coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

I have a MacBook Pro 16”.
Buy as much memory as you can afford.
Buy the biggest SSD drive you can afford.
I use the Adobe photography plan for $10/mo.
Other software out there but adobe is suto industry standard. With the plan there is great support.

uhaas2009

I have a 2019 pro book. 32 GB memory, i7 or i9 processor and graphics card (don’t remember) the bad 500 GB hard drive. Running Lightroom and PS subscription. What I miss is the touchscreen on my husband Dell....lol... I’m not changing to the M1

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

Initially you're not likely to need more than 16gb ram. But if you progress and use multiple layers you may need more. I have 16gb on my M1 MacBook Pro and it struggles with 10+ layers and 4+ photos open. I'm intending on trading for an M2 MacBook Pro with 64 gb ram when available.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Tracy has a good suggestion. You do realize that Nikon has FREE software for development of RAW files that is quire good. Try it.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Minimum 16gig RAM, 1TB SSD plus a 1 or 2TB external drive, and Photoshop Elements. It’s about $70, no subscription required and has an easy learning curve. The Organizer provides a way to organize and tag your files. Lightroom does this too but it’s much more complicated to use. The Editor has three levels - Quick, Guided, and Expert, or it might be called Advanced. Very easy to use.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

The new MacBook Pro 16" is likely all you will need for years. I would suggest at least 16 GB of RAM (more is desirable). I would get at least a 2TB SSD drive so you will always have spare storage and swap space.

You could use Apple's Photos app but you might as well jump in with both feet. For starters Photoshop Elements will start to give you and idea; as you grow in this area you can get into Photoshop-Lightroom Classic.

My ideas only. Do what you will.

repleo Loc: Boston

Contact one of the 'computer experts' at B&H Photo. They have expertise in the needs of photo editing and can guide you to the best solution for your budget and needs without any sales pressure or 'over selling'. Contact them through live chat or phone.

Canisdirus

Fine to try...but let's not expect anything compared to an Adobe suite...nowhere even close...barely compare.

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

You introduce this thread by asking for suggestions for a "novice." I consider myself a slightly advance novice in that I do a fair amount of post processing, but do not make a living from photography. I have been using digital for maybe 15 to 20 years and have found the best post processing app for me is PSE (Elements). The cost is very reasonable for it and the updates are not always much of an improvement or do not add much. Compared to the monthly subscription of Photoshop, PSE costs about 60% for a year and if you do not update PSE each year the savings is even better, approaching maybe 25% or less. PSE also will allow some adjustments of RAW files and has an organizer which is remarkably efficient (so I've heard, I have not used it fully, yet). I suggest PSE as a starter app only because of the cost savings and later you can upgrade to PS CC subscription if you wish and have a good basis for learning more about PS and any add-ons you may want.

As for computers, others will be better for giving advice in that area. I have a HP laptop with an intel i5 CPU @2.5GHz with 12 GB Ram. It works for me.

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

I use a MacBook for all my photo editing, it's more than adequate for the task. My back-up goes to external hard drives, not to the Cloud.

For photo editing software I recommend Photoshop Elements (PSE); it's simple, easy to learn, and provides all of the functions you need. As you progress up the learning curve, you might someday to migrate to Photoshop, Lightroom or both.

Mark

tonykonline Loc: north central Florida

I use rawtherapee, GIMP and fotor (HDR). They each have there talents and all for FREE.

Toment Loc: FL, IL

I have the 14” M1 Pro MacBook Pro
Absolutely wonderful. The speed is unreal. I have 16 G of RAM, and it runs like a rabbit.
As for PP’ing I use Luminar and Topaz products. Easy to learn and very powerful.
Have fun!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Whichever M1 series MacBook you get (M1 Air, M1 Pro 13", M1 Pro or Max Pro 14", or M1 Pro or Max Pro 16"), be sure to get the maximum amount of memory and storage that you think you will need over the ENTIRE LIFETIME of your ownership of that computer. These computers are NOT upgradeable. Memory and storage are soldered onto the motherboard. Whatever you do, realize that you don't need to blow ALL your money on the maxed out versions of the Mac. External storage options keep overall system costs low. Save some budget for an external monitor and calibration kit, and any other peripherals you may need.

The 13" Pro and the Air have only two Thunderbolt 3/USB4 ports that use the USB-C connector, plus a headphone jack. So you will likely need something like this:

https://www.charjenpro.com/products/ultimatedock

…and you may want it for the 14" or 16" machine, too.

