When you click pictures you want your photos to look their best. And most importantly, you want to make that happen without having to spend a lot of time. When you use new software much of the time is used in learning it or spending a lot of money on it. But, editing your photos on your iPhone is one thing, and editing them on your Mac is on another level. Many of us keep our main photo library on our Macs. As it has faster processors, larger storage, and all-around bigger computing power. Mac is the best device for serious photo editing, so you need some photo editing apps of that level to match your desires. The Photos app on Mac offers several useful photo editing tools. However, it might not be enough to up our game. Here is the list of the best photo editing app for Mac:
What you will see?
- Affinity Photo Photo Editing App
- Fotor Photo Editor
- Lightroom
- Pixelmator
- GIMP
- Darktable
- Preview
- Conclusion- Best Photo Editing Apps for your Mac?
Affinity Photo Editing App for Mac
This is a photo editing app that goes above and beyond for the price tag. It allows you the complete creative control over your images. It might be worth it to check out this amazing photo editing app: Affinity Photo.
Affinity Photo supports unlimited layers, groups, layer adjustments, filters, masking, and much more. Also, you get tools like dodge, red-eye fix, burn, blemish, clone, and patch. It is almost like
What could be improved
Honestly, it will take time for you to learn this. If you’re willing to put in the time to learn this software then of course you will get great rewards.
Fotor Photo Editor
If you are searching for a super simple, straight-forward photo editing app that will help you edit and not confuse you, then Fotor Photo Editor is for you. With this, you can easily adjust the contrast and colour of more washed-out photos, add borders, tilt and shift your images, add different text, use a few filters, and much more. You will find all of these from the easy-to-find toolbox on the right side of the app. You can also create collages of your photography masterpieces. The Fotor Photo Editor is considered ‘light Photoshop’. You can upgrade your photo editing skills with Fotor Photo Editor without getting bothered by complicated editing buttons and tools.
What could be improved
But obviously, there is a limitation to Fotor. It is although sleek and intuitive, but lacks high-end features. If you need to do a detailed retouching of an image with for example a clone brush you’ll need to find some other Mac photo editor. Also, there are too many ads in this free photo editor, but you can pay for the Pro version for a cleaner experience.
Lightroom
When you are looking for photo editing software, one of the first things you will remember is
What could be improved
Although it is somewhat complicated, people who use it are committed to it forever. There are two versions of the app — there’s the Classic version and the 2018 CC version. If you’re doubtful about paying for the program you can download Lightroom free for 30 days as part of a trial period.
Pixelmator Photo Editing App for Mac
You can boost your photo editing skills with the help of Pixelmator. This photo editing app allows you to combine two different photos into one. You can do this while editing over each layer, add shapes, gradients, filters, tints, and more. And even completely change and edit your photograph to make it fit perfectly to your creativity. You can even mask and cut out certain areas of the photo, giving you more control over your final image. Similar to the other photo editing apps, you can also adjust contrast, color, saturation level, definition, and so much more. It is another great alternative to Photoshop and a good photo editing app for your Mac.
What could be improved
Only the trial is free, so you’ll have to purchase the full version of Pixelmator to use it after the first 30 days. Although the effects and filters are quite amazing, not as great as some other options. Also, it is a bit time consuming to learn the software for those who are new to Mac photo editors.
GIMP
If you love Photoshop but don’t understand the complicated components and techniques that come along with it. Then it would be worth it to check out GIMP. Similar to Photoshop, GIMP allows you full control over editing your photos. It’s an advanced image manipulation program and allows a detailed customization for color reproduction. Also, you can add layers to your photos, edit and tint colors, adjust contrast, crop, adjust saturation, and much more. If you’re someone who likes Photoshop but is not able to go for it due to it’s price then GIMP might be the perfect option for you as a photo editing app for your Mac.
What could be improved
GIMP has open-source and the program is volunteer-run in nature. So, there are occasional bugs that you wouldn’t see in other professionally developed softwares. But that’s not nearly enough to knock it off our list of the best photo editing app for Mac.
Darktable Photo Editing App for MAc
Most of the photo editing apps for your Mac we learned about are streamlined and fairly basic. Whereas, Darktable is free photo editing software that has its own professional tools. Its cataloguing and photo organization features are comparable to Lightroom, which we can say is a major compliment. It is compatible with JPEGs as well as RAW files. Even the perspective distortion and lens correction features are quite amazing. Darktable also offers non-destructive editing, which is a huge plus.
What could be improved
If we compare the interface with the other photo editing apps, we can say it isn’t quite as polished as it could be. So it’s not as easy to pick up as some of the other apps as the best photo editor. But considering its free photo editing software, that’s about all we can complain about.
Preview Photo Editing App for Mac
You can’t do a lot of things with Preview which you can do with other apps. Just like add filters, adjust contrast, and fix saturation, but you can quickly crop a photo, adjust the colour, rotate it, add shapes, texts, and a signature, export as a different format, and more. You can say that Preview isn’t perfect and not one of the best photo editing apps. But it is easy to use and good for making small, fast changes to your images. The biggest perk is it is already available on your Mac.
Conclusion- Which is the best Photo editing app for your Mac?
To find the right photo editor for you, consider a few things:
- What do you need to do with your photo editing software for Mac? — Is it a simple image retouching or an intensive creative makeover?
- How much are you willing to pay? Or you need it to be a free photo editing software?
- What’s your skill level? Do you need something simple and streamlined, or are you a graphic expert?
Once you answer these questions, you’ll be able to decide the best photo editing app for your Mac. No matter which online image editor or photo editing software for Mac you choose, we we hope that you ace your photography game.
Which app did you find the best? Tell us in the comments section below.