- Best Mac App For Photo Editing
- Best Photo Apps For Mac
- Mac App For Photo Effects
- Photo Apps For Mac Computer
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One of the biggest problems right now is what to do with all our photos. Taking them is easier than ever. So is sharing them. But storing and organizing them all in different places still manages to be an experience filled with gotchas, and one that varies wildly depending on what companies you’ve sworn allegiance to with your phone and computer. And if that company’s been Apple, you’ve basically been a guinea pig in a good idea that was hastily (and poorly) executed.
Apple might have just fixed that for Mac users with the new Photos app. It’s the final piece in a plan that Apple unveiled last June, and one that both fixes and unifies a patchwork system it rolled out in 2011. It’s a rethink of how people manage their photo library on a Mac, something that’s been iPhoto’s home turf for more than a decade. Apple’s discontinuing that software along with Aperture (which is aimed at pro photographers), in favor bringing the tools people have on their iPhones and iPads to the Mac. It’s also been built with Apple’s iCloud in mind instead of an afterthought, which feels years overdue.
At a high level here's three things that anyone thinking of using Photos for OS X should know:
- You should probably use the iCloud Photo Library feature, which syncs all your photos across all your devices — but you'll almost certainly need to buy more iCloud storage to take advantage of it.
- Everything you shoot with your iPhone or import into the new Photos app is backed up to iCloud and shared seamlessly across your devices. Using it is a pretty great experience.
- If you don't want to try iCloud Photo Library, you can keep using the new Photos app as an iPhoto replacement, but you'll be stuck with the old My Photo Stream feature (and its odd restrictions) for syncing photos across your devices.
As simple as Photos is, the devil is in the details, and there are quite a few details here. Familiar features have moved or changed, and in classic Apple fashion, some have also been quietly removed. Here are some things you should be aware of now that the software's available to everyone.
How it works
If you’ve been using the iCloud Photo Library beta for iOS 8, you’ll be pretty familiar with how Photos for OS X works. Rather than the old 'My Photo Stream' feature, which pushed 1,000 photos (or 30 days worth of photos) across your Mac and iOS devices, everything you shoot on your iPhone will automatically get uploaded to iCloud. When you open up Photos on your Mac, you’ll see everything you shot in a view that’s nearly identical to what you see in iOS — all your photos are organized by date and location. You can zoom out to a year overview or zoom in and see any particular photo or video. Apple’s also included the see-every-photo-as-a-microscopic-thumbnail view to navigate several hundred photos at a time.
Every image in the cloud, if you want
What is probably most noteworthy about the new app is that Apple is no longer simply using iCloud to share your photos across devices — if you choose, you can now store every image and video you shoot on your iPhone in iCloud. To help make this work without taking up a ton of storage, Apple is also giving users the option to optimize storage on their devices. Instead of locally storing every image in full resolution, you can opt to have the full images live in iCloud; smaller, optimized images that take up much less storage space will instead be displayed on your mobile devices and even on your Mac. At any time, you can choose to download the full-size image if you’re so inclined. Of course, if you buy into this setup, you’ll be trusting Apple to keep all the originals safe in iCloud. Fortunately, you can set it up so that the Photos app on your Mac keeps all the original, full-size images stored locally if you so choose. You’re still free to choose the optimized setting on your iOS devices to save space there.
Photos will happily import both JPG and RAW files
If you’re a photographer who shoots with a standalone digital camera, Photos will happily import both JPG and RAW files and treat them much like the photos you shoot on an iPhone. If you have Photos set to upload everything to iCloud, it’ll store the original, full-size images in the cloud and sync them across your devices. It’s worth noting that Photos for OS X obfuscates the file system even more than iPhoto or Aperture do — once you import photos from your camera, it seems to be impossible to locate the original file in the Finder, even if you have Photos set to store the original, full-size images on your computer rather than only keep them in iCloud. Those who want to maintain absolute control over their images will probably want to save original files in Finder and then import the best shots into Photos for further work and sharing.
Beyond simply providing a much better way of organizing your photos and videos across multiple devices, the new Photos app for OS X does much of what its predecessor did — you can make a wide variety of edits (more on this later), create calendars and books, use face detection to sort photos by the people that are in them, share them with iCloud or across some third-party services, and more. Nearly every feature included in iPhoto is present here in Photos, and Apple has finally fixed its confusing cloud-syncing solutions in favor of something much simpler and smarter.
Is this better than iPhoto or Aperture?
It really depends on how you were using those two apps. This is eminently more lightweight than either of those two, and more familiar to iOS. You basically get the same set of filters, controls, and effects you’ll find on iOS, and everything gets synced up the second it's done. Also, the photos you have stored in your iCloud Photo Library no longer feel tacked on the way the My Photo Stream feature did in iPhoto and Aperture.
This isn't an Aperture replacement
Now, if you were one of the people who loved Aperture because you like adjusting every possible little setting, and having things like a loupe for pixel-peeping, adjustment brushes for fixing dust spots or blown highlights, and plug-ins to add extra features, here’s some bad news: none of these things are present in Photos. Dedicated iPhoto users should find plenty to like about the new OS X Photos app, though.
What’s new?
As mentioned before, this is a completely new app with changes to both its look and feel, and how you edit photos. But there are a few new features.
- If you're an iPhone or iPad shooter, there's now a way to sort between specialty photos and videos from Apple's newer devices. That includes things like panoramics, burst shots, slow motion, and timelapse video. This is basically the same thing you can do on iOS, now on Mac.
- Apple's changed up its shared Activity View to look less like albums, and more of a running update log — just like it does on iOS. The big difference here is that any shared albums you have with friends show up in the main source list instead of hidden away within the app.
- A new auto-crop tool that looks at your photo to figure out where the horizon is, then adjusts it according to the rule of thirds.
- A new zoomed out view for collections and years that makes thumbnails absolutely tiny. You can see what pictures are by clicking and scrubbing, just like how it works on iOS.
- New square book formats if you're printing photos through Apple.
What’s missing?
Pretty much everything that is in iPhoto can be found in Photos, but some things did not make the cut. It’s worth noting we were using a pre-release version of the software, and things could be added in future releases.
- The long-running star rating system has given way to favoriting photos with hearts, though existing star ratings are preserved from your old photos and accessible through search.
- iPhoto’s odd built-in mail tool is also gone, and has been replaced with kicking photos out to Yosemite’s Mail app. That’s an extra thing to have set up outside of Photos, but on the plus side it means that those messages will actually show up in your sent folder instead of into the ether of Apple’s internet as they did before.
- The syncing tools for Flickr and Facebook, which let you set up an album to automatically post to either of those places, are gone. They've been replaced with Apple’s system-wide sharing tools, which means a little more legwork is required if you're relying on iPhoto for keeping online albums up to date.
- You cannot geotag photos, though you can see, sort, and search by where photos were taken.
- Editing and color correction tools for photos on your videos, that’s still iMovie’s territory; you can’t even trim a video that’s stored in your library without jumping out to another app.
How does this handle storing photos on my Mac versus iCloud Photo Library?
Either you keep everything on your Mac, or sync up everything in your Photos library with your iCloud Photo Library. That means no selecting certain photos of events to sync up. Power users might hate that, but the feature’s been designed so you don’t have to remember to flag items — something that’s tedious with larger libraries. It’s worth noting that even if you choose to sync your photos with iCloud Photo Library, you can still keep the original files stored locally on your Mac while having your library mirrored across multiple devices.
Do I need to buy iCloud storage now?
Photos can be used without iCloud Photo Library, and thus your iCloud storage. You can keep both photos and videos in the Photos app, just like you could with iPhoto and Aperture. You can also keep using iCloud’s Photo Stream feature, though it does not store full quality versions of your photos and won't even transfer videos. Once you've upgraded to iCloud Photo Library, Photo Stream as we've known it is replaced by All Photos.
