A short list of photo editors, raw converters and other photo editing tools

ok when i edit a raw photo and save it as a jpg or png the photo comes out different to how it does on photoshop. also when i upload them to any website i get the same result. any help??

here is a preview: the photo on the left is the look im after but if they go on either facebook, my website or even just looking at them at home offline on my mac they look wrong
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/4381/picture19yt.png
 
Could anyone recommend suitable software for editing photos in both jpeg and raw format. I had my eye on Adobe photoshop elements 9. Can you import raw files into this program without additional add ons.:thinking:
 
Could anyone recommend suitable software for editing photos in both jpeg and raw format. I had my eye on Adobe photoshop elements 9. Can you import raw files into this program without additional add ons.:thinking:

Yes. It's an ideal starter program. (y)

Going the whole hog to Photoshop is a big step which will involve a huge learning curve! :puke:

Cut your teeth with Elements first and then trial Lightroom and also Photoshop to see what extras these programs offer and then judge if they fit your requirements.
 
Already had PhotoScape, but just redownloaded GIMP, didn't get it the 1st time but now im more likely to take photos it would be a good idea to get a betetr editor ;)
 
Ditto. Photoshop is way OTT for most people and at the price of a very nice lens, while you are starting out, Elements is a much better bet, pretty much all of the features you need, much cheaper and easier to use too!

I have just got photoshop CS5 and it's way too OTT for me. It takes up far too much space on my PC and us very slow because of this. Can anyone recommend another software package that is both user friendly for myself and my PC?
 
If you want to make your photo best quality than you can use http://www.picnea.com. This site make your photo best quality by Photo Editing, Retouching at FREE.

It is really very helpful more than other system and software. If you use http://www.picnea.com one time I am sure you always use this site.
 
Please delete this?
My mistake & posted in the wrong thread o_O
 
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Great Sticky, with the world of software and hardware moving rapidly since the op, has anyone successfully used an App (on iPad2) for moving / copying RAW images from your flash card and using the iPad as an external hard drive? Would also be useful to know if you can view the images and carry out basic RAW processing too.
 
I were just after some advice. I used to have Photoshop CS2 but no longer have my disk and as I cannot afford to buy any of the latest photoshops does anyone recomend Photoshop Elelments 10?
 
Jas said:
Great Sticky, with the world of software and hardware moving rapidly since the op, has anyone successfully used an App (on iPad2) for moving / copying RAW images from your flash card and using the iPad as an external hard drive? Would also be useful to know if you can view the images and carry out basic RAW processing too.

I use Photos,it's, which integrates well with Lightroom. Although I don't really do any editing as such, mainly metadata stuff.
 
adam_nicholson said:
I were just after some advice. I used to have Photoshop CS2 but no longer have my disk and as I cannot afford to buy any of the latest photoshops does anyone recomend Photoshop Elelments 10?

Yes. For a photographer Elements has pretty much everything you need.
 
Given I spend 50% of my time in my Nik Complete Collection plug-ins I reckon there is are glaring omissions from the initial post.
 
My list:
Full photo process - only Photoshop.
Vector imaging - Illustrator.
Batch file process and small corrections - Lightroom.
Image viewer - Faststone, it's free and very fast.
Slideshows - Slideshow Creator.
Also, topaz plugins.
 
Do any of the free programs offer layering?

I want to try and get some star trails and have read this is the best way to do it. Currently using picasa, which does not appear to offer layering as a editing tool,

Dave
 
Sweet dude. Just what I wanted :)
 
FastStone is a LOT more than an image viewer.It has:

RAW conversion,
USM sharpen,
batch filing ,
tagging,
colour correction,
Curves,
Cloning,
Batch re- name files(fantastic facility),
show exif date(just move cursor to side of page),
straighten,
Red eye,
Watermark,
Slideshow (multifunction),
resize and the list goes on.

All really EASY to do and in a quarter of the time it takes to do in adobe products. Unless you want layers or extreme editing just use FastStone. It's difficult to see why it's free. But it is.
 
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Can you explain what you mean?

Yes. But you need to put in some work.

First, shoot an outdoor scene, green fields, blue sky, maybe some flowers. Shoot in raw mode with the Monochrome Picture Style and the White Balance set to Tungsten - also set Exposure Compensation to +3.

Now import that raw file into LightRoom, or any 'proper' raw processor and start the develop process. Notice how the monochrome picture style is ignored (unless you're using DPP - in which case you'll need to choose another picture style). Notice how easy it is to correct the white balance. Notice how easy it is to recover the lost highlights from the +3eV EC. Those are all the typical behaviours of a proper raw processor.

Now open that same raw file in FastStone. The first thing you notice is that it's monochrome. That's because FastStone, by default, only displays the embedded jpeg, which certainly seems to satisfy a lot of people who believe they are working on the raw image.

To get FastStone to actually access the raw data you need to display the image and press the 'A' key. And wait. And wait a bit more. OK, a lot more... it takes over 20 seconds for my machine to open the image. But it finally does open it, and you can try and fix the white balance. You can try and fix the exposure. But, once you've finished (given up is a more appropriate description) your only option is to save the resulting image as as a jpeg (or tiff, etc). Once you leave the raw file all those changes you made are lost forever.

Nobody in their right mind would ever try to use FastStone as a raw processor more than once. It's great at loads of other things (otherwise I wouldn't have paid for a license) but, as a raw processor it sucks.
 
Hi guys I'm only just starting out and would like to know which is the best photo/image editor out there for me at the moment? I've never used one before as I've not had a reason too until now that is. Thanks..
 
Try all the free ones listed above first. It will give you more experience when you come to deciding.
 
I can understand very well how much effort you have given here for making such a insightful list of sites. Very much appreciating work.
 
Just discoverd that iPhoto can actually do quite a lot of editing. It has levels for exposure, contrast, colour saturation, definition, highlights, shadows, sharpness and de-noise. More than enough for an amateur such as me. Got Pshop elements but my library is in iPhoto so it just that extra bit of hassle that I don't need just now.
 
Maybe you can "open in PShop" from Iphoto? And save back to iphoto. I use Digikam to manage my photos, which I can set to "open in.." all my favourite programs. Such as a Raw editor, Gimp, Stitcher etc. Pick the best for the job with no hassle at all.
 
so whats the best for wedding photo editing with the likes of removing unwanted items plus programs to use for photo shoots aswell
 
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