Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

10
Image Editors
Image editors bring techniques from the world of graphic design, such as object selection,
transparency, and layering, to the service of photography. They allow you to crop
and resize the image, while at the same time providing a set of retouching tools to
remove blemishes and color casts. Some of them go very much further, adding full processing
facilities such as RAW conversion and exposure adjustment, together with image
browsing, sorting, and cataloging, plus all the output options of saving to the Web,
printing, slide show creation, and DVD burning. On first acquaintance, their list of features
and level of complexity can be a little daunting, as the number one image editor
(Photoshop) amply demonstrates.
Professional designers automatically gravitate to Photoshop, and then, after climbing a
steep learning curve, become understandably reluctant to learn other software. The
resulting dominance of Photoshop in the market has had a stunting effect on other products,
cutting off revenues that could otherwise fund further development. Most developers
have adopted the “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach by bringing out
plug-ins for Photoshop, which sometimes obliges users to buy the Adobe product (or a
compatible editor) simply to run a desired third-party plug-in.
The industry, however, is changing. Adobe’s introduction of Lightroom specifically for
photographers has highlighted the fact that photographic editing has different priorities
than those of the graphic designer. Processing, shot selection, and color/tone adjustments
come first, whereas retouching and special effects are secondary considerations. In the
coming years, it is likely that Lightroom will siphon off from Photoshop all the tools that
a photographer needs. Over at Corel, where the purchase of Ulead brings together two
of Photoshop’s closest competitors, Paint Shop Pro Photo and Ulead PhotoImpact, a similar
evolution is taking place. Here, too, there is recognition that digital photographers
need a different set of tools from those used by illustrators and designers.