If you do want to flip on iCloud Photo Library, Photos provides an estimation of how much storage it will take. If that goes over the free amount you have from Apple, you can subscribe to one of its various storage tiers, just like you can from iOS devices. Apple gives you 5GB for free, but keep in mind that you’re also sharing that space with things like iCloud backups, as well as files you have stored in iCloud Drive. Photos you’ve taken on your iPhone count separately from those backups, but can eat into that space quickly. Apple Photos won’t make this worse if you’re just snapping shots with your iPhone or iPad, but it definitely will if you plan to store RAW photos from a DSLR and 1080p videos.
That free 5GB disappears quickly
Currently, Apple offers four different tiers of extra iCloud storage, which have varying costs depending on what country you’re in. In the US, at least, it’s 99 cents a month for 20GB, $3.99 a month for 200GB, $9.99 a month for 500GB, and $19.99 a month to jump to 1TB.
What’s happening to iPhoto and Aperture?
Both pieces of software will live on, for now, though are no longer being developed by Apple. Photos is the new iPhoto, basically, so your library is transferred over. Aperture users, however, can continue to use Aperture if they want to make more advanced edits. But those edits made in Aperture won’t sync over to Photos and vice versa.
Do I need to do anything to my photo library on iOS, iPhoto, or Aperture?
No. Apple will let you move your iPhoto or Aperture library into Photos and preserve your edits. However, because Apple changed some of its organizational tools, some things do get lost or changed in translation from an iPhoto or Aperture library. Star ratings get turned into hearts (or favorites), and projects are turned into albums. Other metadata is retained but will only show up in search. You need to search for things like color labels and flags. Also, if you’ve added custom metadata fields to any photos in Aperture, those fields do not carry over.
For iOS users, there’s nothing to do. If you’ve turned on iCloud Photo Library, all your photos and albums will show up in Photos.
For iOS users, there’s nothing to do
How do I get this?
Apple has built it into OS X 10.10.3, which was released today. Once you've updated (through the Mac App Store), the app will be automatically installed.
This all sounds really complicated, can I just use something else?
On the Mac? Of course. The same thing goes with your iPhone or iPad. Pretty much every company now, including Amazon, Box, Dropbox, Google, Flickr, and Microsoft have apps that will perfectly and seamlessly sync your camera roll to their servers. The key reason to use this is if you’re the kind of person who does not want to deal with setting up another service, and both likes and wants to use Apple’s tools.
Casey Newton contributed to this report.
Update April 8th, 12:30PM: This post was originally published February 5th, 2015 and has been updated to reflect that the Photos app has been released as part of OS X 10.10.3.
More from The Verge
Best Mac Photo Editing Software 2019 - Photo Editor Reviews
Recently, we spent over 50 hours testing 10 Mac photo editing programs. We compared the programs' editing capabilities by importing the same group of photos into each one and applying the same edits. We also took into account how easy each program is to use, preferring those that are powerful as well as easy to learn. We further evaluated each software’s photo organizing features, including how many categorization and search options it offers. After all our testing was said and done, CyberLink PhotoDirector Ultra 10 stood out as the best Mac photo editing software. We think it is a good fit for users of any skill level, but it has features that make it especially good for beginners. To find out if this software is a good option for you, check out CyberLink’s 30-day free trial.
Best OverallCyberLink PhotoDirector Ultra 10
PhotoDirector not only offers some of the easiest-to-use editing tools, it also offers one of the best photo organizing systems we've seen.
But for everyday Mac users who only want to doodle, this app is a solid alternative. Have you tried Paintbrush? Do you know any other alternatives to light drawing apps for Mac like this one? If so, share your thoughts and opinions using the comments below. Explore more about: Digital Art, Drawing Software, Image Editor. Sketch app for mac crack. Drawing app free download - BlueStacks App Player, CorelDRAW, RAR Expander, and many more programs. Aug 06, 2014 •For Mac App Store users, pressure-sensitive sketching is available for the new Force Touch trackpad on MacBooks and MacBook Pros. •Bug fixes and improvements 7.1.1. 4gb of RAM and an SSD, and I’m using a Cintiq for drawing. If you have any idea how this can be resolved, I have three more stars with your name on it. In comic sans though.
