Photoshop comes with Bridge which is a folder based organizer (not manager (IMO)), You can skip Bridge and just edit, but something has to organize the image files in folders. Photoshop makes it difficult (but not impossible) or overwrite the original with the edited copy.
>>>>My uncle has not looked into Photshop at all, but considering he seems set against Adobe Lightroom, suggesting the robust and very complicated technical editing big brother to it, I think pitching Photoshop is a total no-go. **I** don't even have an interest in Photoshop..
If your uncle just wants to take JPEGs and keep track of the image files, letting the in camera software do the post processing, then an robust organizer is of most importance. Lightroom serves this purpose nicely. PhotoMechanic is also a tool that will do this job.. If you want to do light editing (crops etc) LR does this well. Almost any photo editor will do this BUT image management and organization is left to the user OUTSIDE of the product. If your uncle is a Mac user there is
Affinity. A Photoshop-like tool that incorporates all of the LR Photo image processing in a simple, easy to understand app. (but no image management).
Other DAM tools besides PhotoMechanic and Lightroom are iMatch and ACDSeePro
If the direction is for complex editing, RAW file processing, then we are looking at Lightroom, Capture One, Photoshop. Corel IMO has dumbed down PaintShopPro to the level of PhotoShopElements. And PSE is a good alternative if simple photo editing is all you need. PSE has an Organizer included that could be considered LR-lite. The PSE organizer can be converted into a LR catalog if you leave decide to upgrade to LR.
>>> So.. I need to clarify my uncle's primary needs, now that I understand them better myself. This I think will make things crystal clear:
My uncle is looking for software that will primarily help him scan, organize and do light editing of old, paper based photographs. (He doesn't even own a digital camera that I know of).
By light editing I mean: straightening the scan, possibly adjusting size, basic color correction, red eye reduction, exposure modification (lighten/darken) and eventually some basic dust removal. >>>
So the questions that I think need answering: How important is image organization and tracking to your uncle? Could it be more important that he realizes at this stage? How much image editing will be done to each photo? Is a sophisticated images (pixel) editor needed now or in the near future?
This is a great question and the answer I think is just what you..and I.. suspect- that as my uncle becomes more proficient at scanning and as he gains understanding/knowledge and momentum, he is going to move towards wanting a good digital asset manager as well as perhaps moving into more detailed editing. However, like myself, I doubt my uncle will ever get to a point of really wanting the super-detailed editing capabilities of Photoshop, or any other fuller featured photo EDITING software, and he definitely doesn't want the kind of learning curve I think those software programs require.
Also of note: My uncle is windows OS user, whereas I am a Mac user.
Without knowing your uncle, I think he needs a photo manager and a light editor (possibly two products).
I think you are right, but I get the impression that my uncle will probably not want to have to purchase two separate programs when he is seeing programs that do **soo** much..
The tricky part of this though is that it's difficult to find good current information regarding his INITIAL problem (scanning/separating files), and secondly on the above mentioned aspects.
I know I myself have been doing a bit of online research on his behalf and find it very difficult to dig beyond the major talking points of the respective marketing teams, to find out if those SPECIFIC tools mentioned above are included in the prospective software.