Dear Linda,
Asking which picture editing (manipulation) software is best or appropriate
is like asking which car a person prefers to drive. Toyota drivers swear by
their brand of vehicle, whereas Cadillac owners feel that only the more
expensive luxury car will cut it for them. It is personal preference, and
as you eluded to, what you will ultimately need from such software --
simple digital image manipulation (inexpensive software), or more complex
image alterations (expensive software).
As I recently posted on Conch-L, I use Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro, though
I ultimately use the latter more often. Both are highly touted and capable
software packages, yet, for the beginner PSP is one of the easiest and most
capable amongst a litany of possible programs on the market. And since you
already have the PSP software, it would seem a likely place to start. What
is so great about PSP is that is bridges the gap as a beginners tool and
yet has the power to handle all of the serious work needed by
professionals. It is especially capable for those developing and working
with Web sites. Using PSP7, you can even create the images and code needed
for image maps, the interactive graphics that have multimple hyperlinks
within one image. How many picture editing software packages can do that?
Getting back to the root of the problem -- that is, acheiving a consistent
color image balance from computer monitor to computer monitor. CMS, or
color management system is a defacto standard for interpreting and
translating accurate colors between monitors, scanners and printers. In
other words, how the image looks on your computer when you save it, and how
it will be seen by others when it is posted to a Web site in this case.
Take a look at this PDF document for a description of CMS and how it
relates to this thread. The document is a bit technical, but you can weed
through most of it to get a gist of why CMS is probably the only way to
achieve the consistency needed for the entire conchological world to see
our shell pictures in the true colors intended.
http://www.friendsofed.com/books/foundation/illustrator/BonusChapterB.pdf
Unfortunately, if the original digital images are saved with unnatural or
off-tinted colors, there is little that CMS can do to correct this, and
what people will see are the off-color images. So, to get back to Linda's
original question; yes, if you have PSP7, use it and enjoy the joys of
digital imaging. As you learn more about digital images techniques, and
pick up new tips and tricks on creating composites and multimple image
graphics, you will find that image capture and storage will take on a whole
new dimension.
Rich
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
worldwideconchology.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Message:
-----------------
From: lindawbush [log in to unmask]
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 10:17:27 -0500
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Picture Editing Software
Good Morning, Conch-L!
I know we had been discussing various picture editing
software, but as a beginner on a PC, I did not understand
a
lot of it.
Question: I have Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7 available to be
installed on my Windows XP. Would this be a good place
for me to start? Or is there a simpler system? There are
some other Dell picture optionson my computer, but from
what I can understand, I would probably outgrow them in a
fairly short time. Please advise.
Thanks ahead of time,
Linda
--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .
|
