DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

My opinion is that LR is a pretty good editor, but not the best one out there. I find it does just fine for 90% of my photos. But it really excels at organization of your photopile. LR6 is, as stated, a dinosaur. It's time has come and gone. The subscription model is reviled by many because it "costs a lot". But it doesn't really. $9.99/month (plus sales tax) is dwarfed by the random impulse purchases I make. My subscription gives me value for that money, while my impulse purchases are hit and miss, and on the whole have a pretty poor value record.

Yes, any software comes with a learning curve. LR is no exception, and PS probably has a pretty high learning curve because it does so much. However, you don't have to know everything about PS to use it. It does a lot more than most photographers ever use. It is possible to use PS for pretty basic stuff and learn slowly how to do more with it through online tutorials.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

I am an LR user, for many years now, and love the program. I also use other programs at times, including Luminar. Luminar might be easier for you to learn on as the program is filter based, but you can adjust each filter to the way you want it with the sliders. There is a lot in the program and to use everything in it will take time, again, the old "learning curve." In some cases, I find that Luminar edits even better than LR. What Luminar does not have, at least I believe this is still the case, is an organization, or digital asset management, system; this type of system is where LR, at this point, simply cannot be beat. The D.A.M. (digital asset management) system offers you a way to organize thousands of photos and allows you to find a specific photo within, literally, seconds. Try the free trial of Luminar first and see how you like it. There are also many other programs you can try out for free.

LarryFB Loc: Depends where our RV is parked

1. The learning curve with Lightroom Classic CC is how to manage your photos, and not with the Post Processing part.

2. Having said that, I am a somewhat technical person with two Degrees in Mechanical Engineering, I am also an old fart (73) and have been retired since 2001. Lightroom Classic is where I'm at and I think it is GREAT. Yes, I occasionally use Photoshop (which comes as a part of Lightroom classic if you choose the subscription from Adobe at $10.00 per month).

3. My opinion is that Lightroom by itself is easily worth the $10 per month. Because of Lightroom and the way I learned to use it, I can find a specific photo (out of the more then 33,000 photos I have in Lightroom) in minutes at worst, usually in seconds.

4. Certainly explore your options. If you choose Lightroom, learn how to import your photos (all should be in a single folder with sub folders). Add key words when you import and be careful of how you set up your keyword list.

5. My opinion is that Lightroom Classic, as it is now known, is awesome and simply works great.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I use Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop. Hand I have used it for 8 years....(including the updates and the fact that the original 3 years or so were on the purchase the whole package) and now on the Adobe $9.99 cloud. The latest cloud version has an "AUTO" button that makes adjustments automatically to all of the primary major settings. These settings are Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks. The settings get the image really close and takes very little fine tuning after that. I do set Clarity, Dehaze, and Lens Correction, and do some fine tuning as needed. But the Auto is very close. Personally, I use Lightroom ONLY for about 80% of my photos and preprocess in LR for the other 20% before doing final in Photoshop, which is an easy button push within Lightroom to finish. Also, Lightroom automatically places my copyright to the corner of every photo that I process. (my Nikon puts copyright information into the metadata). In addition, by importing everything into LR from the memory card, everything is organized by date shot (even if there are multiple dates on the memory card) and also, if there are shots that have already been imported, LR automatically excludes them from re-importing. NOTE: The ADOBE CLOUD is a misnomer. EVERYTHING resides ON MY computers (Yes I have it installed on 2 desktops and 2 laptops) but ONLY 2 can be logged into the cloud at any given time... so If I am logged into the two PC's then I will log out of one or both before logging in with the laptop. If I forget to log out and try with the 3rd machine, it tells me that I have to many logins and offers to automatically log me out of the other two. For $9.99, the Adobe Cloud is a great deal. NOTE: I even upgraded my subscription to the complete $65 (or what ever it was for everything) for 3 months while I did some HTML work on my website. Once I completed the work, I called Adobe and they downgraded my subscription back to the $9.99. the Non- $9.99 programs are still installed on my computer but are unusable without re-upgrading. Not a big deal but I still have access to the "finished" images and files. If I need to do more "specialized" work, I can just re-subscribe to the bigger package. I don't know if there is a limit on number of times for upgrading or anything, but it worked for me.

bedouin Loc: Big Bend area, Texas

I jave used ACDsee as my primary pp program for 12 years.Have been through several upgraded editions. I tried LR for several years and discarded it because I disliked it's numerous symbols and icons. Acdsee primarily uses language to identify it's various features.

My only advice is to find a program which you like and stick to it. A program that allows you to utilize its features that you need. When I purchased the latest edition of my preferred program, I downloaded the user manual. It is 300 pages long!

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

I would suggest taking a look at Affinity Photo. AFAIK it can do anything LR can do, and probably more, but doesn't have the organizing feature. It's a one time fee of $50, sometimes $40 on special.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Jump into youtube and watch a video or two of whatever editing tool you want.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Phtotshop/Lightroom are the Gold Standards in image editing. However, if you're looking to dip your toes in the water Luminar is a great program and I'm glad its finally available for Windows. It operates as a plug-in or standalone program. and can be as simple or complex as you would like it. The presets can give you a one step immediate improvement in your images and the use of filters, masks and layers are also available as your familiarity with the program grows. Definitely take advantage of the free trial, and use one of the members' codes to get $10 off if you like it.

CanonTom Loc: Birmingham

This is one of the most informative discussions on LR/PS I have ever read! Thank you for taking the time.

HeyYou Loc: SE Michigan

Does anyone have experience with AfterShot Pro ?

sabrejet

ON1, & Anthoney Morganti on YouTube.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I recommend rereading Gene51's reply. He always make sense and is very helpful. The Adobe subscription is a bargain. However, if you are opposed to subscriptions, there are many other options.
Good luck and have fun!
Mark

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

He also has a very detailed set of videos on LR, PS etc, etc all free and very well done!!!

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I use Photoshop Elements but I don't do video. It has a companion video editor called Elements Premier. They're usually sold together but are two separate programs. For photos, Elements has Quick, Guided, and Expert modes with Adobe Camera Raw for a RAW editor. It also has an Organizer that makes a data base for where your photos are located similar to what Lightroom does since they are Adobe products. If you edit in Quick or Guided, you can go to Expert to see how the program created an effect in its Layers panel. PM me if you want more info on some of it's quirks.

Ksocha Loc: Bethesda, MD

You have nailed it. I use Affinity, and Luminar because I could never master the organizational aspect of getting my photos from Apple Photos to Lightroom’s catalog. Can you recommend a good book, article, or course? Thanks.