Capturing strong, well-composed images is the first step toward making it as a photographer, but a second and equally important move is editing photos. Editing helps photographers develop their own style, accentuate jaw-dropping colors, and wow clients and followers. That said, not all photo editing software is made equally. Some user-friendly software is perfect for beginners, while other feature-rich platforms are ideal for those further along in their careers.
Most Important Features of Photo Editing Software
Photo editing software includes all sorts of programs and apps that, more or less, cover the photo editing needs of a photographer. Some have only one function (e.g., compressing an image file). Others focus on special effects and image manipulation techniques. Select the best editor for your photographs from the pile of photo editing software available on the market. So, check out the following features before pressing the Install button.
Compatibility with your hardware and software resources
The most complex, fast, and high-end photo editing software is useless if it doesn’t run on your computer. Check for system requirements and peer reviews and install a trial version before paying for the full license.
Costs (short-term, long-term, and hidden)
Once you get used to a photo editor, switching to another is difficult and time-consuming. So make the right choice from the beginning. You may want software with a monthly subscription to avoid paying a lot of money at once. Or you may want to pay for a lifetime license. Also, some editors appear to be low-priced but come with yearly paid upgrades. Consider the costs of updates and new versions, learning materials, and filters and add-ons.
Control
A photographer needs to have full control over the editing process. Make sure you choose photo editing software that allows fine-tuning adjustments and lets you do all the work. It’s nice to have automated functionalities; it’s healthy to have manual functionalities.
Non-destructive adjustments
You need an editor able to work with layers and masks and preserve the original image during the editing process. You may want to edit an image in different ways, go back and forth on your editing decisions, and use the same style for multiple images.
Local adjustments
Most photos don’t need a full makeover. They have just a few pixels that need fixing. How would you do that with an editor that only knows to adjust the whole image? Local adjustments are essential for subtle professional photo editing.
RAW processing
As most of your photographs are likely RAW files, you need professional photo editing software able to open and process your files. Check if the editor supports your camera’s RAW file format.
Best Photo Editing Software Options:
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Adobe Lightroom Classic is one of Adobe’s easier photo editing software but is still recommended for photography experts. It provides straightforward tools for enhancing pictures, removing distractions, and applying beautiful filters and presets. Lightroom Classic gives you full control over the editing process, includes non-destructive and local adjustments, and uses AI algorithms to perfect your work.
The software also includes digital asset management and sharing functionalities. It is a desktop program compatible with Mac and Widows.
Adobe Photoshop
The icon of photo editing software, Adobe Photoshop, provides all the features you may need but in the most basic, deconstructed way. In other words, everything is there, but you have to work hard to put them together.
Everyone uses Photoshop solely based on its notoriety. It’s appreciated by image manipulation gurus, and professional photographers who like to create their own presets and sets of actions. You can use it to edit photographs but also draw, paint, create graphic design, and manipulate images. However, it doesn’t have digital asset management. So most use it in combination with Lightroom.
Adobe Photoshop Elements
Adobe Photoshop Elements is Adobe’s easiest photo editor and targets beginners and amateurs. Unlike other Adobe products, the editor comes with a lifetime license. It also includes plenty of AI-based automated features that make the editor’s life simpler. Adobe Photoshop Elements also provides tools for organizing, personalizing, and sharing your photos.
In terms of image adjustments, Adobe Photoshop Elements focus on fixing exposure and color, applying filters and creative effects, adjusting facial features for portraits, colorizing, and reducing camera shake blur.
Check out our hands-on review of Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022 to see all the latest features.
Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo is designed for photographers and covers all levels of expertise. It’s easy to learn and provides both basic and advanced tools. Furthermore, the interface is compartmented and customizable so every photographer can find what they need without searching too much. The editor supports RAW processing, provides non-destructive edits, works with layers and masks, and gives you full control over the editing process. It doesn’t have digital asset management and sharing functionalities.
Affinity Photo is photo editing software for desktops, comes with a lifetime license, and runs on Windows and Mac.
Skylum Luminar
Luminar is desktop picture editing software designed for photographers who want spectacular results fast. It uses a lot of AI to deliver automated adjustments able to fix a photo in one go, beautify portraits, replace the sky, or enhance autumn colors. Luminar works with layers and provides non-destructive edits, but local edits are limited. The aim of the software is fast editing, not spending time modifying one pixel at a time.
Luminar has a lifetime license and runs on Windows and Mac.
Phase One Capture One Pro
Capture One is one of professionals’ preferred photo editing software. It features exquisite RAW processing, fast tethered shooting, a customizable interface, and digital asset management. The software has a version for desktop and one for iPad and includes collaboration and sharing functionalities.
In terms of photo adjustments, it’s all there: precise and high-quality tools for perfecting photographs, tools for HDR and panorama editing, layers and masks for control, and an advanced color editor for optimal color accuracy.
DxO PhotoLab
DxO PhotoLab focuses on image quality and provides unique tools for de-noising and de-mosaicing, lens corrections, fixing lighting and clarity, and editing colors. The program includes digital asset management, a customizable interface, and batch processing. It’s designed for professional photographers who don’t allow even the tiniest mistake or inaccuracy.
DxO PhotoLab is very precise when it comes to local adjustments and fine-tuning but is also able to work with presets for fast and automatic edits.
CyberLink PhotoDirector
PhotoDirector 365 targets creators who want quick and efficient photo adjustments and more. The program includes lots of automated AI-based features, creative effects, and even an audio library. It provides RAW support, works with layers, and can remove fog, noise, and haze. For those who want precise edits, PhotoDirector 365 offers tools for working with masks, lens corrections, brightness, color, and contrast adjustments, portrait retouching, and more.
PhotoDirector 365 is desktop software and runs on Windows and Mac.
Which Photo Editing Software Should You Use?
If you commit to photography and want to make it a career, you need professional photo editing software able to do all that you need right now but also what you’ll need in the future. It may require a steep learning curve, but it will be a solid foundation for your work. And you won’t have to learn a different photo editing software every year.
However, many beginners prefer to use less complicated photo editing software in the beginning. While a professional may need tethering shooting for fashion editorials and digital asset management to manage their thousands of images, a beginner is happy with much less than that. And for beginners, it may be more important to learn basic editing concepts and techniques than to get lost in complex features. The budget may be an issue too. So choose software that fits your workflow and attitude towards photography.
Conclusion
The best photo editing starts with organization. Check out our guide on improving your photography workflow to perfect your organization and flow!
Feature image via Shutterstock
