Free Photo Editing Software For Apple Mac

Apple’s computers are deservedly positioned as an optimal platform for creative work, a universal tool for the artist of the digital era. This collection presents the most exciting photo editing software for Mac users. So with this software, you could start creating your favorite photo in your photo collection. Accelerated performance with Metal. Metal dramatically accelerates graphics tasks like rendering, real-time effects, and exporting. Video editors on 16-inch MacBook Pro will benefit from render performance that is up to 20% faster while editors using iMac Pro will see gains of up to 35%. 1 And with new Metal support, 8K RED RAW transcodes are up to two times faster on Mac Pro, and up to three.

Photo – standard editor for Mac OS X

New native free photo editor from Apple was not conceived for direct competition with Photoshop or similar heavy applications. With it, it’s challenging to create elaborate pictures from scratch, but it’s easy to quench creative itching by editing finished photos. Or to use as a sole, budgetary tool a full-time specialist in the design of graphic materials for websites and printed publications.

The functionality of the Photo application is based on the use of many filters and masks, the assortment of which can be replenished as needed. As an additional processing – vignetting, working with histograms, correction of white balance, a thought-out system of revision history. There is not that depth of manipulation with every single layer you could get used to, work is rather quick strokes, almost on the run. Remove the red-eye effect, adjust the contrast, crop the edges to insert into the article, etc. – all these one-click filters.

GIMP – photo editor for Mac OS X

Full-featured graphics open source software, for which we love the army of fans. Others can grumble – the application requires a particular study, training new skills. But persistent professionals, enthusiasts of their business, this is not a hindrance, good, Gimp now works without complications in all versions of MAC OS X.

Like the main competitor in Photoshop, this application has a fully customizable multifunctional interface, support for layered best mac photo editing and a rich set of highly specialized tools. Colorize the riotous color of an inconspicuous picture or create a monochrome masterpiece, make point or scale edits, remove defects, or maybe add them – the Gimp is ideally suited for intricate work, and for honing new professional techniques.

One of the main limitations of this editor for Mac is the specific support for working with RAW files, which the application recognizes, but can not be directly edited. It will take several lessons and tinker with plug-ins, which can scare off a quick-tempered neophyte. But for those who immerse themselves in the project, additional resources are opened, such as GIMPology textbooks, custom filters, various utilities and updates for different occasions. This best photo editing is a real alternative to Adobe software. Gimp the best, because it is free and Gimp opens RAW files.

Paintbrush

The project is continuously updated and modernized – the application is fully adapted for OS X El Capitan. Functionality with filters and effects is surprising. The interface within the app remained forever in the 80’s. The last century, when users more than enough features of the most straightforward graphics editor, which is included in the package by default for each computer sold. Neither Microsoft with its Paint, nor Apple did not consider it expedient to change anything – the authors of Paintbrush wholeheartedly agree with them. There will always be a lot of simple tasks, for which there is a sufficient set of virtual chalk, eraser and fill function. The application supports only the most popular formats: BMP, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, GIF.

Photo editing for Mac

Free photo editing, naturally, is not at all like cumbersome photo editors and intuitively understandable. Fotor in the version for desktop apple computers can: Adjust the contrast, brightness, and other image parameters; Crop the image; Provide it with filters or templates of “scenes”; Apply “Shift effect”; Make your quality photo collage.

Do not try to open RAW files in Fotor – the risk of falling out of image fragments during processing is excellent. There is no work with layers, powerful complex tools, authoring the interface, and most of the manipulation is limited to the use of ready-made, template correction algorithms. But – quickly and easily, optimally for streaming work.

Photo Editing Software For Apple

Pixelmator

This mac image editor is recommended for two categories of users – those who do not need to process RAW files, as well as anyone who wants to get rid of the burden in the form of paid subscription and the need to buy updates. You pay the equivalent of $ 30 and get a “budget adobe photoshop,” with the difference that Pixelmator was created for Mac OS X (Apple often advertises Pixelmator). That’s why it demonstrates excellent performance on computers with the age of several years or more.

