one_eyed_pete Loc: Colonie NY

Welcome to UHH Tony. It sounds like you have no experience editing/developing digital photos. You are entering a brave new frontier where there is much to learn. I think you're making a mistake discounting "free trials". You don't yet know what interface or workflow will be most comfortable for you and you will only find out by using the software yourself. Also, after you start learning what you can do editing digital photos your objectives/goals may change. You may need to try a few different programs to find what suites you best. I lean toward Photoshop Express as a starting point. Gimp and Luminar are also reasonable options as well as others mentioned here. There are tons of how to videos for the different software options that demonstrate their capabilities. Pick one at a time and learn what they can do and how they work.

Folks on here have personal favorites and biases. I started eons ago with Photoshop then tried Lightroom (about 8 years ago) where I now do 90% of my photo editing. I use LR because it's best for me. I've tried several others but I keep coming back to LR. I don't mind the $10 monthly charge because I use it and I deserve it. Some on here keep saying LR is just a cataloging program with minor editing capabilities. That's just baloney. They must have never learned the capabilities of LR which is used by many professional for 85% - 90% of their photo editing. If I wanted to copy the eyes from one photo and paste them on a face in another photo I'd use photoshop, but how often do you really need to do that. Photoshop has so many capabilities it can blow your mind. It's sorta like having a sniper rifle that can take down a deer at 2 miles. You don't really need that but it's fun to have.

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

Technical point: LR/PS are not updated automatically. Updates are offered automatically. It's your choice to download the updates through their app. The updates are part of the subscription. There is rarely any good reason not to download the updates. The most common reason is that you want to use the software RIGHT NOW and not wait the 2-3 minutes it takes for the download. (Been there).

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If you haven't bought anything, consider the trial period offer for any candidate software. Use one at a time for the entire trial period, including the available training, possibly always against the same set of 20 to 100 images. Make an informed decisions that hopefully gets it right the first time. Consider the online documentation and free video training (u-tube) in the context of your trial-period comparisons.

timcc Loc: Virginia

Welcome! As you have seen, you'll get lots of different opinions on this forum, and there are many good choices for PP software.

If you shoot Sony, Fuji or Nikon, I suggest the free Capture One Express. It is intuitive to learn, it has many great features, and there are lots of online tutorials and webinars. If you later want to add more sophisticated features, you can upgrade to the outstanding Capture One Pro for a one-time charge. C1 Pro has free updates during the year, and a major upgrade about once a year that you can decide whether or not to purchase. https://learn.captureone.com/webinars/capture-one-express/

If you shoot Olympus, I recommend PhotoScape X. The free version (called a "trial" but it has no time limit) has many features, and again you can upgrade for additional functions for a one-time charge if you want them. I've found the free version to meet all my needs for the TG-5. It is easy to learn, and there are online tutorials. http://x.photoscape.org/

Tonylum

Canon eos T7i

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If you shoot in JPEG, any software will work for you, immediately improving the straight out of camera results. One purchase could be all you ever need as long as JPEG remains the standard format for sharing images.

If you shoot RAW, selecting edit software that operates at 16-bit and supports a wide colorspace like ProPhotoRGB is a must. Someone mentioned GIMP. This needs to be used along with other free software for RAW file conversion, but you'd be set with professional-capable tools. The spectrum between 'free' and 'most expense' has a number of different software, some specific to Windows or Mac, others with not platform limits. Investigating the products and pricing is really all you need to do on your own. Assure your computer hardware exceeds the minimum specifications of any software you end of purchasing, where the hardware may be more important than the software when you get to the upper-tier packages.

bleirer

I click the little checkbox to update automatically. Every once in a while a little window pops up and says "Lightroom has been updated," or similar, I don't do anything other than open the software. I don't notice it taking any extra time but it happens while I'm getting coffee probably.

I think the checkbox is in the "creative cloud" program on the desktop, if I recall.

WCS

Bill Buckholder,

Thank you!!!

I'm a newby to post processing and really appreciate your input on so many options!
Invaluable!!!

Thank you, again!

Jerry Bruzek

I am also fairly new to this forum and am a beginner photographer. I purchased photoshop elements as it is robust enough for my needs. There are various tutorials and options for learning at your own pace. For me, it has been worth the $100 investment.

WCS

... and I just saw it packaged with their movie editor...
Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 & Premiere Elements 2020 Student and Teacher [Mac Online Code]
... for $79 at Amazon

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

Yes. It's in the settings section, app tab.
I tend to keep automatic updates unchecked so I have to take action. That way I know when it's updated.

Jabjeb39

I can strongly recommend On1 raw 2020. It has alot to learn but their videos and other helps are first rate. You can get a free trial for 30 days and then this a one time price and many updates are free. They also have a plus program which is very enhanced and worthwhile once you get into the program.

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

Welcome to UHH. As mentioned above, ask questions and you will get many answers. Some useful.
And show us the pictures.

Jeffers

You haven't told us whether you're just new to this group or also new to photography. Elements is an excellent choice unless you're editing videos or want to edit multiple photos using macros. If you have a modern digital camera as I do, it takes me about two minutes each to post-process most images in Expert Mode. While Elements has shortcuts for beginners, Expert trumps all the shortcuts. For training, Scott Kelby has excellent books that got me going. Unless you have a bunch of very old, damaged images or plan to shoot in RAW, you can skip the Camera Raw chapter. Like other Adobe products, Elements is keyboard centric, so take extra time to learn the keyboard commands. Although Elements comes out with a new edition each year, they mainly add to their Quick and Guided menus. If you learn Expert, you can go several years before upgrading.

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas