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Using a Photoshop-level image editor to do simple image editing would be an overkill and require a steep learning curve. For that purpose you can get away with a simple photo editor. If you are a Mac user, here are four simple and free photo editors that you can use for your everyday photo editing. So, it is just a handy Mac photo editor that can make images brighter, good-looking and accurate. Capture One Pro. We've come to the last best photo editor for Mac on my list. This one may be a bit expensive for beginners, and as its name says, it's a pro software. It is made by Phase One, they specialize in high-end camera systems, though. This Mac photo editing software has been available since 2015 for OS X Yosemite 10.10.3, and since 2016 for tvOS v.10. This app has several easy-to-use editing tools, such as filters and Smart Sliders. In addition, it has the Markup tool, which can add text, shapes, and create sketches and signatures. As a Mac user, I find a lot of Windows articles on how to edit images, fix photos, remove backgrounds etc. While many programs are OS neutral, it’s always good to find programs that cater and support the software that goes onto your Mac. I use a number of photo editors for Mac both online.
As a Mac user, I find a lot of Windows articles on how to edit images, fix photos, remove backgrounds etc. While many programs are OS neutral, it’s always good to find programs that cater and support the software that goes onto your Mac. The alternative option is to use online web based programs but there are a few disadvantages to both. Still, I use a number of photo editors for Mac both online and downloadable that I like.
GIMP (Download free)
Pixlr Editor/ Pixlr X (online, free)
Pixelmator (Download, pay)
Movavi Photo Editor For Mac
Affinity Photo (Download, pay)
Canva (online, free and pay versions)
PicMonkey (Online low cost pay)
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Adobe ( if you budget allows for it)
The beauty of the first 4 are that they offer full range of features to photo “shop” add, correct, fix, adjust, enhance, merge, remove, and many others to photos and images. Both GIMP and Pixlr Editor/ Pixlr X are free.
Photo Editing With GIMP on Mac
GIMP is a downloadable software; has some amazing features, and a big online community of users. The con with GIMP appears that a large portion of the focus is on using GIMP with Windows. Don’t let that stop you from testing and downloading this great free photo editor for your Mac. If you need solid instructions on getting GIMP running check out my article here —> Installing GIMP on MacOS High Sierra.
Photo Editing Using Online Pilxr ( require Adobe Flash enabled on Mac)
Pixlr Editor has been around awhile and the creators are now slowly migrating it to the newer online version called Pixlr X. Not all the features have been incorporated, specifically the transform and distort features that skew images and text. There is no login to use; that is a pro and a con because if you don’t download your work its gone. But still I find background removal and color tweaks with Pixlr amazingly easy to do.
Photo Editing With Pixelmator ( download from App Store For Mac, Ipad/Iphone versions available)
Pixelmator was and still is a Mac product purchased through the App Store. I purchased Pixelmator and the developers of this have just release Pixelmator Pro. The previous version prior to Pro did have some vector capabilities but that has gone away in Pro although there is some discussion about a future vector graphics program. Still for the price tag ($39.99) it’s a real steal compared to Photoshop.
Photo Editing Using Affinity Products – MacFriendly
Affinity Photo is another Photo Editor between the free GIMP/Pixlr low end range and the high end Adobe products. Personally I have no experience with Affinity Photo but if you’re looking for one stop shopping (that is getting all your design needs from one developer) Affinity makes both Photo (Photoshop Alternative) and Designer (Illustrator Alternative).
Photo Editing With Canva (Online, very Mac friendly)
Canva is an amazingly useful online tool for minor photo editing. The free version frankly is limited in my opinion. The Canva for Work is $12.95/month and has nice features. It crops, resizes, edits in an easy intuitive way. However, it’s not in the same playing field as the first four programs listed. It won’t remove backgrounds, retouch or modify image areas. It’s an all around editor for creating collages, text, small photo adjustments and even pdfs. It’s basic editing of images makes it a natural choice for non-designers.
PicMonkey is very similar to Canva but has slightly better capabilities with text effect overlays (dropshadow, arc or circle text) if you’re adding text to images. Again like Canva, it’s not built for heavy photo editing, but it does work for basic functions. It cost’s about $7/month.
