[Elements of Post Processing] About Starting to Use Post Processing Software

[[Geoff Slocock]]

Picasa and various online tools will let you crop, rotate, adjust contrast and brightness and even do some tone mapping.

Nearly all post processing tools become useful to you after you have done some experimenting and have developed a critical eye. That critical eye even tends to translate back to when you take the shot, helping to inform you on composition and exposure settings.

Picasa I would say is a safer environment than one of the advanced processors, if you have not done any post processing before. You need to learn quickly how to be in good touch with your camera and using "fancy" fixes will not let you relate what you do to your camera usage... at least in the early stages you won't be able to make sense of what fancy fixes do.

The transition to an advanced post processor involves in learning lots of additional things; but also the layout and settings tools are a lot to have on your mind, if you are starting out, as it were. Most probably learning all of that right form the very start might distract you from learning about your camera, too. Remember, that maybe you still don't understand all the settings on your camera yet.

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NB. I would appreciate another member's comments and opinions on what I have said.

Another issue is that on my Linux box, only older versions of Picasa run. The Picasa help documentation is I believe very good.