When you start to get into photography, you'll get into management and editing of the photographs after taking them. Post editing of photos is an important part of the process these days and can really enhance your photos.
However, when I started on this hobby I noticed that two names always came up as the default: Photoshop and Lightroom, both by Adobe. These peices of software are used by most of the photographers online, in blogs, youtube videos, and in the clubs I'm in. Adobe is a US company and both require a monthly subscription.
I want to avoid sending my money every month to a country that repeatedly threatens not only Canada, but 1 out of every 13 countries on the planet. Alternatives do exist.
List of software
| US or not? | Software | Company | Located | Subscription Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ❌ | Photoshop | Adobe | 🇺🇸 United States | Monthly |
| ❌ | Lightroom | Adobe | 🇺🇸 United States | Monthly |
| ❌ | Mac OS Photos | Apple | 🇺🇸 United States | Free ✅ |
| ✅ | Digital Photo Professional | Canon | 🇯🇵 Japan | Free ✅ |
| ✅ | Capture One | Capture One | 🇩🇰 Denmark and 🇬🇷 Greece | Free ✅ |
| ✅ | Cyberlink Photo Director | Cyberlink | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | No |
| ✅ | DxO Photolab | DxO | 🇦🇺 Australia | No |
| ❌ | Mylio | Mylio | 🇺🇸 United States | Monthly |
| ✅ | Darktable | Open source | 🌏 Open source | Free ✅ |
| ✅ | Raw Therapee | Open source | 🌏 Open source | Free ✅ |
| ❌ | On1 | On1 | 🇺🇸 United States | No |
| ✅ | Luminar | Skylum | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | No |
| ✅ | Zoner Studio | Zoner | 🇨🇿 Czech | Yearly |
Since I shoot with a Canon, I've found the basic Canon Digital Photo Professional software great for managing my photographs. That final post processing? I'm not sure yet.
See also: Outdoor gear.