I'm in the same place as you are ... about to purchase a laptop for photo and video editing. I've been researching for months ... often only getting more confused. Back in the 90s I had one one the first digital recording studios in my area, and I purchased a near state of art computer for the project ... and within four years my hardware was out-of-date and sluggish. So this time I intend on getting more oomph than is needed. And I am editing video as well as photos. So I am being sure that I have a dedicated graphics card included in the configuration I get.
This is a link to the page that gave me the most information in the clearest and most unbiased form about laptop configuration
http://improvephotography.com/35216/windows-photo-editing-super-guide/I myself have decided upon an MSI workstation.
Workstations are built more reliably than either consumer or gaming laptops.
The MSI workstations have multiple USB 3 ports (usually about 6) and also 'superports' including Thunderbolt ... a necessity as the files of photos become larger and larger.
Most laptops do not address overheating. And it is easy to destroy your laptop by overheating in intense processing sessions. The MSI brand is noted for its cooling system.
Here is a link to the MSI I'm probably going to get within a few weeks
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1254281-REG/msi_wt72_6qj_200us_i7_6700hq_16gb_128gb_1tb_windows_10_17_3.htmlSSD drives are much faster, much lighter and much cooler than spinning disc drives. An SSD is needed these days. At least one. And I feel (though am unsure) that at least a 512G SSD is needed ... especially for 'future-proofing'.
A quad-core of at least intel 5 is needed. I am going to go with 7i.
A minimum of 16GB memory is needed. I would prefer 32G memory. (minimums are often outgrown quickly)
The MSI workstation is a beast. Heavy, durable, not so 'portable' even though it is a laptop.
The drawback is that it starts at about $2000.
The only other laptop that I felt came close to the MSI is the Lenovo ThinkPad workstation. You can pick one up on Amazon for about 2000 that has 32GB DDR4 2133MHz and Hard Drive: 500GB M.2 Solid State Drive + 2TB 5400rpm Hard Disk Drive with a generation 7 Intel processor.
I hope this all helps. Of course, I am also editing videos ... so I am needed a little more oomph than photos currently need.