I am shooting a couple of Canon bodies, and I shoot in RAW plus jpeg. I would lie to find some software to edit the RAW photos in, and use HD technology.
I won't be using it a lot, so something that is fairly intuitive is good, but I realize that is asking for a lot.
Thanks for any advice.

Fred

Fred,

You can "rent" LR5 and Photoshop via the "cloud" I believe.

Cocadori
Thanks- I have Lightroom5 but not having used Photoshop or any other RAW processing products, I am not sure if LR5 is my best option. I also want to start using the HD process.
I have the Lightroom5 book by Scott Kelby, and so far in following the book, I can't see where he differentiates between processing jpeg files and RAW files and that is making me wonder if Lightroom is capable of wringing all the information out of RAW files.
I don't intend to do a great deal of processing, but it seems as though some of my best photo opportunities happen unexpectedly and lots of time there isn't time to get exposure just right, and I'd like to be able to twek some of those photos. Also, it's not unusual to have scenes where either focus or exposure isn't adequate to cover the entire scene, and that's where the HD would come in handy, I think.
You post some great pictures.

Fred

No.It is not even close. Lightroom is a good tool and I use it for some things. I prefer it to Bridge, but Photoshop has a lot more ones and zeros than Lightroom, and can get a lot more out of RAW.

Do you mean HDR(High Dynamic Range)? I have shot some photos for HDR, then stacked them with the HDR application in Photoshop, but I have found it a limited use tool for my work.

Lewis,

School me how PS gets more out of RAW stuff.... I'm very new to PS, as in clueless...
as I have used LR to do 99% of the PP... but if PS can get more from my RW files .. I'm all ears!

links?

Short answer, as I said above, is Photo Shop has a huge amount of ones and zeros. Your photo may be a photo on your screen or when you print it, but to your camera, computer, PS, and printer it is data. A series of ones and zeros that all of them use to work together to give you a visual digital representation of what you saw in the viewfinder.

PS is a series of programs in one package to read more of your data and use advanced algorithms to decide what the tones, hues, light and shadow areas, texture, saturation and, well everything that you see in the photo.

RAW gives the programs more data to work with than jpg.
I pulled one of my photos at random. In RAW it is 19.5MB converted to jpg it is 398kb quite a loss of data.
PS has more programing to use that data than Lightroom.
Are you toneing your photos for true color? Do you set a white and black point then bring up the mid tones? Are your skin tones numerically correct? Do you work in CYMK profiles so that you can send your photos to a printer and have them print the same as what you see on your screen?

Probably not, the huge majority of people don�t, and don�t need to. They want to get a reasonable representation of their photo on the screen or on their printer. Lightroom is fine for that, better than fine.

Most people think of PS as a way to make big changes in a photo like removing a pole from behind someone (or maybe an ex altogether) When it is most usually used to make a series of small adjustments, a pimple from the brides nose, slight whitening of the teeth, an odd light reflection from somewhere across her veil. Removing blood shot eyes from the groom leftover from the bachelor party last night. That kind of thing.

PS is also about bringing out what is already in your photo. Bringing up shadows or bringing down highlights to make your photo better. Dodging and burning to bring out detail is as old as photography. Ansel Adams said if photographers could see what he did in the darkroom they would cry, but his photos are the standard of dodge and burn.


Links, man you can get PS help everywhere (lightroom too)
Start at the source https://forums.adobe.com

Google youtube for PS or LR tutorials, plenty of them there.

If you want serious training go to lynda.com. It is a pay site and for good reason. Well made online classes in what you are looking for.

Hope that is some help

Sweet thanks...!

My big thing is as more and more ask for prints.. I need to have color correct images on the computer that, as you said, look the same when printed...

lewis perkins,
What monitor are you using for post? What calibration tool?

For work I use a Dell monitor, and an X-Rite ColorMunki.

For my projects I have a NEC MultiSync P232W and the NEC Color Calibration Sensor.

Lewis Perkins
Thanks many times over for taking the time to make that post. Lots of good information there.

Fred

Photoshop will cost you what my first used car cost. Most folks don't need it and won't spend the time and effort to learn it's very difficult learning curve. Photoshop Elements is another story.

Many folks at the Nikonians forum have went to Light Room as Nikon's CNX2's days are numbered since Nikon isn't supporting it anymore and most all use RAW.