Photo Editing Software

somapop

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 Mar 2010
Messages
4,966
Hi folks.

Quickie. What do you guys use to edit photos at the moment? Looking for a good solution to tidy up RAW images from a DSLR. I've used photoshop in the past but currently do not have that s/w (I'll most likely pick up the ADOBE suite in the near future for a variety of options).
I'm mostly using Mac at the moment...is GIMP my best option (I have used it for a couple of years, but never found it as easy as Photoshop....although I've used some fantastic freeware).
Mainly for contrast/colourising/cut outs.

Thanks.
 
I use Adobe Creative Cloud photography package (Photoshop and Lightroom).

I shoot RAW files, and I do the majority of editing in LR. I save PS for heavy editing (luminosity masking, removal of unwanted elements and other stuff which requires layers).

LR is essentially a catalogue system combined with a RAW processor, using the same RAW processor as Photoshop.
 
I use Adobe Creative Cloud photography package (Photoshop and Lightroom).

I shoot RAW files, and I do the majority of editing in LR. I save PS for heavy editing (luminosity masking, removal of unwanted elements and other stuff which requires layers).

LR is essentially a catalogue system combined with a RAW processor, using the same RAW processor as Photoshop.

I was very familiar with PS for so long, GIMP was like doing stuff left handed so never quite enjoyed the process. Nothing too heavy but will need PS again in the near future.
What do you mean by catalogue system? In terms of organising or the s/w behind it? Is there a 'free' version knocking around? I can't afford the outlay at the moment...and will probably need the whole suite in the future (inc Premier Pro, Illustrator etc).
Cheers.
 
Heard of FOTOR or Rawtherapee? Reasonable free photo editing s/w for the short term?
 
I've just started using Lightroom and it's a game changer for me. I don't think there's anything it can do that Photoshop can't, but it's just such a better workflow, especially when you've got a bunch of photos to edit. And Adobe's products are all so well integrated that it's very easy to switch to Photoshop when you need to do something beyond the colour grading, cropping, etc. You can download it for a month's free trial with full functionality and the photography-only Adobe CC package is fairly affordable. Granted when you want to add the video and sound editing stuff, it gets a bit more pricey.
 
I was very familiar with PS for so long, GIMP was like doing stuff left handed so never quite enjoyed the process. Nothing too heavy but will need PS again in the near future.
What do you mean by catalogue system? In terms of organising or the s/w behind it? Is there a 'free' version knocking around? I can't afford the outlay at the moment...and will probably need the whole suite in the future (inc Premier Pro, Illustrator etc).
Cheers.
Lightroom is a non-destructive photo editor. The images are stored wherever you want to store them (external HDD, Photo's folder, etc.), and Lightroom holds the file location in a catalogue, along with any edits you do to the images. When the images are loaded into Lightroom, the catalogues files sits on top of the original RAW file. To export from LR, the RAW file and the edit are combined to produce a new file in whatever format/size/quality you choose.

With the catalogue, you can add loads of other information such as keywords and rating. There is also the ability to create collections, and some other really useful features.

In the develop module, you can also use presets, which can really speed up your editing process.

One slight downside to LR is that if you move files outside of the Lightroom environment (explorer/file manager), then Lightroom no longer knows where the file is, and can get confused (unless you can point it in the right direction again). As long as you nail down a good file structure when you set up Lightroom you should have no problems. I have about 15,000 images in my current catalogue, and my files are sorted by date, with sub folders for RAW, Photoshop and Exports.

It seems a bit daunting at first, but you soon get used to it.
 
Lightroom is a non-destructive photo editor. The images are stored wherever you want to store them (external HDD, Photo's folder, etc.), and Lightroom holds the file location in a catalogue, along with any edits you do to the images. When the images are loaded into Lightroom, the catalogues files sits on top of the original RAW file. To export from LR, the RAW file and the edit are combined to produce a new file in whatever format/size/quality you choose.

With the catalogue, you can add loads of other information such as keywords and rating. There is also the ability to create collections, and some other really useful features.

In the develop module, you can also use presets, which can really speed up your editing process.

One slight downside to LR is that if you move files outside of the Lightroom environment (explorer/file manager), then Lightroom no longer knows where the file is, and can get confused (unless you can point it in the right direction again). As long as you nail down a good file structure when you set up Lightroom you should have no problems. I have about 15,000 images in my current catalogue, and my files are sorted by date, with sub folders for RAW, Photoshop and Exports.

It seems a bit daunting at first, but you soon get used to it.

Thanks Trevor...Lightroom seems a winner. TBH I could do with the whole suite...meddled in all the arts over the years (from Final Cut Pro to Logic Pro...design software...) and there are some very good clones and open source out there (I use Inkscape over Illustrator at the moment for design stuff). Might trial that Lightroom for a month.
Thanks very much.
 

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