Thank you for all the suggestions. i will look into all of them and see what will match my skill level and needs. Thank you RJM for the compliment on my photos. I am hoping to continue this route of photography and improve and learn as much as possible.

I am looking for a photo editing software program to use on my MacBook Pro. I own the Nikon D5300 with an 35mm fixed lens, 18-55mm lens and a 55-300mm lens. When I purchased my first Mac in 2009, upon recommendation from the sales person, I also bought Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. I was never very successful with it, I felt it was very difficult to use as a beginner. There were really no instructions and so I did very little successful editing. Looking at YouTube videos and trying to switch back and forth from video to Photoshop was a bit time consuming. I looked high and low for the Dummies Book version for the Mac and could only fine the Missing Manual Book. I could never get much to work properly. Upon making some phone calls to Adobe, I learned that the software upgrades on my Mac were no longer supported in the Photoshop Elements 6 app. So there you go, a good chunk of money down the drain. I recently bought a second MacBook Pro which I will use basically just for my photography work. I have been working with iPhoto and a free download of Fotor but there are limited options of editing with these programs. I am hesitant to try adobe again for the above named reasons. Are the newer versions of Photoshop more user friendly? Do they tend to last more than a year due to non compatibility from software updates? Is there another photo editing software that you can recommend that is user friendly for the beginner and can advance at my pace. Some of the editing I would like to have besides the basic would be, removing objects from photos, merging two photos, turning a photo to B&W and leaving a color accent, just for starters. Also I would be interested in trying trial version before I sink in any more money to make sure it is what i am looking for. I love photography, and I would say I am sort of a beginner, doing little photography shoots on the side as well as fundraisers. i would love to start a small photography business doing family portraits, parties, HS senior portraits and such. Any info is much appreciated. I have attached some of the photos that I have done either for fundraising, personal or business. Any tips or input on the photos would be greatly appreciated also. Thanks for your input.

Family Wedding: Shot with Nikon D5300


Marching Band Fundraiser: Shot with Nikon D3100


Portrait shoot: Shot with Nikon D5300

Thank you all for the warm welcome. This seems to be a great site. There is so much to learn and browse through.

Thank you for the link, it was definitely helpful. The freelance area is where I would like to explore.

Hello everyone. Just a little about me. i have loved photography ever since I was a kid. This goes back to my first camera I owned which was a Brownie. I have had many pony and shoots over the years. 3 years ago I finally invested in my first DSLR, it was the Nikon D3100. It served me well. I have used it mostly for personal enjoyment. I volunteer with a few organizations being their photographer. One of the is a yearly fundraiser I do for my sons high school. My older son joined the HS Marching Band in 2009 and I decided to do a fundraiser for the band. He has now graduated and my younger son joined the band as an 8th grader last year. So for the last 5 years I have photographed all the students, doing portraits, candids & sectional shots. I then put together packages for the parents to view and order. The packages consist of collages & an array of choices and sizes to order. Our band is small, about 35 students. Other then the cost to print the photos I give all the money made directly to the band to help with the cost of instruments, or what ever is needed for competitions. It is not much, maybe $700-800 a year, but it helps. Doing this has really continued to spark my interest in photography. I have had 2 paying gigs so far. One was at a karate studio, photographing the student in the same theme as I do the Marching Band, but all the money I made was mine. :-) And recently I was asked to do a 50th birthday party. They loved the photos and actually paid me more that what I priced the event at. 2 weeks ago I invested in an upgrade to my DSLR. I now own the Nikon D5300. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can to help me start a small photography business, doing such things as family portraits, High School senior shots (Not for the years book), and other things along that line. I have attached a sample of some of the photography I did with the Marching Band. I still have A LOT to learn, but this looks like a place that will have a lot of resources and guidance.

Have a great day,
Annie