Best BudgetPixelmator 3.3
Pixelmator 3.3 is easy to learn and costs less than many other programs. It is compatible with a wide range of file types and offers editing tools to enhance your images like a pro.
Best Alternative to PhotoshopAffinity Photo
This software's tools are comparable to Adobe Photoshop. One of the biggest differences between the two programs is Affinity's lower-cost.
Product | Price | Overall Rating | Pricing | Editing Tools | Organizing | File Compatibility & Sharing | Trial | Ease of Use Score | Filter Presets | Editing Tools Score | Photo Organizing Score | Supported Image File Formats | Sharing Options Score | Help & Support Score | Minimum OS X Supported |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CyberLink PhotoDirector Ultra 10 | View Deal | 4.5/5 | 6.8 | 9.5 | 10 | 9.5 | 30 Days | 100% | 42 | 100% | 100% | 7 | 100% | 84% | 10.9 |
Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 | View Deal | 4/5 | 6.5 | 9.3 | 7.8 | 9.8 | 30 Days | 100% | 98 | 96% | 86% | 10 | 100% | 100% | 10.11 |
Acorn 6 | View Deal | 4/5 | 9.5 | 10 | 2.3 | 10 | 14 Days | 90% | 139 | 99% | 29% | 12 | 100% | 84% | 10.11 |
Corel AfterShot Pro 3 | View Deal | 4/5 | 7.8 | 6.8 | 9.5 | 5 | 30 Days | 100% | 21 | 86% | 86% | 4 | 80% | 100% | 10.9 |
Pixelmator 3.3 | View Deal | 3.5/5 | 9.5 | 7.5 | 4 | 8.8 | 30 Days | 90% | 126 | 89% | 43% | 10 | 80% | 84% | 10.6.6 |
Affinity Photo 5 | View Deal | 3.5/5 | 8.5 | 9.8 | 1.8 | 9.3 | 10 Days | 90% | 36 | 100% | 29% | 10 | 90% | 92% | 10.7 |
PhotoPad Photo Editor | View Deal | 3.5/5 | 10 | 6.5 | 4 | 5.3 | Unlimited | 90% | 15 | 86% | 43% | 6 | 70% | 92% | 10.4.4 |
DxO PhotoLab Elite Edition | View Deal | 3/5 | 5.8 | 5.3 | 8.8 | 5 | 31 Days | 85% | 37 | 76% | 86% | 3 | 80% | 92% | 10.11 |
ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac 4 | View Deal | 3/5 | 6.8 | 3 | 9.5 | 5.3 | 30 Days | 90% | 2 | 68% | 86% | 6 | 60% | 92% | 10.12 |
Luminar 2018 | View Deal | 3/5 | 8 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 7 | 14 Days | 90% | 67 | 81% | 29% | 6 | 80% | 84% | 10.1 |
Best Overall
CyberLink PhotoDirector Ultra 10
PhotoDirector 365 Monthly$14.99
PhotoDirector 365 Yearly$43.99
Best Mac App For Photo Editing
PhotoDirector 10 Ultra
It's easy for beginners.
Best Photo Apps For Mac
The photo organizer is one of the best we've seen.
You need to pay for technical phone support.
Experienced editors might take awhile adjusting to the interface.
CyberLink PhotoDirector Ultra is one of the easiest programs to use, which makes it ideal for beginners.
Experienced users will also find that it offers the tools needed to edit and organize their work. You can arrange your photos using a star rating system, color labels, keyword tags and even by tagging specific people's faces. There is a wide range of editing tools and we found that they work super well when making changes. The object removal tool was especially impressive, removing unwanted elements and replacing the space believably. We also found an easy HDR feature and lens distortion correction tools. Unfortunately, there were no vector graphics tools.