![Photo Photo](https://images.filehippo.net/img/ex/9185__luminar_photo_editor_for_mac_2_17_3_17.png)
One con is that the resize function in PicMonkey with distort any of the overlaid text on an image; that doesn’t happen in Canva. Really the functionality of Canva and PicMonkey is for the DIY’er that needs to do basic editing including photo editing for web, projects and social media. Serious designers should look towards the first four listed or shell out the cash for Adobe.
Personally, I’ve used everything but Affinity and Adobe. Canva and PicMonkey are my favorites for creating social media images from my designs. GIMP/Pixelmator are my go-tos for images and photos. Pixlr Editor is great for background removal and adjustments if you’re not wanting to learn a more complex program like GIMP or Pixelmator. As for Affinity, I’m toying with the idea of getting it but I’ve just not had the time. Adobe while an amazing productline, just isn’t for me right now as the subscription price tag is not something I can justify.
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- August 27, 2019
- 23 min to read
If you do digital photography, you need software to edit your pictures. When they hear photo editing, many people imagine Adobe Photoshop. That’s fair. Photoshop gives you all the tools you need to create any effect you can imagine. But at the same time, you need to do a lot of work and have a lot of experience to unlock the potential of Photoshop. So it’s not the best choice for beginners.
There’s a lot of other functional, sometimes simpler, software with friendly interfaces. We’ll tell you about it.
1. Luminar (7 day free trial)
Luminar positions itself as the most innovative way to edit photos. The interface looks like Lightroom, excluding the Library column, which is combined with Edit and Info in one menu. The adjustment tools are the same as in Lightroom, from white balance and temperature to exposure, contrast, shadows, and so on. Lens correction and transform tools are also available.
The secret weapon of Luminar is Artificial Intelligence, or AI. AI technology powers three Luminar features:
Sky Enhancer – unique filters that make the sky in your pictures more expressive and increase contrast
Accent AI – analyzes your photos and applies enhancements automatically so you don’t have to make a dozen manual adjustments
Sun Rays – adds realistic sun rays to your photos and lets you customize them
In Luminar you have over 60 default styles, or presets, created by pro photographers. You can use them to edit images with one click. The program has toolsets for portraits, landscapes, and aerial photography. Luminar’s interface is clear and logical. Like Lightroom, it has a thoughtful placement of tools. Just move the sliders and see what happens.
There’s no subscription for Luminar. Just buy it and use it. Skylum will give your money back within 60 days if you don’t like it.
2. Adobe Photoshop CC (7-day trial)
PC: 2GHz Intel Core 2 or AMD Athlon 64 processor, 2GB RAM (8GB recommended), Windows 7 to 10 | Mac: Multicore Intel 64-bit processor, 2GB RAM (8GB recommended), OS X 10.11 or later | Hard drive: 4GB | Minimum screen resolution: 1024x768 pixels
Photoshop isn’t cheap and it’s not the simplest program, but it’s the best tool in the world. Nowadays, the only way to get Photoshop is to subscribe to one of Adobe’s subscription-based Photography plans.
Photoshop isn’t only for photographers. It’s for illustrators, designers, videographers, and artists. It lets you work with masks and layers, add ready-made filters, and make your own filters. You can change every characteristic of your photo - single colors, shades, etc.. You can change the white balance and create a picture with any form: diptych, triptych, collage, etc. But you need to watch tens of tutorials to master all these features.
There are no image browsing or cataloging tools in Photoshop itself, but since Lightroom is included in the same Photography Plans as Photoshop, that’s not an issue. RAW conversions are taken care of by Adobe Camera Raw, which is so powerful it’s practically an image editor in its own right. On its own, Photoshop is powerful but limited; with Adobe Lightroom, it’s half of an unbeatable image editing double act.
3. Photolemur(Free version with watermark)
Photolemur promises the quickest photo editing. Just drag and drop your pictures to get the result. Artificial Intelligence does all the work. This program is good for portrait photographers because of Face Finish technology, which removes imperfections, enhances eyes, and whitens teeth. The smart browsing option lets you improve multiple photos at once.
Photolemur is a simple program for beginners. If you want to improve your pictures fast without understanding tens of options, use Photolemur.
