- Apple photo editing apps for mac manual#
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For example, increasing contrast and using the highlight tool to bring down a sunball resulted in an apparent pixelization, and degradation of images.įor those still wanting to use Photos with RAW images, I’d recommend using a RAW converter to sort out all of your global changes (white balance, contrast, highlights, shadows, etc) and then save it as a high-quality JPEG. Having said that, during my initial tests, I found that the RAW files were surprisingly not as malleable as I expected them to be. I was surprised to learn that Photos can open and edit both RAW and JPEG files, meaning even prosumer photographers can use it to edit RAW files. It’s not as accurate as Photoshop’s clone or heal tools, but it’s a solid start for someone entering into the world of image editing. You simply select the diameter of the brush and click on unwanted backscatter and dust to make it disappear. For example, I saved Levels, White Balance, and Light in my toolbar, since I use them the most.Ī final important tab in the editing section is the “Retouching Tool.” It is perhaps best compared to the popular Healing Brush in Photoshop. One nice feature about the Photos editing section is the ability to customize which tools automatically appear to the right of the image. Other useful adjustment tools include a histogram, custom white balance, and noise reduction.
Apple photo editing apps for mac manual#
Even if you have no idea what these specific controls do, I urge even the entry-level user to play around with the manual settings rather than the automatic slider. The light control, for example is broken down into exposure, highlights, shadows, brightness, contrast, and black point.
Apple photo editing apps for mac full#
Within these sub-sections you can take more-or-less full control of the controls. Using the automatic slider for "Light" produces a harsh lighting effect on the image (left), while manually adjusting through highlights and shadows produces softer, more refined results (right). However, these results are often not-subtle and often a bit shocking. The user can either use built-in presets for these settings by sliding an icon left or right. There are also intermediate controls, within the adjustments tab, most notably light and color. The one-click, “Enhance,” actually made most of my test images look worse than their original state. While the program offers a myriad of one-click fixes for those not interested in spending significant time editing, they don’t tend to work all that well with underwater images. Having never used previous iPhoto versions to do serious editing, I was pleasantly impressed by the abilities inherited in Photos. There’s also no way to edit videos in anyway in the new Photos, which existed in iPhoto.Īpple's Photos features manual adjustments like white balance, levels, saturation, highlights, and shadows, giving a reasonable amount of editing control. Most notably for serious photographers there’s no star-rating system to differentiate your favorite shots from the so-so’s and the no-no’s there’s just a “heart” to like your own image. Of note there are several features that didn’t make it to the new Photos. I was pleased to see that when I imported my underwater portfolio, the file names, description, and keywords were automatically searchable.
To claim a title of “prosumer” image editing software, Photos features an advanced image search and editing tools. Having said that, Photos does incorporate a host of new features that elevate the editing process from the previous iPhoto software. More demanding editors won’t find adjustment brushes for fixing blown out areas or taking out dust spots.
Apple photo editing apps for mac upgrade#
While Photos is undoubtedly an upgrade from iPhoto (more on that later) it is important to remember that it is not a replacement for the pro-level Aperture software. Opening Photos automatically imports your existing library in iPhotos, but you can also manually import your underwater images by album. It's time to stop mourning the loss of Aperture and take a look at the future of Apple's image editing software, and what it means for the underwater photographer. Needless to say, there’s been a bit of anticipation in the photography community for the release of the replacement OS X program, Photos. And for photographers looking for ease of use and one-click editing, iPhoto did the job well. While Aperture was not nearly as popular an editing/organizing tool as Photoshop or Lightroom, it certainly had its devotees. It’s been nearly a year since Apple broke the hearts of many underwater photographers with the announcement that they planned to discontinue both Aperture and iPhoto.