ggenova64

I was going to suggest Picasa (Is Picasa still around?) or the editing software from Canon DPP!

cliodiver

What ever you do stay away from Corel aftershot. The biggest problem if you purchase a plugin, to improve your editing, it will crash the program. Working with tech support is very frustrating and when the solution is not found and you request a refund they say,”Can’t do that because that is a third party app.”
Be forewarned do not buy this....

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Suggest the software that came with the camera.
--Bob

Rashid Abdu Loc: Ohio

Google no longer supports Picasa, but you can still download it. It is the easiest photo editing you can find.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

PhotonHog Loc: Annapolis

I still use GIMP. It seems to be rather capable but maybe not the most user friendly. And there is NO pesky always present monthly costs - something I really do NOT like. I can read my Olympus RAW files, do all the basics, and still have the JPEG as a backup.

lamontcranston

FOTOR is a very basic editing program and is easy to use. Clicking on "Automatic Fix" is about as simple as you can get. Then you can either accept or reject the changes and go to more sophisticated editing if you desire . And it is free so it costs you nothing to try it.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

Hi CHG_CANON I guess they did not read the original post he was real clear a “Basic program “ all these folks recommendations for LR is just idiotic. I do like your idea about going to Canon and downloading their products! Just maybe dad is not at his top of the game as well, thus the Basic software request?

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Of course Photos is built into all Macs and is a great editing program for people who are just beginning to explore what editing software can do. The advantage of starting with Photos is that there is no additional investment and it may do everything she needs to do.

Lightroom is a step up from Photos and of course has more capability and provides more room for growth as a photographer, but there is an additional cost. To round out her capabilities, Photoshop can be either the next step or she could start with Photoshop. The difference between the two programs is that Lightroom is non-destructive and it has very good sorting capabilities to help her choose which pictures to keep, which to edit and keep and which to discard. It will give her a lot of basic editing capability.

Photoshop, on the other hand, can take you from beginning editing to professional editing capability. One of its main features is that it allows you to work in layers. It does not have the sorting and selection capabilities of Lightroom, however. But, Lightroom and Photoshop are designed to work together to form a complete workflow, so you can edit most pictures in Lightroom and if they require more advanced treatment, you can easily export them to Photoshop for the final touches. Of course this all comes at a price.

Before you choose, you should determine how involved she wants to get with editing and then make the choice. If she will be a casual user, stick with Photos. It will teach her the basics and she can always move up to LR/PS. If she has more than a little interest in editing, I would start her with LR or PS.

chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA

mkiegold86 Loc: New York, NY. U.S.A.

I know there are a number of free open source applications that people recommend but everyone that I have looked at pale in comparison to the Adobe Photographers bundle for $10. a month. You get Lightroom which is the best image management/data bace module I have tried. It comes with Photoshop which is good to learn even if you don't use it a lot. It also gives you Adobe Cloud storage space which is useful AND you get a number of other benefits such as access to Adobe Stock, Behance and Adobe Portfolio. No matter what you use to edit everyone needs a portfolio/website. Bottom line is I find the net value of the subscription to be the best deal around..

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

RedRockster

I have been using Paint Shop Pro, now owned by Coral company. It is easy to work with, and I like it much better than photoshop elements. You can go as deep into this software as you wish, genereate scripts, use layers, filters. The clarity adjustment is remarkable. For most photos I just use levels, and if needed the clarity adjustment. Vibrancy adjustments are also very good. A full blown Paint Shop Pro is about $80, but they are always offering discounts. This is a really great and professional editor that is intuitive to use.

Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, Colorado

Yep! Good old Andy never fails to disappoint as the head fan boy for the Adobe $10 buck a month rental plan, when Photoshop Elements 2018 can be had for $69 one time cost when on sale!

mkiegold86 Loc: New York, NY. U.S.A.

I have heard good things about Paint Shop Pro, and if it meets your needs then I say go for it.
How does Paint Shop manage RAW files, and what do you do for file management? Just curious.