PSE vs Photoshop

[Clydrak]

I'm not usually a poster on the forum but am definitely a frequent shopper at SSD. I need some help deciding on updating my software.I have PSE6 which I use for all my digital scrapping (it crashes a ton but I'm managing). I'd like to upgrade but I'm not sure if I want to get PSE10 or jut upgrade to CS5. I use Lightroom for 80% of my photo-editing but like PSE for cloning/retouching, and for things that require layers.

I can get the student discount so CS5 is within my budget, I'm just not sure if the additional features would get used/be worth it. Sometimes I get frustrated that I can't do something in PSE that I could in Photoshop but I also know a lot has been added since PSE6.

What was your deciding factor (other than cost) either way? Thanks!!!!

[pewtertm]

I actually use both. I love CS for the actions and text paths...but I definitely miss the photo bin of PSE. In fact, if CS would ever go ahead and add that bin, I'd totally ditch PSE.

[Julie Billingsley]

I typically use PS CS5, but I recently had the chance to play with PSE10 and I have to say I really liked it. The only thing I was personally concerned about with PSE10 was creating custom shadows. I think PSE10 meets most people's scrapping needs. I wrote an article about it (https://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/tutorials/index.php/2011/12/getting-started-digital-scrapbooking-program-and-hardware-needs/) for the tutorial blog here. You should download the free trials and see what you think of the programs!

[taracotta7]

I am a huge fan of PSE. I have used it for the last 4 years (versions 6-9). It is a great program at a low cost. You can do pretty much anything in it.

I will say that I just recently (like in the last 2 months) went cold turkey and cut myself off of PSE and threw myself into CS5. Yes, there is a learning curve but I really like the freedom I have with my shadows and photo actions in it. I was first really upset about the lack of the work bin but now I am adjusted and loving using it.

I don't think you will make a wrong choice here. Both programs are great!

[KyRainbow]

I am a huge fan of PSE. I have used it for the last 4 years (versions 6-9). It is a great program at a low cost. You can do pretty much anything in it.

I will say that I just recently (like in the last 2 months) went cold turkey and cut myself off of PSE and threw myself into CS5. Yes, there is a learning curve but I really like the freedom I have with my shadows and photo actions in it. I was first really upset about the lack of the work bin but now I am adjusted and loving using it.

I don't think you will make a wrong choice here. Both programs are great!

I agree with everything Tara said here. I also recently made the jump from PSE version 6 into CS5. The biggest difference for me is the freedom to play with my shadows, and how much easier it is to load actions and styles. There are quite a few added features that I love, extractions are SO much easier, and even though at first I missed the bin, I've adjusted and can't imagine trying to go back to PSE. I can also say that going from PSE 6 to CS5 isn't as HUGE an adjustment as I thought it was going to be.

[Ginger_79]

You could also just download a trial of CS5 (or at least I believe there is one...) and just see how you like it. It will probably be a bit overwhelming at the start, though.

I would kill for the content aware fill in CS5. I hsave CS4 and that's the thing I am lusting after the most. However, I am secretly hoping they will already introduce the new feature to track motion blur and reverse it in CS6. God knows I need it! And then I get aaaall the cool stuff at once. :)

[Clydrak]

You could also just download a trial of CS5 (or at least I believe there is one...) and just see how you like it. It will probably be a bit overwhelming at the start, though.

I would kill for the content aware fill in CS5. I hsave CS4 and that's the thing I am lusting after the most. However, I am secretly hoping they will already introduce the new feature to track motion blur and reverse it in CS6. God knows I need it! And then I get aaaall the cool stuff at once. :)

I think I will try the trial and play around a bit. I'm sure I will be a bit overwhelmed. I do use the photo bin quite a bit so I might miss that. Decisions, decisions....

[Ginger_79]

Ok, as I never used PSE I have always wondered what that photo bin is, that everybody is talking about! Could someone please enlighten me now? I keep feeling left out on the knowledge...

