OT: Photo editing software I would OWN?

[benb]

Yah.. first time I used photoshop was 28 years ago, it was a revelation.

At some point it just turned into drudgery.

My photo situation is the equivalent of building up a barnful of bike parts and you know eventually you have to suck it up and clean up the barn and sell the parts but you know it's going to take weeks of work.

And it long long ago ceased to be fun to play with that kind of software. It's probably a post-retirement task, I need to make sure none of the storage dies.

In the meantime I still take plenty of photos but I kind of shifted to trying to do minimal computer work on them and I bias away from using the DSLR unless it is really going to pay off cause the DSLR sucks up data at 10x the rate.

And I do have several giant rubbermaid containers full of analog stuff to go through as well.

[Mr. Pink]

Originally Posted by benb

This is not what I was referring to. Most of the problems occur as the library grows beyond the size of what can be stored on a laptops internal HDD. LR is supposed to solve the same kind of problems someone has who also has a closet full of slides they need to do something with.

Adobe sold the software as being able to handle huge libraries early on. At that point nobody really had a huge library. As time went on the software did not actually keep pace and improve/get faster as libraries grew.

You either needed to stop what you were doing and spend more time on managing and separating into multiple libraries or do other things that would cost time and money.

It's not about applying an edit to one photo after you found it. It's about finding the photo in a haystack, or applying edits to lots of photos, or classifying large groups of photos, searching for them, etc..

That is what LR is for, if you weren't doing that you didn't need to buy it.

I could build a giant desktop at this point that could fit my whole library on it and move from there, but even building it myself to save money I'm spending thousands to get there and that would just be to build a machine that I could unwind the mess on in a timely fashion.

I think for people that had to do this for their day job they long ago switched to tiny little disposable libraries on a per-job basis. Capture One for example is completely setup to work this way if you want to. You get really good performance for that, what you give up is the ability to search and go through tens/hundreds of thousands of photos for other use cases, which is what some of this software was originally sold as a solution for.

I switched to C1 for a while, then when Apple Silicon hit C1 wasn't ready for that, so I even stopped using that, and I just muddle through with the Apple Photos app, which is mostly fine for adjustments, it just doesn't really solve the library issues that LR mostly doesn't solve. I am sure C1 got good on Apple Silicon a long time ago now but my photo stuff has just been in hibernation.

Oh, well, your problem is storage, not anything to do with Adobe. You've crammed too much onto your internal hard drive. You have to use external drives if you do a lot of photo work. My Photoshop files (.psd) average 1-2 gigs each, sometimes 3 gig if there's a lot of layers. I use two external 6T hard drives in an enclosure and replicate one to the other constantly, because the biggest heartbreak in the world, besides losing Suzy in college, is losing all of your files that you accumulated over the years. I even keep a third drive in a storage unit that I update every few months, in case of fire or disaster at home. All of this is not expensive. If you're a Mac user, go to OWC, https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-storage Check out the pricing. It's not bad. Consider it insurance. And, when you buy a new computer, plug and play. They also sell used and refurbished Macs.
As far as organizing your files in LR, which it is a great tool for, this guy is here to give you free advice: https://youtu.be/JLX27yyDiIs?si=p-5A-Pvr9N6swdkB
I love YouTube. I went premium/commercial free a year ago. Worth every cent.

Get your files off your internal drive! If anything happens, you'll cry like I did over Suzy one day, and your operating system will thank you.

[CSKeller]

It's call about what you want and need.

I love photography and shoot both fim and digital but do so irregularly...I might shoot a ton of photos at an airshow or Motocross race then not shoot anything for months. The basic photography subscription for Lightroom/PS is $19.99/month, that's $240/year whether I'm using it or not. ON1 works for me at $85 for as long as you want...could be for 3 years before there are enough features I may want to warrant upgrading. ON1 has a cheaper price for upgrades. I shoot raw all the time and ON1 works for me and my workflow...it may not for everyone. I just hated the subscription service that is infecting most things these days.

[HenryA]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pink

snipped a bunch

Get your files off your internal drive! If anything happens, you'll cry like I did over Suzy one day, and your operating system will thank you.

This is so true.^^

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by benb

I could build a giant desktop at this point that could fit my whole library on it and move from there, but even building it myself to save money I'm spending thousands to get there and that would just be to build a machine that I could unwind the mess on in a timely fashion.

Why would you build a giant desktop when 2/4 bay NAS is cheap and easy to setup? You can store and even edit from this if you need to.

With the size of files on 24, 50 or even 100 MP sensors these days there's just no way around managing space and catalogs as something photographers need to be competent doing.

