Photo editing Help

ipatry

Hey everyone,
I am slowly getting better and better with photography. Upgrading equipment and such, but when it comes to the editing, I'm a newborn. Currently I am using iPhoto. I know, I know. I need to upgrade. Are there any free options better than iPhoto. If not fairly inexpensive would be nice. Also easy to use but gives good results. I also want to put a signature on my photos like most people do for copy write purposes.
Any info is greatly appreciated!

Isaac

angevin1

ipatry wrote: »

hey everyone,
i am slowly getting better and better with photography. Upgrading equipment and such, but when it comes to the editing, i'm a newborn. Currently i am using iphoto. I know, i know. I need to upgrade. Are there any free options better than iphoto. If not fairly inexpensive would be nice. Also easy to use but gives good results. I also want to put a signature on my photos like most people do for copy write purposes.
Any info is greatly appreciated!

Isaac

Gimp!

ipatry

What is Gimp

BinaryFx

But the Gimp is sleeping...

It depends, if you are into pixel editing of camera jpeg or other images, there is the free Gimp, or Photoshop Elements, or Corel PhotoPaint or many other options for PC or Mac. As the OP uses iPhoto, some Mac only choices include like Acorn, Pixelmator, Seashore (based off Gimp code).

If you are into raw camera file rendering/processing, then there are other options too.


Stephen Marsh

ipatry

I downloaded gimp and hate it. Going to try Lightroom

pathfinder

LR4 is not free of course, but offers tremendous capability in image editing, and a good interface with Photoshop and lots of plug ins from other vendors. I recommend LR4 highly.

LR4 also allows you to put your sig on the file or the printed image as needed too.

DonRicklin

pathfinder wrote: »

LR4 is not free of course, but offers tremendous capability in image editing, and a good interface with Photoshop and lots of plug ins from other vendors. I recommend LR4 highly.

LR4 also allows you to put your sig on the file or the printed image as needed too.

Ah, but it does have a free 30 day trial! And discounted prices, various places.

Don

slpollett

Photoscape is a good little free editing program. http://download-photoscape-free.com/


Corel's Paint Shop Pro is very inexpensive and will 'almost' do anything Photoshop can do. I learned on PSP, now have Photoshop and Lightroom (which is really my favorite editing software), and still find Paint Shop Pro to be easier to use for many functions--including adding text (such as a watermark) to images. This one is on sale right now for about $60 US. http://www.corel.com/corel/product/index.jsp;jsessionid=TPGYe6nNt0dcPmQOq2SODQ**.prd-atg-commerce7?&skuId=ESDPSPX5MLAM&trkid=USsemKWS&1=1&storeKey=us&mapcounter=1&pid=prod4900067

Sherry

ziggy53

For the Mac a combination of:

RawTherapee (RAW image file processor plus inputs many other raster formats),
GIMP (layers, filters, brushes, automation, lots more)
and Picasa for Mac

... allows you to do an awful lot for free, and there's very good online support for each. (I know the OP said they did not like GIMP but if you give it a chance it's very capable. Just the free add-in "G'MIC : GREYC's Magic Image Converter" is worth the price of admission.)

DsrtVW

I use Nikon Capture NX2 and Corel Photo Paint X5

Corel still has specials going. I like Corel products have used there Graphics Suite for years. It is easier and less expensive that Adobe products

Corel Specials

BinaryFx

ipatry wrote: »

I downloaded gimp and hate it. Going to try Lightroom

I have not tried the Seashore offshoot of Gimp, it might be more friendly, it uses native Mac code, so it is not reliant on X11 or X windows [EDIT: I note that later versions of Gimp for OS X now run native]. The other lightweight Mac only image editors mentioned in my OP or elsewhere in the thread would probably bridge the gap between the limited simplicity of iPhoto and more powerful and feature rich software.

Lightroom is intended for processing/rendering RGB pixels from raw camera images, however it can work with pre-rendered pixel images such as JPEG images. It is probably a going to offer a less steep learning curve than Photoshop, Gimp and other full featured pixel editing apps.


Stephen Marsh

ipatry

I shoot raw.

BinaryFx

ipatry wrote: »

I shoot raw.

If you shoot raw, why were you using iPhoto? I presumed that you were editing JPEG camera files in iPhoto (so much for assumptions!). If your camera can shoot raw, then it should have come with manufacturer software for raw processing...

There are many options out there for third party raw processing/rendering on both Mac and Win (more options on Windows). Some free, some shareware and some commercial priced.

Adobe Camera Raw module of Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom are great for workflow, speed and general use features.

Raw Therapy has a Mac build, for many users, it is a good alternative to the Adobe products.
http://rawtherapee.com/downloads

If I have to get my subjective "best" quality for a single important shot, rather than the best speed/workflow for many shots - then I may render using Raw Photo Processor and compare to other converters such as Adobe (Mac):
http://www.raw-photo-processor.com/RPP/Overview.html


Stephen Marsh