Ted d Loc: Green Valley, AZ.

ON 1 does everything that Photoshop does plus more. It's faster and easer to use, not to mention cheaper. Take a look they have a trial for free. Not to mention all the tutorials and coaches that are available. I get free stuff every week, training videos, presets, etc..

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

What is it about PS and or LR that makes you want to use something else? Is it cost, ease of use or something else? Is it just the "cloud" aspect? I use LR for most of my work and a little PS, if needed. I use classic and stay away from the cloud functions. If you already have some understanding of the Adobe approach, why do you want a new learning curve?

bobbyjohn Loc: Dallas, TX

Bethanne, take a look at (1) Corel Paint Shop Pro, (2) Perfectly Clear Complete by EYEQ, (3) Luminar AI by Skylum. I have all three of these, and use them interchangeably, depending on what I want to accomplish on any particular image. They are all very good, and simpler than the LR alternatives, and which have a subscription based license...ie...you pay forever.

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

Lightroom does not have all the Photoshop tools, but a subscription for the Photography package from Adobe includes both Lightroom and Photoshop. Lightroom is an OK editor for basic stuff, but for me, the primary purpose is image organization. Using keywords, collections, labels and ratings I can find images I took years ago, including images I forgot that I took. The keywords are the main way I do that but with my aging memory, anything that helps me remember things is a plus.

Photoshop (and Lightroom) are delivered from the cloud but you keep them on your computer. The only limitation with the subscription is that you have to have your computer online so that the program can check that your subscription is still active (every month or three). The cost of the subscription is relatively small and for that you get both programs and any updates that come along are available within the subscription cost. Since you have been using Photoshop you might consider it. The latest version of Photoshop will probably look familiar to you although there are new bells and whistles available and things like selections have been improved to make them easier and more accurate.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Lots of links -

Affinity
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/software-review-affinity-photo-1-5-2
http://www.shutterbug.com/content/affinity-photo-software-review-has-photoshop-met-its-match#d1c5lY5EQ03QoLjh.97
http://www.diyphotography.net/affinity-photo-can-give-adobe-run-money/
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/affinity-photo-1.5,review-4257.html

Others
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-lightroom-alternatives
http://digital-photography-school.com/a-beginners-guide-to-choosing-the-right-post-production-software/
https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/photo-editing
https://www.reviews.com/photo-editing-software/
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-photo-editing-software,review-1972.html
http://www.redmondpie.com/best-adobe-photoshop-alternatives-for-windows-and-mac-list Affinity
http://www.shutterbug.com/content/affinity-photo-software-review-has-photoshop-met-its-match#d1c5lY5EQ03QoLjh.97
http://www.diyphotography.net/affinity-photo-can-give-adobe-run-money/
https://photographypro.com/photo-editing/

Processing for free -
https://www.darktable.org/
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/59324818
https://www.lightstalking.com/how-to-edit-rawtherapee/
https://www.lightstalking.com/free-photography-software/
http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-free-photo-editor
http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/the-best-photoshop-alternatives-that-are-totally-free-5974500
http://lightzoneproject.org/

photoman43

I also suggest you try Nikon Capture NX-D along with Nikon View Nx-i. Both are free.

I use DXO PL4 Elite edition as my main RAW processor for my Nikon NEF files. Give it a try (free for 30 days) and look at the tutorials at DXO website. Those by Dan Hughes are some of my favorites.

https://www.dxo.com/dxo-academy/

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Welcome back Beth.

You will get plenty of recommendations here. I'm curious why you go not want to stay with Photoshop. It is not blood based as you say. There is a cloud based version, included in their package. Everything is installed on your machine from their site and can be used without internet connection most of the time. You have to connect once in awhile for updates etc.

If you really just leave I would recommend downloading the trial versions of any that you wish to try and try them through the complete trial period to make up your mind. Good luck and good hunting.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Photoshop Elements is on sale for $70 now. There is a free trial of a couple weeks. If you buy from Adobe direct, there is another couple weeks of 'free return'. Elements is NOT creative cloud, rental software. You buy it once.

https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html

Kozan Loc: Trenton Tennessee

Affinity Photo is my choice. The thing i like about Affinity is that it is cheap (no more than $50) and it has a workbook to go with it. There are also over 200 videos on different processes on the Affinity forum. It is a great resource. The workbook is not free, but the videos are.

You can download the full version to try for 15 days. I think you will love it.

Stan (Kozan)

finnmap Loc: N Illinois

I use PaintShop Pro also. It does more than I am capable of using, so always learning new stuff when I use it. I upgrade every two to three years for $30-$40. Just upgrades to 2021 Ultimate. Fastest Paintshop yet with lots of fun tools. Also use Photomatix Essentials for HDR.

JerryOSF Loc: Bristol, VA

No one mentioned free software. Darktable for raw editing and GIMP for everything else. Just download it.

Ednsb Loc: Santa Barbara

I feel it’s the best value for the money. Data Asset Management , good raw processor, great effects, hdr, focus stacking, layers, pano, resize all in one app with a good GUI. I’ve tried all the others but only the PhotoShop/LightRoom bundle is similar in a much harder to learn and use in my opinion. Pse could be a choice as well.

radiojohn

Before simply suggesting apps, I need to know what kind of editing you hope to do.

Working with layers, removing objects or mostly contrast, saturation, cropping, etc.?

Are you printing. screen viewing. etc.?

There is something for everyone out there from free (GIMP) to very expensive.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Corrected spelling! I am so blind before coffee..................

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

A subscription to the Adobe Photography plan ($9.99/mo) (https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography.html) will provide you with both Lightroom and Photoshop. If you go this route, you will find that LR (and by that, I mean Lightroom Classic) will provide you with 90% of your photo editing needs, as well as being best-in-class for managing your photos. For advanced editing, LR allows you to "round-trip" to Photoshop and back when your editing requires layers, selections, or other advanced functions. However, I note that PS CC has a pretty long learning curve. But, since you were once familiar with PS 7, perhaps that won't be much of an issue.