The interface is built differently than many other photo editing programs. Instead of displaying toolbar icons, the program is split into category tabs, which contain various editing tools. Instead of simply clicking on the cloning brush icon in the toolbar, you'll need to click on the 'People Beautifier' tab in the 'Edit' section to access this feature. PhotoDirector works with the most common image file types including PSD, JPG, TIFF and RAW files. This software also makes it easy to post your favorite images directly to Facebook or send your photos to loved ones using email from within the program. You'll find tutorials and a FAQs page on the website. While emailing the company is free, you have to pay for a phone support plan if you want to get technical help.
The interface is built differently than many other photo editing programs. Instead of displaying toolbar icons, the program is split into category tabs, which contain various editing tools. Instead of simply clicking on the cloning brush icon in the toolbar, you'll need to click on the 'People Beautifier' tab in the 'Edit' section to access this feature. PhotoDirector works with the most common image file types including PSD, JPG, TIFF and RAW files. This software also makes it easy to post your favorite images directly to Facebook or send your photos to loved ones using email from within the program. You'll find tutorials and a FAQs page on the website. While emailing the company is free, you have to pay for a phone support plan if you want to get technical help.
Best Budget
Pixelmator 3.3
Pixelmator
This program has background removal software.
The interface is simple and easy for beginners to use.
There are no lens distortion correction tools.
Pixelmator 3.3 is a less-expensive photo editor with advanced editing capabilities. Considering all included tools, this is a very good value.
You get all the basic tools such as red-eye removal, selection tools, and color management, along with more advanced tools like background removal, creative filters and automatic editing options. Unfortunately, while the program works in layers, you cannot apply layer masks to your images. You also cannot easily fix lens distortion, create HDR images or stitch together panoramas with this software. There is no organizing system, so you will have to purchase a dedicated program if you want that capability. You can, however, view your photos' EXIF information.
Pixelmator works with the most common image files, including RAW, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, PSD and PDF. It can also help you optimize your photos for online usage. You can post photos directly onto social media sites such as Facebook, or email photos from within the program, but there is no online photo gallery. Also, you cannot make animated GIFs with this software.
If you want help with Pixelmator, there are various video tutorials, FAQs and even a user forum to help you learn and find answers. If you want to contact a representative, you can do so via email.
Pixelmator works with the most common image files, including RAW, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, PSD and PDF. It can also help you optimize your photos for online usage. You can post photos directly onto social media sites such as Facebook, or email photos from within the program, but there is no online photo gallery. Also, you cannot make animated GIFs with this software.
If you want help with Pixelmator, there are various video tutorials, FAQs and even a user forum to help you learn and find answers. If you want to contact a representative, you can do so via email.
Best Alternative to Photoshop
Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo
It has powerful, professional-level editing tools.
It works with a range of photo image files.
It has a short trial period.
Affinity Photo is one of the most powerful photo editing programs we tested. It didn't score as high as other program since it lacks a photo organizing feature.
You'll find that many of the tools you use in Photoshop are also in this program. In fact, it uses many of the same hotkeys. We were quickly able to remove unwanted objects from our photos with the content-aware fill tool. We counted 42 preset filters in the program that you can quickly add to your images.
We also found it easy to work with and manipulate the various layers as we worked. The program will help you create HDR photos and panoramas using simple step by step windows. There is no lens distortion tool per se, however, you can use the perspective tools to fix any warping caused by your camera. This program can be bought for a one-time purchase of roughly $50, which is much cheaper than Adobe's monthly or yearly subscription plans.
Affinity does offer a free demo of the software, but you'll need to use it quickly as it only lasts for 10 days. There is no photo organizing system built-in to this software so if you're specifically wanting a program that can sort your images, this might not be the best choice for you. We didn't find any printing project resources within the program. It will only allow you to make basic print requests.
