Which editing software for beginner

W

Wolf100

Messages
20
Name
Jane
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi
I’m taking freeze motion shots within a 5-7 metres distance from me laid on the floor (dogs jumping over a jump); AND 1 metres from me which will be dog crushing treat shots.

Shots will be taken in a massive barn studio that will have continuous and flash lighting setup.

Im shoting in RAW. I’m a complete beginner but good on computer/with intuitive software. I will need to edit these images (I guess) which software can I do this with, simply.

Thank you.
 
What software have you been using?

In what way have you found it deficient?
 
Use the Nikon software that comes free, it can adjust Raw images and will give you a learning curve. Lightroom and so on will probably be a bit over your head as a newcomer to Raw images.
 
I'd second Paul's advice. I use Capture One, which is a very good software programme, but I do use Nikon's NX Studio from time to time. It's easy to use, it interprets NEF data very well, and the price couldn't be any lower. Its only major flaw is that it's very slow.

One nice feature of NX Studio is the Colour Control Point Tool, which is used to adjust colours in an area. For instance, you can darken the sky and make it bluer, without affecting blue things in other areas of the image (blue cars, blue garments, etc.).
 
Wolf100 said:
Not used any. Never said anything was deficient
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Sorry, I surmised that as you were already using post processing software when viewing and editing your image files.

I agree that a good starting point would be Nikon's own software.

Though other software is available and IMO all (including Nikon's) of them will have a learning curve and cost.

Photoshop & Lightroom are only available as a subscription model.

Affinity Photo, DxO Photolab & I think Capture One can still be bought as perpetual license software (NB but you do pay for version upgrades if/when you wish to upgrade)

PS all the above, paid for, software programs are available as trials. IIRC Affinity Photo were/are offering a trial period of 6 months....not the usual/more common 30 days.
 
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I'd have two more comments.

First, there are two different categories of programmes to consider: photos processing applications like Lightroom, Capture One or NX Studio; and raster graphics editors like Photoshop, Affinity Photo or GIMP. In my opinion, the app you need belongs to the first category.

Second, the learning curve doesn't really have an end. If you only use Lightroom or Capture One from time to time, you may never become comfortable with them because they are too complex and feature-rich (I stopped using Photoshop for that reason). NX Studio is much simpler and therefore much easier to master.
 
Faststone will enable you to edit the images on a basic level, and it's free to download. Might be worth giving it a go.
 
I use adobe elements 2020 editing suite. worth getting a copy or earlier from Ebay as there is no subscription needed, that is if your computer has a CD player
 
The Adobe Photography package - Lightroom Classic/Photoshop is probably the main software out there, certainly the one with the most tutorials.
 
I use the £9.99 a month 1TB cloud storage Photography package from Adobe. For the convenience and continual updates, I find that outlay to be more than worth the convenience and quality it brings.

The cloud sync across multiple devices really helps with availability of my images too. I can do an hour's editing on my tablet and then within seconds I can access Lightroom on my phone and download completed images to distribute to others.
 
You can get deals for the Adobe Photography package with Black Friday if you can hold out for that long.
And they stack if you buy multiple.:banana:
 
Another one for NX Studio, learn how to apply different Picture Controls and how to adjust them if needed. You may not need to do any more than that at first so easy to use and it is free.
If you need to do more, learn how to use the rest of the adjustments and see if it limits you at all. If it does then you can start looking at paid programs.
 
Adam-G said:
I use the £9.99 a month 1TB cloud storage Photography package from Adobe. For the convenience and continual updates, I find that outlay to be more than worth the convenience and quality it brings.

The cloud sync across multiple devices really helps with availability of my images too. I can do an hour's editing on my tablet and then within seconds I can access Lightroom on my phone and download completed images to distribute to others.
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That is a lot of money £120 a year, That goes a long way being an OAP on a small fixed income
 
I'd suggest Photoshop and or Lightroom.
Photoshop is amazing and can do pretty much anything with a photo but, it's not great at editing lots of photos. But if you want to build up pictures from several different images in layers, or swop heads that kind of thing it's great.
Lightroom on the other hand, cant do the clever stuff like layers or swopping heads, but it is very good at editing lots of images.
For example, I'll use Lightroom for my wedding edit, say 500 pictres, and ajust exposure and colour, sharpen etc. The normal tweeks. Then I'll take maybe 6 or 8 of those images into photoshop one at a time and add soft focus effects, background colourr effects and maybe some arty effects.
However I'd hate to have to edit all 500 like that.
 
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realspeed said:
That is a lot of money £120 a year, That goes a long way being an OAP on a small fixed income
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For me it's half a pint of beer a week outlay for something that just works and is consistently updated with the latest features, reads anything I throw at it and keeps my library of images organised and in sync without me having to worry about degradation or loss of physical backups. It won't be worth it to everyone and maybe not the poster who asked the question but for me, it's invaluable.

I look at any outlay in terms of how much time it saves me and how much convenience it gives me. I could spend hours upon hours trying to get a package I bought 5 years ago running on an old computer under the logic that I'm saving money but my time is far more valuable. I battle with upgrading and deprecating legacy infrastructure a lot of the time during my working week, I'm not gonna extend that into a hobby that should be bringing me joy and for the equivalent of £2.50 a week, the thought doesn't cross my mind to look for an alternate solution.

I have however bought a copy of Affinity Photo under perpetual license for its stacking functionality but that was a heavily discounted tablet version, so as I'm sure this thread will show, there are lots of options out there and my approach isn't the only way nor will it be ideal for everyone.
 
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