Photo Editing Software

[Drewid]

I'm already subscribing to LR and PS but am increasingly seeing artistic plugins/standalone software such as Luminare 4, Topaz Studio et al.

What are we all using? Whats a must have? Cant PS do it all?

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I just use Bridge for importing and PS CC for processing (with camera RAW) and then use Topaz for Denoise. I have Nik Collection, which I used to use for sharpening, but now use Topaz so no need. It's great for HDR and Mono though.
It used to be free, and you can still find it free as far as I know, though if not I can probably help out.
I hate Lightroom

 

[Drewid]

I seem to have grown up with LR so find it my goto for my regular workflow routine.

 

[Drewid]

Have you seen Luminare 4. Damn clever. Not for the purist though I suspect.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Have you seen Luminare 4. Damn clever. Not for the purist though I suspect.

Yes. Bloody hate Luminar and all of those replacement backgrounds. Some people really overuse it too, and it looks s***e

 

[Drewid]

Yes. Bloody hate Luminar and all of those replacement backgrounds. Some people really overuse it too, and it looks s***e

I'll hold that thought then

 

[seuadr]

Have you seen Luminare 4. Damn clever. Not for the purist though I suspect.

Yes. Bloody hate Luminar and all of those replacement backgrounds. Some people really overuse it too, and it looks s***e

There are a ton of features to Luminar that don't involve replacing the sky - that is just what everyone gets hung up on.

I have luminar 3 and really like it. the tools are pretty simple to use and can be pretty powerful.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

There are a ton of features to Luminar that don't involve replacing the sky - that is just what everyone gets hung up on.

I have luminar 3 and really like it. the tools are pretty simple to use and can be pretty powerful.

I'm sure there are. All of these programmes are good but I've always been a PS guy. I've trialled loads of others, looking for a cheaper alternative, but none of them cut it for me.

 

[Drewid]

There are a ton of features to Luminar that don't involve replacing the sky - that is just what everyone gets hung up on.

I have luminar 3 and really like it. the tools are pretty simple to use and can be pretty powerful.

The sales pitch/marketing is very impressive. I've thrown money away on worse I'm sure.

 

[seuadr]

I'm sure there are. All of these programmes are good but I've always been a PS guy. I've trialled loads of others, looking for a cheaper alternative, but none of them cut it for me.

yeah, i've talked with several people that have been using PS for a long time and are just used to it. I never used it, so i don't "miss" anything

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

yeah, i've talked with several people that have been using PS for a long time and are just used to it. I never used it, so i don't "miss" anything

The other advantage of PS for me, is that as the wife is also a keen photographer I can have it installed on her machine to use, so the £10 a month is extra value for me. The same with Topaz.

 

[seuadr]

The other advantage of PS for me, is that as the wife is also a keen photographer I can have it installed on her machine to use, so the £10 a month is extra value for me. The same with Topaz.

I'm not sure about other softwares, but with luminar you can have it on up to 5 devices at any time.

 

[Clix Pix]

I use DXO PhotoLab 3 and am very pleased with it. I had tried other programs and had found that they didn't seem to be intuitive for me and a couple of them were a bit too complex -- I don't need to tether my camera to a computer in a studio setting and all that.... To be honest, Capture One was way over my head.

Years ago I had used Photoshop, but pretty much stopped using it at around CS 3, as by then I was using Apple's Aperture, which I loved. Briefly tried Lightroom when it first came out, around the same time as Aperture, but preferred Aperture. When Aperture was no longer being supported by Apple, it was time to move on and that was when I tried various other programs. I am not a fan of subscriptions so have stayed away from PS and LR. I bought and used Luminar 3 and liked it for some things -- it's fine for quick-and-dirty edits -- but really wanted something more robust when I began editing the images from my A7R IV. I don't feel the need for Luminar 4, though. I still use Luminar 3 sometimes as I do like their excellent "erase" tool. Most of my editing is fairly straightforward and simple, as I am not into layers and composites, that sort of thing. I definitely am not a fan of replacing skies!!! The sky that happens to be in my image at the time I shoot is the sky that will remain in the image..... LOL!

 

[Drewid]

You see, I do like replacing skies! I take photos for me and if the sky needs to go it goes!

 

[GordyDunwoking]

Hi to all of you out there, iv noticed that none of you have mentioned Capture one 20, or affinity Photo both have recently been upgraded for free, i have used both for some time now and find them a great substitute for Lightroom and Photoshop

 

[SunSmith]

I bought ACDSee some years ago, continuing to use it and have upgraded it - but I may not stay with it if I find something more intuitive.

 

[Drewid]

Plenty to go at, I just have to be sure I am enhancing my use of LR/PS rather than replacing it due to struggling with the complexities. I imagine Adobe watch all the other softwares and cherry pick the good stuff their updates?

 

[garuda]

Referencing correction & enhancement SW. I use CS6's Bridge Camera Raw & PS for the minor and rough cut stuff. Then if necessary, I swear by Topaz DeNoise & Sharpen AI. Rarely use Mask or Studio for reasons cited in above posts. Sometimes too tempting to end up with a "composite" rather than a near-pure capture. I know nothing about Luminaire mentioned.

I prefer standalones like Topaz, and avoid Clouds and Subscriptions like the plague. Subscriptions are too much like marriage with restrictions on frequenting the local pub.

 

[G J Jay]

Lightroom 5, Elements 15, & Nik Collection (when it was free), also have Luminar 4 though rarely used as apart from 'sky replacement' Nik Collection provides much more control.

