Adobe photoshop Elements advice

I don't know if I have asked this before, appologies if I have. i think I have gone as far as I can go with Picasa and I would like to move onto Elements. All I want to do with my pictures is brighten, sharpen, and denoise. Can this be done, or is Lightoom better?

Is Elements easy to use? I can't find a college course that teaches you how to use it.

I am not looking for the latest version, just one that's easy to use where I can change the size of the photo's, and make a gift CD as you can on Picasa.

Thanks.

I'm also keen to hear people's views on adobe products as I have photoshop 7 from way back . I only discovered yesterday that it doesn't support RAW files. I know the latter packages do, but I'm not sure which to go for.

Sorry for jumping on your thread auratodd

In my view - Lightroom is much better for noise reduction - sharpening - exposure adjustment etc.

As for ease of use - again - I personally fimf LR much easier

Carl

I use both Lightroom and Elements (my version is 6!). I tend to use Lightroom mostly nowadays but there are times when I need to go into Elements like when I need layers for example.
I would say that if you find yourself processing lots of shots then Lightroom is better but for the odd shot maybe Elements would suit you better and as this is similar to Picassa you might find it easier to use at first.
Getting a good book to go with your version of the software would be a big help for you too for example I brought Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 Maximum Performance by Mark Galer and learnt loads from it - or of course go on youtube for tutorial videos .

Louise - if that's all you want to do with your photos, why not have a look at Microsoft's Windows Live Photo Gallery? It's free, and easy to use. PSE is maybe a bit more complex than what your needs are - that's not to say it's no good, just that for the simplistics you are aiming for may be a bit of overkill.

From the limited useage you say you require. It is difficult to understand why you want to move on from Picasa. As this program will perform the tasks you require. If your looking to stretch yourself. Without spending money. You could try downloading Gimp. Which is a free program to enhance images. For me the logical step would be to spend a little cash, and move to elements. Try and go for one of the later versions if you can. There are always offers on Amazon. Try downloading the free 30 day, evaluation copy first. This will also include camera raw. In itself a similar program to lightroom. but without the image catalogue processes. This opens up the world of the layer process and several other items not available in lightroom. e.g. Cloning.

Just my thoughts.

The great thing about Lightroom is you can select a whole bunch of photos and apply the sharpness, brightness and NR to them all at once.

You can then goto individual photos and makes further adjustments as necessary.

You can alos create and store develop presets, so you could apply your standard brigthness, NR and sharpness with one mouse click to them, before refining individuals further.

Each has it's own advantages and disadvantages, Lightroom is great for batch processing (among many other things) as smeggy points out but it doesn't have the advantage of 'layers' - which I find very useful.
Try having a look at 'Faststone image viewer', In my opinion one of the best free programs for photo editing, you can download it here:link

Thanks for your replies. Is there a trial version of Lightroom? Also can you make a gift CD like you can on Picasa? I will eventually want to do more but for now sharpening and denoising, sharpening, auto fix etc is want I will probably do for now

Not sure how to do layers yet, I take it Lightroom 4 is the newer edition?

Someone suggested Adobe Photoshop Elements 7, but is 11 the better version please?

for creativity i would say that elements 11 would be of more use than lightroom, lightrooms strength seem to be organising and batch processing which i cannot imagine would be what your main criteria are. you seem to like to "play" with your pictures which makes elements more the choice to make for you and once you learn using layers you will be away.

RE. Layers, first you need to understand why you might need to use them, then you need to decide if you need them, and it'll depend a lot on what you take photos of.

Lightroom 4.3 is the latest version and there is a free 30 day trial from the Adobe web site. Amazon has Lightroom in stock at £67.99 and PSE11 at £54.00 incl. free delivery.

Don't forget though, if you are a full time student you are eligible to purchase the 'Student & Teacher, AKA academic' licences and make some substantial savings. If that's the case, why not buy both, problem solved .

Whichever you choose, Lightroom or Photoshop Elements, be prepared to spend some time getting to know its strengths and weaknesses.

Re. PSE 7 or 11, always go for the latest version. Older versions will not support the raw .PEF files from newer Pentax DSLR's, you'll need to use Adobe's .DNG format.

if you are a student i believe there are special prices on the Adobe web site for their software just need proof of enrolment