I bought a camera and have no idea how to edit

So I got FOMO and bought a camera. A used FujiFilm XT-3. I thought having a Fuji and all its presets would make my photos look great. Turns out I was gravely wrong. There’s a lot to learn. How to use the camera. How to compose while you’re shooting. How to edit.

I figured that composition is likely the toughest one to master so I started with understanding how to use the camera. That is, by setting both aperture and shutter to “A”. “A” for effort.

Now, it is time to learn how to edit.

Ah. Where do I even start? The applications?

I’m not a fan of incumbents so I’ve basically handicapped myself by not using Lightroom. I looked around and settled on Photomator. 7 days is all I had to test it out. One of the features that I enjoyed using is their AI masking tool. Never really thought that I could edit the skies or the subject independently and that made this newbie’s heart really happy. I had lots of fun.

If you’re used to how Apple Photos work, you’re at home with Photomator. And it is also a lot less intimidating than the alternatives. Looking at you, Darktable.

However I am a sucker for pain. I’ve decided not to continue with Photomator after the 7 days and hopped on to the DXO photo lab 9 train. With their generous 30 days trial!

But one thing is obvious, I have no idea what I’m doing. I don’t know how to make edits that will make a collection look cohesive. No idea what my tastes are. No idea why changing contrast could sometimes improve an image but could also fuck it up. What histograms are for. What changes when I add a point to a curve and what changes when I move the curve.

So many things to learn!