gutdoc

I was wondering what most y'all use for your photo editing. A lot of the well known ones, like photoshop etc always require some form of subscription. There are a few which are stand alone, but there are trade off's in respective features. Just wanted to have a feel of the consensus of the group. I am not a professional although I would consider myself a serious hobbyist.

Love Wildlife

I use Windows 10 Photos, Adobe Express, Photo Elements 2018, GNU and Topaz. I float between the first three mainly and the only one I paid for is the Photo Elements 2018 and got it on sale for $30 off at Xmass. These work fine for me for now although I have not used the last one for quite some time. Hope I was helpful.

Jim

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

The majority of pros and advanced amateurs use the Lightroom / Photoshop combination. Some choose to go with the standalone version, but at ten bucks a month, with constant upgrades and new camera and lens profiles, it's about the cost of three or four Starbucks/Dunks coffees. It's the most capable, the most universally used, and, to many, the easiest to learn. There are literally hundreds of free teaching videos and a number of inexpensive books and courses online.


They will bill you monthly, and after the first year if you want to cancel, you don't lose all of your work product. I gave in to the new subscription model a couple of months ago, and haven't regretted it for a minute. If you want RAW editing capability for free, GIMP seems to still be the best product, but I find it clunky and rather slow to learn. I do have it on my computer, but seldom use it any more. I find that I can do around 90% of my post processing in Lightroom alone, and that batch processing and presets help me do it more efficiently.


Do you object to the pricing or the subscription model primarily? Just curious...

Andy

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"Just wanted to have a feel of the consensus of the group."

This is a joke, right?

Time after time, the most posts in topics like this are users of Lightroom and Photoshop. That said, there are always significant "groups" that like everything but Lightroom and Photoshop.

The truth is that they are all very good. Pick one, learn it and use it.

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

Photoshop is the gold standard. Others may have one or more capabilities where they equal or exceed Photoshop's capabilities, but none offer the complete package that Photoshop offers. Standalone? Subscription? the only difference is how you pay. The nice thing is you don't need to buy upgrades when they come out, they are automatically made available for free on the subscription. Oh, and the price is way cheaper than the standalone versions.

Bill_de Loc: US

For a feature rich stand alone, On1

For a very capable stand alone that is easy to learn, PhotoShop Elements. It has many of the "elements" of PhotoShop, and a feature rich cataloging capability, very similar to Lightroom.

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via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Here is what I use: Lightroom and Photoshop, some others as needed. Great programs that can really help you to create wonderful artwork once you learn to get the shot.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

I am unsure what is meant here by "stand alone" but since it is not a subscription, I think that the OP should consider CaptureOne. However, if he seeks a freebie then he should try RawTherapee. CaptureOne and CaptureOne Pro have a very low price point for Sony users, btw.

If he seeks "basic" as stated then Luminar should earn a look as well. It's actually better than basic but not as capable, IMHO, as CaptureOne or CaptureOne Pro.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Popular does not necessarily mean best. Marketing often plays major role concerning the popularity of a product.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

I have used Zoner Photo Studio for many years, and suggest you give it a try. Although it's not a US product it makes a welcome change to use a product with superior business ethics than Adobe.
Zoner Photo Studio has a superb support where you can ask a question and receive an answer without having to jump through endless faq's, they also send out very regular tips and tricks on how to adjust your images.

https://www.zoner.com

reverendray

I have used DXO software on RAW for many years using canon, nikon, and now a pentax camera.

Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA

I've been using ON1 and love it.
They just had a major update and added features and speed.
It's being marketed as an upcoming competitor to Lightroom, without the subscription.
You buy it and own it.

frjack Loc: Boston, MA

Capture One Pro. Organizing library is not intuitive but the rest is great. Recent update to version 11. Is expensive but worth it.

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

For quick edits I use CANON DDP v3 (and latterly v4) which comes with the camera. I'm fairly sure other manufacturers will have something of a similar standard.
Anything else I use PSE10 + NIK and just recently I used GIMP to illustrate something to somebody with no photo editing experience at all. Might be worth a look.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Elements, although their are many many good ones. Whatever you get their is a learning curve. Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.