If you are a keen photographer it’s very important that you choose the right software to catalogue and edit your digital photographs.
Your photography and digital skills will develop over time so it’s best to start using software that you won’t outgrow: The best programs have steep learning curves but you can start using them on a fairly basic level, and go deeper into them as your photography matures.
Lightroom
Most enthusiasts and professional photographers now rely on Adobe Lightroom. You can arrange your shots into catalogues which are easy to browse through and keep track of your pictures. It’s also a superb Raw file editor giving you maximum control over the look and quality of your images. If you shoot only Jpegs I would still recommend using Lightroom because most keen photographers eventually change over to shooting Raw. More about Raw files
LR can be used to import pictures from cameras or storage cards into folders on your computer – each folder can have its own catalogue. It can also create catalogues of pictures stored onto external storage drives allowing you to browse through all of your pictures whether or not they are held on your computer or archived elsewhere.
Although LR can be used to edit jpegs, it gives its most outstanding results with Raw files. You can make overall adjustments of each pictures exposure, contrast, shadow and highlight detail, grain and sharpness, etc, and also make local adjustments over selected areas of the image. For many enthusiasts LR is the only program they will need to use.
I recommend Julieanne Kost’s LR tutorials which are clear and concise – google “Adobe TV” to find them.
Photoshop
Photoshop is the other main program that I recommend you check out. Photographers often use LR to do the initial preparation and then switch over to Photoshop’s more advanced features to finish editing their photographs.
I would avoid using Photoshop Elements as you could easily outgrow its limited feature set and have to change over to the full version anyway.
Learning to use Photoshop effectively takes an awful lot of practice, so I suggest you don’t waste your time following the many Internet tutorials about the semi-automated “wow” features that Adobe has stuffed into it.
The power of Photoshop lies in the Layers Palette: You will need to understand how to use layers and layer masks. Study adjustment layers, especially the Curves Adjustment Layers, and learn how to use basic blending modes.
The Clone Stamp and Healing Brush are two of the most powerful tools to master – it’s important to use these with a digital brush, such as the inexpensive “Wacom Intuos ‘Photo’ Pen and Touch Graphics Tablet, small”.
There’s an amazing assortment of special brushes, but for basic photographic work I just one simple circular brush and constantly alter the size, hardness, and pressure sensitivity as I work on my pictures.
Unfortunately I haven’t found any set of Internet tutorials that I can recommend to learn the basics of Photoshop. I’m not planning to make any myself, but I occasionally give short Photoshop for Photographers Courses – you can always get in touch if you’re interested.
The learning curve
I use Lightroom and Photoshop every day and couldn’t do without them. They both have steep learning curves which is why I recommend that you start using them at the simplest of levels and gradually develop your knowledge and skill as required.
There are alternative programs you may prefer but make sure they have all the features you might need to use in the future. Otherwise you be starting the learning curve all over again with Lightroom and Photoshop.