nikonuser750 Loc: Monroe, LA

I find many programs to be intuitive and logical. I do not find LR or PS to be that way. However I do find them to be the programs that work best for me. I strongly recommend that before importing your first file into LR that you watch one of Adobe's free tutorials on file organization FIRST! LR is great at organizing the storage of your pics but only works if you do it in LR and not with your computer's file system. It can be a real pain to straighten once you screw it up. Better to learn how to use it before you start. Don't let that frighten you away, it works great if you do it in LR.

Now the reason I'm writing this is because the more you use LR and learn it's features the more you start to realize that you can do a LOT of post processing right in LR. You might never even want to use PS but it is there for you if and when you need it. I've found many of my pictures that I first imported into LR that now that I've learned to use LR better, that I'm going back and readjusting them. I love that I can always go back to my original with LR. Naturally the more I use LR the faster I get at post processing my pictures.

Whatever you settle on, stick with it long enough to to get comfortable with it and learn it's features. Another nice thing about LR is that there are thousands of FREE videos from Adobe and on YouTube to get you through whatever you are trying to figure out how to do.

Good luck.

Raz Theo Loc: Music City

nikonuser, thank you for this positive, very thoughtful reply. I viewed a LR tutorial on YouTube a few months ago and found it interesting but was not really shopping at the time. I will take your advice to heart and maybe file a report when that happens - who am I kidding, I know I will.
Thanks again

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

if you haven't taken the time or have the interest in learning how to use Photoshop Elements 11, it's unlikely you will take the time to learn how to use any of the alternatives. They all require time, effort, and practice to master. There are a number of very good and inexpensive candidates. I would steer you away the top pro software like Adobe's Lightroom/Photoshop, DXO Photolab or Phase One's Capture One Pro 12. They are expensive and/or have a intense learning curve. Among the top inexpensive offerings are ON1, Affinity, and Luminar.

Each of them will still take a significant time commitment on your part to master. How well they will perform will also depend on your current computers abilities. They are all available as fully functioning free trial downloads except for Lightroom / Photoshop. If you're hoping to get software where you can just jump right in and use with little effort on your own, just save yourself the trouble and stick to what you've been doing.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

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