The 16" with 32GB Unified Memory* and 1TB solid state storage and the M1 Pro processor is more than plenty for most people, and will replace most desktop computers if you just add a monitor or two, and a hub and keyboard and mouse. *It is NOT called RAM because it is used for video processing and all other processing done on the computer. Having more memory and storage than the base amounts allows the machine to run faster because it needs less virtual memory, yet has more storage available for use as virtual memory.

That said, I have an M1 MacBook Air with 1TB SSD and 16GB Unified Memory that is more than sufficient for Lightroom Classic and Photoshop and all my other computing needs. At home, it is plugged into a small dock and a 27" 4K LG UP 850 monitor calibrated with a SpyderXElite system. That monitor powers my computer as a fast charger, too.

Consider buying Apple Refurbished. You'll save significant money on the same hardware that has been restored to like new condition and packed in a plain box with the same warranty as new stock.

You can start with Apple Photos, although not everyone likes the way it hides your images in its own hidden database. Good news is, it comes with the Mac. Other extremely useful free Apple Apps are Apple Preview and Apple Image Capture.

Graphic Converter 11 is shareware/try for free; $40.00 for the full, unlocked version without the nag screen on startup. It's worth every penny if you need its features:

https://www.lemkesoft.de/en/products/graphicconverter/download

Serif Affinity Photo is a paid-once ($55 or try for free) application that is often compared to Photoshop. It is a bitmap editor that also does some other amazing things. If you don't need the Adobe Photography Plan, try it.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/

My preference is the Adobe Photography Plan, the basic $9.99 plus tax paid monthly version that includes Bridge, Lightroom, Lightroom CLASSIC, and Photoshop, plus a little bit of online Adobe Cloud storage and some other goodies. I only use and recommend Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, but you may have compelling reasons to use Bridge and Lightroom.

One appeal of Adobe apps is that they are de facto standards in the creative professional community. Tons of online training modules and videos are available. Many books are available. It's easy to find the learning materials you need.

Lightroom Classic is the hub of my workflow. It is an image cataloging database, a raw file editor, a printing tool, a web posting tool, a slideshow producer, a mapping tool, and much more. Image *file paths* are imported into Lightroom Classic. Originals are NEVER, EVER edited. LrC exports or prints everything, and displays proxy files onscreen as you edit them. It stores image locations and all the instructions to do what it does on export or when printing. That can be confusing at first, but it is incredibly liberating when you understand it.

Photoshop is an advanced piece of bitmap editing bloatware that has been in development for decades. It has hundreds and hundreds of features and uses for photographers and graphic artists and designers. It integrates fully with Lightroom Classic. You send images to Ps from LrC and it sends them back to LrC when finished. Then you print from LrC.

M1911 Loc: DFW Metromess

I got a refurbished Macbook from Apple at quite a discount. Look there.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

An easy to use and widely supported image editing software is Photoshop Elements from Adobe. That's what I'd recommend. Elements sells for $100 (occasionally goes on sale for less). If you also need to work with videos, there is a separate program called Premiere Elements that costs the same... Or they can be bought as a bundle for some savings, $150 for both.

Honestly, a 16" screen is pretty small for image editing. Also, I'm not a fan of using laptops for editing, unless they're "anchored" to a larger, external screen that's permanently kept in one location. The reason for this is that every time you move the laptop from one lighting situation to another you lose the color and brightness calibration. As a result it's hard to get consistent results. It doesn't help, either, that you potentially view a laptop screen from different angles each time you close and then re-open to use it.

I'm not saying it can't be done. But I would advise you to get a laptop that can handle an external monitor and plan to get one as soon as possible. Set that larger monitor up permanently in a particular location so you can get more consistent results in your editing. Unplug the laptop when you need to take it with you... then reconnect it when it's time to do some serious image editing.

Are you set on getting a Macbook? The reason I ask is that they're expensive. A 16" Macbook costs between $2400 and $6000, depending upon what it's got inside. You can get a PC laptop for $1000 to $4500 less! That would leave you with a decent budget for an external monitor, a proper monitor calibration device, and possibly an external drive or two to serve as a backup for your images (VERY important).

All the laptops I looked at with 16" or larger screens had at least 16GB of RAM, which is plenty for image editing. More would be even better, but the gains with 32GB or 64GB really won't be all that great.

What's more important is a large hard drive (well, actually it will be an SSD now). I would recommend a minimum of 1TB, because images take up a lot of space and drives fill up surprisingly quickly.