 

[Drewid]

I've gone as far as downloading the Nik collection (free version) and its done a job for me when my darling wife asked for prints to enhance our living room. So a good shout to all that mentioned it. The recent updates to Adobe stuff is interesting but is upsetting some!!

 

[Tim Driman]

I'm already subscribing to LR and PS but am increasingly seeing artistic plugins/standalone software such as Luminare 4, Topaz Studio et al.

What are we all using? Whats a must have? Cant PS do it all?

I use Adobe Light Room Classic, and subscribe US$ 119.80 per annum. I get automatic updates, and with these last updates, LR does pretty much everything that I could ever need, and want. However, just one point - For the latest updates to be totally functional, I had to also upgrade the DirectX firmware on my graphics card. It's free, and only takes a few minutes. (*If anyone needs some help on that, I have written a short article on the upgrade, and would be happy to share it. Just DM me please. )


The new zoom tool is great if you use the Brush Tool range etc, which I find absolutely essential, and they do a wonderful job..... I used to use the plug-ins, like NIK and Topaz etc, but if you learn how to use LR properly, you don't need all those plug-ins... I am also not one for Presets, but if you just use a Preset just as a guide, they can help you, until you understand how best to use LR.

PS is 90% a graphics program intended for people who use graphics in their line of business, and LR is 100% a photographic software. I did read an article some time back, that said that Adobe's plan, was to ultimately have both as their own stand-alone software applications. One for the graphics world, and one for the photographic world. That makes huge sense.

I see that Capture One etc, are all knocking at the door, and they are OK, but ultimately Adobe provide everything that I need, so I don't see any need to change.... I never use any denoising software plug-ins, because they just make an image look "Plastic" to coin a phrase... Personally speaking embellishing plug-ins are just a gimmick, and totally unnecessary...

BTW: I do NOT use the Adobe Cloud, because that is far too expensive, and once they, and any other Cloud operator, have you by the nuts, once your archive gets quite large ( Mine is >300k+ images ) I prefer to have a bunch of hard drives arranged in a RAID system for my archives, and a mirror of that for my back up.

After what happened with Canon's venture into the Cloud, which got seriously hacked, I won't touch the Cloud-type storage.. Call me old fashioned, but I control everything, and it's a once-off purchase at the time of adding hard drives which are getting cheaper...

 

[Drewid]

I use Adobe Light Room Classic, and subscribe US$ 119.80 per annum. I get automatic updates, and with these last updates, LR does pretty much everything that I could ever need, and want. However, just one point - For the latest updates to be totally functional, I had to also upgrade the DirectX firmware on my graphics card. It's free, and only takes a few minutes. (*If anyone needs some help on that, I have written a short article on the upgrade, and would be happy to share it. Just DM me please. )

Thanks for taking the time to answer so fully Tim. I'm in a similar but smaller situation in that LR catalogues and processes my RAW files and Photoshop adds any art to my photos. I'm in the very fortunate position that I only have myself to satisfy when it comes to photography so as long as I like them all is good!

 

[Steveatesh]

Capture One 20 Sony for most of my work with Affinity Photo for any complex work or composites. Never found anything PS can do that AP can’t, for general portrait photography and composites anyway.

C1s skin tone tool, adjustment layers and sessions make it A really good piece of software for what I do.

 

[KCH]

Capture One 20 Pro and Affinity Photo. I showed Adobe the door several years ago...

 

[garuda]

Capture One 20 Pro and Affinity Photo. I showed Adobe the door several years ago...

I have adobe pro suite CS6 and predominantly use PS & its Camera raw for photos. My CS6 is old & out of date, but I refuse to do cloud and ann subscriptions on new versions. How does Sony CapOne compare w PS and CamRaw for photo editing?

A reviewer on Amazon stated that after $300 CapOne purchase there is still a monthly or annual subscription required. Pls comment on both questions. Thanks.

 

[Steveatesh]

You can either subscribe to capture one or buy it outright. The Amazon review was incorrect.

C1 is more like LR than PS. It is designed to allow you to import and manage a lot of RAW files, grade them, cull them, rate them, then process them. The RAW engine is much better than LR or Camera Raw in my view, especially for Sony. The colour management is superb, the layers allow you to do discrete local adjustments much better than LR but they are not the same layers you would find in PS or Affinity Photo.
sessions are a very good way to manage multiple shoots per client or geographical location or whatever, I’ve never used a single catalogue since getting it.
lit depends what your needs are. I use C1 as a raw processor and to manage digital files. I couple it with AP for pixel editing, but rarely have to access it, my workflow is 90 in C1.

 

[garuda]

You can either subscribe to capture one or buy it outright. The Amazon review was incorrect.
The RAW engine is much better than LR or Camera Raw in my view, especially for Sony. The colour management is superb, the layers allow you to do discrete local adjustments much better than LR

Thanks Steve! Big help. Also, I see the box version on Amazon states: 1 user, 3 seats. Never heard "seats" used before. I'm assuming they mean it can be installed on 3 computers owned by one user? Didn't know Sony was that generous; assuming that's what they mean.

 

[Killzen]

I'm sure there are. All of these programmes are good but I've always been a PS guy. I've trialled loads of others, looking for a cheaper alternative, but none of them cut it for me.

Take a lok at Affinity Photo...I dropped LR and PS once they went to subscription model and find Affinity able tohandle LUTs better than LR could. It also has a live filters, which can be nested and readjusted. Give a look, you will be impressed...

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Take a lOok at Affinity Photo...I dropped LR and PS once they went to subscription model and find Affinity able to handle LUTs better than LR could. It also has a live filters, which can be nested and readjusted. Give a look, you will be impressed...

I'm too well invested in and used to PS now. I don't mind the monthly.