- What the above software apps enable you to do, is to polish images, increase the lighting, sharpen the saturation as well as a million other things for a perfect look. If you love perfection, these are the options to go for. They are the Best free photo editing software for Mac 2020.
- Darktable is an open-source, free RAW photo editor available for Linux, Mac / macports, BSD, Windows, and Solaris 11 / GNOME. It’s designed to be a virtual darkroom and allows you to view negatives through a zoomable lighttable.
Editing pictures is such a broad term. That could include everything from a small adjustment like cropping your pics all the way to more complex photo compositions and everything in between. So, when you're looking for the best photo editor for Mac, it's not necessarily a one-size-fits-all answer. But don't worry, this article will talk about apps that cover all those levels to help you find the best one for you.
Mac Photo Editor: Best Free Photo Editing Software for Mac You may have known how to use the intuitive photo editing tool Photos built-in on MacOS to edit photos on Mac like a pro. Use the Photos app, you can adjust the light, color, sharpness, add filters, or crop and remove unwanted part.
Here's a list of the best photo apps for Mac you'll read about:
- Lightroom
- Affinity Photo
- Photoshop
- Gimp
- Photolemur
- Snapheal
- Pixelmator
- Preview
- Fotor
- Google Photos
Editing pictures can quickly create duplicate versions of the same picture. You could end up with an edited and an original copy of all of your photos. So, it's good to get into the habit of checking and cleaning up your duplicates. And thankfully, you can use the app Gemini 2. It's an app that will scan your hard drive for similar-looking, as well as exact copies, and let you delete them within minutes.
1. Lightroom
If you're looking for the best photography app for Mac, look no further than Adobe Lightroom. It's an industry standard for all photographers, from budding amateurs to professionals.
The nice thing about Lightroom is that you can also use it as a photo manager. Cataloging the pictures you edit and even copy and pasting edits between images. It's a robust tool that will allow you to do any retouching you want to your photo.
2. Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo is the app that's going to give you the most bang for your buck. While it's loaded with all of the essential retouching tools like red-eye correction, blemish healing, and cloning. But it also has more powerful editing features like masking, filters, and layer adjustments.
One of the nice things about this app is that it's a non-destructive editor. This means when you make any edits, it doesn't destroy or save over the original image. So, if you push an edit too far and don't like what you've done, you're able to revert back to the original. However, Affinity Photo doesn't have an image management feature. Which may make it easier for some people to use, but it also makes it harder to keep track of which pics you've already edited.
3. Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is arguably the most popular photo editor on this list, and it's also the most powerful one. There is absolutely nothing you can't do with this app. In fact, its name has become a synonym for photo editing. When people say they edited an image, it's not uncommon for them to say, 'I Photoshopped that.'
But Photoshop isn't for everyone. Because it's so robust, it might be a bit of overkill if you're only doing basic retouching to your photos. On the other hand, if you're looking for more advanced features, you might find the Adobe subscription is worth the price.
4. Gimp
If you're looking for free photo editing software for Mac, then you'll want to check out Gimp. It's like a much simpler and free version of Photoshop. All the things that might have confused in Adobe Photoshop have been simplified and decluttered in Gimp. It's a great app that gives you total control over your photos, so you can edit them however you'd like.
5. Photolemur
Photolemur bills itself as the easiest and fastest way to edit your photos. Once you import your picture, it analyzes it before using its algorithms and AI to automatically enhance it. And don't worry, you can always adjust how much your pic is improved if you don't like how Photolemur edited your image. Photolemur is a great app for beginners and those of you who are only dipping your toe into the photography water.
6. Snapheal
If you've ever taken a photo only to look back at it and noticed a complete strange photobombing your pic, you can just launch Snapheal. Snapheal is an app that quickly gets rid of anything for your pictures. Whether it's a tiny blemish or an entire person in the background, fire up Snapheal and fix your photos fast.
7. Pixelmator
Pixelmator is a fun and easy-to-use photo editor on Mac that's going to take your photography game to the next level. With the app, you can combine two pictures together using their layers feature. You can make adjustments to contrast, lighting, and other various effects. And the great news is that it's still more inexpensive than both Photoshop and Affinity Photo.
