AboutScott Valentine Expertise Most anything about digital post processing (Photoshop, etc), effects, and image restoration, some technical information about digital imaging systems, light and electron microscopy, optical physics and image analysis. I can help with shooting basics, lighting setups, and getting the most out of your digital camera. I am also an 'expert' here for Photoshop (Computers/Technology > Software > Graphics Software > Photoshop).
Experience I've been an image analyst and advanced amateur photographer for over 6 years. I run an Adobe user group, focusing on digital media, and have lectured on digital image capture systems. Currently, I am an administrator for a rather large instructional Photoshop forum
Organizations Adobe User Groups, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, Advanced Imaging Specialists
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Physics, University of California, San Diego
Awards and Honors Winner: Best in Show and several category first place awards - Imaging Professionals of the Southwest Print Competition (multiple years)
Expert: Scott Valentine Date: 2/7/2008 Subject: photography program
Question hi,thxs for volunteering.I have a dell system,hp photosmart 7350 printer&a hpR847 photosmart digitial camera. I like to do a wide variety of projects from pictures to business cards&all things in between.Can u suggest a program which would be good with all of this. Had photosmart at one time and loved it but need to make sure it is compatible with what I now have&meets my needs.Thanks, Jan-
Answer Hi Jan,
Your question is not uncommon, but can be difficult to answer. The default professional application for doing both photography and graphic design is Adobe Photoshop. It can be pricey, but it is the industry standard. Further, in order to provide high quality business cards, most professionals also use Adobe Illustrator, which is another fairly expensive tool. Adobe makes an entry-level version of Photoshop called 'Elements', which may accomplish much of what you need.
Other options include Corel PaintShop Pro, which has some very nice features, and CorelDRAW, which is a vector/illustration application. These typically costs less than the Adobe products, but are not as widely used. For individuals and small businesses, they are good alternatives.
On the free side, there is the Gimp for photography and some graphic work, and Inkscape, which is a reasonable alternative to Illustrator or DRAW.
The challenge with free Open Source applications is they typically do not have a polished interface, quirky community support, and few, if any, books available for purchase. So it's a trade-off. If you are just getting started, I highly recommend trying the free applications first, and be sure to spend some time with tutorials and asking questions on the forums. This will give you good exposure to working with the tools without having to incur large expenses.
Here the relevant links:
Photoshop/Illustrator http://adobe.com - check the Products link, or type in the names in the upper right search bar
Draw/PaintShop Pro http://corel.com - choose your region, then look at both DRAW and PaintShop Pro Photo X2
In addition to all of this, I recommend using a search engine to find graphics and photography forums to help out with any questions you have. Your choice of software, project and experience will dictate which forums you use; otherwise, I'd provide a few here.
If there are any other questions I can answer, please feel free to let me know.