[Julie Billingsley]

Ok, as I never used PSE I have always wondered what that photo bin is, that everybody is talking about! Could someone please enlighten me now? I keep feeling left out on the knowledge...

here is a screenshot. I named it project bin instead of photo bin, but it's the same.
http://test.sweetshoppedesigns.com/tutorials/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/jbillingsley-firstlayout-image7.jpg

[Ginger_79]

Ah, so it's like mini windows of all open files in a line, yes? Reminds me of the Lightroom set-up a bit.

[SeattleSheri]

I've only used an older version of PSE, but I do love the full version of PS. I've used CS2, CS3 and CS5. I like the additional flexibility it offers for customization of shadows, text paths, etc ... I agree with the suggestion of doing a trial run. Although, learning PS in a short period of time can be overwhelming. Good luck with your decision!

[Jen22]

I recently had to downgrade from CS4 to PSE7 because the computer I'm using now can't handle CS4 :( I miss CS4 like crazy! I can do pretty much the same things on PSE, but not everything.

Lets see.... The way I do text is different (I almost always created a text path box thingy and I can't do that in PSE). Shadows are a big one - I almost always put my shadows on a new layer and warp them and change their blend mode (linear burn does NOT look the same in PSE). I can do shadows on a new layer PSE, but it takes longer (and I'm already a slow scrapper, lol). I've been skipping my deeper shadow work - and I miss it. I like doing actions in CS4 more. Oh and groups - I group title work and clusters and stuff all the time to keep thing more organized in the layers palette - and PSE can't do those (at least the version I have). Oh and just before my nice computer died, I discovered the photo stitch program in CS4 - it made landscape photography so much more enjoyable! I miss that like crazy. I have series of photos that I'm waiting to stitch together (every program I've tried has failed compared to the one I had in CS4). And the liquify tool - I used that more than I thought I did, lol. I only realized when I didn't have it anymore... There are other little things that I do in CS4 that are either different or unavailable in PSE, but I can't really think of them now.

About the only things I like in PSE was the bin thing at the bottom. I read a lot of people complaining about that when CS first came out. I had issues with it too for a while, but I got used to it. I also like the workspace colors (the black is nice). But honestly - that's it. I'm getting a new computer real soon, and I'll be getting my CS4 back then!! :D

[maryinaz]

So those of you who use CS and used to use PSE, what do you do instead of the photo bin? I have both, but I scrap with PSE because of the photo bin. I edit photos in CS so I can use actions, etc. I've tried tiling the windows in there and dragging and dropping between them, but I hate it.

[taracotta7]

So those of you who use CS and used to use PSE, what do you do instead of the photo bin? I have both, but I scrap with PSE because of the photo bin. I edit photos in CS so I can use actions, etc. I've tried tiling the windows in there and dragging and dropping between them, but I hate it.

I just open my file (like the kit or alpha) and just click item and drop on LO in CS5. I just keep the file open and make that like my "bin" so I can see all of the kit. Does that make sense?

[Jen22]

Same as Tara - I just work with an open folder where my kit (or whatever I'm using) is.

I also (on my better computer) was able to have the entire kit on one project. I'd usually open a template. Then I'd "Load files into stack" and I'd select the papers and alphas and get the whole kit onto one page (I'd tell you how I did that, but I don't have access to CS4 anymore). Then I'd move the papers & ellies over onto the template and go from there. So I could see everything in the layers palette - kinda like the bin. The papers were grouped. The elements were grouped. I'd put all the photos I want to use on there - and then go to town on my layout. If I thought I'd need something else, the folder with all my kits was right there. My old computer could handle this though - but this slow one I have for now can't even handle me scrapping at 3600x3600 (grr)

[maryinaz]

I guess I'll have to get in there and try it. Hmmm...would be a good tutorial for someone to do - how to work without that photo bin. ;)

Thanks for the info!

[coopert]

For scrapbooking I definitely prefer PSE and I have version 9. Since using lightroom as a photographer, I rarely use photoshop. I would choose PSE, but if you are addicted to actions, I can understand why you would be conflicted.

[mrshobbes]

I've never used PSE, but when I saw Julie's screenshot, I realized I sort of scrap the same way. I have Windows Explorer open to the kit's folders and view the images in thumbnail format. Then I click and drag images unto my Photoshop canvas (I use CS3).