4. Aurora HDR(7 day free trial)
This software is based on a Quantum HDR Engine powered by Artificial Intelligence. It provides 20+ tools to help you get beautiful HDR photos. At your disposal are a polarizing filter, color toning, vignetting, dodge and burn, and other features. And Aurora HDR has a few exclusive tools:
- HDR Denoise – intelligently cleans noise
- HDR Smart Structure – improves depth and details in your images
- Civ 6 for mac. HDR Clarity – boosts clarity and adds localized contrast only where needed, without touching the whole photo
Aurora HDR gives you 80 unique Looks, or presets, which can turn your photos from RAW to creative in a few seconds. Manual mode is available too. Aurora HDR come with no subscription and a 60-day money back guarantee.
5. Alien Skin Exposure X4 (30-day Trial)
PC: Intel Core 2 or equivalent processor, Windows 7 64-bit or later | Mac: Intel Core 2 or higher processor, OS X 10.10 or later | Hard drive: Not listed | Minimum screen resolution: 1280x768 pixels
Alien Skin Exposure X4 has a strange name and a good pack of tools. This all-in-one program focuses on analog effects and has a rich library with presets. Alien Skin Exposure is a mix of Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. With this software, you can adjust colors, shadows, lighting, and sharpness and crop pictures. The program also supports layers and masks and has a lot of one-click presets. You can create your own presets too.
![Photo Photo](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133941393/267592700.png)
One important feature of Alien Skin is virtual image copy, which creates a photo clone that doesn’t take any space on the hard drive. Another useful option is the ability to preview a preset before applying it. One flaw, however, is that Exposure X4 can be a little bit slow when scanning big catalogs.
6. Adobe Photoshop Elements (30-day free trial)
PC: 64-bit 1.6GHz or faster processor, 4GB RAM, Win 7 SP1 to 10 | Mac: Multicore Intel 64-bit processor, 4GB RAM, OS X 10.11 or later | Hard drive: 5GB | Minimum screen resolution: 1280x800 pixels
Elements is Photoshop for beginners. Its interface is simpler.
Photoshop Elements is based on two programs:
- Organizer: Helps you sort pictures. You can browse photos by folders, create albums, and mark pictures with hashtags. It makes it easier to create a series.
- Editor: Includes tutorials, fast effects, guided mode with a list of walkthroughs, and expert mode with tens of tools from exposure and color editing to noise removal.
- From flaws: Photoshop Elements has a limited version of Camera Raw with a small set of tools from classic Photoshop. It doesn’t support lens correction profiles or chromatic aberration removal, though. Many options are missing. For example, you don’t have curves even in expert mode.
Advantages of this software are its modern design and friendly and easy interface. It’s best for beginners, and tutorials are available.
7. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic/CC (Free 7-day trial)
PC: 2GHz or faster Intel Core 2 or AMD Athlon 64 processor, 2GB RAM (8GB recommended), Windows 7 SP1 to 10 | Mac: Intel 64-bit, 2GB RAM (8GB recommended), OS X 10.11 or later | Hard drive: 2GB (10GB for CC) | Minimum screen resolution: 1024x768 pixels
Adobe Photoshop + Lightroom = the perfect weapon.
Photoshop is great for hardcore manipulation: pro retouching, working with masks, layers, and levels. Adobe Lightroom was made mostly for corrections to shadows, lighting, exposure, and colors. You can edit photos fully manually quite easily: just slide the sliders and see what happens. Or use presets. You can save all settings and create your own presets to use later. Lightroom is convenient for editing a series of photos – you just need to create a catalog and apply one preset.
Lightroom is an all-in-one image cataloging, RAW processing, and editing program. But Adobe has made things more confusing by splitting off the old Lightroom, now called Lightroom Classic, for regular desktop storage and introducing a new, slimmed-down Lightroom CC which stores all your photos online. With Lightroom CC, you have to pay for Adobe Cloud storage, starting at 1GB for around £10/$10 per month, and there are now three Photography plans to choose from.
Net for mac. Lightroom CC offers the convenience of having your whole image library available everywhere, but the storage costs are high and the software itself lacks some key features you might take for granted in the desktop version – it doesn’t support plug-ins, for example, and supports only Photoshop as an external editor.