I will admit that I am absolutely horrible at this - everything is sitting in one giant bloated catalog. Now, I am pretty good at cutting out files - if I'm not going to edit it, I dont keep it on my hard drive. But I dont have any performance related issues because of it, it all seems to run pretty smooth and quick.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by benb

A lot of the jobs where you use the Adobe Software day to day to make a business run are difficult to make a living at. They are all basically creative semi-technical yet artistic fields where big business has done a really good job making lots of money while pushing all the people who build the content as far down as they can.

All jobs have costs behind them. Photographers have to pay for gear and software, mechanics buy tools, realtors pay their brokerage and licensing, and so on down the line.

For what a professional - even someone doing this part time - spends on gear and insurance, the cost of this at $120/year is absolutely not a burden. Even as a hobbyist, where shooting is effectively free, is $10/mo so absurd to not use the best tool available? I really dont understand the gripes here. For what it can do, for me, it feels like an incredible value.

And if you're just not interested in editing photos, thats fine, dont use LR. Shoot jpg's and dial in your camera settings/profiles and roll with it and it can make life easier that way.

[Jeff Weir]

Adobe Lightroom: $9.99/month
Starbucks: 3 small coffees= $10.00/month
You do the math.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Jeff Weir

Adobe Lightroom: $9.99/month
Starbucks: 3 small coffees= $10.00/month
You do the math.

I can save $0.01/month! I'm rich!!!
(I drink coffee only in the morning at home, and have a Lightroom subscription)

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by Jeff Weir

Adobe Lightroom: $9.99/month
Starbucks: 3 small coffees= $10.00/month
You do the math.

If anybody just wants more powerful editing than iOS/MacOS Photos provides, but doesn’t need the photo management, Photomator is half the price of Lightroom. Still a subscription. I’ve been using this for a few months now and so far so good.

[benb]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pink

Oh, well, your problem is storage, not anything to do with Adobe. You've crammed too much onto your internal hard drive. You have to use external drives if you do a lot of photo work. My Photoshop files (.psd) average 1-2 gigs each, sometimes 3 gig if there's a lot of layers. I use two external 6T hard drives in an enclosure and replicate one to the other constantly, because the biggest heartbreak in the world, besides losing Suzy in college, is losing all of your files that you accumulated over the years. I even keep a third drive in a storage unit that I update every few months, in case of fire or disaster at home. All of this is not expensive. If you're a Mac user, go to OWC, https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-storage Check out the pricing. It's not bad. Consider it insurance. And, when you buy a new computer, plug and play. They also sell used and refurbished Macs.
As far as organizing your files in LR, which it is a great tool for, this guy is here to give you free advice: https://youtu.be/JLX27yyDiIs?si=p-5A-Pvr9N6swdkB
I love YouTube. I went premium/commercial free a year ago. Worth every cent.

Get your files off your internal drive! If anything happens, you'll cry like I did over Suzy one day, and your operating system will thank you.

I was specifically talking about the software performance being horrible once all the things you’re talking about have already been done.

Once you do all that the internal database starts to have major issues. You end up starting the app and it takes 15 minutes before the application can be used. Or it corrupts the library.

It performs fine when you can keep everything on the internal drive.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Jeff Weir

Adobe Lightroom: $9.99/month
Starbucks: 3 small coffees= $10.00/month
You do the math.

You only drink coffee 3x a month?

[Mr. Pink]

Originally Posted by benb

I was specifically talking about the software performance being horrible once all the things you’re talking about have already been done.

Once you do all that the internal database starts to have major issues. You end up starting the app and it takes 15 minutes before the application can be used. Or it corrupts the library.

It performs fine when you can keep everything on the internal drive.

You need a new computer. 15 minutes? Sheesh. Check out the newer Mac Minis, and get a dual external drive bay. You're welcome.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by Jeff Weir

Adobe Lightroom: $9.99/month
Starbucks: 3 small coffees= $10.00/month
You do the math.

Lightroom: $9.99/Month
Starbucks: $0/Month

You do it.

[cinema]

I use a cash app debit card which is not linked to a bank, you just refill it.

sign up for adobe with $10 on the card

when they go to renew your subscription the next month they will get a tx declined because the balance is 0 on the debit card. they let you keep using the software for 30-60 days and keep bothering you to update your card.

when they finally place a hold on your account, you top off the debit card with 10$ and push the tx through again. i get 2-3 months for the price of one this way. stupid but it works

[RoosterCogset]

I think I upgraded to Lightroom 5 in 2014 for $80. Still works. Math if I had subscribed thru to today?