Adobe Photoshop CS4 Advice Please

bishopsgirl

I won an Adobe Photoshop CS4 in a competition. When I entered I thought it was software that I could use to help me edit and print the photos I have stored on my computer.

I now know it is an expensive piece of software- it is unopened still .in cellophane.

My question is will it be wasted on me - I.m still not sure whay it does- but my computer knowledge is very very basic.

Should I try to sell it and by something basic or should I install it and try to use it.

Thanks

Marty_J

Nice prize!

Though if you don't know what it does, you probably don't need it.

Adobe Photoshop Elements costs £50 and has all the features from Photoshop that the average home user would ever need. It's also a lot easier to use.

I'd sell Photoshop and buy that.

There are also free programs such as Picasa and Microsoft Photo Gallery that will enable you to edit your photos.

darich

Kind of agree with Marty but I'd also say that once you get used to elements you'll find yourself being limited by it.
I have CS4 here at home but am limited by elements at work.
CS4 menus are laid out better and it's easier to access commonly used commands.

I'm self taught on photoshop starting back in version 6.
There are loads of websites giving tips, advice and tutorials on it and once you get to grips with it you'll be totally amazed at what it can do.

Personally I think it would be silly to sell the £600 program you have and buy a £50 version. I am keen on photography and make good use of it though so I can see the logic in selling it if you have no interest at all.

I'd at least try it.

Marty_J

Bishopsgirl, if you want to try them, you can download trials of both programs from Adobe. I wouldn't open it to try it out, as you'll get less for it if you ultimately decide to sell it.

Then you can decide if you want to keep Photoshop, if you want to sell it and get Photoshop Elements, or if you want to sell it and use one of the free programs.

Personally, I think Elements is excellent value and more than enough for the average person.

bishopsgirl

Thanks Marty J and darich for your advice.

I will give it some more thought, although at the moment I an leaning towards selling.

When I found out how much this was to buy I was amazed. I know I will be lucky to get a 1/6th of that -seems a shame someone as daft as me won it although I did manage to google the answer to the question.

If I did sell where should I try to sell it.

Thanks

M4RKM

if you sell it on amazon marketplace you could put it on at £280 easily, as the cheapest on there currently is £300, so you undercut them slightly... ebay i wouldn't bother with to be honest to sell something like that..

I'll agree with other people, if you don't know what it does, you probably won't use all the parts of it... sell it for £280, spend £50 on photoshop elements and you have some cash to spend on something you will use....

M

Sput2001

If your computer knowledge is "very, very basic" then the full-tilt version of Photoshop CS4 is going to be wasted on you.

I'd agree with MartyJ and look at Picasa (free) or Photoshop Elements (about £50).

Incidentally, I have Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop Elements 5, and use Elements more than I do CS3. The main thing CS3 does (for my purposes anyway) that Elements doesn't is it can work in CMYK.

pulliptears

I'm agreeing with the others if you are going to be resizing a photo once a month then sell, but I will say if you decide to keep it....

Buy yourself a 'visual quickstart' guide to PS CS4 and read it! The first week or so of photoshop use you cry, sob in frustration and generally feel ready to launch the entire machine into orbit, but once you have played around with it for a while it is a brilliant program. If you are photo editing the effects you can get from knowing how to use this software are amazing.

Download the trial and have a play, have a look at some online tutorials such as http://www.photoshoplady.com/

DKLS

CS4 has a steep learning curve and when initially installed can be very daunting, however once you have got to grips with it, it is a fantastic tool, there are 1000s of tutorials on the net and loads of support sites.

TBH I wouldnt bother with elements.

boyse7en

Don't try to sell it on eBay, as you are unlikely to get much for it as it will be assumed that it is an illegal version of the software.

Photoshop is a great program (I use CS4 about 4 hours a day as part of my job), but as others have said, it has a steep learning curve and certainly isn't a piece of software you can pick up and use rapidly. It doesn't contain many of the 'automatic' photo processing wizards of consumer software, for instance.

If you are just after a program to do occasional photo retouching, then you would probably find Elements or Picasa are better tools.

isofa

^ If you advertise it correctly, point out it's an unwanted prize, still sealed and take a photo of it, you'll not have any issues with people thinking it's illegal. You'll likely get 50% of the original value, when you take into consideration listing and selling fees from eBay and PayPal.