Suggestion for something easier to use than Lightroom

I have become quite proficient at editing in Lightroom, adjusting, retouching and exporting however I feel that it is becoming too much work to be fun and

today I missed a dedline as I could not edit a previously imported photo. I have a large archive on my drives and was trying to create a wall calendar to give

out to relatives as a gift, however it seems almost impossible to open up previously imported photos to edit them. Only photos immediately imported can be

edited. I spent time online researching and was told to use the 'recent imports' but I have imported many hundreds and whilst I can see the photos in my hard

drive, Lightroom is quite stubborn about allowing me to edit them. In desperation I used the capture the computer screen image as JPEG and used that.

 

Yes, I am doing something wrong, missing some step, something in the wrong order but I really want an editor that will allow me to open my RAW images and

edit them without protest. Also Lightroom seems to often bog down and I have to restart the computer.

 

Thanks for any suggestion.

<p>That's why I love using Adobe Bridge and ACR. You can do almost all the same DAM functions and do it without the hassle of a sluggish proprietary database. Plus it's the best navigator in the universe for your computer. But I have to say I love Lr for non-destructive editing and its publishing services and is 90% of my workflow. But it sounds like Collections, Smart Collections, and keywording might be helpful for you to learn in Lr. I'd stick with it and go through some tutorials or ask more specific questions? </p>

<p>I have almost 50000 photographs in my Lightroom catalogs. I can reach and edit/re-edit any one of them irrespective of whether I imported them last week or five years ago. You already have the editor you say you want. If you can access pictures in your catalogs but not edit/re-edit maybe its something to do with how your settings are switched. <br>

Neither do I have any problem with my computer slowing up in Lightroom processing 24MP files. I have 12GB RAM but it worked fine on 8GB. Have you got it set to give full sized previews? </p>

 

<p>I have nearly 200K images in Lightroom, and it doesn't bog down. What computer and o/s are you using? How much RAM and disk?</p>

<p>You can use Lightroom to edit any image format, including RAW (if you have the latest ACR version), all non-destructively. If editing takes too much time, don't make adjustments, or adjust images in blocks (synchronize with first image). Always try to get it right in the camera (easier said than done).</p>

<p>If you have a MAC, there is a problem using OpenCL with Adobe products in Sierra. It causes "panics" in the kernel. If you have Sierra, consider turning the GPU off in "preferences."</p>

<p>If at some time you had moved the older photos to new folders using Finder (Mac) or Explorer (Windows), you would need to relink Lightroom to the new file locations before you'd be able to edit those files. </p>

<p>As other posters have suggested, I suspect the problems lies somewhere besides Lightroom. I have 419,303 images in my catalog and don't experience any of the problems you've described.</p>

<p>Adobe TV is a great, free source of video tutorials on how to use Lightroom. Likewise, YouTube is filled with tutorials from beginner to expert level, so maybe you can poke around a bit to find out where things started to head south for you.</p>

<p>Try some of these. https://www.google.com/search?q=managing+lightroom+library&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8</p>

<p>I agree with Leslie you need to relink the raw files to the Lightroom library and there are numerous tutorials and online videos describing the process. When moving files in the future use lightroom to make the move and the links will automatically be maintained with the library. The "bog down" sounds like a computer issue, have you checked the drives for enough free space? </p>

<p>Easy to use and easy to learn are different things. Lightroom is complicated, and, as you've seen, it's possible to get yourself into situations that are hard to understand and get out of. But, once learned, I would say it is extremely easy to use.</p>

<p>And, because it's so capable, I think putting in the work to learn Lightroom is worthwhile.</p>

<p>But, then, I've been using Lightroom and it's pre-release beta for 10 years.</p>

<p>Pure and "simple" Photoshop is not tied to any kind of database. Used with Bridge and ACR it is not simple, but it is very powerful.<br>

As Katharine Hepburn said, "You cannot have it all". <em>Simple</em> translates to <em>weak, </em>and there's no way around it.<br>

I actually find Photoshop pretty easy to use, but then I've been using it since 1989 or so. :|</p>

It reads like you have a hardware problem, not a software climb.

<p>Thanks for the input. I will have another go at it, but why it is hard to use in ways it need not be are a mystery. I have found how I can edit previously imported photos - by selecting 'show all' so I get every photo ever imported in one long stream and I must scroll through them all but not just open a folder and go from there - I know where all my photos are. A simple 'photo already imported - open file?' prompt would fit the bill.<br>

My computer seems fine, but you never know, could have a problem that only Lightroom shows up.</p>

<p>If you were to click on "Folders" on the same screen that you went into "Catalog" to "show all," you could navigate to the folder with the files you want to work on, and then you're good to go. I think that once you're familiar with how Lightroom is organized, you'll find it pretty easy to work with. As others have mentioned, there are some very good on-line tutorials and some excellent books--that's how I learned to use it. </p>

<p>Learn to use Smart Collections (I'd avoid <em>Dumb</em> Collections). Very powerful. All based on metadata so there's an exit strategy if you move to another DAM (<em>Dumb</em> Collections are proprietary).</p>

<p>Learn to create a well organized Folder Structure which LR will honor making it very easy for you to find photo's even outside the DAM and another exist strategy should you move from LR to another DAM or just have to find something in the Finder.</p>

<p>I agree with Ellis that you may have an issue with hardware or something else based on your reported behavior of LR. You may wish to delete the preferences:</p>

<p>https://www.lightroomqueen.com/articles-page/how-do-i-reset-lightrooms-preferences/</p>

<p>An invaluable resource: https://www.lightroomqueen.com</p>

<p>Also anything about Lightroom from former Adobe evangelist George Jardine:<br /> http://mulita.com/blog/<br /> Good luck!</p>

<p>Agree w/ Ellis, it sounds like a hardware issue as LR can handle hundreds of thousands of large raw images without much trouble. What specific hardware are you running on (CPU, OS, Drive, etc.)</p>

<p>What specific problem are you experiencing? When you click on the image in Library what happens? When you click on the Develop module what happens? When you try to make changes what happens?</p>

<p>Capture One Pro is a good alternative but I'm not sure if it'd solve your problem or not.</p>

<p>FastStone Image Viewer. Free, although they suggest a $35 donation if you like it. It is fast, intuitive, and powerful. If you need to print, or need that final increment of quality, or have a particularly difficult image, or need a database engine, Lightroom is better. But if you need to do a quick tweak of an image, or want to crop and clean up a couple hundred images from the ski race for the parents, FastStone is great. I use both. </p>