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Would like to purchase Lightroom BUT......?
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Jan 11, 2019 18:03:05   #
toast
 
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some folks say it can be overwhelming. Not user friendly.

Honestly, I only want to edit one picture at a time and nothing fancy or involved. (for now). Would I need to take a class or do a lot of reading to just do some "basic photo editing"? I'm very middle of the road when it comes to tech savvy or photo editing knowledge. I would appreciate any thoughts. Thank You!

Mac computer: Safari Version 12.0.2
Camera Canon D5 Mklll

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Jan 11, 2019 18:10:52   #
Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room
 
Honestly, most photo editing programs these days use the same tools and controls. It's just that their positioning in the interface varies.

Lightroom is great if you want to catalog your photos. If, as you say, all you want to do is edit one photo at a time, Lightroom may be overkill. You could look at something like Luminar, or maybe even software produced by your camera maker. There's lots of good free, inexpensive and costly editing programs. Read the features, find out if they (as some vendors do) offer free tutorials online, then make a decision.

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Jan 11, 2019 18:10:59   #
orrie smith Loc: Kansas
 
toast wrote:
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some folks say it can be overwhelming. Not user friendly.

Honestly, I only want to edit one picture at a time and nothing fancy or involved. (for now). Would I need to take a class or do a lot of reading to just do some "basic photo editing"? I'm very middle of the road when it comes to tech savvy or photo editing knowledge. I would appreciate any thoughts. Thank You!

Mac computer: Safari Version 12.0.2
Camera Canon D5 Mklll
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some ... (show quote)


Lightroom is quite easy to use actually. It comes with some presets, and there are others available for purchase, and if you find a preset that will work on most of your photos, workflow is fast and easy. If you want a little more detail, you simply need to adjust a few settings and you are done. Also, if your photography is mostly similar, and the same adjustments can be used on all of your photos, you are able to edit the first photo, select the rest of your photos, and sync the settings all at one shot. There are many tutorials on You Tube and instructions on Google. If you buy the subscription for $10.00 per month, it will stay updated in case you ever buy a new camera, you will always have a program that will read the raw files.

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Jan 11, 2019 18:11:55   #
rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona
 
Quite honestly any photo editing software can be a bit overwhelming at first. The trick is to learn it little by little. Don't try to learn everything at once. That can be daunting.
--Bob
toast wrote:
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some folks say it can be overwhelming. Not user friendly.

Honestly, I only want to edit one picture at a time and nothing fancy or involved. (for now). Would I need to take a class or do a lot of reading to just do some "basic photo editing"? I'm very middle of the road when it comes to tech savvy or photo editing knowledge. I would appreciate any thoughts. Thank You!

Mac computer: Safari Version 12.0.2
Camera Canon D5 Mklll
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some ... (show quote)

Reply
Jan 11, 2019 18:24:03   #
Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida
 
toast wrote:
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some folks say it can be overwhelming. Not user friendly.

Honestly, I only want to edit one picture at a time and nothing fancy or involved. (for now). Would I need to take a class or do a lot of reading to just do some "basic photo editing"? I'm very middle of the road when it comes to tech savvy or photo editing knowledge. I would appreciate any thoughts. Thank You!

Mac computer: Safari Version 12.0.2
Camera Canon D5 Mklll
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some ... (show quote)


There is a Lightroom learning curve. It took me many hours, days and weeks to understand the benefits of Lightroom; and I am still learning. But it was well worth the initial frustration.
There are many good tutorials available—I used Laura Shoe which worked for me, and remains a trusted resource.
If one pulls the trigger and devotes the time learning, Lightroom becomes an amazing addition to the photography experience.
Those are my thoughts.

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Jan 11, 2019 18:29:59   #
47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range
 
rmalarz wrote:
Quite honestly any photo editing software can be a bit overwhelming at first. The trick is to learn it little by little. Don't try to learn everything at once. That can be daunting.
--Bob

I totally agree. I have never found any photo editing software as intuitive as I would like. Each, unless totally automatic, has a learning curve. Some steeper than others. Almost all allow you to download a demo version that you can play with for 30 days. Some are even the same full version you would purchase. I was a LR user but got put off by the subscription model. I'll acknowledge in a heartbeat that for a lot of folks, it's the smart way to go. Even you, perhaps. However, after trying a number of packages, I settled on ON1 Photo Raw. I also continue to use Photoshop Elements for some special cases. That was over a year ago and I'm still learning ON1's capabilities and more importantly, how to accomplish what I want to do!!

