wgm
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posted on August 22, 2003 06:45:12 AM new
I have been playing around with a few different photo editing programs, and am looking for a really good one (obviously I haven't found it yet!)...
Any recommendations?
"Be kind. Remember everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."  - Harry Thompson
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
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TheFamilyBiz
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posted on August 22, 2003 06:47:34 AM new
I use Photoshop.
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Libra63
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posted on August 22, 2003 06:54:44 AM new
I use MGI Photosuite E and love it..... I also have s Sony Mavica with Floppy Disc and the two make a great combination.
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throughhiker
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posted on August 22, 2003 07:16:42 AM new
Hi wgm,
I do a lot with digital pictures and you can't beat the top of the line, Photoshop. Adobe® Photoshop® Elements is a scaled down version that I have never seen but if it has the save for the web feature I would get that if I were going to pay for a good mainstream program.
I usually resize my pictures to between 450 and 550 pixels on the longest side. With that size you get a picture that is a nice size for all monitors these days without causing someone to have to scrool. When I save a file that is 550 pixels on the longest side for the web in the full version of Photoshop, the file size is between 20k and 40k which is very acceptable for download even with dialup.
If you want a nice program that is free, try Irfanview at Irfanview.com. I have not used this program for other than viewing my pictures so I just did a quick resize and save as to see what would happen. I made the longest side of the picture 500 pixels and the total file size was 50k. Thats not bad reducing from and original size of 2048 pixels on the longest side and a "weight" of 917k
If you made the picture slightly smaller, say 400 - 450 pixcels on the longest side, I bet the size would be under 40k which is what you should strive to do and still maintain an image that would represent your item well to the customer. Also if you shoot the original at a lower resolution, which is fine if it is only for the web, the file size, when resized to fit monitor screens, would be no doubt very small. I use my photos for printing so my camera is always set at the highest res which is why I like the full version of Photoshop because, as I mentioned above, I get really small file sizes and maintain great looking photos.
MHO
Don
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wgm
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posted on August 22, 2003 07:21:54 AM new
wow, thank you all so much for your suggestions!
I am reading about the different ones now - I really appreciate it!!
"Be kind. Remember everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." - Harry Thompson
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
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photosensitive
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posted on August 22, 2003 07:45:19 AM new
Adobe Photoshop is the gold standard for image editing. As a web designer I use it everyday but still am amazed at its flexability and depth.
Photoshop Elements has almost all the features that the full program has for a fraction of the price. The few features that are missing are things you need for print work and should be no problem in photo editing.
At one time the adobe.com web site offered a free evaluation copy of Elements. If they still do you could give it a test drive.
Good luck
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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sun818
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posted on August 22, 2003 10:06:28 AM new
You can pick up an old version of Adobe PhotoShop 4.0 LE for $10 shipped or less.
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photosensitive
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posted on August 22, 2003 10:42:51 AM new
Does Photoshop 4 LE have "Save for Web" and "Step Backward"? I have upgraded so many times since 4 that I forget when they were added. If not those two features are worth the price for a later version.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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miscreant
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posted on August 22, 2003 10:58:56 AM new
Photoshop. I have run tens of thousands of pictures through Photoshop and have tried some of the others and none come close. You can get more bang for the buck buying Elements because the average user would not come close to using all of Photoshops features.
You may want to get a photo organiser like Photoshop Album or ACDSEE which also includes an editor.
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wgm
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posted on August 22, 2003 11:53:06 AM new
Thank you all again for your input! I just got back from Office Depot with....Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0
Here's hoping my pics start looking better!
"Be kind. Remember everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." - Harry Thompson
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
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CBlev65252
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posted on August 22, 2003 11:55:50 AM new
I use MS PhotoDraw, which unfortunately is no longer available. MS comes up with a good program and then cans it.
Cheryl
Power to the people. Power to the people, right on. - John Lennon
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replaymedia
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posted on August 22, 2003 12:00:45 PM new
Corel Photopaint. I've used it forever, and just don't want to learn something new.
My image editing requirements are pretty basic...
