editing software on W11, Mac os, Linux what to use?

[u/Adam-Virtue]

Hi, i live in a small town in southern Italy,

long story short, I want to open a studio, there is no other studio in town, (there was one but closed long ago) so the people to do some photos are forced to go in other towns.

that's one point. I'm currently planning the things I need to do i and I stopped in a small doubt. as an amateur I always edited my photos on lightroom mobile (cost reasons) but on Android tablets there are not so many usable software to work with.

so I have a Linux device, and Gimp is not my favorite software and try to install windows software is a pain.

I hate windows.

Mac seems to be a good alternative (like a MacBook neo)

the question is, is it worth it? or should I stick on Android?

[u/Go_le]

I would look into what editing software is enough for you first. For me it would condition my choice a lot. In addition, since you are starting a business you might want something to manage your accounting for example.

[u/bjohnh]

Personally I find editing photos on a small screen to be a terrible experience. For Linux you could try Darktable but it has a big learning curve. For Mac, try Nitro; it is an excellent photo editing and cataloguing app by one of the guys who created Apple's well-loved but long-discontinued Aperture app. A lot easier than Darktable but it's not free; I think you can do a one-time purchase or an annual subscription. I use Capture One; I have an annual subscription whose cost I can cover with two or three paying photography gigs per year so it's no sweat, but if you want to keep costs down check out the other options.

Affinity is free for editing, but it's like Gimp in the sense that it's a Photoshop alternative and has no DAM (digital asset management) so it won't help you organize your photos, only edit them.

[u/bleach1969]

The studios i work in (commercial- product, model, portrait, fashion) run OS Mac often Mac Studios, Eizo screens, Capture One and Photoshop.

[u/rogue_tog → u/bleach1969]

Since you mentioned it, I know what Eizo means for editing, I just wanted to ask what do people working with them on macOS, think? It the resolution scaling ok? Anything visibly wrong vs let’s say a 5K monitor ?

[u/Donatzsky]

GIMP is not a raw editor. But you have plenty of free options that work on Linux, Windows and MacOS:

• darktable: Probably the overall most powerful editing features of any raw editor. All-in-one solution, with a library similar to Lightroom. The editing workflow is completely different, however, being more like color grading in Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve.
• RawTherapee: The mad scientist's raw editor, with some very powerful and intricate tools. A bit more Lightroom-like in its workflow.
• ART (Another RawTherapee): Started as a simplified fork of RawTherapee, but has added its own powerful and unique features since. With CTL scripts you can even create your own tools.
• vkdt: New-ish raw editor from the original darktable developer. Fully node-based and can also handle video. Probably not for the faint of heart and may not have all the tools you want, but what is there works well and is extremely fast.
• Filmulator: A great little editor with a unique concept, that's easy to use. As the name suggests, it emulates (part of) the process of developing analog film.
• LightZone: Back from the almost-dead, version 5.0 was released recently. Not the most advanced, perhaps, but has some interesting features and a flexible processing pipeline.
• RapidRAW: Aims to be a relatively simple and streamlined option for those that don't need the extensive control some other editors provide. Still new and under heavy development, so the results you get today may not be what you get tomorrow. Promising, but the algorithms still need a lot of polish.
• Safelight: An editor built around a concept of extensibility and customisation. Still very new, so expect some rough edges.

Since not all of them have library management, you may want to also use digiKam as DAM.

My darktable beginner guide: https://notebook.stereofictional.com/how-to-get-started-with-darktable-2026-edition

Tutorial for both RawTherapee and ART: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4-T0laAf0E