Not Sure What Kind of App I Need

Hi There,

I am a complete rookie when it comes to manipulating images, so I could not search this forum for relevant threads. If I wanted to take details from two images and blend them into one, what sort of application would I need? What I am trying to do is take several images of actors who have played Macbeth over the years and combine them into a kind of collage.

I suspect that Photoshop might be what I need, but when I looked at the price, I nearly threw up. Is that really my only choice, or are there cheaper alternatives? Also, am I looking at a really steep learning curve? To give you an idea of my level of techies, I can only use iWeb to create a website.

Very sorry if I am creating a repeated thread, but I am not even sure where to start.

Not into collages, but I think there are some APPs out there to do specifically that. As an alternative to PhotoShop though, take a look at Pixelmator on the Mac APP Store.

Try a search on "collage" on Macupdate.com, I'll be something useful turns up.

For real "blending," what you're looking for ideally is a program that:

a. does layers
b. can do a transition effect of "fade to transparent"

I own Photoshop, but Pixelmator ($30 from the Mac App Store) or PS Elements ($80) would do it just as well.

Image editing program

Take a good look at Photoshop Elements, I don't know exactly but I'd guess it will do a very high percentage of what Photoshop does. Web site photoshopelementsuser.com is a great site to see what the program is all about.

Image editing program

Take a good look at Photoshop Elements, I don't know exactly but I'd guess it will do a very high percentage of what Photoshop does. Web site photoshopelementsuser.com is a great site to see what the program is all about.

If you want to build a collage take a look at Automator. This video describes how it can be done. http://hw.libsyn.com/p/5/e/8/5e8811...8492983&hwt=9517d24f9d6f9ac0f226081b82f50bd6? This is for an older version but we should be able to work out the differences.

I use pixelmaror for photo editing but there is a pretty good app out there called turbo collage that i have used for simplicity.