Post Shoot Software Editing Options (non-sub.)Pay or Free

First off, no apologies needed; I learned a long time ago that newsgroups, forums and such are not for the faint of heart.
Your example of the fig pix reminds me of Bill Clinton saying, "It depends on what your definition of 'is' is." Point taken.
It seems to be a truism that back when we had fewer choices but those choices were considered reliable but today we have
more choices than we can ever possibly choose yet which ones can you believe? At least, that's what I think.

Perhaps one path forward is to assume that Adobe & Cap One will always be happy to take my money but GIMP or DarkTable
may not always be free or even still be supported (although I doubt that). So I'm going to look into those two first and see how
that goes as pay options and button-pushing will always be available - at least until they're not<wink>.

My Thanks,
Andrew
 
I love lightroom but it looks like it's time to look into alternatives.

Lightroom is very good software. You just have to agree to go along with Adobe's pricing model. I haven't had time to look yet but I understand the newest version now has a new feature that I've been using for years in C1 -- nice that Adobe is still improving it.

Joe
 
I use Corel Aftershot Pro, Corel Paintshop Pro and DXO Optics Pro. All are stand alone, work together and are relatively inexpensive. The problem with these programs is not that they aren't good, but all of the education tutorials are for Lightroom and Photoshop, so you sort of have to learn them on your own with very limited tutorials.
 
I love lightroom but it looks like it's time to look into alternatives.

Lightroom is very good software. You just have to agree to go along with Adobe's pricing model. I haven't had time to look yet but I understand the newest version now has a new feature that I've been using for years in C1 -- nice that Adobe is still improving it.

Joe

i havent looked too hard at the new "classic" lightroom since i updated it, but as far as i can tell if you dont need the cloud you can keep getting regular PS and LR updates for the same $9.99 a month. doesnt seem like anything is changing unless you opt for the 1tb cloud storage.
ill have to take a look later and see whats new with this latest LR and PS update.
 
OK,...... So that resolve lasted about as long as it took me to study run requirements.
No, I don't want to thrash out Linux ports. No, I don't want to thrash out plugins to
GIMP. No, I don't want to run Xming server or try the (possibly) working Win 10 port
of DarkTable. Etc.., etc., etc.

In my world it's one thing if you tell me to try reading, "Moby Dick". It's something else again
when you suggest I read it in Latvian. So it's LR 6 or Cap One for me. Maybe I'll save up for Cap
One since it does have very good reviews even if it's pricey. A steep learning curve for a Noob
like me means the software itself, not working around the limitations of Bill Gates' products.
No, no, no. Too much bother. I just want to edit my pretty pix is all. Truth, I'd rather spend the
time it takes to learn a big package than spend the same amount of time just getting it to work
right in the first place. I'm sure some will find plenty to criticize but time to move on.
Your mileage may vary.

No 'dis to anyone. I asked for and got a lot of help. You guys are great,

Andrew
 
Professor Joe made a good point about Youtube videos; many I find to have inaccurate or incorrect information. I've often thought people might have to unlearn all the crap they've learned online. (The Youtubers get money from the ads so that seems to be the motivation to do the videos for many.)

Anyway, I have whatever Photoshop I could just pay for because I'm not doing a subscription. But I'm also a longtime film photographer and I think a key thing is - learn to get a proper exposure (and how to frame shots, and compose images, etc.) I've seen so many poorly exposed images and then people trying to fix them... I don't think you want to do any more of that than you have to; the editing to me ought to be to enhance the image or make adjustments. I do the same thing in a different way in the darkroom that I do shooting digitally - minimal adjusting and editing. If I have a proper exposure it won't take much. Sometimes there may be something I have to spend time on but I don't want to do that with every single photo I want to use.

As far as B&W, it's the absence of color. I usually Remove Color and adjust contrast or brightness as needed. I've done submissions to juried exhibits and had photos hanging on the wall someplace, and it works for that. Like Derrel was talking about, it's more a matter of learning and creativity and ability...
 
Sounds like a very reasonable reply.
 
Lightroom 6 would be a smart choice...

