BurghByrd Loc: Pittsburgh

I agree with CHG_CANON's advice on this issue. The tech support people at Adobe or Apple should be able to help with particulars about your specific configuration to sort out the problem. Personally I'd recommend Lightroom classic as it is non-destructive to the original file and can function from relatively simple post processing up to very advanced work as you learn to use it's capabilities. Good luck with it.

Peteso Loc: Blacks Hills

My best advice for using Photoshop is cancel your subscription and use ON1. Extensive video library is included and you can even get one-on-one help via Zoom with ON1 guru Scott Davenport. ON1 is available in both subscription and purchase options. Any photo processing software involves a learning curve, but I find the design of ON1 logical, if not intuitive.

Rhinophoto Loc: Davis, CA

If you go to https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/system-requirements.html , you will find system requirements for all the Adobe Creative Cloud Apps. https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html gets you to the requirements for Photoshop.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

An easy way to bring photos into Photoshop is to copy the folder of images onto your hard drive and view in Bridge. Click on the file you want and it will open in Photoshop.

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

I have been ver please with Adobe’s “chat” technical support. If you are comfortable, they can access your computer and look the culprit. They know their stuff.

pecohen Loc: Central Maine

That is a sad story. You are missing out on an increasingly important and useful aspect of photography.

There is some free editing software that can be quite capable but probably even more of a challenge to learn than PS. These include Dark Table, Gimp and Raw Therapy. Another alternative is Corel's Paintshop Pro. It's not free but you buy the license and can continue to use it forever. You may choose to upgrade each year but that is an option. It it not as capable as PS but it is quite capable and quite a lot simpler to learn than PS.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Look into Photoshop Elements, about $70, no subscription, processes RAW as well as others, a database called Organizer that is similar to LR's, and an easy learning curve in the Editor with Quick, Guided, and Advanced modules

SalvageDiver Loc: Huntington Beach CA

Crashing LR suggests that you have a corrupted/misplaced file. Reinstalling LR might be your best solution. Adobe can easily help you with that problem.

Unless there's an installation/corrupted file in PS, loading a file into PS is as easy as selecting 'File|Open' and selecting the file you want to edit, whether it's on your hard disk or memory card. If you can't do that, talking to Adobe is your solution.

Big Sur is not your problem. I'm running LR/PS with Big Sur, flawlessly.

Suggestions from this forum will come in all flavors. A phone call to Adobe will be the fastest solution, getting you direct access to the most knowledgeable resources.

If you're doing nothing more than light editing and that's all you ever plan to do, then LR/PS seems overkill. There are a lot of free editing programs that may be a much better choice.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

My significant other uses a Mac that has an excellent photo viewer/editor that comes (I think) with the OS and does what you say is all you want and more. Being a Microsoft user I’m not at all familiar with Apple products but check your IMac to see if you have a photo viewer/editor already installed and ready for use.

Stan

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Forget Lightrooms Develop module and try Adobe Camera Raw accessed from Bridge via Photoshop. It is basically the same engine with a nearly identical interface. You have access to this. It's worth a try. I go this route.

Old Coot

Love Scotch. Always have done. No need for break in period.

A Scot

Ronsh Loc: Floresville,Tx.

So if you have a subscription to Lightroom and Photoshop please update you are missing out on some nice tools.
Bring your computer up to date if it will.
Maybe uninstall it and reinstall.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

If you really do simple editing as you describe, Photoshop is overkill. There are tons of editing programs out there that are much simpler to use. If you want to stay in the Adobe family, Photoshop Elements is easy to use, and pretty feature rich. I used it for years before moving on to Luminar and Capture One.

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

Hi, Tom. You state you only do simple things like cropping, lighten, darken and adjust colors. If you are not into compositing or using layers for other things there are several apps you could use. If you are using the full subscription to PhotoShop, you are using a program that is more than you need. I would suggest maybe unsubscribing to PS and try PhotoShop Elements. PSE costs around $100 US for a stand alone app that is nearly as powerful as the full version and is updated yearly but the updates are small changes. Often you can buy the current year's version at a discount (around $60 yto $70) in the fall and use one version for severl years. Currently I use PSE 2019 and it does everything I want it to do for post, I've even done some layeroing and compositing with it. Since you have been using PS it should be a very easy transition for you.

It has been suggested you try a different OS and that may be a fix for you. I use a PC with W10 so am not familiar with Macs. I have had no trouble with PSE, have been using it since version 7 (2007) and find it very appropriate for my needs

JD750 Loc: SoCal

You have lots of "advice" already. I will just say that it should not be crashing. There is no generic problem with LR crashing using Big Sur on a Mac. There is something else going on. Could be something with the installation or setup. Maybe the graphic card selection?

Q: When did this problem begin?

I had a similar problem a few years ago, after an Adobe update. I finally called Adobe help, the nice man in India was able to resolve the issue. He found something he called a "ghost", a problem created by the Adobe installer software, and after deleting the ghost the crashing issue was resolved.