MikeMc

I did the trial of Adobe Lightroom but I'm now totally dizzy about what the Adobe choices are. I've tried doing google research which is even more confusing. https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/lightroom-cc-vs-lightroom-classic/
I like the basic buttons on LR. Don't need much more. I'm OK to store in the cloud and the 20Gb will last me for a while, then I can store on my computer.I like being able to view on different computers from different locations. Maybe there's a better choice than Adobe? Or what's the simple explanation of the different Adobe choices? (LR CC, LR Classic, Photography Plan)

Thanks

picsman Loc: Scotland

Have a look at DxOphotolab, it has automatic options as well as some Nik adjustments for localised adjustments. But if you just want global adjustments it has that in spades. It does not have a catalogue like lightroom which I prefer, you to have your file system so I have folders by subject, year and events, which works for me.

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

Lightroom is not up to the task of "finishing" an image, though it makes some pretty outstanding proofs. A complete solution is Lightroom for image management and raw conversion and Photoshop for image finishing. If you just use Photoshop, you have image finishing, raw conversion and a very powerful image browser for image management, but no catalog.

I would advise against using "the cloud" as active storage. It is slow, and though it doesn't happen often, you can lose data when there is a malfunction at the server farm. The cloud is ok as a third tier destination for archived files, and for sharing images, though.

Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC with 20 gb cloud storage will give you the full version of Lightroom and Lr Mobile, Photoshop, ACR, Bridge and 20 gb for sharing/delivering images - and it's only $10/mo.

Adobe is the best established and best supported, and most mature graphics company in the market, with the largest user base, and the most aggressive development cycle on all of their products. On1 is a contender, but it lacks the "completeness" of Photoshop on the pixel-level editing side, and it lacks certain features like lens profiles and other things on the raw conversion side. I like it a lot, but it is not a replacement for LR/PS.

WJShaheen Loc: Gold Canyon, AZ

Regarding On1, although I'm still evaluating it, it does indeed have lens correction. It recognized my Nikon 18-140.
I was encouraged by your saying it is a contender, thank you. I'm also toying with several other programs.

rmacilroy Loc: pompano beach, fl

i like light room cc. very user friendly for me being new to this. photo shop is to advanced for me. nice to be able to use it on all my devices and have everything organized in one place.does pretty much what i need it to do. although i hate subcriptions to anything.

Georgeski

It depends on what you need to do--if it's just manipulating single images, LR desktop is fine --I use Photoshop CC because I do extensive layering of multiple images in creative ways, eliminating backgrounds on portraits, etc. and the tools like quick selection in Photoshop let me do this--I guess there are other good image processing programs out there--if you subscribe to the Adobe service, you get both the Photoshop and Lightroom apps, which is terrific!!

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I currently use Lr Classic for all my work. I perform 90% of the work in Lr and the other 10% in Ps. It's true you can do sooooo much more in Ps, but not every image needs that. The latest version of Lr Classic is very powerful compared to the Lr of even 5 years ago. Adobe Lr is THE standard today and the most versatile program available. Some don't like to pay monthly, I think it's better to have the absolute latest version all the time and not have big layouts every other year. If Lr is the way you chose to go, I would HIGHLY recommend learning to use it properly before you start. Training from Laura Shoe would be a great start for that, especially for under $ 100. Best of luck.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Mike,

There are many choices out there for software and most of them are fairly good. A lot depends on what feels comfortable to you. ON1, Luminar, Affinity, and many others will get the job done, right along with Adobe products. What LR Classic offers, in addition to a great and comprehensive processing program, is a way to organize your images. LR Classic, in spite of one what one user here has said, is all you need for 85% to 90% of your photos: you just need to learn the program well and utilize it 100%. There are some image, however, that will benefit from further processing in Luminar, ON1, or Photoshop and other programs. You do not need to store any images in any "cloud" if you do not want to; most people store images on external hard drives. You can, however, put images into the cloud as you need to in order to use or work on them in other locations. I have used Lightroom Classic for many years and it is a very good program. Once you learn LR you can learn what you need to know in PS and then you can use either program as needed.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Adobe products:
Creative Cloud Photography plan for $9.99/month includes:

Lightroom CC - which used to be called Lightroom Mobile and is best for those who like to do mobile phone pics with editing, storing them in the cloud and share images. It works with more than just phones now and also allows you to edit them from your computer which you couldn't do before. It's very basic and is for cloud storage of your photos.

Lightroom Classic CC - formerly known as just Lightroom. This is what photographers use for 90% of their photo editing. It's more than just editing software, it's for organizing photos, editing, slideshows, books, printing, sharing, and it is designed to work seamlessly with Photoshop CC for "pixel" editing.

Photoshop CC - formerly known as Photoshop CS. This is the most powerful pixel editing software that Adobe makes for photographs and more. It include Bridge, which is a photo browsing and organizing software, ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) for editing photos the same way that Lightroom does except that it's interface looks a little different and is what oldschool Photoshop uses started using before Lightroom was available.

20GB of cloud storage - mostly included for those that use Lightroom CC. This is very little space and you will run out of space quick if use cloud storage for all your photos. They expect you will pay more every month when you have run out of space.

Here's a short video on how to use the Develop Module in LR Classic CC to make a photo really pop.
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/how-to/use-camera-landscape-profile.html?trackingid=KLZPVFGX&mv=email#make_good_landscape_shots_great_with_simple_edits

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

In my opinion, Lightroom CC (the cloud or mobile version) is a basic editor meant for doing things in the field that need to be done right away. Does not have the depth of the Lightroom Classic, which does not use the cloud and stores everything locally. There are times to use both programs, but for starting out I would recommend LR Classic. Classic has a pretty good editor and an excellent organizer. If you plan to take photos for a few decades I would recommend learning the organization part of LR because it will help you find things 50 years from now that you even forgot you took.

tomad Loc: North Carolina

You said you don't need much more than the basic buttons... before you spend your hard earned money, try Adobe Photoshop Express. It's free and has all the basics including cropping and straightening, overall exposure, contrast, shadows, highlights, whites, blacks, color temperature, tint, vibrance, saturation, some special effects and sharpening. Don't use the presets or auto adjustments; best results are with individual sliders. Also, when I originally open a photo with it it sometimes looks out of focus but make any adjustment and the focus instantly becomes as sharp as the original (this must be a bug).

WJShaheen Loc: Gold Canyon, AZ

quote=tomad]You said you don't need much more than the basic buttons... before you spend your hard earned money, try Adobe Photoshop Express. It's free and has all the basics including cropping and straightening, overall exposure, contrast, shadows, highlights, whites, blacks, color temperature, tint, vibrance, saturation, some special effects and sharpening. Don't use the presets or auto adjustments; best results are with individual sliders. Also, when I originally open a photo with it it sometimes looks out of focus but make any adjustment and the focus instantly becomes as sharp as the original (this must be a bug).[/quote]

"Adobe Photoshop Express"? I did not know there was such a thing. Thanks!