A) Scan
B) Crop
C) Resample to whatever size
D) Save
I'm no artist, but I scan stuff all day.
-------------------
Replay Media
Games of all kinds!
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getalife
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posted on August 22, 2003 12:38:54 PM new
I use Irfanview. It can be found at www.irfanview.com. It is a very compact and easy to use photo program. It will probably do everything and more you want to do for ebay photos. Very intuitive! You can work very quickly with it and it has a 5 cow rating at Tucows and can be had for free. It can be set up within minutes and that includes the download. Also it is one of the most downloaded photo programs on the net. I've never heard a bad word about it. Try it.
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davebraun
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posted on August 22, 2003 01:00:41 PM new
save for web is on photoshop 5.5 and later versions. there was a quantum leap after photoshop 5.
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sanmar
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posted on August 22, 2003 01:21:41 PM new
You can't get any better than Photoshop by Adobe for the money. Adobe is the leader in the field.
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Roadsmith
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posted on August 22, 2003 02:59:38 PM new
I use Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition 4.0 (no longer available), which is just great for my purposes. Adobe has really good editing software of all sorts.
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jnash
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posted on August 22, 2003 03:05:23 PM new
Ulead iPhoto Plus that came with my scanner.
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tomwiii
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posted on August 22, 2003 03:35:56 PM new
Ya can beat the price for irfanView...FREE!!
http://tinyurl.com/6ew7
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/vidrat/
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Twelvepole
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posted on August 22, 2003 06:08:33 PM new
Unless you are HEAVY into graphics and photo editing... get Photoshop elements...
I got Photoshop 7.0 full version and enjoy it very much, but know I am not using it to its full potential.
AIN'T LIFE GRAND... 
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CBlev65252
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posted on August 22, 2003 06:10:25 PM new
I do have Adobe PhotoShop 7.0, but have not tried to use it yet. Does anyone know of a good site where you can learn the program? From the sound of this board it seems like a great program and I may as well learn to use it.
Cheryl
Power to the people. Power to the people, right on. - John Lennon
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wgm
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posted on August 22, 2003 06:38:44 PM new
I just love Photoshop Elements! I have to admit...I have been playing with it since I got it installed and haven't done much for auctions LOL
Thanks again everyone for your input!
"Be kind. Remember everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." - Harry Thompson
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
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sun818
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posted on August 22, 2003 06:50:28 PM new
> I do have Adobe PhotoShop 7.0, but have not tried to use it yet.
And you must have a legal copy... haha
Seriously, if anybody wants a free copy of Adobe PhotoShop Home Edition - just pay for shipping and I'll send it out to you. I have two original CDs that I haven't used in over one year. It will do all the editing you need for eBay very easily and it will generate "web friendly" images.
tekgems.com <-- go here for contact info
[ edited by sun818 on Aug 22, 2003 06:51 PM ]
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Fenix03
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posted on August 22, 2003 06:57:04 PM new
Cheryl - the Adobe site has good tutorials. If you go to LimeWire and I presume Kazaa you can doewnload various Photoshop manuals as well (not to mention some bad@ssed filters for when you want to have a little artisitc fun.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
Men Are Like Grapes. If You Stomp on Them and Keep Them in the Dark Long Enough, They Might Turn Into Something That You Would Take to Dinner
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throughhiker
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posted on August 22, 2003 07:04:22 PM new
Cheryl,
There are lots of sites that teach graphics and sell learning CD. Also workshops. Workshops are quite expensive but if you can spring for one you will recieve a quantum leap in the learning curve. If all you are doing is creating a good picture for Ebay, a workshop would be a pure luxury.
Two sites I like are Graphics Unleashed that is heavey toward Corel products but every graphic artist uses Photoshop so they don't ignore it.
Consider the learning CDs from VCD.
Here is the link to their page for photoshop:
http://www.vtc.com/productdetail.php?sku=33329
The cool thing here is that the first three chapters are downloadable and you can get a feel for the depth of instructions. Actually if you watch all the tutorials from the first three chapters you may have enough be well around the learning curve.
You should try Photoshop 7. Actually, I'm jealous as I'm only up to version 6.0.
Don
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