8. Preview
When it comes to making very basic photo edits, look no further to Preview, the default Mac image editor. You can resize and crop pictures with it, but you can also make color adjustments, rotate the picture, or add shapes and text to your pics.
9. Fotor
Fotor is a simple and free photo editor for Mac. Loaded with all the basic tools you could need, like making color adjustments, adding borders or text, and rotating or tilting your images. The app lays out all of these tools in an easy-to-navigate interface, making it not only the most affordable editor on our list but also the easiest to use.
10. Google Photos
Even though Google Photos is usually thought of as a photo library manager, the app also has some useful tools to make small edits to your pictures. You can do things like add filters, adjust the light and saturation, and even rotate or crop your original image. While Google Photos is lighter on the number of tools to edit your pictures, the small adjustments it can make, it does them very well.
There are a ton of incredible apps that can help you edit your pictures. You just need to figure out which one works best for you and your photos. Can you get by with making quick edits in Preview, or do you need all the power an app like Adobe Photoshop can offer you? Hopefully, this article helps clear up some of those key differences between these apps.
Do you still use a high-end DSLR for clicking pictures and capturing mesmerizing moments? Well with the advancements of smartphones, now everyone can be a photographer. But in the curiosity to get that one perfect click will end up taking hundreds of shots.
In addition to the high-end camera of our smartphones, we still need a good photo editing software to edit and polish our dull shots, and make then Instagram suitable. Mac photo editing apps help you to fix and organize your pictures according to your taste and liking.
If you are looking for a professional photo editing tool to add meaning to your dull pictures and make them aesthetically pleasing then refer to our list of best mac photo editing apps. Learn How to Edit Photos on Your Mac to improve the overall quality and look of your picture.
Fortunately, the market is filled with an ocean of options but to help you pick the best tool in the lot, here we have compiled a well-researched list of some of the best photo editing apps and software for mac. Read ahead to find out the best option according to your needs.
12 Best Photo Editors For Mac in 2020:
1. Adobe Photoshop
By far the best photo editing apps for Mac and Windows devices. It is undeniably the most loved tool in the market and commonly known as a synonym to photo editing software.
Loaded with an ocean of features and high-end benefits it is highly popular amongst the fraternity of artists, photographers, designers, and illustrators. In addition to beginners, it is specifically built to suit the high-end requirements of professionals. The key features of this amazing tool listed below, you name it and Adobe Photoshop will have it.
- It comes with incredible retouching capabilities and cloning.
- It can polish your dull images in seconds including the large size images.
- It includes a great list of selection and masking tools.
- Adobe Photoshop can support images of multiple formats including PNG, JPG, GIF, and many more.
- With this incredible tool, you get access to almost 360 editing tools and map support for HEIF files.
- It uses a non-destructive editing mechanism to enhance the overall appearance and look of your images.
Read More: 15 Best Duplicate Photo Finder & Cleaner Software for Windows
2. Skylum Luminar 4
Known for its array of best filters and HDR, Skylum luminar 4 deserves a spot on our list of best batch photo editing apps. With its affordable pricing structure and image editing capabilities it has gained massive popularity in the last few years.
It is a perfect amalgamation of the features of both Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. Some of the key features of this Mac photo editing tool are:
- For better user experience it offers 24/7 sales and technical support.
- It is powered with fast editing tools and functionalities.
- Loaded with an array of adjustment masks and layers.
- With its clever editing shortcuts and capabilities, you can effortlessly manage your photographs.
- It comes with multiple viewing options including a single image view, filmstrip view, and gallery view.
- Sun rays, AI-powered sky enhancers, and accidental AI are few of its other offerings.
3. Adobe Lightroom
If you are looking for an online Mac photo editing app, then Adobe Lightroom can be a good pick to start with. With its cutting edge technology and photo editing abilities, it enjoys great popularity in the world of photo editing software. It is a cloud-based tool.
It comes with easy to use yet high-end editing features. In addition to this, its interface is quite user-friendly and simple to use.
- Lightroom can easily sync with several devices.
