Editing your photos on your iPhone is one thing, but editing your photos on your Mac can take your photography skills to a whole 'nother level.
Compare Photo Editing Software for Mac Windows Version Windows Version. Personal; Business; Photo Editor Touch up photos to perfection $ 44.95 (incl. VAT) Buy Photo Editor Touch up photos to perfection $ 44.95 (incl. Sep 26, 2018 Get started. To open a photo in Edit view, double-click a photo in your library, then click Edit in the toolbar. You can also select a photo and pressCommand-Return to open a photo in Edit view. Click a tab in the middle of the toolbar to select from the three groups of editing tools: Adjust, Filters, and Crop. Jul 08, 2014 And no discussion of free photo editing software would be complete without mentioning the venerable GIMP, which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Apr 25, 2020 In short, crap software will be crap on any machine, whether it is a PC or a Mac. As a PC user, I always made the assumption that Adobe’s software runs better on a Mac (I thought that Adobe optimized its code better for Macs). Nope, not true. It sucks resources and wastes memory on my PC and it is no different on my iMac.
Many of us still keep our main libraries on our Macs because of its faster processors, larger storage, and all-around bigger computing power. The Mac is still the best device for serious photo editing, so you need some serious photo editing apps to make an impact.
The built-in Photos app on Mac offers several useful photo editing tools. You can crop, adjust lighting and color, set the white balance, add filters, remove unwanted blemishes, and a few more things. However, in all honesty? It's not really meant to be a robust editing app, so If you are looking for something to really finish your photos right, we've got a list of the best photo editors for Mac right here. Let's go!
Affinity Photo
If you're looking for a photo editing app that goes above and beyond for the pricetag, while still allowing you complete creative control over your images, then it might be worth it to take a peek at Affinity Photo.
Affinity Photo supports unlimited layers, groups, layer adjustments, filters, masking, and more: you also have access to tools like dodge, red-eye fix, burn, blemish, clone, and patch (so pretty much Photoshop without all the convoluted bells and whistles). Nondestructive auto-saving makes undoing everything you've done easy, so if you need to start from the beginning, the option is there.
Play, manipulate, edit, and get hella creative with Affinity Photo whether you're a serious graphic designer or someone who's just looking to do some basic editing. Your photography will seriously thank you.
- $49.99 - Download now
Fotor Photo Editor
Searching for a super simple, straight-forward photo editing app that's there to help you edit and not confuse you to the point of ripping out your hair? Then check out Fotor Photo Editor!
With this photo editor, you can easily adjust contrast and color of more washed-out photos, add borders, tilt and shift your images, add different text, slap on a few filters, and so much more, all from the easy-to-find toolbox on the right side of the app. You can even create collages of your photography masterpieces!
The BBC once called Fotor Photo Editor 'light Photoshop', and they're kind of right! You can go above and beyond editing your images with Fotor Photo Editor without getting bogged down by more complicated editing buttons and tools.
- Free - Download now
Lightroom
When you look into photo editing software, one of the first things that'll pop up is Adobe's Lightroom, and for good reason! It's essentially a staple in the photo editing community.
Lightroom is great for photographers who need to manage a large image library, and who are prepared to commit to (and pay for) Adobe's cloud storage space. But it is purely a photography tool that's a little outside the regular Adobe design ecosystem. (Creative Bloq)
Pretty much anything you want to do with your photo, you can accomplish with Lightroom. You can blend and merge shadows and highlights, sharpen dull, blurry images so they look crisp and clear, add details and tint colors to make a photo stand out, and so, so much more.
While it is a bit more on the complicated side, people who use the program and know how to navigate it are hooked. Keep in mind, there are two versions of the app — there's the Classic version, which is more preferred, and the 2018 CC version.
If you're hesitant about the program and paying for it, you can download Lightroom free for 30 days as part of a trial period. After that, you can add it to your Photoshop CC subscription for $9.99 per month.
