Your favoured photo editing software?

Hi everyone, I just wanted to start a discussion on this because I'm considering taking travel photography a little more seriously. Not professionally - more just for my own enjoyment. I'm reasonably adept behind the lens, but I don't have much experience of editing photos. I'm not looking to do anything too crazy, basically just enhance the finish of my images with some light post-production.

Of course, I'm aware of photoshop, but I was wondering what software you all use and why? What do you use it for, what benefits does it bring you over other programs? Any insights into what to look for when deciding what to download is also very welcome!

Mayn of the free photo editors automatically diminuish quality and resolution upon editing. A point that is certainly worth considering.

I use Photoshop Elements 14 now, after I had a very old version of Photoshop for many years and on three subsequent computers (had to abandon it because it cannot be installed on the new PC any more). Photoshop is still the best choice for me.

I used PhotoSuite4 for years and still prefer it. However, when Windows10 invaded my computer, it would no longer do all the things I need so after trying a few different programs, I settled on Adobe Photoshop Elements as an easier and less expensive version of Photoshop. I had tried Photoshop many many years ago and hated it. The new Photoshop Elements is great though. You can do as much or as little as you like with it. I found it easy to learn and to use and it really does everything I need.

I make a DVD of each of our trips and in so doing, I create titles. This means I need text layered onto the photos for titles (or waste a slot using a title slide). None of the other programs would do this as well as Photoshop Elements and that's why I settled on it. You can do all kinds of fancy things with it, but if you just want the basics, it is very easy to learn and the price seemed reasonable for something that worked the way I wanted.

I have been happily using Photoscape, which is very versatile, for over 10 years without any problem, and without paying anything!

http://www.photoscape.org/

When I got my first digital camera which was a Toshiba back in 2000, it came with a program called Image Expert which will no longer run on Windows 10. It did some things very well, and others not so well. My next camera was a Kodak and I hated the software that came with it and would not use it. But I did discover Picasa which was free and would let me fix the crooked photos so that the sea didn't run uphill. I still use it although it is no longer supported.

I have never used Photoshop, but someone recommended Lightroom to me, and I think I might try it because I need some way to keep track of my photos other than by date.

Quoting ADAMYAMEY

I have been happily using Photoscape, which is very versatile, for over 10 years without any problem, and without paying anything!

http://www.photoscape.org/

If you want a free program, Photoscape is the best one that I found. It also does text on photos. I was using it comfortably until our son requested Photoshop Elements for Christmas and as I looked at it, I realized it was the program I wanted so I bought two, one for son; one for me. I've been very happy with it. But, as I said, for a free program, I'm not sure you can beat Photoscape. It is excellent, easy to learn and very versatile.

Quoting Beausoleil

Quoting ADAMYAMEY

I have been happily using Photoscape, which is very versatile, for over 10 years without any problem, and without paying anything!

http://www.photoscape.org/

If you want a free program, Photoscape is the best one that I found. It also does text on photos. I was using it comfortably until our son requested Photoshop Elements for Christmas and as I looked at it, I realized it was the program I wanted so I bought two, one for son; one for me. I've been very happy with it. But, as I said, for a free program, I'm not sure you can beat Photoscape. It is excellent, easy to learn and very versatile.

Glad you agree with me!

For serious photo editing, Lightroom is pretty much industry standard now. There used to be Apple Aperture which was a decent competitor, but that was discontinued a while ago.

I'm sure there's other similar things out there now though.

For me personally, I don't worry too much and just use Photos on the Mac. If I wanted to take it seriously, I'd definitely be getting Lightroom and not even looking around too much.

Interesting that you should mention Lightroom - a friend of mine recommended it to me as well. However, I thought perhaps it's a little beyond my needs so I did a little digging and found a list of the best alternatives to Lightroom: https://www.1and1.co.uk/digitalguide/websites/web-design/free-alternatives-to-adobe-lightroom/

Anyway, Photoscape made the list, so it seems you're vindicated Beausoleil and ADAMYAMEY
One question for Beausoleil: you say it's great for a free program, but you upgraded to Photoshop. What exactly are the limitations of Photoscape? The article I linked to also says it's less appropriate for more complex applications, but I don't really have a clear idea exactly what that refers to!