It has some VERY good Lightroom Presets, plus some of the more-valuable Color Filter Effects, as well as multiple "types" of Black & White looks.

A little tip for you regarding Lightroom: do not be afraid to take a raw file and process it using MORW than one, single pre-set, and do not be afraid of taking a color image and using a color-affecting pre-set on it, and then converting that image to a B&W image, and THEN editing it additionally!

Some of the more-popular Lightroom Preset options can easily be combined with the B&W image processing presets and color filter effects to create some very captivating looks that are very,very different!
 
"dadwlunchbox" is my fav! Go figure.
 
Everyone has great points on the software they use. With my financial state, as of now, I'm currently using GIMP, Photoscape, and Paint.net as my go-to for photo editing. I will look into paid ones once I'm financially able to, but for what I'm doing right now, those three are serving my purposes just fine.
 
I do think when editing a raw file the software can have an input. I use lightroom and Photoshop (to be honest Photoshop is rarely if ever used) on the Adobe plan. Due badly written or maybe badly interpreted articles, I looked elsewhere at alternative options the last week or so. ACDsee seems a good option, but I couldn't get the same image quality from an edit. I found the noise reduction all or nothing, and the rendering overall disappointing. But that's just an opinion, others may use it better.

The lightroom standalone will be updated til the end of the year. Newer camera raw files are normally updated in Adobe dng converter, so by adding a step to your workflow, you could in theory keep using lightroom
 
Best: Capture One -- pay $$$.
There are free options that aren't as good as Capture One. Consider DarkTable, RawTherapee, LightZone (shaky).

You'll also need an RGB pixel level editor: Affinity Photo.

Joe

Capture 1 is a perpetual license with free updates "within the version you buy". If they come out with a new/updated version, you have to buy the update. The stand alone is priced at $299 for 3 users. Interestingly they offer a subscription at $20/mo for 12 months, or $240 for the year, which includes all version updates. So basically you're going to pay every year if you want to stay current regardless.
 
@smoke665 et al,

Do you think it's that important to stay current? I know some people always feel the latest is the greatest.
I'm a skeptic and often feel that when you feel you need the latest you should first ask what's wrong now?
Climbers have vastly superior equipment to the 1950's but the route to the summit is unchanged. Ansel
Adams re-worked his prints of, "Moon over Hernandez" many times during his life but I don't think he felt
that his current print invalidated previous prints. He's on record as eagerly anticipating what we call, "The
Digital Age." But I don't think anyone expected him to sell his 4x5 for a D850. As I said before, I'm a Noob
so if I'm missing something please feel free to enlighten me otherwise. This is a great group.

Thanks again to all who reply,

Andrew
 
@smoke665 et al,

Do you think it's that important to stay current? I know some people always feel the latest is the greatest.
I'm a skeptic and often feel that when you feel you need the latest you should first ask what's wrong now?
Climbers have vastly superior equipment to the 1950's but the route to the summit is unchanged. Ansel
Adams re-worked his prints of, "Moon over Hernandez" many times during his life but I don't think he felt
that his current print invalidated previous prints. He's on record as eagerly anticipating what we call, "The
Digital Age." But I don't think anyone expected him to sell his 4x5 for a D850. As I said before, I'm a Noob
so if I'm missing something please feel free to enlighten me otherwise. This is a great group.

Thanks again to all who reply,

Andrew

it often depends on what the updates are. sometimes the upgrades are minor, sometimes pretty significant.
you roll the dice on a stand-alone product. will the next update add features you really need/want? or will you be able to skate by another few months with the older version? i know people that used the same PS version for many years without upgrading. for me, the adobe CC service takes all that guesswork out of the equation. for quite a few years i was upgrading cameras a lot. at least once a year. also, i was seeing a lot of LR upgrades I liked that i wasn't going to get with my stand-alone LR5. the adobe CC photographers package just made sense for us.
everyone has to look at their individual situation and decide what option is best for them. no software is a "one size fits all" solution, not even the mighty Adobe CC. that being said....considering you get LR AND PS for only $120 a year, it really seems like a pretty hard deal to beat.
 

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