We also found it easy to work with and manipulate the various layers as we worked. The program will help you create HDR photos and panoramas using simple step by step windows. There is no lens distortion tool per se, however, you can use the perspective tools to fix any warping caused by your camera. This program can be bought for a one-time purchase of roughly $50, which is much cheaper than Adobe's monthly or yearly subscription plans.
Affinity does offer a free demo of the software, but you'll need to use it quickly as it only lasts for 10 days. There is no photo organizing system built-in to this software so if you're specifically wanting a program that can sort your images, this might not be the best choice for you. We didn't find any printing project resources within the program. It will only allow you to make basic print requests.
Best for Learning Adobe
Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018
The interface is very easy to use.
This program has some of the best editing capabilities.
There are hundreds of video tutorials to help you learn the software.
It doesn't offer batch processing.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 is one of the best Mac photo editors on the market. You navigate through the interface by choosing between the Guided, Quick and Expert modes. As expected, Guided mode helps you become acquainted with the various tools. It even offers tutorials and written instructions to fully explain everything.
Quick mode allows you to automatically make common adjustments to your photos, which can save time when you know your enhancements won't take long. You can adjust contrast, brightness and color. The Expert Mode gives you access to all of Photoshop Elements' tools.
There are more than 90 filters that can quickly add artistic effects to your favorite images. It also features advanced tools like content-aware fill, which gets rid of objects in an image and fills the space believably.
Photoshop Elements comes with Elements Organizer 2018, a separate program dedicated to organizing your photos. You can tag photos by time, date, name and rating. While Elements Organizer 2018 allows you to organize and catalogue your photos in a variety of ways, it can get tiresome jumping between the two programs. You can use Elements Organizer 2018 to store your photos directly in the cloud so you can access them anytime, anywhere.
This program is compatible with all the common image file types, including RAW, PDF, PSD, PNG, GIF and TIFF. You can also choose to share your photos directly onto Flickr, Facebook and Twitter. Should you need help, there are dozens of video tutorials online along with user forums and a FAQs page.
There are more than 90 filters that can quickly add artistic effects to your favorite images. It also features advanced tools like content-aware fill, which gets rid of objects in an image and fills the space believably.
Photoshop Elements comes with Elements Organizer 2018, a separate program dedicated to organizing your photos. You can tag photos by time, date, name and rating. While Elements Organizer 2018 allows you to organize and catalogue your photos in a variety of ways, it can get tiresome jumping between the two programs. You can use Elements Organizer 2018 to store your photos directly in the cloud so you can access them anytime, anywhere.
This program is compatible with all the common image file types, including RAW, PDF, PSD, PNG, GIF and TIFF. You can also choose to share your photos directly onto Flickr, Facebook and Twitter. Should you need help, there are dozens of video tutorials online along with user forums and a FAQs page.
Best for Making HDR Images
Acorn 6
Acorn 6
It creates excellent HDR images.
Use the tools to alter the hue, brightness and contrast of your images to make them look the way you want them to.
This software also works in layers to quickly view and select various elements when making changes. You can create both HDR and panoramic images using this software. The HDR guide steps you through the process making it easier to combine two or more images into one for a vibrant and lively finished product. Since it works with HDR images, it's not surprising that the software is compatible with RAW images, in addition to the most common file types. There is no photo organizer, so you'll have to purchase another one separately if you're wanting to manage your images. Fortunately, it does include a batch processor to make changes to multiple images at once and save you time. The cloning tool can help you eliminate unwanted objects from your images whether that be acne from a portrait or phone wires from a landscape. It also happens to be one of the least expensive programs in our comparison, selling for roughly $30.
Why Trust Us?
