Rondog wrote:
I would like some advice on the best editing software for a Hobbyist....Photoshop,,Elements,,Lightroom,,Light,,Classic,,Stant alone,,Subsciption. HELP if you can?????
I have both Affinity Photo and the Adobe Photography suite. Both are excellent and both have some advantages. They each have excellent training materials so you really can't go wrong unless there is something specific you want to do that the package you choose doesn't support well. You really can't go wrong with either. Depending on what you want to do as a "serious hobbyist" may determine whether you can be satisfied with some other application.
I finally chose to spend most of my time in the Adobe suite for the following reasons: 1. I wanted the media management tools of Lightroom because I had over 50,000 photos (which I've recently culled down to about 32,000, all within Lightroom). 2. The subscription offered support and updates as long as I pay my $10 per month on multiple devices and multiple versions (i.e., Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic CC, and Photoshop. That means that as new features and improvements are issued, I can immediately upgrade and use them. With the old versions, I would buy an upgrade of either Lightroom or Photoshop, or both, for for anywhere from a couple of hundred to several hundred dollars, then have to wait until the next time I was willing to spend a substantial amount to get the new features offered in a later version. Now, for $240 every 2 years, I am always current and always getting the newest features, some of which I have found invaluable. And if I have problems with the software, I just call, text or email Adobe for assistance at no extra cost.
So I'm happy with my choice but know that packages like Affinity Photo offer some great features and can be a real value.