Understand Your Imaging Software Needs
By Wayne Cosshall
The general assumption is that photographers need to use Photoshop as their primary image-editing and workflow software. But this may not be the best option. Just as we use the right lens for the right job, so it is with software.
While Photoshop is the most high-profile piece of software, it wasn’t designed primarily for photographers. In fact, many of its features have little to do with photography and more to do with prepress, graphic design, and web design.
So what are the alternatives for photographers? In the designed-for-photographers category are Adobe’s Lightroom (which has just announced Version 2) and Apple’s Aperture. Lightroom is for Mac and Windows; Aperture is for Mac only. Both programs enable you to organize your images not only so you can find recent work, but also so you can more efficiently manage specific tasks or projects. Both offer great overall image adjustments that are enough for most images.
The programs go beyond Photoshop in other ways too. Both can serve as a platform from which to print images. Although I haven’t yet had a chance to try Version 2 of Lightroom, I have been exploring the facilities in Aperture for using Apple’s printing service to print photography books.
A recent trip into Photoshop Elements caused a surprise. Since the last version I had a good look at, Photoshop Elements has evolved to include most of the Photoshop features that a photographer would ever need, including layers. This means it should be quite possible for a serious hobbyist or professional photographer to use Photoshop Elements as their main imaging software and avoid the extra cost and memory needs of Photoshop itself. Photoshop Elements is also quite responsive, making fast work in the field easier.
Beyond the AA (Adobe and Apple) products, are other products for handling RAW workflows, such as Capture One from Phase One (a new Pro version is expected before the end of the year), Bibble (which is expected to go to version 5 soon) and others. Each has various strengths and will appeal to some photographers, allowing all or most of the imaging work to be done without Photoshop. Of course, many photographers are also perfectly happy with Paint Shop Pro or other software.
There are now so many options, that your challenge is to figure out which software is worth spending the time on to give it a proper trial. Just like cameras, some software will feel better in some hands than others. And even though all software companies offer 30-day trials, it can be a hassle to take them up on the offer. Each product is sufficiently involved and uses quite different approaches that there is a fairly impressive learning curve. So you probably won’t have time to try all of the products yourself. That is where published reviews can come in handy. Better yet, now you can watch the increasing number of videos of the software being used so you see which seem to resonate with the way you like to work. All software requires changes in the way you work but you want to minimize how large the change will be.
Nothing is a given anymore in photography and Photoshop may not be necessary for you, or even the best solution to your needs. See if there is something that works better for you.
The general assumption is that photographers need to use Photoshop as their primary image-editing and workflow software. But this may not be the best option. Just as we use the right lens for the right job, so it is with software. While Photoshop is the most high-profile piece of software, it wasn’t designed primarily for photographers. In fact, many of its features have little to do with photography and more to do with prepress, graphic design, and web design.
So what are the alternatives for photographers? In the designed-for-photographers category are Adobe’s Lightroom (which has just announced Version 2) and Apple’s Aperture. Lightroom is for Mac and Windows; Aperture is for Mac only. Both programs enable you to organize your images not only so you can find recent work, but also so you can more efficiently manage specific tasks or projects. Both offer great overall image adjustments that are enough for most images.
The programs go beyond Photoshop in other ways too. Both can serve as a platform from which to print images. Although I haven’t yet had a chance to try Version 2 of Lightroom, I have been exploring the facilities in Aperture for using Apple’s printing service to print photography books.
A recent trip into Photoshop Elements caused a surprise. Since the last version I had a good look at, Photoshop Elements has evolved to include most of the Photoshop features that a photographer would ever need, including layers. This means it should be quite possible for a serious hobbyist or professional photographer to use Photoshop Elements as their main imaging software and avoid the extra cost and memory needs of Photoshop itself. Photoshop Elements is also quite responsive, making fast work in the field easier.
Beyond the AA (Adobe and Apple) products, are other products for handling RAW workflows, such as Capture One from Phase One (a new Pro version is expected before the end of the year), Bibble (which is expected to go to version 5 soon) and others. Each has various strengths and will appeal to some photographers, allowing all or most of the imaging work to be done without Photoshop. Of course, many photographers are also perfectly happy with Paint Shop Pro or other software.
There are now so many options, that your challenge is to figure out which software is worth spending the time on to give it a proper trial. Just like cameras, some software will feel better in some hands than others. And even though all software companies offer 30-day trials, it can be a hassle to take them up on the offer. Each product is sufficiently involved and uses quite different approaches that there is a fairly impressive learning curve. So you probably won’t have time to try all of the products yourself. That is where published reviews can come in handy. Better yet, now you can watch the increasing number of videos of the software being used so you see which seem to resonate with the way you like to work. All software requires changes in the way you work but you want to minimize how large the change will be.
Nothing is a given anymore in photography and Photoshop may not be necessary for you, or even the best solution to your needs. See if there is something that works better for you.
