mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

When I decided i really wanted to start processing my photos, I asked a graphic designer and photographer friend what he would recommend. He used everything in the course of his work and photography. He said, without hesitation, Lightroom because it didn't have as steep a learning curve as Photoshop. It's not completely intuitive so I took and class, used what I learned, then another class. It has served me well. I use the subscription from Adobe for $10 a month and get Photoshop as part of that price.

I use a MacBook Pro, again based on recommendations. I started out with a Windows desktop but grew tired of the crick in my neck. I asked around which laptop was best, and the Mac was most frequently mentioned.

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

photoman43

My laptop for basic editing is a 15 inch windows pc with win 10 pro. It has 32 GB Ram. I think 16 GB RAM is the minimum I would recommend along with a 500 GB RAM SSD. If the SSD is the only drive on the laptop, then get a 1 TB SSD. Laptop screen resolution is a personal choice. I have a Lenovo ThinkPad iX; other brands might be a Dell XPS laptop or one from Lenovo.

I am not an Apple laptop fan as I think their laptops are overpriced and I never have had any of the problems with windows pcs you read about. My two Apple iPads are just OK--noting special and their lightning ports cannot be fixed if they stop working.

If you want some photo processing alternatives to Adobe products (Lightroom Photoshop, Adobe Camera Raw, etc) consider from some of the following:

Capture One Pro
ON1
Affinity Photo
Luminar (Skylum) and Aurora HDR (plug in or stand alone)
DXO Photolabs--NIK 2 Collection (ProLab 2 RAW processor, ColorEfex Pro, Dfine, HDR Efex Pro, Silver
Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro, Viveza, etc)
Topaz products, especially Gigapexel AI and Sharpen AI and DeNoize AI and Topaz studio (free).
Free RAW processor from your camera maker. Nikon's is Nikon Capture NX-D that works with Nikon View NX-i.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

If you were trying to find help choosing editing software you just made a big mistake. You will get so many suggestions that it will take you a month to decide now. Everyone is biased depending on what they are using.

dick ranez

Easy answer, Adobe photoshop elements latest version and take the box to a computer store and exceed the minimum system requirements - PC or mac. Single purchase price, no monthly fees, 85% of photoshop's capabilities (and omits the 15% most people never use), lots of "help" on-line and excellent results. IF you buy a laptop, get a good external monitor and don't forget a photo printer - Canon or Epson to fit your budget. Voila - you're ready.

JohnR Loc: The Gates of Hell

Hi & Welcome.

Irrespective of which editing software and which brand of laptop you buy, if you don't have a very good quality display/screen then you are not going to be able to see or edit your photographs very well. The tech people can probably explain better than me but basically don't buy a computer with a TN screen - make sure its IPS - or something like that. All Mac computers have excellent screens nowadays but for photography you need one with at least 16GB of RAM and 500GB of hard drive and this makes Macs with this more expensive than their Windows alternatives (although the gap has reduced quite a bit recently). You will need to buy one of the more expensive Windows laptops to get a screen almost as good as the Mac laptop. Sadly (IMHO) nearly all of todays laptops, whether Windows or Mac, have a maximum screen size of 15" diagonal. Unless you travel a lot then don't get a 13' or smaller. Most people I believe use a quality external monitor for viewing/editing.

As to the software, well Macs win again here having a basic but quite good built in program they now call Photos (it used to be iPhoto but its changed a bit and renamed - a rose by any other name!) Later down the track, as you learn more about your abilities and needs, then you can invest in more sophisticated editing software some of which will work hand in hand with Photos if that the way you go.
Cheers JohnR

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

gimp is free and is essentially equivalent to PhotoShop

Murray Loc: New Westminster

Good suggestion!

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I use Photoshop Elements. It is not complex to do basic fixes which is all that most photos need.
As to a computer there are more computer savvy people here than I. My lap top is geared for far more intense work than simple photo and video editing. Running REVIT and full 3D generated walk throughs.

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

Several things:

First, welcome to the hog. As you note, you will get lots of advice if you ask questions. Everyone has their own point of view and everyone is different. Some of us are more different. What that means is that you will have to experiment and find out what fits you best.

Personally, I like Lightroom because it has a fairly good editor, and it is coupled with Photoshop for the ultimate in editing (at about $10/month). That may not interest you while you are getting started. Lightroom has an organizational aspect to it which makes it easy to find your photos after you have built up a big pile of them and that's one of the main reasons I like it.

However, while you are getting started, I would stick with a low-cost alternative. Your camera manufacturer will offer free software for editing. It will usually do what you need to do as you start out, but there are other free alternatives. You can download them online. When you find out what you are missing later you can take some of the other advice you have already received in terms of software.

One thing I would point out: cameras today give you files with one-size-fits-none names like DSC_4829. How do you remember what that is a photo of? I recommend that when you take some photos and download them to your computer you change the name to something meaningful. Then it will be obvious what you have a photo of even if you can't really make out the details in the thumbnail. I do it with download software (Downloader Pro), but that's about $30. It all depends on how many photos you take. You can change the name pretty easily in Windows (or Mac) file explorere (Finder on the Mac). But it can get tedious if you have a large quantity, which is why I use the software. It can automate the name change and downloading simultaneously. Probably not essential to you right now, but keep it in mind for later.

PS: As an aside, when replying to someone, it is frequently useful to click on "Quote Reply". That will let everyone know whom you are replying to. Saves guessing.

AndyGarcia

I'd buy a MacBook Pro with lots of RAM - 32 GB would be perfect - and a fast processor. You'll love it. I am an Apple person from the Lisa/SE30 onward. I've used Wintel machines and find they slow down and are clunky. Macs also have long life spans. I have a "Vintage" MackBook 2008 which is still going strong - ironically I run Windows 7 on it for a piece of Tax software which is not cross-platform (keeps reminding me how much I hate windows LOL). I am writing this on a late 2012 MacMini running 16Gig of ram.

For Software, I think that ON1 2019 is great. I use it along with AlienSkin X4 which has loads of film sims. Also as I'm a Fuji shooter these days I have just started using Capture 1 which is very cool for Fuji RAW files. Luminar is good too & Affinity.

I would respectfully suggest you get some 30-day trials and see what you like the most.

I stopped using Lighroom when I had problems loading LR6 and found it almost impossible to get tech help.

Good luck and enjoy.

anotherview Loc: California

Photoshop Elements for photo editing. Consider attending a workshop or two for learning photo editing.

A basic Dell laptop computer should serve you well. Make sure it has at least 8 gigabytes of RAM memory for running the photo-editing software.

You may wish to add a printer at some time. Or you could rely on a printing service.

Good luck.

kufengler Loc: Meridian, Idaho 83646

Myself, at 70, I guess I fall into the "older" category.
I use Adobe Elements 2019 and also have inPixio Photo Clip 9 Pro that I've been playing with on an HP ENVY Laptop and separate larger monitor. (happens to be a DELL, the wife has the HP Monitor)
I like simplicity, for what I want to accomplish this all works quite well. There are many Youtube instructional video that I've used for info I was looking for. Also Google searches.