Playing with Photoshop

So since I'm getting the Canon T2i (today!!!!....I keep listening for the big brown truck!), I decided to test out some photo editing software. I downloaded the 30-day trial version of Photoshop Lightroom last night and played with it a little bit. I'm also going to download the trial version of Photoshop Elements ('cause there's no way I'm paying $700 for the full Photoshop....nor do I need it) tonight. My computer was taking forever to download it last night, so I'll try again tonight. Hopefully this will help me figure out which one I want to get. Joseph has Elements on his Mac, but of course, since he bought it AT the Apple store, it's the version that can only be used on Macs (I use an HP) and I don't think it can be downloaded on multiple computers anyway. So, either way, I'm going to have to buy a new one, unless I want to use his Mac, but I'm not very comfortable with it and he's always using it anyway!! HA! It's probably smart to just get Lightroom for the HP, since he already has Elements and I can just use his Mac if I want to use that program. However, Lightroom is around $300, versus Elements that is $100. That's why I'm going to test them out to determine if it's worth it to get the more expensive one. I did a little research though, and found that Amazon.com has them for AWESOME prices!! I mean, insane savings!! So, that's probably where I'd get them from.

I only did a couple of photos last night, but I was impressed with how my second one turned out. I still have a lot to learn about the whole photo editing world, but having used Elements a couple of times on Joseph's Mac, then using Lightroom last night a little, I think Lightroom may actually be easier and more user friendly...at least to me, anyway. Remember, I've barely used either program so this is just my first impression. :-)

Here's a picture I did last night!




BEFORE:






AFTER:


I'll admit, I don't know what all the terms mean yet, so I just clicked around a little and figured out what they all did. I sharpened it a little, took out some of the "noise"(I finally know what that means in the photography world!), messed with the hue (I like how most of it's muted except for the reds ;), and put a little vignette around it. I'm pretty pleased with it, seeing as how it's the second one I did!! :-) I can't wait to do more with pictures from my new camera. I'm sure I'll be taking pictures and editing them all weekend!!

I hope y'all have had a great week. Personally, I thought Friday would never get here!
Have a wonderful weekend!! :)