pixilation/fuzziness

[kam007]

canoli -


thanks for your input! I should also have mentioned that I don't crop any of my pictures. I know how to crop pictures, but I just don't know what works and what doesn't. It was unfortunate that I took this picture without getting the hooves, but oh well, maybe next time (if I ever get this close to a mt. goat again!).


Do you recommend photoshop v.s. Picasa? When I got my camera it came with a couple of CD's, one in particular that you could sharpen, mess with contrast, etc. It seems that Picasa only lets you sharpen the corners of the photo, not the actual main picture, which is kind of unfortunate I think. I've actually never used photoshop before, so I don't know if the photo editing is much better than Picasa (free download off the internet). I might have to invest in a good photo editing program soon, but I don't know what the "pro's" use, all I hear now adays is photoshop, but looking online there are other programs that insist that they are ultimate or really good.


Thanks.


Kam

[canoli]

Do you recommend photoshop v.s. Picasa?

Well those two apps represent the extremes of what's out there in image-editing programs. Picassa is free, PS costs about $900*. You can learn Picassa in a day; Photoshop's learning curve is steep. You can go years without exploring all its capabilities.


Personally I love Photoshop. But Photoshop, or even Photoshop Elements (a scaled-down version of Photoshop for under $100) are not required to get good results from your digital captures. It really depends how involved you want to get, what your eye tells you is acceptable. Picassa is perfect for churning out web photos and small prints; you'll probably want something more robust if you plan to print large (8x10 and up) and/or sell your pictures.


An example - your mountain goat shot. You could almost certainly pull more contrast out of that image in Photoshop or PS Elements (contrast = sharpening, basically). The sharpening algorithms (and all the other functions) in the free apps aren't as refined and developed. One exception is GIMP; from what I hear it's a sophisticated program offering much of the same functionality as Photoshop.


My advice would be - decide how much you enjoy working at your computer and think through how much time you can devote to learning a comprehensive program. Don't let the learning curve scare you; with a few video tutorials under your belt (for free, all over the web) you'll be doing good work from day one. But it will take awhile to understand how to get the most from the program.


Also, realize some things can only be done inside programs that use channels and layers - compositing images for instance. You need layers to blend images together with any degree of control. Of the free apps, I'm pretty sure only GIMP works in layers. Channel masking, preparing images for CMYK printing, applying innumerable special effects (limited only by your imagination) - the list is endless of what the "professional" apps offer. If any of that interests you, you'll need Photoshop or a program like it.


Remember there's no right answer, only what's right for you. The limitations in the free applications may not ever bother you. And also remember that every app out there offers a trial period, where you download and install the program and get to use it for free, generally for 30 days with full functionality.


Good luck! If you find yourself lusting after PS, make sure you check out their education pricing requirements before you pay full price.


* Adobe offers really generous student discounts; you'll pay less than half of the regular price. And you don't necessarily need to be a full-time college student either - a lot of continuing education and even some day seminars will allow you to qualify. You get the full program too, not some limited-function, "academic" version.