Alternatives to Photoshop and Lightroom

Grrr...I'm so exasperated right now I could almost scream. I am trying to teach myself how to use Lightroom 5. So many websites, blogs and Facebook posts suggested using it to edit photos. I found it on sale so I bought it. For me it has an extreme learning curve. I've watched Youtube videos and read tutorials and it still is seeming like Greek to me. If only I could find a tutor to sit next to me! 

While I am trying to figure this out, I've resorted to using some alternatives. One of my favorites is Picmonkey. It is very user-friendly. I've gotten by with the free version but if you'd like more options you can pay for more. You can edit color and exposure. You can crop your photos and add text. There are fun things like makeup, frames/borders and overlays. Picmonkey has some cool seasonal things to add to your photos too. 

Another option is Picasa. I started out importing all of my photos here. Picasa again is very user-friendly. You can store your photos here unlike Picmonkey. You can crop and add text. You can edit the color and exposure. Picasa has frames and borders. There are some fun and funky things you can do to your photos. I use this all the time.

A third option is Gimp. This is a free graphics editor that can– like Photoshop– be used for some graphic design work.  Available as a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.I haven't spent much time with this program. The other two just seemed much easier and I'm not into graphic designing.

Hopefully you will find one of these sites to meet your needs. I can almost promise that you won't be gritting your teeth with frustration like I am. Truthfully, I'm thinking I might just shelve Lightroom for now and go back to Picmonkey and Picasa! (or if you know any Lightroom experts...send them my way!!)