What editing software do you prefer?

Hi James/fltekdiver:

I think fltekdiver is refering to Photoshop Elements 5.0. I used Elements 4.0 to process my Nikon NEF RAW files, and it worked fairly well.

James: what processing are you doing with Lightroom? I have only been using it for a few weeks, so I am still learning about its capabilities. I primarily use the workflow, slide show, and web preparation functions. I use the Image/Adjustment commands in Photoshop quite a bit, and I don't find comparable commands in the Develop section of Lightroom. The histogram adjustment seems pretty slick. Any hints?

Fltekdiver: While you are transitioning to processing RAW files, I found it a bit comforting to shoot both RAW and jpg files initially. I had worked with jpg so I there was a bit of a comfort level. James is correct in that once you get rolling you will stick with RAW.

Dan

I typically use Lightroom to go through a folder of photos and tag the good ones by adding to the quick collection. Then I use show quick collection and tweak each photo. Some typical things I do are adjust white balance, the exposure settings (blacks, exposure, highlight recovery, etc), add saturation, and use the clone or healing brush to smooth out backscatter. After tweaking all the photos, I export them to a "Develops" folder as JPEG's.

Lightroom is slow for photo browsing, so I use BreezeBrowser to go through image folders and quickly delete out of focus or black shots. I also use Breezebrowser for resizing and watermarking photos.

Cheers

James