Post processing: I'd appreciate suggestions on free, user friendly post processing programs that have been effective for your images. I'm a hobbyist and don't want to invest in...

Janv

I'd appreciate suggestions on free, user friendly post processing programs that have been effective for your images. I'm a hobbyist and don't want to invest in Lightroom on a monthly basis. Or if there is a one time fee for a program, that would be considered. I have a Mac Air. Thanks in response to your suggestions!

Bison Bud

I use and like "Darktable" and I believe that it's still a free download. Not the most user friendly, but not ridiculous either

Janv

thanks, Bison Bud. I'll definitely look into it.

pendennis

GIMP

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

Janv wrote:

I'd appreciate suggestions on free, user friendly post processing programs that have been effective for your images. I'm a hobbyist and don't want to invest in Lightroom on a monthly basis. Or if there is a one time fee for a program, that would be considered. I have a Mac Air. Thanks in response to your suggestions!

For raw files: DarkTable is free.
For RGB images (JPEGs): Affinity Photo is an inexpensive one time fee.

Some effort learning is required for everything. If it's really easy odds are it's not very effective. You've always got Photos from Apple.

nmw1004 Loc: Dresher PA

If you're a canon user you can download canon's free raw editing software. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it does quite a nice job.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

nmw1004 wrote:

If you're a canon user you can download canon's free raw editing software. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it does quite a nice job.

By chance did an editor (or access to one on-line) come with your camera?
Canon's DPP editor comes with the cameras.

Picdude Loc: Ohio

Janv wrote:

I'd appreciate suggestions on free, user friendly post processing programs that have been effective for your images. I'm a hobbyist and don't want to invest in Lightroom on a monthly basis. Or if there is a one time fee for a program, that would be considered. I have a Mac Air. Thanks in response to your suggestions!

You may want to make mention about what you actually want to do in post processing and what types of images you want to process. if you are just doing basic contrast/brightness/tone on .jpg images there are a hundred free editors that would likely suit your needs. For that matter, the software that came with your camera would be a great place to start. If you are processing raw images, the field narrows down a bit, and narrows even more if you want to perform more complex processing.

FL Streetrodder

Picasa, a long-standing free photo processing program, is still available on several download sites. It is quite easy to use and produces good results for basic photo editing. The photo editing program in Google Photos is largely based upon features found in Picasa. If you need a bit more power for your editing, you might consider purchasing an older version of Photoshop Elements from a seller on Ebay as I did. Many are very reasonably priced. I am currently using version 10 and find that it meets all my needs.

Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.

Try Photoshop ELEMENTS. You buy it, not 'rent' it and it's yours.
Much online help to get you into it. Use it 'basic' or get into it fully.
God Bless,
Papa Joe

ChrisKet Loc: Orange, CA

If it’s basic editing you want, just use the Photos app that’s probably already installed on your Mac.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Janv wrote:

I'd appreciate suggestions on free, user friendly post processing programs that have been effective for your images. I'm a hobbyist and don't want to invest in Lightroom on a monthly basis. Or if there is a one time fee for a program, that would be considered. I have a Mac Air. Thanks in response to your suggestions!

There's the free on-line Photoshop clone called Photopea: https://www.photopea.com/

dsnoke Loc: North Georgia, USA

Janv wrote:

I'd appreciate suggestions on free, user friendly post processing programs that have been effective for your images. I'm a hobbyist and don't want to invest in Lightroom on a monthly basis. Or if there is a one time fee for a program, that would be considered. I have a Mac Air. Thanks in response to your suggestions!

Others have already mentioned darktable and GIMP. Other options include lightzone (https://lightzone.en.softonic.com/) and irfanview (https://www.irfanview.com/). I have tried all of these. darktable strongly resembles lightroom. lightzone is quirky and takes some getting used to. It is based on the Ansel Adams 10 zone exposure concept.
My choice was none of these. I purchased Affinity Photo (https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/). It is relatively inexpensive, has only a one-time cost, and there are many tutorials available. Affinity Photo is made by Serif, a french software company that also makes other graphic design software products.
I chose Affinity Photo because it includes a number of features I wanted: layers, masking, panorama stitching, focus stacking, general stacking, HDR, and raw editing. All those in one package for $55 one time. Not a bad deal in my view. They are currently at version 1.10.5. Whenever they move to version 2.x, everyone, including me, will have to purchase again. But I find Affinity to be everything I need for a reasonable cost.
Good Luck!

Chicago312 Loc: Western suburb, Chicago

ChrisKet wrote:

If it’s basic editing you want, just use the Photos app that’s probably already installed on your Mac.

I agree. For a hobbyist, the free Photos app works quite well.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

ChrisKet wrote:

If it’s basic editing you want, just use the Photos app that’s probably already installed on your Mac.

I have a Macbook Air, and though I haven't used Photos editor, it looks like it has a lot of options. See below.

Thanks for the reminder, Chris

(The photo on the screen was edited in PS Elements).