We have been testing Mac photo editing software for the past seven years. Whenever we evaluate products, we use the same testing methodology on each product to get fair and honest results. Our testers are often a mixture of experienced and inexperienced users, so we can gauge how different audiences react to a piece of software. With photo editing software, we look at every feature, tool and capability to determine how useful and intuitive each program is overall. Our testing helps us determine whether or not a program is best for beginners, advanced users or a mixture of both. We prefer to recommend programs that help you grow from a novice to an experienced artist while offering all of the best editing tools and sharing capabilities.
We contacted Brooklyn Parks - a graphic designer of 6 years – and Lisa Dixon – a professional photographer of 4 years to get more insights about photo editing programs. We also reached out to John Yoo, Head of Sales at CyberLink to learn more about PhotoDirector Ultra.
How Much Does Mac Photo Editing Software Cost?
You'll find that the best Mac photo editing software ranges between $30 and $100. Usually, programs costing $50 and up will give you more creative freedom and control over your work. The excessively expensive programs that cost more than $100 aren't always worth the cost, since you can usually find a program that fits your needs for less. Determine the tools and features you want most and then choose a program that offers them.
How We Tested
This year alone, we spent 50 hours testing 10 products. Our testers are graphic designers and photographers with a range of photo editing software skills. To determine which programs have the best editing capabilities, we uploaded the same images to each piece of software and applied the same edits. We paid attention to the intuitiveness of each product and compared the edited images side by side.
When the programs allowed, we also shared images to social media sites to see how well the sharing process worked. Programs with more editing features scored higher, while programs with fewer features scored lower. Our ease-of-use score was determined by the number of tools each program offered combined with the effectiveness of applied edits and the intuitiveness of each program's interface. Programs that were well organized and offered plenty of help tools scored higher.
We looked at file compatibility and awarded programs with more points when they worked with a wider range of common image file types. This also included the ability to optimize images for use on the web. The best software also comes with extensive resources, especially online video tutorials. Programs that offered a larger quantity of quality video instructions, a FAQs page and a user forum scored higher in our review.
What to Look For
Editing Tools
When we spoke to Parks, she told us that the best programs are the ones with intuitive tools. 'The name makes it obvious for what [the tool] does and it's easier to find what you are looking for,' she said. We score programs higher that were easier to use, this included making it easier to find the specific tools you need. What you need from a photo editor depends on what you intend to do with your images. Any true photo editor should offer basic editing tools like red-eye removal, cropping, color management, shape tools and the ability to add text to images. Instax share app for mac. More comprehensive programs also have background removal software and a variety of brushes. Advanced tools help you make fine tweaks to your photos like touching up skin blemishes with touch-up or cloning tools.
It's also nice having a program that can fix lens distortion and create panoramas and HDR images. Batch processing is a super-convenient feature that allows you to make the same edits to several images at once. If you plan on taking dozens of photos at a time on a frequent basis, it's worth finding a program that offers it.
Yoo told us that if you can take the time to correctly adjust your camera before taking your photo, you will save yourself some hassle. 'The biggest lesson I learned that saved me time in post-processing was to take the extra time to compose the photo and light in the beginning when shooting. A well-composed photo will save you a lot of time later.' So, it's worth taking the time to prepare your scene.
Pricing
As far as Mac photo editing software goes, you should be able to find a basic editing program for under $100, typically starting for as little as $30. Paying more than $100 will often land you a professional editing program with additional editing tools and presets compared to the basic versions. It's good to note that you don't always have to pay the more expensive prices to get the specific tools you need. Before making your purchase consider what you think are the most important tools and find a software that offers them. If content-aware and cosmetic brush tools are most important to you, you can get a relatively cheap program that still includes those options like Affinity Photo. Programs generally have a trial period as well, so use this to try out the software and see which ones work best for you.
As far as Mac photo editing software goes, you should be able to find a basic editing program for under $100, typically starting for as little as $30. Paying more than $100 will often land you a professional editing program with additional editing tools and presets compared to the basic versions. It's good to note that you don't always have to pay the more expensive prices to get the specific tools you need. Before making your purchase consider what you think are the most important tools and find a software that offers them. If content-aware and cosmetic brush tools are most important to you, you can get a relatively cheap program that still includes those options like Affinity Photo. Programs generally have a trial period as well, so use this to try out the software and see which ones work best for you.
