easy software

<p>Good Morning. I am in search of some very user friendly software that doesn't require a degree! I take very simple photos at Team Ropings (Rodeo) and sell onsite. I would like to be able to upload my reader card and add text one time that effects each photo. Example would be to add the name and date of the event and possibly my name. More detailed editing might come later, but I will admit, that I love to take the photos, but become very easily distracted on the details. I have downloaded several free versions and played with them and have also ordered Lightroom 4 (hasn't arrived yet). I even ordered Lightroom for Dummies, and after reading and scanning through this book, I think it might be a little more than I wanted.</p>

<p>Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Lightroom is actually quite easy once you grasp a few basic concepts. A better book would be the one by The Lightroom Queen, I think it's called the Unofficial Lightroom FAQ.</p>

<p>You can start immediately with Lightroom, just download it from the Adobe site. It gives you 30 days, but as soon as you get the one you ordered, just enter the serial number. I'm surprised they are still shipping media for it.</p>

<p>If LR is more than you want to deal with, there are many, many small programs that will do exactly what you want. Some of the better known are:</p>

<p>Picasa (picasa.google.com)<br>

XnView (www.xnview.com)<br>

Photoscape (www.photoscape.org)<br>

Several Faststone products including:<br />- - Image Viewer (http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm )<br />- - Max View ( http://www.faststone.org/FSMaxViewDetail.htm )<br />- - Photo Resizer (http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm )<br>

All of the above are either freeware or shareware.</p>

<p>If you don't like any of the above, just Google: {photo editor "add text" -online}. There are a huge number of other, easy-to-use programs that you can load on your computer that will add text. Many of these are targeted to the "scrapbooking" crowd.</p>

<p>If you have Internet access where you will be doing this work, Google {photo editor "add text" online} (note the removal of the minus sign in this search), and you will find a large number of simple on-line photo editing programs that will do what you want.</p>

<p>I use Lightroom and the full version of Photoshop many times per day, and even so, I keep a couple of small photo viewing / editing programs on my computer specifically for tasks such as this. If nothing else, they open almost immediately and are very responsive once open.</p>

<p>HTH,</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

<p>It's hard to beat Picasa among the free and easy photo editors for streamlined editing.</p>

<ul>

<li>It's very quick and efficient for prepping photos for web display, a real advantage if you need to quickly edit and post event photos.</li>

<li>It never permanently alters the original photo. Everything can be undone. It's very easy to copy and save the changes to a new photo without ever permanently altering the original.</li>

<li>The quick fix tools and sliders work remarkably well for most photos.</li>

<li>It includes a quick 'n' dirty tool for retouching small spots or blemishes.</li>

<li>It can attach a basic to every edited photo. (I mostly just attach my email contact info.)</li>

<li>Printing is a snap. After making a few basic adjustments necessary for any printer, the prints look like what I see on the monitor.</li>

<li>It's well integrated with other Google products - Gmail, Blogger, YouTube, Goggle+, etc.</li>

</ul>

<p>Drawbacks:</p>

<ul>

<li>Works better with JPEGs than raw files.</li>

<li>No noise reduction, which matters only if you shoot a lot at high ISOs with a noisy digital camera.</li>

<li>Very basic sharpening, which can also sharpen unwanted stuff and emphasis the grainy/gritty look of high ISO noise.</li>

<li>Very limited ability to fix small problem areas within a photo, other than retouching blemishes or small spots/scratches.</li>

</ul>

<p>Beyond that, Lightroom would probably be your best bet for the type of event photography you have in mind. I'm still learning LR myself and it took a couple of weeks to see the advantages, but it offers significant advantages over Picasa in a similarly streamlined workflow.</p>

<p>One big advantage of Lightroom for events is tethered shooting, which I always use at events. Also, you can shoot a couple test shots, create a preset for color correction, sharpening,etc., and apply it to each shot as it comes in directly from the camera.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for all the help! Researching them now!</p>

<p>I second Lex's recommendation for Picasa. If you're not interested in a lot of manipulation and you only want basic photo editing capability, Picasa is about as easy as it gets. I'm not into the whole Photoshop manipulation process and I love the simplicity of Picasa. I use it, along with various camera maker's editing and Raw conversion software, for everything. </p>

<p>...and that's why Picassa happened to be at the top of my list, as well. ;-)</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

<p>I haven't tried some of the programs recommended above, but do use Irfanview for much basic processing. You may have to find a tutorial for Irfanview by googling.</p>