[pixelstix]

This is interesting to read. I may have to see what all the hullabaloo is about with CS5. I used Photoshop for years, from version 7 I think? The last one was CS maybe, in my early scrapping days (6-7 years ago). Later, when I bought my Wacom tablet, it came with a trial of PSE (3 I think) and I gave it a whirl. I was always under the impression that PSE was the "dumbed down" version of Photoshop, but I was impressed with what it could do and it ran so much faster on my laptop at the time that I kept on using it. I've since abandoned the expensive software :) I feel like I've been able to do everything I want/need to do with PSE. I use the RAW editor for most any fixes and I don't use actions, I like to play with things on my own. The one thing I had missed was text paths, but after upgrading to 10 recently, it was there so I'm good now :) I didn't realize that shadows were more customizable either. I haven't felt that my shadows were lacking, lol. I do remember feeling like PSE was a lot more intuitive, even having used PS for quite a while and knowing it well. But that might not be the case with the newer versions.

[sprauncey1]

I love CS5 (last version of PSE I used was 4 or something though and I have PSE 9 just so I can show friends but still don't know if I know it completely)!!

-actions, creating my own especially (saving for web a particular way, re-saving my PSDs as Tiffs, etc)
-Content Aware!! I use this puppy!
-now that I know about it...patch tool (does PSE have this?)
-ACR (adobe camera raw)...I know PSE has it but it does not have the full version of it including the latest noise reduction software...I don't need Lightroom or anything else to edit, just ACR and CS5 together...streamlined
-playing with shadows, on their own layers, bending, etc I could kinda do this in PSE but it was a pain
-CS5 uses dual channel processor or something like that, not all computers can do it depending on the videocard, but mine can and it runs super fast with Windows 7 and this.

That being said, PSE is pretty powerful and I still don't know all the new tweaks they have done to it. But I always felt like I was "left" out of a few things that mattered and now I feel like I still don't push CS5 to its limits.

The photo bin...yeah that I miss, but I just open everything in my window and muddle around. I use ACDSee to organize my stuff so I open from there into CS5. I will have to try the layer in Stack thing to see if that works well too. With all the other powerfulness of CS5 it still boggles me that they don't have the photobin option. Yes there is the MiniBridge option but it only shows you a current file folder in it, not different ones from different places. But now when I go back and try to use PSE9 I just get frustrated and go back to CS5.

[cardinalskate]

The major thing I feel left out of with using PSE (I use 10) is shadowing. This content aware thing sure has me intrigued, too. But I'm just fine staying with PSE for the foreseeable future. Especially now that you can do text paths in PSE10.

[Clydrak]

The major thing I feel left out of with using PSE (I use 10) is shadowing. This content aware thing sure has me intrigued, too. But I'm just fine staying with PSE for the foreseeable future. Especially now that you can do text paths in PSE10.

Thanks for all the feedback. I downloaded both trials and I'm just going to try and do a LO in each and see what I think. Then I'll work on some retouching/skin correcting. I love Lightroom but I don't like it for retouching or skin correction/smoothing.....

[sprauncey1]

Just a FYI also, since you mentioned skin correcting. In CS5 you can use CMYK colors to check skintones, in PSE you cannot. This is one of the limiting factors as well. Its a pretty advanced technique for photography but something you may want down the road (or now!). Oh and LOVE the patch tool too for removing under-eye shadows and wrinkles.

[heathergw]

former PSE9 user who recently changed to CS5... this is my set up, I just click and drag from my folder onto the layout... and to be honest, I like this better than the photo bin because I'm finding that PS crashes less now that I don't have everything open in PS...
http://my.jetscreenshot.com/7125/m_20120118-yent-328kb.jpg

that being said... I'm a HUGE HUGE HUGE fan of PSE... but it's limitations finally got to me personally, mostly the shadowing limitations... and I was rather surprised at how much better my actions run on CS5 too... they were great in PSE, but much better in CS... it's hard to explain... plus, having to rebuild the mediadatabase file every time I installed a new action or fx style in PSE was a total pain... I love that I can just double click on the action and it's automatically installed in CS5... I still HIGHLY recommend PSE to my friends for scrapbooking... the price is right and it does a great job of editing photos and for scrapbooking... it fits their needs perfectly, without being too overwhelming.