8. Affinity Photo (Free trial available)
PC: Processor not specified, 2GB RAM (4GB recommended), Windows 7 SP1 to 10 | Mac: 64-bit Core Duo 2 or better processor, 2GB RAM, OS X 10.9 or later | Hard drive: 670MB | Minimum screen resolution: 1280x768 pixels
Do you want a low-cost and powerful Photoshop alternative? Now you’ve got it. Affinity Photo 1.6 has the same features as the famous Adobe product but it’s price is much better. Previously, Affinity Photo worked only on Mac, but now it’s available for Windows too.
It matches Photoshop in terms of selection, masking, and layer tools, and Serif, the developer of the Affinity products, has focused particularly heavily on retouching, with cloning, healing, and retouching tools, an inpainting tool for automatic object removal, and a dedicated Liquify Persona (workspace) for localized image distortion effects.
These Personas are part of the whole Affinity Photo workflow. The Photo Persona is where the regular image editing is done, but there’s also a Develop Persona for RAW processing, a Tone Mapping Persona for HDR effects, and an Export Persona for exporting finished images.
But Affinity’s creators didn’t come up with any browsing and cataloging tools.
9. DxO Photolab (Free 30-Day Trial)
PC: Intel Core 2 or AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor, 4GB RAM (8GB recommended), Windows 7 SP1 to 10 | Mac: Intel Core i5 or higher, 4GB RAM (6GB recommended), OS X 10.11 or later | Hard drive: 4GB | Minimum screen resolution: Not listed
Owners of Fujifilm cameras, we’re sorry but this tool is not for you. DxO Photolab 1.2 does not support RAWs from Fuji cameras.
This program is a basic tool without any supernatural options. With the new gradient, brush, and U-point adjustment tools, it’s now possible to enhance your photos within Photolab rather than in an external editor, all while using DxO’s excellent RAW processing engine. You can do good editing with Photolab, which boasts strong noise removal and effective optical correction.
The basic version of Photolab has limited features. To open the ClearView feature and perspective corrections, you need to buy the Elite edition. This will also give you access to the FilmPack set of analog effects.
10. ON1 Photo RAW 2019 (30-day trial is fully-functional)
PC: Intel Core 2 Duo, Xeon, or better processor, 4GB RAM (16GB recommended), Windows 7 to 10 | Mac: Intel Core 2 Duo or better processor, 4GB RAM (16GB recommended), OS X 10.9 or later | Hard drive: 1.5GB | Minimum screen resolution: 1280x720 pixels
What can you do with ON1 Photo RAW?
- Organize your photos into series and explore your image folders
- Work with RAW files
- Use one-click presets from a huge library
- Explore manual mode and change any characteristics of your images, from exposure and lighting to contrast and saturation
Photo Editors For Mac Free Download
Photo RAW is compatible with cloud services such as Dropbox, which makes managing images easy. ON1 Photo RAW doesn’t have the most useful and friendly interface, but it has a wealth of effects and tools that make it worth using. But it’s not the best choice for beginners – you need some knowledge of editing to use it fully.
The latest version of ON1 Photo RAW has one unique feature called the LUT filter. This filter lets you use LUT (lookup table) files for image editing (they’ve long been popular in cinematography), and with the addition of perspective transformation tools, there’s little that ON1 Photo RAW can’t do.
11. PhaseOne Capture One Pro (30-day free trial)
PC: Dual-core CPU or better, 8GB RAM, Windows 7 SP1 to 10 | Mac: Dual-core CPU or better, 8GB RAM, OS X 10.11.6 or later | Hard drive: 10GB | Minimum screen resolution: 1200x800 pixels
If you like Lightroom, you’ll like Capture One. It has a smart and logical cataloging system so you can browse, group, and search for photos easily. This program has pretty much the same potential as Lightroom. But unlike Lightroom, Capture One Pro works in a single window. Editing RAW files with Capture One is quite easy, just like in Lightroom. You can make manual adjustments to colors, shadows, lighting, sharpness, and other characteristics. A big library of presets (Styles) is also available, and an option to save presets has been added.