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Jan 11, 2019 18:45:01   #
bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA
 
The basic parts of Lightroom are easy. It is even easier if you approach it in an organized manor such as an online class.

All software has free trials. Try before you buy.

Toast, do you want help with some good online classes? Perhaps a free "getting started" book?

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Jan 11, 2019 18:49:28   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
I'd echo the comments above. Assuming you have a good internet connection and a computer with the power to drive LR, you can watch training videos for free for nearly endless hours without every paying anything more beyond your computer, camera, internet and the Adobe (or other) software. Assuming you referenced a Canon EOS 5D mark III, you have a professional-grade full-frame camera for which professional-grade image-editing and digital asset management would be a logical companion (such as the Adobe subscription).

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Jan 11, 2019 19:13:42   #
toast
 
bsprague wrote:
The basic parts of Lightroom are easy. It is even easier if you approach it in an organized manor such as an online class.

All software has free trials. Try before you buy.

Toast, do you want help with some good online classes? Perhaps a free "getting started" book?


I would love some help with getting a good online class and a "getting started" book! Thanks!

Thanks for all the comments and help! And yes my camera is a Canon 5D Mklll. I really do like it.

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Jan 11, 2019 19:33:41   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
toast wrote:
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some folks say it can be overwhelming. Not user friendly.

Honestly, I only want to edit one picture at a time and nothing fancy or involved. (for now). Would I need to take a class or do a lot of reading to just do some "basic photo editing"? I'm very middle of the road when it comes to tech savvy or photo editing knowledge. I would appreciate any thoughts. Thank You!

Mac computer: Safari Version 12.0.2
Camera Canon D5 Mklll
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some ... (show quote)


Don't bother getting a trial copy of Lightroom. You will never use it if you try to learn it on your own. The image editing part is pretty easy and extremely user friendly, but nearly everyone gets stuck with the concept of a catalog.

My suggestion is to hook up with your local photo club, where there will be people that already use it and can help you get started.

Don't make the mistake of getting the soon to be orphaned LR 6. Adobe is no longer supporting it with updates (I think) or upgrades. Get the subscription - you will eventually end up learning enough of Photoshop to have a positive impact on your images that you can't get with just LR by itself.

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Jan 11, 2019 20:23:26   #
National Park
 
I use and am satisfied with Elements 15. It gives me all the editing I need (not a professional), is relatively easy to use, and it's pay once, done--no monthly fee that goes on forever.

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Jan 12, 2019 06:32:40   #
tcthome Loc: NJ
 
Kmgw9v wrote:
There is a Lightroom learning curve. It took me many hours, days and weeks to understand the benefits of Lightroom; and I am still learning. But it was well worth the initial frustration.
There are many good tutorials available—I used Laura Shoe which worked for me, and remains a trusted resource.
If one pulls the trigger and devotes the time learning, Lightroom becomes an amazing addition to the photography experience.
Those are my thoughts.


I agree. And if you do not want the subscription model B&H still sells the LR6 on the disk.

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Jan 12, 2019 06:38:47   #
tcthome Loc: NJ
 
toast wrote:
I would love some help with getting a good online class and a "getting started" book! Thanks!

Thanks for all the comments and help! And yes my camera is a Canon 5D Mklll. I really do like it.


Scott Kelby's book is pretty good. Also some of Tim Greys vids on the B&H You Tube channel are good &, I would suggest reading & watching these before you even install LR if you decide to go with it. It makes it a smoother process. Good luck & have fun.

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Jan 12, 2019 06:45:50   #
Gatorcoach Loc: New Jersey
 
toast wrote:
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some folks say it can be overwhelming. Not user friendly.

Honestly, I only want to edit one picture at a time and nothing fancy or involved. (for now). Would I need to take a class or do a lot of reading to just do some "basic photo editing"? I'm very middle of the road when it comes to tech savvy or photo editing knowledge. I would appreciate any thoughts. Thank You!

Mac computer: Safari Version 12.0.2
Camera Canon D5 Mklll
I keep hearing it's rather difficult to use. Some ... (show quote)


If you want a taste of how Lightroom works try Dark Table. It's freeware version which mirrors Lightroom and is free. You might even keep and use it. https://www.darktable.org/

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Jan 12, 2019 06:55:12   #
Deanie1113
 
I find LR quite easy to use, but yes, you have to learn any editing program. In my opinion, Anthony Morganti is the best online teacher out there. He has a whole series on learning LR that I found very logical and slow enough for me to grasp. It's also totally free. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0f0NiDBPbk Also, if you have a question ever, there is a FB community that only answers questions about LR -- there is so much help out there! Go for it, I love LR.

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