Subscription Based Editing Software
Subscription Based Editing Software
Is it possible to cut the cord?
I have been an Adobe Lightroom user now since 2011-ish and have been paying for a Photography Plan subscription every month since they made it pretty much mandatory to do so. And though I love LrC, mainly because it is what is familiar to me after all these years, it’s getting tiresome paying a monthly fee for something I don’t use on a daily basis. Even if I were out there traveling the world again, I still wouldn’t be editing photos everyday. Not to mention that after two years of being stuck at home and not doing much photography, and with all the LrC updates that have filtered through in the last few years, the program isn’t as familiar to me as it once was. And honestly, the program is getting snail slow! So slow that it took over an hour to upload 300+ images recently. From a 24mp camera! WTAF?!
Anyway… In preparation for the great migration, I have moved all of my websites that were on Adobe Portfolio (which comes with my monthly subscription) and now all that is left to do is find software that I can replace LrC with. NO easy task! My most used tools (other than the basic editing tools) in LrC are Transform, Lens Corrections, Photo Merge (Pano & HDR), and Noise Reduction. These are some of the tools I would hate to lose by moving to another Software. And the lack of these tools in other offerings is usually the reason why I’ve abandoned trying to find a LrC alternative in the past. And may be why I end up having to stick with it. Gah! I wish I could just purchase a standalone copy of LrC and not be tethered until my dying days to the Adobe subscription.
Anyway, I have purchased Luminar Neo which came with Luminar AI, and I am using them here and there, but I haven’t really had a chance to dive into the basic editing tools yet. I have found that their Transform tool isn’t as robust as LrC’s and that’s a shame, especially since Luminar is all about the AI. Their Denoise seems to work fine, but lens corrections aren’t great, and I haven’t found a way to do any photo merge. And the same can be said for Luminar Neo.
My husband uses CaptureOne, and he likes it, but he says it isn’t perfect. I’ve opened up the program a few times and played around with the settings, and for whatever reason, don’t love it. I’m not sure if it is because we have the free version, and perhaps the paid is more robust, or if it just doesn’t work for me. But anyway…
I’m writing this so that I can pick your brain! Do you use software other than Adobe to edit photos? If so, what software and would your recommend it? I’m specifically looking to have no subscription and to have the tools mentioned above. If you know of anything that fits the bill, please comment below!
I still use LR and bought On1 several years ago. Don't use it much though the sliders are similar to LR and I have not upgraded for quite some time. I believe they have a database file system now. It is a standalone app but I think they also have a pay per month plan so maybe they are heading that way. Their ad copy always said you would never be forced to buy a subscription plan. On1 was new about the time Adobe went to subscription. If I were taking a lot of photos again I would give it another try. But alas, like you, I have slowed way down in my photo play.
In 2016, I switched from 10 years of shooting Canon to Fujifilm cameras. I sold all Canon gear and jumped headfirst into the Fuji world...never regrated it (except for my Canon 400mm which I used for birds)...the biggest challenge was I just didn't like LR for my Fuji files and after research found out others didn't either...at first I did the work around with converting to dng files and using other import software before LR, but finally in 2018 I switched to Capture One. Let me say, I am by no means a Professional, I am an advanced amateur that sells the occasional print or gets a photo gig...but I really do want my Fuji files to look the best they can, so I made the switch, and it took me a good six months to get happy with C1. Now I would never go back to LR. I bought third party software that works with C1 for bracketing, and I use the Topaz products for noise and sharpening...but the colors in C1 for Fuji along with the ability to use either a session or a catalog keeps me in C1 along with their layering ability and their color editor. I would encourage you to give C1 say four months, deep dive into their YT channel for classes as they are top notch in teaching you how to use the software... sorry for the novel... just my two cents on how I switched to C1 and grew to love it.