Actually, my laptop has capacity for dual hard drives... I have a 500GB and a 1TB in it right now... and could use larger.

That laptop is not my primary computer... That's a desktop with around 32TB of storage space externally or internally.

I use my laptop for location work and minimal image editing... never for "finish" work. For that I transfer my images to the desktop with a much larger, fully calibrated monitor.

I've used Macs in the past and like them. But I use PCs now for their significantly lower costs and ease of customization, repair and upgrades when any of those are needed. I like PCs, too.

Not all laptops are able to run an external monitor or may need a graphics card added to be able to do so efficiently and to be calibrated properly.

If I were shopping for a monitor today, I'd look at BenQ for their value and quality. On the more entry-level end there is their SW240 24" that sells for $399. This is a 16:10 format monitor, which is great for photo editing. It is a bit more "square" than the usual 16:9 format and in a 24" (or smaller size) allows more room for the software "tools" while working on images. Personally I'd like to have a bit larger and would love to have the 32" BenQ SW321C, but its $1999 price tag is a bit too rich for my wallet. I will instead probably end up with their 27" SW270C. Both these are 16:9 format monitors, but that's no problem in the larger sizes. They also both come with a shade, which I like. There isn't one on that SW240, but I had no problem making one for my current monitor (matte black 1/2" foam core board and some Velcro).

All of those BenQ are "IPS" monitors with 1 billion colors and 98% Adobe RGB. Here is a more complete list of models BenQ offer that would be appropriate for photo editing: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=benq%20monitors&filters=fct_brand_name%3Abenq%2Cfct_category%3Acomputer_monitors_6559%2Cfct_color-gamut_5893%3Aadobe-rgb-99%7Csrgb-100%7Csrgb-99%2Cfct_display-colors_2717%3A1.07-billion%2Cfct_gaming-monitors_4911%3Ano%2Cfct_panel-type_4484%3Aips%2Cfct_screen-size_953%3A24.1in%7C24.5in%7C24in%7C25in%7C27in%7C28in%7C31.5in%7C32in

I use a Datacolor Spyder for monitor calibration. This is needed for proper brightness and correct color rendition on a monitor. Most monitors are excessively bright from new and need to be dialed back or they will cause photographers to adjust their images too dark. Have you ever noticed some images here on UHH or elsewhere that appear too dark? Probably because the photographer isn't using a calibrated monitor. It's particularly noticeable if a print is made from the image. It's more subtle, but correct color rendition is also important. If the monitor isn't displaying color correctly, it will cause you to mis-adjust your images.

There are a number of different calibration devices (hardware and software), starting around $169. It's a good investment for any photographer because it makes a world of difference in their images, using a properly calibrated monitor. Also, calibration needs to be done periodically because monitor brightness and color rendition gradually change as a monitor ages. I calibrate my monitor monthly (the software reminds me). Some people do it more often, others less often. I wouldn't recommend doing it any less than once every two or three months. Here's a fairly comprehensive list: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/monitor-color-calibration-tools/ci/12000/cp/9581%2B20244%2B27501%2B12000?sort=PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH&filters=fct_a_host-system_6982%3Amonitors%2Cfct_calibration-type_2612%3Acolor-calibration-system

I know you want to keep it simple... but it's only possible to do so up to a point.

Finally, I strongly suggest you back up your images. If the drive in your computer ever fails (and they always do, sooner or later), you could lose everything! A simple way to do backup is to get two identical external devices that are at least as large as your computer's image storage drive (if separate). Keep one of those devices right next to your monitor to back up frequently. Every week or two swap for the other backup device and repeat the process. Keep one of the devices somewhere safe... maybe in a fireproof safe or at the office or over at a friend or relative's house. It's also possible to back up "to the cloud" instead of one of these devices. There may be a subscription cost to doing this, but sometimes online storage space is offered in conjunction with other services you're using (such as Amazon Prime)... And I wouldn't make it my only backup because "stuff happens" on the cloud, just as it can do in your computer at home!

It is much easier to set up a good backup plan when just getting started, with relatively few images so far. It's much more difficult later, when you have a large number of images! Your computer may come with backup software installed... or you may need to purchase something. It may be possible to set up to handle the backup automatically, perhaps in the middle of the night when you aren't using the computer.

P.S. I referred to the B&H Photo website above.... Of course you can shop anywhere you like. I just used B&H's site because it has good search tools and they seem to stock or at least list nearly everything related to photography.