Organizing
Not all photo editing programs come with built-in photo organizing systems. While this isn't a critical feature, it can be incredibly convenient and save you time. The most common systems organize by location, faces, dates, times, titles, ratings and color labels. Categorization options vary from program to program.
Not all photo editing programs come with built-in photo organizing systems. While this isn't a critical feature, it can be incredibly convenient and save you time. The most common systems organize by location, faces, dates, times, titles, ratings and color labels. Categorization options vary from program to program.
File Compatibility
Since file compatibility is an important factor of a program's usability, we gave more points to programs that covered the most common image files such as RAW, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, PSD and PDF. Make sure you choose a program that works with the file types you use most. Yoo told us, 'I always shoot in RAW since it keeps the most light information in case I need to edit.' RAW images give you the most control over the editing process when they are imported into editing programs, which is why many photographers prefer to work with them.
Since file compatibility is an important factor of a program's usability, we gave more points to programs that covered the most common image files such as RAW, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, PSD and PDF. Make sure you choose a program that works with the file types you use most. Yoo told us, 'I always shoot in RAW since it keeps the most light information in case I need to edit.' RAW images give you the most control over the editing process when they are imported into editing programs, which is why many photographers prefer to work with them.
Sharing Capabilities
Being able to post photos to Facebook or email them to family and friends directly within a photo editing program is a nice feature. Many companies offer online photo gallery accounts for you to use for free, but some cost extra. This can be a good place to back up your photos in case of computer failure.
Being able to post photos to Facebook or email them to family and friends directly within a photo editing program is a nice feature. Many companies offer online photo gallery accounts for you to use for free, but some cost extra. This can be a good place to back up your photos in case of computer failure.
If you plan on printing your photos or designs, Dixon told us it's best to work with 300 dpi, which is short for “dots per inch”. 'You can print pretty much anything,' she said. Many photo editing programs allow you to determine the resolution and size of new files or adjust the resolution and size of current images. This high resolution allows you to print images the size of movie posters and larger without getting blurry or pixelated imagery.
Parks told us that a super simple thing to help you when using photo editing software is to know the size of your project before you start. 'It will save you headaches later on,' she explained, 'otherwise when you transfer your files it can look like garbage.' Pulling a small image onto a larger file can make the small image pixelated and blurry so it's best to know the size of your end goal project when you start.
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Help & Support
Advanced photo editors have so many features that you will likely need help learning how to use them. Video tutorials, FAQs pages and user forums can go a long way in helping you become an editing expert. Look for companies that also offer customer service in the method that you most prefer, whether through email, live chat or phone.
Advanced photo editors have so many features that you will likely need help learning how to use them. Video tutorials, FAQs pages and user forums can go a long way in helping you become an editing expert. Look for companies that also offer customer service in the method that you most prefer, whether through email, live chat or phone.
Parks told us that 'the biggest resource for learning is YouTube.' She further explained that she loves using it to find multiple ways to solve the same problem. If you ever get stumped jump on the web and see what other users have figured out.
Tips from the Pros
- If you're wanting to add vectors and symbols to your work, Parks suggests you use The Noun Project, a royalty-free icon library. 'You pay for vectors or PNG objects and symbols. It saves you a lot of time.'
- 'There are a billion artists and YouTube tutorials out there. There are things out there that already exist, there are pictures for you to use. Don't steal things outright, but use things to help you make something.' Many professional artists and graphic designers use imagery that already exists but combine it in a new way to make something unique. As long as you aren't stealing someone else's work, this can be a good method for enhancing your own photography.
- As parting thoughts, Parks explained, 'When looking for a job, it might not be something you imagined, but you can get something using [photo editing] skills.' We couldn't agree more. Being able to use this kind of software opens doors to many different job opportunities, from freelance work to positions within a company.
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