What would you suggest for a photo editing/manipulating beginner?

Question

I'm a total beginner when it comes to photo editing and manipulation, but I really want to learn. I'm hesitant to fork out the money for Photoshop, especially since I'm not sure if this is something I will want to pursue beyond the "dabbling" point. I read a bit about Gimp and it seems to be the way to go for me, but like I said, I'm a total beginner and I really don't know what I'm doing or what I need. To give you a frame of reference, the only photo editing software I've ever used are the ones that came with my cameras. I don't even know how those would compare, though I can guess it isn't favorably. 

So what advice would you give me? Is Gimp easy to learn? How does it compare to Photoshop? Is there another photo editing program you would suggest?

Like I said, I'm not looking for full blown professional grade programming right now, just something to learn on.

Thanks in advance for the help, and just in case your interested you can check out some of my photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27020793@N04/

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I would recommend downloading a trial of Photoshop Elements. It's a lite version of Photoshop and you would be able to master much of the tools in this before then moving onto PS. They give PSE away with many cameras and it's aimed at the beginner's market - so you'll be fine. You may as well start learning the best!

You can download a 30-day trial here I'm sure: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/

Then you can learn some basics here: http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/Photoshop-tutorials/Photoshop-Elements-tutorials/Most-popular/1/

Once you have mastered PSE I'm sure you'll find the transition to it's big brother very easy. Just remember to keep practising and learning everyday. Buy specialists magazines and keep up-to-date on new tutorials on the web.

Good luck!

jayleon07 · Answer

Photoshop wont be the best choice now. GIMP is free but hard to use. Paint.NET is easier and free too and has some of the functionality of photoshop. however if you want a very very simple and free program then Photo editor is a good choice though it only has basic functions like crop, lighting tint and resize and warp but no clone. you can still get these basic functions too in Picasa3 which is free. the good thing about Picasa3 is its free and it organises all the photos in your computer and you can send via email without having to manually upload each phot, you also can make movies out of your photos. for free tutorials look up on youtube and you will find heaps on any program.
And by the way, those are nice photos you got there!

Anonymous · Answer

If you have a used software / hardware store in your area, look for Paint Shop Pro. Any version above 6 will give you a lot of power and also will make animated GIF's...

If you buy new your still ahead because it is under $100 at most places and I have seen Version 12, called X2, as low as $89... However, they dropped the Animation Factory (but I kept my version 9 that has it)..

I use it and I find it to be more than powerful enuf for anything I want to do and it has a few features I most likely WON'T use, but not like Photo Shop that has more of a cost and even more features many are most likely NOT going to use.

It is similar to Photo Shop but it is it's own program. Photo Shop has special "plug-ins" that cause special EFX to your image. Paint Shop Pro can read many of these "plug-ins" and many are free on the Internet.

Speed. Power. Low cost for both. Not a bad deal..

Bob - Tucson

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What would you suggest for a photo editing/manipulating beginner?

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