- Free trial - Download now
Pixelmator
Amp up your photo editing skills with a little bit of help from Pixelmator!
This particular photo editing app allows you to combine two different photos into one (while still allowing you to edit over each layer), add shapes, gradients, filters, tints, and more, and completely change and edit your photography to make it fit perfectly to your aesthetic. You can even mask and cut off certain areas of the photo, giving you more creative control over your final image.
Similar to other photo editing apps, you can also adjust contrast, color, saturation level, definition, and so much more.
It's another great alternative to Photoshop, at least according to our managing editor Lory Gil.
- $29.99 - Download now
GIMP
Love Photoshop (or the idea of Photoshop...) but don't want all the complicated components and nonsense that comes along with it? Then it might be worth it to take a peek at GIMP.
Similar to Photoshop, GIMP allows you full control over editing your photos: it's an advanced image manipulation program with detailed customization for color reproduction.
You can add layers to your photos, edit and tweak colors, adjust contrast, crop, adjust saturation, and so much more. If you're someone who admires Photoshop but is terrified of the price (or just thinks it's not worth it) then GIMP might be the perfect pal for you.
- Free - Download now
Snapheal
Say 'bye-bye' to nasty photobombs, zits, perky distractions, and so much more in your photos thanks to Snapheal!
Snapheal is a little bit unique in the sense that it's more of a 'delete now, ask questions later' app. It's more about cleaning up a photo than it is editing it and adding a whole bunch of layers. The tools can either remove large objects or smaller imperfections depending on the mode. You can even adjust the masking tool, use a magic rope, or clone stamp your way to a new photo.
If you're someone who's a perfectionist when it comes to your photography and you just can't stand that one stupid, distracting blur in the background, then Snapheal is the guy for you.
- $7.99 - Download now
Preview
I know what you're thinking: 'Preview? Really, Cella?'
To which I respond: 'Uh, yeah. Duh, my dude. You use it every day!'
Sure, you can't do a bunch of fancy things with Preview like add filters, adjust contrast, and fix saturation, but you can quickly crop a photo, adjust the color, rotate it, add shapes, texts, and a signature, export as a different format, and more.
Yes, Preview isn't perfect, but it is easy to use and fantastic for making small, fast changes to your photography.
- It's already on your Mac.
How do you edit your photography?
What is your favorite photo editing app for the Mac? Why does it work the best for you? Let us know what your top picks are in the comments down below!
Updated August 2018: All the choices on this list are still the best of the best!
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Everyone has an old family album with hundreds of photos that have suffered from the passage of time. The question is how to save these photos from decay, and how to make them look as if they were taken yesterday. Truth be told, restoring old photos is a much less complicated process than it may seem to someone who knows almost nothing about photo editing.
There are a lot of different photo editing software for Mac and PC computers you can use to restore old photos and in this article, we are going to guide you through some of the best programs for restoring old photos in 2018 that will help you become a photo restoration magician.
Best Photo Restoration Software to Restore Old Photos for Beginners and Semi-pros in 2018
1. Fotophire Editing Toolkit
Price: Free Trial
Available on: PC
Restoring old photos to their former glory or giving them a new life is an easy job with Fotophire. The software features a Photo Eraser mode that almost automatically removes anything you want from a photo. In addition to powerful erase tool that lets you fix the damage on a photo with an utmost precision , Fotophire's Photo Eraser mode also provides Clone and Crop tools that can be used to polish any imperfection an old photo might have. The Wondershare's photo editing software is an excellent option for all PC users who'd like to restore old images without investing too much time.
Besides restoring the old photos, you can also change the image background in Fotophire’s Photo Cutter or enhance your old pictures with more vivid effects in the Photo Editor mode. Fotophire also provides you a helpful program, Fotophire Slideshow Maker, to make a photo or video slideshow with easy clicks, and the program can help you to finish the task in easy steps.
