Editors - what are you using and why

[skydog]

I was wondering what photo editors you are now using and why.
At one time Alien Skins and OnOne developed plug-ins; today they are developing editors to possibly enhance or replace what you can do with light room. Personally I don't like the new direction of lightroom and cloud , but it is more to do with my home internet low speed DSL connection. I also just became aware of another editor called Luminar.
So...what are you using and why?

[plugsnpixels]

Re: Editors - what are you using and why

I see no one answered your question!

For some reason I have never used Lightroom, even though I've had it for years. Maybe for the same reason I never used iPhoto or iWeb; something about them didn't appeal to me and I'm not sure why. Maybe because I like creative imaging more than corrective, or doing single art pieces rather than editing a wedding shoot or such.

I've used Photoshop plug-ins since the early '90s (Alien Skin Black Box!) and still do. As you mentioned there is the current trend toward standalone editing apps (Topaz Studio, ON1 Photo RAW, Luminar, Photolemur, etc.), which I think is wise so developers don't have to be under Adobe's thumb anymore.

I also have most of these new products. Some I have reviewed; others I haven't yet but did make screenshots.

The good news is there is a LOT of software to choose from at the moment. A lot has changed in the last decade when there were only a few big names in the game. Players come and go as always, but there quite a few good ones right now.

[sallyanne]

Re: Editors - what are you using and why

I use Gimp.
I would have to honestly say because I don't know how to use anything else.
There is also the upside that it is free and many professional photographers in the gimp community sware by it making mention that it is just as powerful as the Adobe photoshop editor.

[John Rostron]

Re: Editors - what are you using and why

I use Affinity Photo. The initial reason was to escape the Adobe subscription model, but now I would not use anything else. Personally, I have not found anything that it will not do that PS does. Though there are some who want it to be a PS clone!
It also has an excellent forum where help is forthcoming, often wihin the hour.
John

[StoryInPictures]

if you are looking for a tool like Lightroom, I prefer Capture One because it is much more powerful for its image processing abilities and it does a better job with images even before you start applying adjustments. This is a powerful professional tool. Alien Skins Exposure is coming along nicely-less powerful but easier to use.

For pixel-based editing, I prefer Photoshop. Affinity Photo (already mentioned) seems like a good alternative. I have it but have not used it for serious work (I have too many habits, skills, actions and a few plug-ins I am used to to switch easily and I need to be able to share files with others), but I like how Affinity seems to have created an alternative and added some nice features and tools to make it easier to use. If I were starting out, I would give it a serious look. Certainly less expensive, too.

Each program mentioned has a free trial. Try it out for yourself and decide. I suggest only trying one at a time for its trial period and then trying the next till you figure out what works for you.

[Shoku]

Re: Editors - what are you using and why

I use Affinity Photo.

How do you rate Afinity compared to Photoshop? What is different? What is the same? What is better? What is worse?

[John Rostron]

How do you rate Afinity compared to Photoshop? What is different? What is the same? What is better? What is worse?

Difficult to say now. I abandoned Photoshop some years ago now. The initial reason was price. Affinity costs less than £50 as a one-off. I am not aware of anything that I might want to do that Photoshop does and Affinity does not.

John