Post RAW editing software which is best for me .......................... I have never used any post processing software except for contrast, brightness and converting to B/W. Not...

apolloshep

I have never used any post processing software except for contrast, brightness and converting to B/W. Not sure I want to jump into LR 6 due to the huge learning curve. I have herd of Lumainr which is basic. I thought I could learn on this than advance LR 6. If someone who has used some of the lower price point software could you respond? I also want to do raw video editing. Any help on this would be great. I know this subject has been beaten to death.

TBerwick Loc: Houston, Texas

I'm kind of in the same situation, maybe just a little further along. I bought Luminar after reading a positive mention on this forum. I was sold after processing my first raw file with a default filter. Without additional tweaks it looked far better than the simultaneous JPG I have the camera store.

LarryFitz Loc: Beacon NY

Luminar can produce some very nice photographs. There are many video how to. Some of the videos give a discount code. It has lots of filters, but I typically don't use more then five. The pre sets give you a good starting point of maybe a finished photo. Making and layers are start forward. The have a full function demo for 14 days, give it a try.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

I use PhotoScapeX and it works very well for me. It can be used accurately with 3 or 4 clicks or you can REALLY get into serious editing. Here are a couple of sites for you, Enjoy. Be sure to select Mac/or Windows. Get the free version first, it never expires, and you can always upgrade. http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/download.php https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWC-SAuYOzw&t=325s JimmyT sends BT

apolloshep wrote:

I have never used any post processing software except for contrast, brightness and converting to B/W. Not sure I want to jump into LR 6 due to the huge learning curve. I have herd of Lumainr which is basic. I thought I could learn on this than advance LR 6. If someone who has used some of the lower price point software could you respond? I also want to do raw video editing. Any help on this would be great. I know this subject has been beaten to death.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

apolloshep wrote:

I have never used any post processing software except for contrast, brightness and converting to B/W. Not sure I want to jump into LR 6 due to the huge learning curve. I have herd of Lumainr which is basic. I thought I could learn on this than advance LR 6. If someone who has used some of the lower price point software could you respond? I also want to do raw video editing. Any help on this would be great. I know this subject has been beaten to death.

There is no huge learning curve with Lightroom. You just need someone's help to set up your file management. If you are disorganized now, LR will make it worse. If you have a clean and well-structured folder system, it will be a breeze. You can simply "import in place" into the LR catalog, without making copies anywhere else. This is where nearly 100% of first time LR users get hung up. The editor is extremely easy and fast to use - and it is far easier to make adjustments to color, tone, sharpening, setting black and white points, white and color balance, etc. You can make some "simple" local adjustments, but those are best done in software that is better suited to local and more precise adjustments.

As far as using another software title, you'll have a learning curve with that in any case. It's your choice whether you want a learning curve with XYZ sofware, or if you want to start with software that is well-established in the industry, taught in high school and college, and extremely well supported with free and paid tutorials, blogs, videos, etc etc etc.

I also suggest you join a local photo club, where there will be individuals in your situation, and others that have mad skills with all kinds of software, who will be able to guide you. Many clubs offer mentoring programs for the price of membership - which is usually around $50 a year. Don't be afraid of a learning curve - you only have to endure it at the beginning, and once you get past it, you'll be glad you did.

I would not get LR6, btw. I would get the subscription plan. LR6 is a dead end - Adobe will end support for it sooner or later. And all raw converters are limited as far as image editing. They do not do a great job at local adjustments, masking, layers and brushes with definable blend modes, etc - tools which are necessary to take an "almost" finished raw conversion to truly finished status. For this you will need a program like Photoshop or similar. When you pay your $10/mo you get both Photoshop and Lightroom - one of the best bargains in the industry today.

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

apolloshep wrote:

I have never used any post processing software except for contrast, brightness and converting to B/W. Not sure I want to jump into LR 6 due to the huge learning curve. I have herd of Lumainr which is basic. I thought I could learn on this than advance LR 6. If someone who has used some of the lower price point software could you respond? I also want to do raw video editing. Any help on this would be great. I know this subject has been beaten to death.

If you're a professional/semi-professional I would recommend LR. Otherwise Luminar is great, a learning curve of course, great support and tutorials and also inexpensive. Great stand alone program.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

My editing requirements are not intense. I've been using Photo Impact Pro for YEARS. I usually run the images through the RAW editor first, then the JPEG editor as desired if needed.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

apolloshep wrote:

I have never used any post processing software except for contrast, brightness and converting to B/W. Not sure I want to jump into LR 6 due to the huge learning curve. I have herd of Lumainr which is basic. I thought I could learn on this than advance LR 6. If someone who has used some of the lower price point software could you respond? I also want to do raw video editing. Any help on this would be great. I know this subject has been beaten to death.

