on the keyboard. It's about setting up macros within Photoshop (Photoshop Actions), and it's about compatibility with other applications that may need to import native PS files. It's about knowing off the top of your head what you are reading about when you come across a pro graphics forum and they are discussing something about Photoshop, something that may well come in handy for you. It's about all these things and much more. If you have absolutely no aspirations towards one day turning your ambitions into a career, or if you are highly satisfied with using what you have, then look no further. Better to know what you are using inside out and be content with it than to stumble across something new and wade in too deep. However, if you consider yourself in a transitional phase (possibly lasting years ;-) between am and pro status and would like to get to grips with what is used out there in the real world of professional image manipulation, then start out with Photoshop Elements. Stick with it. Learn the interface, learn the shortcuts, learn the actions until you can post-produce your photographs quickly and efficiently. If and when the day comes that you gradually or suddenly get thrown into the deep end and have to buckle down with the real Photoshop, you will be prepared and even willing to get stuck in. If only I could have read this back in 1998, I would have replied straight away with lots of thank you's and kisses and hugs and would you like to come back to my place bouncy-bouncy's............. [ Note: This is not to say that Picture Window or indeed any other similar application will not do the job just as good, just my personal observation based on what I have seen working in professional image post production environments over the years.] Kind regards, Cotty ____________________________________ Oh, swipe me! He paints with light! http://www.macads.co.uk/snaps/ ____________________________________ Free UK Macintosh Classified Ads at http://www.macads.co.uk/ ____________________________________
