Photo Editing Software

Essential software for culling, editing, and delivering wedding photos. From RAW processing to client galleries.

RAW Processing & Editing

Subscription: $10-$55/mo

Adobe Lightroom Classic

The industry standard for wedding photography workflow. Powerful cataloging, RAW processing, and batch editing with extensive preset support.

Catalog System

Organize thousands of images

Presets

Batch apply editing styles

Sync & Copy

Fast batch processing

Cloud Sync

Work across devices

Pros

  • Industry standard, huge preset ecosystem
  • Excellent cataloging for large weddings
  • Seamless Photoshop integration
  • Great mobile apps
  • Extensive learning resources

Cons

  • Subscription only (no perpetual license)
  • Can be slow with large catalogs
  • Recent price increases
  • Requires Adobe ecosystem buy-in
Adobe Lightroom ↗
Subscription: ~$15/mo or $299 perpetual

Capture One Pro

Professional-grade RAW editor favored by commercial and high-end wedding photographers. Superior color science and tethering capabilities.

Color Science

Industry-leading color tools

Layers

Advanced local adjustments

Tethering

Best-in-class tethered shooting

Performance

Fast with large files

Pros

  • Superior color grading tools
  • Perpetual license available
  • Better performance with high-resolution files
  • Advanced layer-based editing

Cons

  • Steeper learning curve
  • Smaller preset ecosystem
  • Limited mobile app functionality
  • Session-based workflow different from Lightroom
Capture One ↗
Free / $99 Pro

Darktable

Free, open-source RAW editor. Great Lightroom alternative for budget-conscious photographers.

Pros

  • Completely free and open-source
  • Powerful tools, no subscription
  • Available on Windows, Mac, Linux

Cons

  • Less intuitive interface
  • Smaller community/preset ecosystem
  • Steeper learning curve
Darktable ↗

AI-Powered Culling & Editing

Modern Workflow: The most efficient wedding photographers now use hybrid workflows - AI tools for culling and initial edits, then a RAW editor for final touches. This can reduce editing time by 50-80%.
Subscription: Starting ~$15/mo

Aftershoot

AI-powered culling and editing. Learns your editing style to automatically process images.

AI Culling

Select best shots automatically

AI Editing

Learns your style

Speed

Process 1000s of images fast

Aftershoot ↗
Per-image pricing

Imagen AI

AI editing assistant that learns your Lightroom editing style and applies it to entire weddings.

Imagen AI ↗
Various plans

Narrative Select

AI-powered culling designed specifically for wedding and event photographers.

Narrative ↗

Retouching & Advanced Editing

Subscription: $23-$55/mo (with Lightroom)

Adobe Photoshop

Industry-standard for advanced retouching, composites, and complex edits. Essential for album spreads and detailed work.

Adobe Photoshop ↗
$70 one-time

Affinity Photo

Powerful Photoshop alternative with one-time purchase. No subscription required.

Affinity Photo ↗

Client Galleries & Delivery

Starting ~$10/mo

Pixieset

Beautiful client galleries with download delivery, print sales, and client proofing. Popular with wedding photographers.

Pixieset ↗
Starting ~$6/mo

Pic-Time

Client galleries with integrated store, AI-powered slideshows, and automatic albums.

Pic-Time ↗
Starting ~$9/mo

CloudSpot

Client delivery platform with galleries, contracts, and store integration.

CloudSpot ↗
Starting ~$5/mo

ShootProof

Gallery hosting with print fulfillment, digital downloads, and mobile apps.

ShootProof ↗
Recommended Wedding Photography Workflow
  1. Import: Lightroom Classic or Capture One
  2. Cull: Aftershoot, Narrative, or Photo Mechanic
  3. Edit: Lightroom/Capture One (AI-assisted with Imagen or Aftershoot)
  4. Retouch: Photoshop for complex edits, skin retouching
  5. Deliver: Pixieset, Pic-Time, or CloudSpot for client galleries
  6. Archive: Cloud backup (Backblaze, Google, AWS)