It is true that there is a learning curve because of the way Lightroom functions. LR is different from other editing software in that you IMPORT photos and that there is no Save or Save as. However like Johnb88344927 stated, the time spent learning is well worth it for a great solution for editing as well as organization. I have two suggestions for learning: 1. LightroomQueen.com - Victoria Brampton. She has a free ebook that you might find useful and also sells books, videos, blogs etc for learning Lightroom. The other is 2. Laurashoe.com She also teaches, has online training and downloadable books and videos. Both are excellent educators so you would just need to find the most basic book and focus on the Library module. 3. As for lots of files when you start, if I may make a suggestion: Start without your images! Create a Lightroom catalog, shoot about 5 photos on a memory card and import those, following the steps in either a book or tutorial video. Basically in the Import window, start on the left reading each option, then proceed to the top of the window, then down the right hand side before pressing the import button. With just 5 photos that you don't really care about, you can experiment, learn where your photos are, how Lightroom sees them, etc. When you feel you know what LR is doing and after deciding how you want to organize your photos and where you want to keep them, you can simply delete that first catalog ( named something like Lightroomcatalog.lrcat) and its accompanying files: the Previews.lrdata and Smart Previews.lrdata. Those 3 files are by default placed in the Pictures folder on a mac, not so sure where they go on a PC. Then you can decide how you want to customize going forward and feel confident as you learn more. Once you get into the Develop module, all the editing power is there. And the Editing module is basically just the same as Adobe Camera Raw, which is a part of Photoshop and even Photoshop Elements. Hope that helps.
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