Any Paint Shop Pro users?

jdmphoto

Allright, I'm probably doomed for asking such a question, but I had to try. In case you haven't guessed yet I'm pretty new to digital photography and even newer to post processing. I had paint shop pro on a trial when I got my computer and since it was the only thing I tried and it seemed fairly easy to use I bought it. As if that weren't enough I also have Windows Vista and had heard rumors of incompatibility with photoshop. So here I am with head in hand asking for any tips or suggestions, thanks.:D

Pupator

What do you need to know?

I'm a big PSP fan (have been since the early days) and am now on version X2. I'm also a Vista user.

Ann McRae

PSP is great. I have switched to a Mac, and consequently PSCS3, in the last month. If I hadn't decided to move to Mac, I would never have left PSP.

Ask away, as there are several PSP users here.

ann

jdmphoto

Pupator wrote:

What do you need to know?

I'm a big PSP fan (have been since the early days) and am now on version X2. I'm also a Vista user.

I was just curious how popular psp is because all I seem to hear or read about is photoshop. But since you asked. My biggest dilemna is knowing when and how. When I look at my pictures a lot of times I am happy with what I see but I know that someone who is knowledgeable in digital post processing could look at the picture and see a lot of things that could be improved upon. I just don't know the basic rules as far as how far to go and how best to get there. I hear things like saturation and I really don't know what that means. I really need to take time to practice and find out what works, I know some of the basics like red eye removal and clone brush but when it comes to adjusting exposure and other things i'm lost. Sorry if this was the wrong place to post this. Thank you and Ann for your replies and if I have a specific question I will ask it.

Pupator

The best thing you can possibly do is the following:

1) Go out and take pictures
2) Bring them back to your computer and pick two you want to work on
3) Use PSP to make the adjustments you think are best (Consider brightness/contrast, saturation, etc.)
4) Post the two images in the appropriate dgrin forum (people, places, etc.) and ask for help. Make it clear in the thread that you're using PSP and you'd like help figuring out the best adjustments to make.
5) Wait for helpful people to come along (they will) and make suggestions. They don't even have to be PSP users because all the same functions will be there (curves adjustments, cloning, etc.).
6) Rinse and repeat. Once you've done this a few dozen times you'll really feel like you have a good handle on things.

Let me know when you start - I'd be happy to help when I can, though there are thousands of photogs around here way better than I!

theNOIZ

PSP User
I've been using PSP since Windows 3.1. I'm currently using X2. I've also been using Photoshop Elements for a few years as well. I'm currently on version 6. It has a handful of features that are easy to use. As far as features for the price, they can't be beat.

cmason

I started with PSP, and still own it. the only reason to use Photoshop was that there is far more tutorials, books, tips, tricks, plug-ins, etc etc around Photoshop. In the end, I find complicated tasks easier to learn to do in Photoshop, because there is always a helping hand on the web somewhere. this is harder with PSP.

PSP is easier to use that Photoshop for general edits, that is for sure. Its is when you want to do layers and extensive edits that Photoshop shines, and not because of the software, but because of the community.

Lightroom as replaced PSP as my general editting tool now, so I rarely use it. Photoshop is where I do extensive edits, burn/dodge, etc...

Mr. 2H2O

I use PSP9 and am really happy with it. I switched from GIMP and enjoy the PSP interface more.

For processing, if you mention what camera you use and the types of photos you like to take, some here may be able to lend some wisdom on the things they generally do to pics from your camera and the type of photos you take.

I found that for each of my cameras there are some basic things I do to each picture depending on the ISO, exposure, and subject. From there, I do tweaks based on how awfully I messed up the pic to begin with to see if I can save it.

- Mike

Pupator

cmason wrote:

I started with PSP, and still own it. the only reason to use Photoshop was that there is far more tutorials, books, tips, tricks, plug-ins, etc etc around Photoshop. In the end, I find complicated tasks easier to learn to do in Photoshop, because there is always a helping hand on the web somewhere. this is harder with PSP.

PSP is easier to use that Photoshop for general edits, that is for sure. Its is when you want to do layers and extensive edits that Photoshop shines, and not because of the software, but because of the community.

Yep, you are exactly right. I posted here about Corel's new effort to create such a community of support for PSP users.

jdmphoto

Pupator wrote:

The best thing you can possibly do is the following:

1) Go out and take pictures
2) Bring them back to your computer and pick two you want to work on
3) Use PSP to make the adjustments you think are best (Consider brightness/contrast, saturation, etc.)
4) Post the two images in the appropriate dgrin forum (people, places, etc.) and ask for help. Make it clear in the thread that you're using PSP and you'd like help figuring out the best adjustments to make.
5) Wait for helpful people to come along (they will) and make suggestions. They don't even have to be PSP users because all the same functions will be there (curves adjustments, cloning, etc.).
6) Rinse and repeat. Once you've done this a few dozen times you'll really feel like you have a good handle on things.

Let me know when you start - I'd be happy to help when I can, though there are thousands of photogs around here way better than I!

Thanks I'll do that.

jdmphoto

Mr. 2H2O wrote:

I use PSP9 and am really happy with it. I switched from GIMP and enjoy the PSP interface more.

For processing, if you mention what camera you use and the types of photos you like to take, some here may be able to lend some wisdom on the things they generally do to pics from your camera and the type of photos you take.

I found that for each of my cameras there are some basic things I do to each picture depending on the ISO, exposure, and subject. From there, I do tweaks based on how awfully I messed up the pic to begin with to see if I can save it.

- Mike

Thank you, I have a Sony DSLR A100. I used to used a 35mm Minolta Maxxum and when I decided to go digital I wanted to keep using my Minolta lenses. I primarily take landscape and nature photo's. Thanks for the input.

jdmphoto

cmason wrote:

I started with PSP, and still own it. the only reason to use Photoshop was that there is far more tutorials, books, tips, tricks, plug-ins, etc etc around Photoshop. In the end, I find complicated tasks easier to learn to do in Photoshop, because there is always a helping hand on the web somewhere. this is harder with PSP.

PSP is easier to use that Photoshop for general edits, that is for sure. Its is when you want to do layers and extensive edits that Photoshop shines, and not because of the software, but because of the community.

Lightroom as replaced PSP as my general editting tool now, so I rarely use it. Photoshop is where I do extensive edits, burn/dodge, etc...

Thank you, I'm sure it's well beyond me but what are layers?

Pupator

jdmphoto wrote:

Thank you, I'm sure it's well beyond me but what are layers?

From Google:
http://www.photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/layers/intro.htm

They work the same way in PSP. They allow you to have a great deal more control over your corrections than "global" (executing a correction across an entire image) by allowing you to control exactly which parts of an image get specific corrections (and how much they get).