2. Inpaint
Image source: Internet
Price: $19,99
Available on: Mac and PC
Inexperienced photo editors, who don't know much about photo restoration will find Inpaint very useful because this software provides options that allow them to fix old photos with ease. Furthermore, this photo editing program lets you remove any objects or persons from a picture with just a couple of clicks, which means that you can use it to make your favorite vacation photos free of any unwanted elements. Inpaint also lets you make your skin look more beautiful in a picture because it allows you to erase wrinkles or remove skin defects.
3. Image Mender
Price: $25
Available on: PC and Mac
You don't have to be a photo editing genius in order to give your old photos a new face with Image Mender. The app is remarkably efficient since most of the actual work is done automatically. All you need to do in order to remove large objects from the background of an image or restore old photos is to select the areas of the picture that need improvement. Furthermore, the software enables you to conceal skin imperfections such as acne or scars.
4. SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher
Image source: Internet
Price: Pricing plans vary from $11,99 to $49,99
Available on: PC
The software's Smart Fill algorithm uses Artificial Intelligence to erase scratches, torn edges or white spots from old photos. SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher automatically recognizes typical defects in old images and it fixes them without leaving any sign of editing. This software was designed mainly as a photo restoration program, but that doesn't mean you can't use it to erase any unwanted object from a digital image that was taken yesterday. SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher can help you touch-up your selfies before you share them on your social media accounts.
5. AKVIS Retoucher
Price: $87
Available on: Mac and PC
You can either use AKVIS Retoucher as a standalone program or as a plugin for photo editing software, such as Corel Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Elements. However, the functionality of the software depends on the type of the license you have. In either case, the process of mending an old photo is simple and it doesn't take too much time. You only have to select the areas you want to repair and hit the Run button, and the program will automatically erase stains or even missing parts of the picture.
6. Retouch Pilot
Image source: Internet
Price: $39,95
Available on: PC
Retouch Pilot is a powerful photo restoration software, that enables you to change the proportions of the objects depicted in a picture or entirely remove people or anything else from complex image backgrounds. In addition, the program lets you restore old images even if they are severely damaged. Unfortunately, Retouch Pilot doesn't offer much more than remarkable photo restoration tools, which means that you have to use another photo editing software if you want to make more adjustments to your old and new photos.
Best Photo Restoration Software to Restore Old Photos for Professionals in 2018
1. Adobe Photoshop
Price: $19,99 per month
Available on: Mac and PC
Adobe Photoshop is probably the best photo editing software ever invented. The list of things you can do with this program is most probably endless, so restoring an old photo shouldn't be a too challenging task for any professional photo editor. The famous Clone Stamp tool enables the editor to copy the pixels from surrounding areas, and thus remove any damage a picture might have. Even though it may take you some time to figure out how to use Adobe Photoshop, once you learn your way around it, you'll likely have a lot of fun using the tools the software offers.
2. Corel Paintshop Pro
Image source: Internet
Price: $85
Available on: PC
This software is much more than just a simple photo restoration program because it enables its users to manipulate digital images in any way imaginable. Corel Paintshop Pro also provides support for an astounding number of image file formats, including the RAW files. The latest version of the software features a One-Click Photo fix option that can save you a lot of time during the image restoration process and while the HDR or Lens Correction tools allow you to fine-tune your photos with remarkable precision.
3. GIMP
Price: Free
Available on: Mac and PC
This impressive open-source photo editing software features professional photo restoration tools that will enable you to repair old photos. The color adjustments can be used to enhance faded photos, while the Unsharp Mask or the Clone tools allow GIMP's users to create flawless images. The abundance of options the software provides enables photo editors to express their creativity better, however, if you are new to image editing you'll have to spend a considerable amount of time learning how to properly use GIMP.
Conclusion
Free Mac Photo Editor Download
Photography is the art of memory and like memories, photos fade, but with the photo restoration software, your memories can be saved from oblivion. Regardless of which of these photo restoration programs you decide to use, the results you'll be able to achieve will be impressive. Let us know in the comments which photo editing software you like to use the most.
Finding more tools to restore your old photos