Seeking photo organizing app recommendations

[Am_I_Lame?]

I used Picasa to manage my photos for many years.  A few months ago I got a new PC (Windows 11) and there was no convenient way to migrate the Picasa setting over.  Since Picassa was ancient (and no longer supported), I decided to move to a new organizing app.  I'm a Creative Suite subscriber, so I have access to Lightroom and Bridge, both of which can do what I need.  The problem is, both apps do a lot more than I need beyond basic organizing, and, as a result, are much more complicated for organizing than I'd like.  I just need to add/edit/delete/group tags and filter by them (as well as by camera, date, and location).  Can anyone recommend an organizing-only (or primarily) app that does this and is straightforward to use?

[Rob_Cullen]

Hi @Am_I_Lame?  I have some comments, but I think you may have difficulty finding something that is 'Simple to use.'

Adobe Bridge is a File Browser with benefits that allows you to view your photo files where you have placed them. It is the 'simplest' Adobe app that comes close to what you ask.  One that I would recommend.

Adobe Lightroom is a 'Cloud based' app that syncs your photos up to the Cloud where you have limited ways of organizing. It does not mirror or replicate any folder structure you have currently in your PC.

Adobe Lightroom-Classic is deemed to be 'the Photographers Data Management app' that uses a database (called a Catalog) that has powerful features referencing your photos locally where they are located in your system. Lightroom-Classic has a very steep learning curve so may not be a choice if you want "basic organising".

There are other free FIle browser Apps (like XnView) but Bridge works better with other Adobe Apps.

An app called PhotoMechanic is ofter suggested by Pro Photographers, but again steep learning.

[Am_I_Lame?]

Thanks for oyur thoughtful answer.  I guess I'll keep chipping away at Bridge.

[Trevor.Dennis]

I know a good few people, and at least one camera club, that uses Faststone.  It's free as well.

[Am_I_Lame?]

Thanks, but it doesn't support tags.

[Trevor.Dennis]

I don't use it myself, but Google Ai seems to think it supports tags.

[Am_I_Lame?]

Yes, it does that, but I'm looking more for keyword-tagging than just manually selecting images.

[D Fosse]

Bridge has keywording, and I suspect it can do everything you need and more. The problem with Bridge is that thumbnail generation/retrieval tends to slow down with a large amount of files (say, 50 000 and up).

Lightroom Classic's Library module is more or less built around keywording, it's a core function. However, some people are put off by the catalog paradigm - it's not a file browser; you need to import everything into the catalog before it shows up.

I use Lightroom Classic for raw files and Bridge for RGB master files. Both work well. My biggest issue is the occasional Bridge thumbnail-retrieval lag.

[barbara_a]

Many people use Lightroom or Bridge.

I have my own personal system of filing and keywording images and storing them in folders which I prefer.