There is a learning curve with Lightroom; but suffering through it is well worth the pain.

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

On a scale of 1 to 10, the LR learning curve is a 2. Photoshop is an 11.

You can get 90% of what you want done in LR.
For photoshop...make a coffee, clear your calendar, fire up PHLEARN from youtube and enjoy the frustration.

Seriously, get LR subsription (with PS). You can almost learn LR by playing around. PS is largely incomprehensible without taking a ton of youtube free lessons and staying in it so you dont lose what you learned.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I’ve been experimenting with ON1 18.1 and with Luminar, and I like them both. They both work well as stand-alones and as LR plug-ins. Neither ties you into a subscription. As far as pure editing is concerned, ON1 is, I think, more powerful than Luminar.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Gene51 wrote:

There is no huge learning curve with Lightroom. You just need someone's help to set up your file management. If you are disorganized now, LR will make it worse. If you have a clean and well-structured folder system, it will be a breeze. You can simply "import in place" into the LR catalog, without making copies anywhere else. This is where nearly 100% of first time LR users get hung up. The editor is extremely easy and fast to use - and it is far easier to make adjustments to color, tone, sharpening, setting black and white points, white and color balance, etc. You can make some "simple" local adjustments, but those are best done in software that is better suited to local and more precise adjustments.

As far as using another software title, you'll have a learning curve with that in any case. It's your choice whether you want a learning curve with XYZ sofware, or if you want to start with software that is well-established in the industry, taught in high school and college, and extremely well supported with free and paid tutorials, blogs, videos, etc etc etc.

I also suggest you join a local photo club, where there will be individuals in your situation, and others that have mad skills with all kinds of software, who will be able to guide you. Many clubs offer mentoring programs for the price of membership - which is usually around $50 a year. Don't be afraid of a learning curve - you only have to endure it at the beginning, and once you get past it, you'll be glad you did.

I would not get LR6, btw. I would get the subscription plan. LR6 is a dead end - Adobe will end support for it sooner or later. And all raw converters are limited as far as image editing. They do not do a great job at local adjustments, masking, layers and brushes with definable blend modes, etc - tools which are necessary to take an "almost" finished raw conversion to truly finished status. For this you will need a program like Photoshop or similar. When you pay your $10/mo you get both Photoshop and Lightroom - one of the best bargains in the industry today.

There is no huge learning curve with Lightroom. Yo... (show quote)

Great advice! Do not listen to the naysayers.

d3200prime

Try Adobe Photoshop Express, it's free!

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

There is no value to learning Luminar first and then "advance" to Adobe products. They are different animals. If you think you are eventually going to go Adobe, start there.

warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA

Take a look at Photoshop Elements or Picasa 3 stand alone

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Gene51 wrote:

There is no huge learning curve with Lightroom. You just need someone's help to set up your file management. If you are disorganized now, LR will make it worse. If you have a clean and well-structured folder system, it will be a breeze. You can simply "import in place" into the LR catalog, without making copies anywhere else. This is where nearly 100% of first time LR users get hung up. The editor is extremely easy and fast to use - and it is far easier to make adjustments to color, tone, sharpening, setting black and white points, white and color balance, etc. You can make some "simple" local adjustments, but those are best done in software that is better suited to local and more precise adjustments.

As far as using another software title, you'll have a learning curve with that in any case. It's your choice whether you want a learning curve with XYZ sofware, or if you want to start with software that is well-established in the industry, taught in high school and college, and extremely well supported with free and paid tutorials, blogs, videos, etc etc etc.

I also suggest you join a local photo club, where there will be individuals in your situation, and others that have mad skills with all kinds of software, who will be able to guide you. Many clubs offer mentoring programs for the price of membership - which is usually around $50 a year. Don't be afraid of a learning curve - you only have to endure it at the beginning, and once you get past it, you'll be glad you did.

Exactly. A major, major benefit for a new user of the Adobe Creative Cloud is the depth and variety of user support that is available. Not to mention the extensive add ons that will take your processing to another level. And, you do not have to use Photoshop; took me a while to be able to do anything but open it up.
I would not get LR6, btw. I would get the subscription plan. LR6 is a dead end - Adobe will end support for it sooner or later. And all raw converters are limited as far as image editing. They do not do a great job at local adjustments, masking, layers and brushes with definable blend modes, etc - tools which are necessary to take an "almost" finished raw conversion to truly finished status. For this you will need a program like Photoshop or similar. When you pay your $10/mo you get both Photoshop and Lightroom - one of the best bargains in the industry today.

There is no huge learning curve with Lightroom. Yo... (show quote)