HRoss Loc: Longmont, CO

I started with PS-Elements, added Lightroom and I was paying for updates every year as they added better features. The cost of the subscription, for a far more robust set of tools (with continual upgrades), is comparable economically, IMHO. I do admit I liked having the physical software, and not just a rental arrangement, but it's a small compromise for a powerful suite.

streetshot Loc: Los Angeles, California

The responses have been excellent and again I appreciate everyone input. David

Maik723

Don't bother. Just purchase Affinity Photo and be done with it. Steep learning curve involved but worth the effort. One time expense with free upgrades. Very economical.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

He can't.

Lightroom 6 was the last stand-alone, no longer available, no longer supported by Adobe.

Actually, if he searches really hard he might find someone with an unused copy. They will probably charge 3X to 10X the original price (around $150).

I would recommend instead that he get Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020. It costs $100 for perpetual license, is not a subscription, is actually a more "complete" image editing and organizing software, and has built-in support for new users with guides in it's Beginner mode, as well as more advanced features in its Intermediate and Expert modes. (You can switch between modes any time you like.)

Lightroom is primarily an organizer. It's designed to work in conjunction with Photoshop, which is primarily an image editor. While LR has some "lite" editing tools, there are a lot of things it can't do. Conversely, Photoshop has minimal organizational capabilities. The two are designed to complement each other, and the subscription gets you both.

For example, LR allows you to enlarge an image to some extent, but nowhere near the pixel level possible in PS and Elements, for really precise work. Elements and PS also allow you to work with layers and masks to do selective adjustment, LR cannot do that. The clone tool in LR is very crude compared to what can be done with the same tool in PS and Elements. There are a lot more differences... just suffice to say that LR is designed for "quick" edits... PS and Elements are designed for more complete image edits.

LR is great when adding keywords, organizing images, batch renaming, batch conversions of RAW in to "proof" quality images, etc. Elements can do much of the same. PS cannot.

Elements, on the other hand, is both organizer and editor, all in one. LR and PS are not all-in-one... they are each partially incomplete without the other.

LR and PS have no support built in for new users. You're on your own learning to use them. A class or two or a book or two is all that most people need to get up to speed with LR. But PS is much more complex... you might expect to take a year's worth of college level classes with a stack of text books, learning to fully and expertly use it.

There are books and classes for Elements, too.... if wanted. That's in addition to the built-in support, so may or may not be needed.

There are third party plug ins from all three... though the most are for Photoshop.

Elements can do pretty much all of what's needed to finish an image to a high degree for printing at home or sending out to print. It's a little limited in the file types it can produce and the color spaces it can work in, but what it lacks are mostly just needed for commercial purposes... print publications, advertisers, packaging designers, etc. (Those folks may need LR and PS.)

Recommend your friend consider Elements 2020 to work with their photographs. It might be all they ever need. If they also need to work with video, get Premiere Elements 2020 too... they can be bought in a bundle for $150 (separately they cost $100 each, so that saves $50).

If your friend is a student or a teacher, there's an academic version of Elements and Premiere Elements 2020 for about $80 (download only).

Adobe offers a free 30 day trial of Elements that can be downloaded from their website.

They offer the same for LR and PS. It's probably enough time to check out LR, but I'd only recommend experienced PS users do the trial of that program. It's simply too complex for a new user to get much benefit from a 30 day trial period.

To get the best out of any 30 day trial, I recommend buying a book about the software in advance, to at least be a little familiar with it prior to downloading and starting the trial. The book also can be a handy reference while experimenting with the software.

streetshot Loc: Los Angeles, California

This is really helpful and I’ll relay this to my friend who will very impressed by the detail and the explanation. Very convincing and thorough. Thanks
David

jrm21

Maybe consider Darktable? Open source, free, no subscription. I looked at it briefly and it seemed to have a similar workflow to LR. YMMV. This advice is worth what you paid for it. :)

williejoha

If you can find a stand alone, be aware there are no profile updates for older cameras.
So if your friend is shooting let’s say a Nikon 850, there will be no profile available.
WJH

Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

Try Luminar same and more PP features, $69 ... decent Library but not as good as Lightroom