#PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS FOR MAC REVIEWS UPDATE#

#PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS FOR MAC REVIEWS UPDATE#

Serif has focused particularly heavily on the retouching market, with cloning, healing and retouching tools, an Inpainting tool for automatic object removal and a dedicated Liquify persona (workspace) for localized image distortion effects. Affinity Photo is an extremely powerful photo editor with more tools and features than there’s space to list here, from focus stacking and HDR tonemapping to high-end frequency separation – and version 1.8 is a free update for existing users that brings another raft of improvements. Affinity Photo is sold at a budget price point, but it has the tools and the features and the power to compete with Photoshop head-on. And Affinity Photo gives you exactly the same thing, but subscription-free, via a single extra-low payment. We complain that there's too much Photoshop doesn't do, but the fact is for many photographers this kind of old-school image-editor is exactly what they need. Best website builders for photographers.Remember, though, that it's aimed at designers, illustrators and artists, not just photographers.

On its own, Photoshop is powerful but limited with Adobe Lightroom it’s half of the world's most popular image editing double-act. There are no ‘novice’ modes, but the tools panel does offer fly-out animations that show you how the tools work and what they do. There are no image browsing or cataloguing tools in Photoshop itself, but since Lightroom is included in the same Photography Plans as Photoshop, that’s not an issue (or you can use Adobe Bridge, which is simpler). Despite its reputation for complexity, Photoshop actually offers a very clean, slick interface.

Its support for selections, masks and layers is unmatched, making it the tool of choice for complex composite images. Needs Lightroom for organizing -Raw processing is a separate stepĭespite its immense power and constant steady improvements, Photoshop is slick and straightforward to use. So while we still have Photoshop and Lightroom at the top of our list it's only partly because they are still very good, but also to reflect the fact they are still the default choice for so many enthusiasts and creative professionals. And for crazy AI-driven reality distortion (and some rather good portrait enhancement tools), Luminar AI might be the tool you need. If you want advanced black and white effects, retro/analog filters, HDR merging or one of dozen other specialised 'looks', you're often better off using a custom-made plug-in or a different application. You can get lots of different profiles and presets for Lightroom, but these pale in comparison to the scope and variety of the effects in other programs like the DxO Nik Collection, Exposure X6 or ON1 Photo RAW 2021. And to keep your images organized you need a tool like Lightroom to use alongside it.īut even this double-act doesn't provide a whole lot of creative inspiration. If you need to open a raw file it has to go through Adobe Camera Raw first, and that's not even the best raw processor out there. Despite its mighty reputation, Photoshop is just a photo editor.

Photoshop elements for mac reviews