Roo — Wed, 17 Dec 2003 18:47:24 +0000

Photo Manipulation?

Well as I said I can't say anything about FW but I did look at the specs yesterday.

A handful of Photoshop's many, many, many, many features:

Dodge and burn tools
Levels and curves
Channels
Layer blend modes
Unsharp mask
THE HEALING TOOLS!!!!
The many brushes
Edit>>>Fade whatever effect (couldn't live without this one!)'
CMYK and Lab color modes work beautifully when correcting/restoring photos
The many, many, many methods of selecting parts of an image
You can export to just about any format there is
Excellent compression for web
Actions! Record your own for regular tasks
The eraser tools! They work just as well for blending images as Extensis Mask Pro does
The pen tool!!! Complete control when you need to cut out a part of a complex image

There is more...a LOT more.

So I'm assuming that you haven't used Photoshop a whole lot?

Megan — Wed, 17 Dec 2003 14:21:15 +0000

Honestly, I haven't used FW in ages, but I believe that in general PS has a wider variety of tools available and generally more power. The example I talked about above is just one common case of Photoshop having many ways to do the same thing. There are a lot of others. You can also do a lot more with selections (does FW have an equivalent to quick mask? Channels? All the selection tools in the toolbar? All the other options under the "select" menu? Honestly, I don't know, but I'm guessing it doesn't have a lot of those). What about all the colour adjustment tools. Does it have the same capabilities there?

I think I might still have FW installed at home, I'll have to take a look at it again when I get a chance.

Suzanne — Tue, 16 Dec 2003 22:42:59 +0000

I find the resizing superior in PS or PhotoPaint. Also some of the filters seem to have better algorithms.

The tools are more standardized, and the format is usually more universally acceptable (with layers intact).

Genjamin — Tue, 16 Dec 2003 22:36:13 +0000

I use fireworks for photo manipulation. What would be an advantage by using photoshop? (I own both)

Megan mentioned one i believe but anyone have any others off the top of their head?

Megan — Tue, 16 Dec 2003 14:16:11 +0000

Right, and it also depends on what sort of work you're doing. If you're only doing web graphics Fireworks should be a good tool to use. If you want to get into photo manipulation or print work, you're going to want Photoshop (or similar).

The TWF header graphic was created in Fireworks. That may actually be a better tool for this sort of a design. I haven't touched FW since though...

Roo — Tue, 16 Dec 2003 01:31:47 +0000

What Suzanne said.

When you get into complex images such as photos and manipulations, as well as print, Photoshop's renders are superior. It handles text better than anything I've used to date.

I guess it would all depend on how you use each program. ImageReady does slicing and rollovers, and image maps, as well as simple animations.

In the end I think what matters is what you are most comfortable with. Personally I wouldn't give up Photoshop and all it's power for anything!

Suzanne — Tue, 16 Dec 2003 00:40:24 +0000

Less for web stuff, but for photos and print? Yes.

Genjamin — Mon, 15 Dec 2003 22:54:38 +0000

Roo wrote: You just really can see the difference in a Photoshop image.

Are you saying you can tell the difference between an edited or enhanced photo in photoshop as opposed to fireworks?

Roo — Mon, 15 Dec 2003 20:46:34 +0000

I've never used Fireworks, so I can't compare, but in comparing Photoshop with the others I've used - PSP and PhotoImpact....

Photoshop is so powerful and feature rich, that I don't think it's possible to know everything there is to know about it...I mean you can count on discovering a new way of doing something on a regular basis.

But to me the difference is in image quality. You just can't beat Adobe when it comes to imaging.

Now I have seen some mightly find work come out of the other two. I mean someone with talent can do well with even MS Paint. You just really can see the difference in a Photoshop image.

Megan — Mon, 15 Dec 2003 14:19:39 +0000

IME photoshop has a whole range of abilities that FIreworks doesn't. Fireworks is a web graphics tool. period. Photoshop is a web graphics tool, a photo editing suite, a print graphics tool and more!

Take, for example, the process of extracting an image from a background. there was a thread on this not too long ago. In Fireworks the process is complicated and you don't get a great final image. In Photoshop there are 4-5 different ways of doing the same thing, and the end result is much better.