- It comes with customizable sliders along with brush adjustment tools and gradients.
- You also get access to multiple preset filters and professional filters with it.
- Fixing tools, lens-based correction capabilities, and blurring tools are few of its other offerings.
- Manage your photo gallery more efficiently with its face detection feature.
4. Skylum Aurora HDR
Next on our list of image editing software for mac is Skylum Aurora HDR. It works well with Windows devices as well and can easily be integrated as an Apple photo extension. With its AI-based neural network, you can create HDR images within seconds.
- It is loaded with an array of 20+ editing tools to create HDR images.
- It offers a great way to polish your raw images and leverage their appearance with its 80 unique presets.
- Enhance the clarity and optimize the contrast of your images with its HDR clarity feature.
- It can add depth and details to your photo and can also clean noise.
Photo Editing Software For Beginners
5. Canva
The Best Free Photo Editing Software For Mac Windows 10
If your search for the best apps for mac photo editing is still going on then Canva can help you. It is a great tool for designing photo templates for both business and personal use. It comes with a clean interface and easy to use editing tools and graphics.
Use it to add various fonts and graphics to your dull images and make them Instagram ready.
- Works well on both computer system and smartphones,
- It comes with image cropping, image straightening features along with a speech bubble maker.
- It is packed with a massive library of graphic designs and images and also supports cloud storage.
- With Canva you get access to over 8000+ photo templates, icons, photos and pre-designed cards to create visually stunning content.
Read More: 10 Best Photo/Image Viewers for Windows 10 in 2020
6. Vsco
Next on our list of Mac photo editing apps is Vsco. Its advanced effects and stylish photo editing abilities make it highly popular amongst the fraternity of professional photographers.
Add life to your dull images with the help of its preset filters. Highlights, white balance, exposure are few of its editing tools with which you can adjust the color, exposure, and sharpness of your images.
7. DesignWizard
Are you still wondering what is the best photo editor for Mac users, then try DesignWizard. This feature-rich tool is packed with advanced controls and is well known for its high-end image design templates.
In addition to this, it also comes with a massive range of images, graphics, illustrations, and high-quality videos. Along with this you also get access to various marketing tools like sale posters, Linkedin Ads, Facebook Ads campaigns, and much more.
It comes with a clean and convenient interface and works seamlessly well with iOS devices.
8. Capture One
If you have been using Adobe Lightroom, then try Capture One now to enjoy a lot of other unique features. With this incredible photo editing software, you can polish your images within seconds.
Use it ‘s advanced color editing features and masking capabilities to add life to your images.
9. ON1 Photo Raw
Experience a completely new taste of photo editing with our next pick of Best Mac Photo Editing Apps, ON1 Photo Raw. Its cutting edge capabilities allow you to convert your raw clicks into stunning images without spending too much time and effort.
With its dual-mode feature, you can not only edit but also browse various images. Enjoy live adjustments and preview with this power-packer photo editor software.
Read More: 11 Best Free PDF Editors For Mac in 2020
10. GIMP
Also known as the GNU Image Manipulation Program. GIMP is an open-source mac photo editor app.
Use it to retouch your dull images and create stunning pieces of the original artwork. Apart from this it also allows you to create pro-level graphic design elements. It is a free application and comes loaded with several pre-level editing features.
11. Adobe Photoshop Elements
If you are new to the world of photography and image editing. Choose Adobe Photoshop Elements . It comes with a clean interface and easy to use features.
It is powered with an advanced AI- capability. Use its Guided Edit feature to create memes, part-image sketches, and multi-photo texts.
12. PortraitPro
If you love portrait photography, then Portraitpro is a blessing for you. The software is loaded with all the essential features that you need to create stunning portrait pieces.
Use its Advanced makeup tool to efficiently transform dull faces. You can also try its wrinkle removing and skin smoothing features.
Wrapping Up
Dive in the world of photography with photo editing apps and software. Each Mac photo editing tool mentioned above has a unique feature to offer alongside the basic features.
Refer to our list and pick the best-suited tool for yourself depending on your need, photography skills, budget, and preferences.