Easy Photo Editing Programs For MAC

[GolfGearBox]

I'm finally making the plunge from film to digital and am looking for an easy, intuitive photo editing program for MAC. I am computer illiterate so programs like Photoshop are just too complicated and I'm just too old to spend my time learning to use it. What recommendations do you have for an easy photo editing program for MAC?

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!!

 

[Fishrrman]

My long-time favorite photo app is/was "Picasa".
It's very easy to use, yet still surprisingly functional.
However it's been discontinued for a while (you can still find it).
And... it's "32-bit only", so the last Mac OS that runs it is 10.14 "Mojave".

That said, haven't you tried Apple's own "Photos" ?

 

[OldMacs4Me]

My handle says it all. I am not really up to date. That said older Mac versions of OS-X have a lovely program called Preview which gives you a lot of editing tools. Lacks things like being able to select and edit a portion of the photo, and correct horizon lines, but it is a good place to start. I find it a bit easier to use than Photos but that's just me.

Hopefully someone closer to the bleeding edge will let me know if this is still so with the latest and greatest versions of the Mac OS.

BTW rule 1 is always work on a copy of the image.

 

[squawk7000]

The built in photos app on recent versions of macOS is getting more capable. Certainly worth looking at.
For simple things like crop and rotate or adjustments for levels curves and a lot more. There are also ‘filters’.
Not a world leader in editing software but id say have a look at it to help you work out what features you want

there is a support article on the Apple website giving an introduction to photos on Mac

 

[Clix Pix]

Apple's own Photos is pretty good for the basics, and for many users that's all they need. With each new version of MacOS they seem to have added improvements. Some people who are novices at working with digital photography like Skylum's products, which include Luminar 4 and Luminar AI. There is also a new version called Luminar Neon. You can do a lot of things quickly and easily with Luminar AI, and some of their tools are quite good. I use DXO PhotoLab 5 for my primary processing and then sometimes finish up with Luminar AI.

 

[Fravin]

Photos App is the one you are looking for.

As @squawk7000 cited, there's a good walk around in Apple's site. And you can apply for a "Today at Apple" session (virtual or in store). They love teach other how to use the tools built in Macs and iPhones. Check this out

 

[cthompson94]

There is also Lightroom CC, I know that you stated Photoshop and a couple years ago or so Adobe created Lightroom CC (kind of like mobile/new people friendly) and the "old" style Lightroom is Lightroom Classic which is more complex. Lightroom CC though is pretty beginner/user friendly in my opinion

 

[stillcrazyman]

Apple Photos - Included with MacOS

Pixelmator Photo - Low cost, great set of tools.

Many programs allow a trial use, 30 days.

 

[Clix Pix]

I'm finally making the plunge from film to digital and am looking for an easy, intuitive photo editing program for MAC. I am computer illiterate so programs like Photoshop are just too complicated and I'm just too old to spend my time learning to use it. What recommendations do you have for an easy photo editing program for MAC?

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!!

Something just occurred to me: are you planning to shoot in .jpg or RAW? The reason I ask is because when shooting .jpg very little editing is needed afterward, but some stlll can be done if the user feels it is needed. With shooting RAW the images absolutely do need to be edited, but the user is offered much more flexibility in being able to get the desired results rather than having left nearly everything up to the camera.

 

[GolfGearBox]

Thanks for all the recommendations and I will look into all of them! I had a really bad experience with Photos where an iOS update downsized all of my photos to the point they were all pixelated. Apple said they had never heard of that happening before and I had to go find all the original files and upload them again which was a major PIA.

 

[BrianBaughn]

GraphicConverter is still around.

 

[jwolf6589]

I'm finally making the plunge from film to digital and am looking for an easy, intuitive photo editing program for MAC. I am computer illiterate so programs like Photoshop are just too complicated and I'm just too old to spend my time learning to use it. What recommendations do you have for an easy photo editing program for MAC?

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!!

The built in Photos app.

 

[GolfGearBox]

Something just occurred to me: are you planning to shoot in .jpg or RAW? The reason I ask is because when shooting .jpg very little editing is needed afterward, but some stlll can be done if the user feels it is needed. With shooting RAW the images absolutely do need to be edited, but the user is offered much more flexibility in being able to get the desired results rather than having left nearly everything up to the camera.

Both

 

[Fravin]

That will change everything. You will move to a better software, which will demand learning.

Lightroom, Affinity Photo or Luminar are the best options.

 

[USAntigoon]

I'm finally making the plunge from film to digital and am looking for an easy, intuitive photo editing program for MAC. I am computer illiterate so programs like Photoshop are just too complicated and I'm just too old to spend my time learning to use it. What recommendations do you have for an easy photo editing program for MAC?

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!!

Strongly recommend Pixelmator Pro (available from the Apple App Store) It runs about $60.00,
Will handle RAW, has a lot of tutorials on YouTube and on their website ..
This is a great starter to become familiar with all the other editing stuff like histograms, levels, RGB channels, etc..
You cannot go wrong for this price..

 

[tizeye]

That will change everything. You will move to a better software, which will demand learning.

Lightroom, Affinity Photo or Luminar are the best options.

Adding to that, all three are excellent. Since shooting RAW, at least one advanced processing software is required. Suggestion: While they do offer trials, each have a significant number of "beginner" tutorials on YouTube. It cost nothing, other than time, to look at them to see which has a workflow you are comfortable with.

On a related note, Affinity Photo, in addition to being the least expensive has probably the best upgrade path of only charging for whole number upgrade with fractional upgrades free. After at least a decade, they are still on version 1.xx. All other, if not subscription like Lightroom, have annual "upgrades" that are close to the subscription price. Of course you can skip a year or two upgrades before the need/desire to upgrade, but in business terms it is called scavenging existing customer base for future profitability, assuming 80+% will upgrade.

Speaking of upgrades, they may be lagging with Luminar and their recent release of Neo, as well as their Skylum sister products. Read on another forum as reported in PTTime Japan, to expect delays with Skylum/Luminar headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine, their programmers are otherwise pre-occupied with other issues at this time. That might be a good reason to support them even if you didn't intend to use the software.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

GraphicConverter is still around.

Yes. The newer version is GC 11x, and would be my choice. There is a learning curb, but Craphic Converter now has a built-in manual that includes illustrations and step-by-step instructions. GC is available at the App Store. I should mentions that GC has been with the Apple user communities from the beginning, and the number of free upgrades cannot be matched by any other photo app on the market. At the App Store, the $39.00 Graphic Converter is graded at 4.9 out of 5 stars.

I use DXO PhotoLab 5 with the Nik Software Bundle. I also have the latest version of Affinity Photo, but a lot of users are having trouble the "sign-in or register" to the account when it first launches. I haven't used this app for over three weeks because of that problem.

[FIXED] Unable to Register or Sign in via Affinity Apps

This issue is now fixed for Windows and macOS users in the latest update, 1.10.5.

forum.affinity.serif.com