Paint Shop Pro or PSE 8?

[timwaters77]

I am a portrait photographer in need of inexpensive photo editing software...

Which of the two above do you like the most?

I would like the software to have the capabilities of adjusting color saturation in certain spots (instead of the whole picture) as well as some other creative features including framing,etc.

[Franglais]

I only use Paint Shop Pro.

Paint Shop Pro allows you to desaturate selected areas. It has about 30 preset borders built-in. I find when I do portraits that I use tools like Makeup, Skin Smoothing, Clone, Clone out an object, Add Noise, Dodge/Burn, etc. I think that most of the things you can do in full Photoshop you can do in Paint Shop Pro

I haven't used Photoshop Elements since version 2, which was simplified version of the full product. In version 3 they removed Curves, which is one of the things I use the most.

[drg]

I'll continue to recommend downloading and trying out the trial versions to see which one you like using the best.

There are many other programs to consider if you want any advanced capabilities or really future expansion without a whole new version.

If you plan on working from RAW files immediately also consider

- Lightzone
- ACDSee

There are other RAW programs that I prefer including the Adobe ACR based software including Lightroom. These are more money but have a far greater ability to be customized and refined. A lot more.

For the types of special effects you mention PSP at the cost level is hard to beat. However it is still I feel a graphic design/illustration program with Photography add-ons. All purpose isn't bad just that digital photography is evolving rapidly and if you are going to do a much portraiture, being able to fill a particular specific need may require a specific program.

Either PSE8 or PSP are a very good choice. Interface preference and availability of instruction/reference material may further help you to choose.

Let us know what you decide on and if you've any more questions.

[timwaters77]

are you able to do vignetting with Paint Shop Pro? And a little dodging and burning too?

I will look online and see if I can find a free trial to test out. Good idea.

[timwaters77]

Amazon has a little video showing some of the stuff the latest version of PaintShop Pro can do.

Looks like its exactly what I need.

Thanks for the advice guys