Post-Processing Programs

Photoshop- Photoshop is the most commonly used post-processing program that brings a lot to the table. Being the pioneer in photography editing software, Photoshop allows for every detail of your photo to be altered in hundreds of ways. The biggest benefit of Photoshop is the layers options that allows for successful blending and masking of elements. Photoshop is expensive and has a huge learning curve (created for the advanced editor), but for those who invest time in it will be quite rewarded. So is this the right software for you? Photoshop is intended for those who want to spend hours perfecting a photograph and getting every detail right, but for a casual shooter I would look elsewhere.


Lightroom- I call Lightroom the simplified Photoshop. Still with hundreds of options, Lightroom is built for photographers who need to work with a large collection of images and need efficiency. Lightroom was built with a great work flow and the ability to apply simple edits quickly. Lightroom is more straight forward and has less of a learning curve than Photoshop, which is good for casual shooters. Lightroom is really a photo library, a post-processing tool, and a print and web gallery maker all in one. So is this the right software for you? If you have a large library that needs to be edited quickly (and also in detail), then this is right for you. But it really isn't Photoshop or Lightroom, both have their own advantages and shortcomings and many photographers have both for specific uses.

Aperture- Aperture is another program designed for fast work flow. Aperture is a blazingly quick software that allows for general edits on your images, and provides the user with numerous brushes for specific edits. One of the cooler features of Aperture is faces and places. It allows the photographer to tag a subject, and the program (with relative success) identifies other images of the person and compiles it in a folder. Places, allows for images to be placed on a world map, so the photographs can be organized by location. One shortcoming of Aperture is the inability to edit individual pixels.  So is this the right software for you? First you must note this program only runs on a Mac computer. Also if your using iPhoto, Aperture is a needed upgrade if you want to seriously edit and organize your images. But for a shooter who needs to efficiently make high-quality alterations, this is ideal.

Posted by Chase Guttman Photography at 12:19 PM