Apple Photos. Double clicking to enlarge the photo gives you access to the tools on the top right. What are the best, free alternatives to Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop if you’re using a Mac? If you’re just starting out in photography, or don’t have much money to drop on buying software, are there options that do many, or most, of the things Lightroom and Photoshop (or Capture One or On1) do?
Mac users can also get some basic photo editing done with the native photo viewing and editing app Preview How to Edit Photos on Mac Using the Preview App How to Edit Photos on Mac Using the Preview App Your Mac's Preview app can do a lot more than just display images. Here's how to edits photos on Mac using Preview. Dec 21, 2018. Here are the best image editing software options that aren't Photoshop. Platform: Mac; Price: $99/year or try Sketch for free. Update mac os x 10.8.
Don't have a Mac but curious about free photo editors for Windows? Many of these alternative applications have developed good sized user bases, but you might not have anyone teaching them in your area or anyone local you can turn to should you encounter an issue or have a question.
While they often have good online tutorials, these alternatives don’t have the breadth and depth of free (and pay) tutorials by photographers that you’ll find with Lightroom or Photoshop. So, be aware: you may find yourself on your own if you run into a problem. Let’s also recognize that no single software package duplicates everything another does. Lightroom’s catalogue system is unique and one of the reasons many photographers use it. Even where alternatives offer some of the catalog features, like keywording or star ratings, they don’t replicate the full range of functionality in the Lightroom Catalog.
And some of the alternatives have things Lightroom doesn’t. Some are Lightroom replacements. Others add features found in Photoshop. So, what are some options?
Apple’s Photos Photos is the built-in editor that comes with your Mac. After they shut down Aperture in 2015, the Photos app on a Mac might be Apple’s best kept secret.
It houses a fairly robust set of editing tools that do many of the tasks in Lightroom’s Develop Module or Photoshop’s Camera RAW. For many casual, or even semi-advanced photographers who are invested in the Apple ecosystem, this might be all you need. However, the tools are hidden and you could be (like I was, prior to researching this article) completely unaware of them. Note first that Apple wants you to store all your photos in the Photos app. One of the benefits is that Photos syncs your photographs between all your devices through iCloud. I believe the defaults on a Mac are set to automatically add all photos to the Photo app.
Personally, I use Lightroom to manage my photos and, as I recall, I had to stop the Photos app from automatically adding all my shots to it, in addition to Lightroom. Note also that similar, but not as powerful, tools can be found in the Photos app for iPhone and iPad. Editing on a desktop or laptop gives you a more extensive toolset and finer controls.
When you first open Photos, you get a grid view of all of your photos. When you double click to select one, it expands to fill the screen, much like the Grid and Loupe functions of Lightroom (see above). Across the top of the window, from left to right, you have the traffic lights and back button. Then a button that adds a filmstrip below the selected photo. Next is a slider to zoom in or out. Over on the right side of the window is a heart icon, which allows you to add the photo to your Favorites. Then comes the information button, that shows you the camera settings, EXIF data, and lets you add keywords, descriptions and locations.
The plus button lets you add this photo to albums, books, calendars, and such, while the button with the arrow coming up out of a box sends your photo to your favorite social media app, to an email, and to other places. Apple Photos Adjustment Tools. If you click on the icon of the three sliders in the top right of the panel, the editing tools magically appear on the right side. There are some decent controls that allow you to do a lot of basic editing. Enhance is the lazy person’s one-step edit. It applies what the program thinks is the best set of adjustments. Try it and see what you think.