Comparison with Adobe products is not accidental, in this editor supports the proprietary format PSD. Yes, yes, created in Adobe Photoshop can be edited in Pixelmator, and with almost the same photo editing tools. This is a thoughtful work with layers, and megaton effects and filters, and the editing tool “restoring brush” and much more. But there is not that flexibility in exporting data; there is no functionality for digital processing photos, there is no support for 3D structures. Quite a reasonable fee for the desire to save money on a graphics source image editor, without losing the main thing.

January 02, 2020
18 min to read

Most free photo editors available on the App Store are quite basic, offering just a limited number of filters and allowing you to easily and quickly liven up your photos before posting them on social media.

But if you’re an aspiring or professional photographer, you probably need a more powerful app with a broader set of tools to use your creativity to the fullest. Besides, you probably use your Mac for photo editing because working on a large screen makes it possible to adjust the slightest details.

1. Apple’s Photos (Built-in app)

Apple’s Photos app is included for free on all recently released Macs. It does a good job at organizing your photos, but its collection of photo enhancement tools leaves much to be desired. Hopefully, our selection of the best free programs for photo editing on Mac will help you choose the right app to suit all your creative needs.

2. Luminar (7 days trial)

Luminar is another full-featured photo editor that’s popular with both Mac and Windows users. It can work as a standalone app as well as a plugin for such popular programs as Apple Photos.

Mac Photo Editing Software

Luminar uses Artificial Intelligence to enable sophisticated yet quick photo enhancements. Among these AI features are Sky Enhancer, which adds more depth and detail to the sky in your photos while leaving other areas untouched; Accent AI, which analyzes a photo and automatically applies the best combination of different effects to enhance your image; and Sun Rays, which allows you to place an artificial sun and adjust the lighting to your liking or make the sun rays already in your photo look even more incredible.

Luminar has over 60 filters you can apply to your photos to enhance them in a moment. Luminar also provides a set of powerful tools for cropping, transforming, cloning, erasing, and stamping, along with layers, brushes, and many more incredible features. Luminar supports the Touch Bar on the latest MacBook Pro, making photo editing even more effortless and pleasing.

3. Photolemur 3 (Free Version with watermark)

Photolemur is a relative newcomer on the photo editing market but it has all the chances to win the favor of beginner photographers and hobbyists. Running on Artificial Intelligence, Photolemur is a completely automatic photo enhancer, meaning that it does all the editing for you in no time. It has the simplest interface, with only a few buttons and sliders to adjust the enhancement to your liking and view the before and after results.

All you need to do is choose a photo (or a few) that you want to improve, drag and drop or import them using the Import button, and let the program make enhancements. After it’s done, you can compare the edited version with the original image by using the before–after slider and, if you want, adjust the skin tone or even enlarge the eyes using additional sliders. Pretty easy, huh?

Photolemur also offers a number of impressive styles to touch up your photos and give them a sophisticated and professional look. With this app, you don’t need to stuff your head with photo editing nuances and terms. Just run Photolemur and watch the magic happen!

4. Aurora HDR (14 days trial)

As you probably can tell from the name, Aurora HDR is designed to help photographers enhance their HDR photos, making them even more detailed and beautiful. It’s an ideal tool for editing your photos, with an extensive collection of more than 20 tools including details, tone, mapping, color, glow, and vignette. Each tool has its unique selection of controls to adjust its effects.

Aurora HDR enables you to work with brushes, layers, and masks, and provides a number of automatic AI tools for recognizing and removing noise, enhancing colors, lighting, and details, improving clarity, and adding contrast to dull areas while leaving other areas untouched.

Aurora HDR does a great job dealing with difficult lighting situations and creating full-of-life images while being easy to use.

5. Pixelmator (Trial 30 Days)

Pixelmator is a photo enhancer beloved by many Mac users, as it offers a good combination of a modern and simple interface, the ability to work on multiple layers, and powerful features that take photo editing to a whole new level. With so many editing tools, brushes, and effects, you can enhance your photos to your liking. You can choose between two versions of Pixelmator – standard and pro – depending on your needs. The standard version is great for basic photo editing with its selection of essential tools and filters, while the pro version is packed with extra brushes, tools, and effects that let you push your creativity to new boundaries. You can decide which version is suitable for you according to what features you’re looking for in a photo editing app.

6. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 (Trial link)

Free Image Editing Software Mac

Photoshop Elements isn’t as affordable as other photo enhancers for beginner photographers. But luckily there’s a trial version available, so you can check it out before deciding whether this app is worthy of your money. Photoshop Elements acquired many powerful features from Photoshop, only Elements is simplified for amateur photographers and enthusiasts. It includes a good number of effects and filters, plus automated editing options for improving lighting, color balance, and exposure, and even opening closed eyes and reducing the effects of camera shake.

In addition to all of these awesome features, Photoshop also offers editing modes for beginners, intermediate users, and experts. Beginners will probably prefer Quick mode, as it focuses on essential tools to quickly enhance your photos by improving color, lighting, and other basic settings. Guided mode provides intermediate users with step-by-step guidance with more professional features like artistic effects, skin tone correction, and background replacement. Expert mode gives you full access to the app’s really powerful editing features and is ideal for creating stunning images.

7. Affinity Photo (Free Trial)

Affinity Photo’s interface may seem overwhelming at first, especially for novices, but when you come to grips with it you’ll find that the app is just what you’ve been looking for. Its numerous professional tools, effects, and filters encourage you to get creative with your photos. Among the coolest features Affinity Photo has to offer is a before and after view to compare the original photo with its edited version.

Affinity Photo works with 15 file types, including common ones like PDF, PSD, JPG, and GIF as well as some less popular ones. The app amazes with its abundance of basic and top-notch editing tools, allowing you to tweak your photos using all possible kinds of instruments. Affinity Photo allows you to edit HDR photos, apply artistic filters and effects, play with masks and layers, and create breathtaking compositions by combining several images in one. If you find its interface a bit much and are afraid of getting lost in all those advanced tools, you should probably look for something more suitable for your level. But Affinity Photo is worth mastering.

8. Google Photos

Google Photos is a popular cloud storage service for photos and videos. It can’t boast countless masterly tools like other photo enhancers that we review in this article, but it includes some fundamental features like filters, color adjustment sliders, and transformation tools.

Although Google Photos may not be that helpful when it comes to editing photos, it does a pretty good job at storing high-resolution images and videos with 15GB of free online storage, compared to iCloud’s mere 5GB (which you can upgrade to 50GB for a monthly fee). If you’re planning to go on a trip and take plenty of photos, then it might be smart to sign up for Google Photos to use that extra storage space when you come back.

9. PhotoScape X (Free)

A relatively new photo editing app, PhotoScape X has been gaining popularity with many Mac and PC users since its release in 2008. Its interface is simple but unconventional, with a number of tabs running along the top of the window. Each is responsible for a specific stage of editing. The Viewer tab allows you to browse and organize your photos. After you pick a photo, you can switch to the Editor tab, which includes a broad set of instruments, filters, and effects and a useful feature that enables you to compare the adjusted photo with the original.

The next tabs, including the Batch tab, mainly concentrate on editing and renaming multiple photos at once. The GIF tab allows you to easily create an animated GIF from a group of selected photos.

Mac Os Photo Editing Software

The downside of PhotoScape X is a lack of selection tools, so all changes are applied to the whole image rather than to a selected part.

10. Gimp (Free)

Free Photo Editing Software For Apple Mac Free

Gimp is a free open-source photo editing app that has been on the market for over 22 years and is available for Windows, Mac, and even Linux. Unlike many free apps, Gimp doesn’t have any ads or in-app purchases. Its grey interface might seem a little old-fashioned and it may be a bit sluggish when it comes to complex effects, though.

Free Photo Editing Software For Apple Macbook Air

Gimp offers a vast collection of advanced tools that hardly any free photo editor can boast. It has numerous enhancement options such as clone and heal brushes, layers and channels, accurate selection tools, a number of transformation instruments, and, of course, color adjustment controls. Gimp is one of the most powerful tools for enhancing photos and is beloved by so many users for its price (free) and versatility. But if you can’t come to grips with Gimp’s interface, it may be worth paying some cash for a more user-friendly program.