The Mac is still the best device for serious photo editing, so you need some serious photo editing apps to make an impact. The built-in Photos app on Mac offers several useful photo editing tools. You can crop, adjust lighting and color, set the white balance, add filters, remove unwanted blemishes, and a few more things. IPhoto, the image manager that Apple supplies free for all Mac users, has a borderline image editor, providing only the basics -- cropping, scaling, rotating, brightness, red-eye fixing, importing, exporting and, of course, photo management in general.
If you’re a Mac-using professional photographer, you’re probably already paying $10 a month for Adobe Creative Cloud’s Photography plan, which includes Photoshop and Lightroom. But what about the rest of us, who occasionally edit images but not enough to justify a $120 annual bill? Are there any free Mac image editors?
A few, but none without compromise. Most of the options either don’t offer that much power, or don’t have the best user interfaces. But if you’re willing to put up with limitations, or put in the time to learn something that’s not necessarily intuitive, you can edit your photos for free. Here are the best choices.
GIMP: Feature Complete With a Steep Learning Curve
In terms of features and flexibility, open source stalwart GIMP is the best free Mac image editor you can find. This layer-based editor supports most file formats, and has all of the tools you need to touch up photos: adjustments for things like color balance and contrast, yes, but also filters and simple drawing tools. You can customize the user interface, putting tools you use regularly front-and-center and burying the tools you don’t.
You just need to find those tools, and figure out how they work. Experience with software like Photoshop won’t help much, because GIMP does things its own way, and expects users to figure those ways out on their own. There’s going to be a learning curve, and it’s going to involve a lot of Google searches. If you’re the kind of person who likes thinking about design, you might end up wondering what exactly the creators were thinking. The GTK interface also doesn’t feel 100% at home on in macOS, and that may turn some diehard Mac users off.
SnapSeed for Desktop, as all other photo editors, is designed with the aim to make your photos look perfect. Nowadays, there is a huge wave of interest in selfies, as they have become a popular trend. Snapseed for mac download. Snapseed is a photo enhancement and sharing app with a powerful suite of imaging filters and tools for anyone, anywhere to transform any image into an extraordinary photo. The app goes beyond apps like Instagram, however, with. Free Mac iPhone iPad. Retouch photos Photo Sharing Add a feature. RAW Photo Editing & Photo. Snapseed Photo Editor offers an easy-to-use interface that includes a photo editor, a collage editor and a video editor. In addition, you’ll be presented with unmatched premium and free.
So there are downsides, but they might be worth it, because this is a full-blown photo editor that’s completely free. No ads, no gimmicks: just open source software that you’re free to use as you like.
Fotor: Quick Photo Tweaks From a Simple Interface
Photo editor for mac. If you’re not concerned with flexibility, and just want to quickly make a few changes to your photos, Fotor might be what you’re looking for. This simple app gives you access to a bunch of one-button adjustments. When you load a photo, you’ll see the “Scenes” toolkit, which allows you to choose from one of several lighting adjustments.
There’s not a lot of fine-tuning: just click a button and decide if it looks better. There are similarly simple tools for adjusting the focus, adding text, and cropping your image.
Again, if you’re looking for a full-blown photo editor, this isn’t it. But it’s free, with one tiny ad in the bottom-right corner. It’s worth a look.
Preview or Photos: Built-In Basic Editing Tools
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Not everyone realizes this, but you can use macOS’ built-in Preview app to edit images. Just open any image, then click the toolbox icon. A second toolbar of icons for editing images will show up.
From here, you can add simple shapes and draw. You can also adjust the color and contrast levels by clicking Tools > Adjust Color in the menu bar. It’s not the most complete photo editor on the planet, but it gives you access to the basics without any third party software.
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If you organize your photo collection using the built-in Photos tool on your Mac, you can also edit images in Photos. Just open any photo, then click the “Edit” button, which looks like a bunch of sliders.
This will open a variety of editing tools, which let you do things like choose filters, adjust the lighting, or crop the image.
There’s nothing like layer-based editing here, but it’s easy to use and built into software you’re probably already using, so give it a shot.
Paintbrush: Basically Microsoft Paint for macOS
If every one of these options seemed too complicated for you, and all you want is the ability to doodle with your mouse, check out Paintbrush. This open source application is basically paint.exe for you Mac, and it’s glorious. I used it to supplement my wife’s photo, I think it really highlights the nuance of her art.
Photo Editor Free For Mac
Use this tool to make similar masterpieces, and not a whole lot more.
Paid, but Worth a Look: Pixelmator
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Pixelmator isn’t free, but it is a great cheaper alternative to Photoshop. It doesn’t offer all the features of Adobe’s premier image editor, but it offers a lot of them, and with a beautiful user interface that won’t hurt your head to use.
You’ve got layer-based editing, advanced effects, and a native user interface that even supports newfangled features like the touch bar. Pixelmator costs $30, but there’s a one-month free trial. That should be more than enough time to figure out if it fits into your workflow.
If none of these tools quite work for you, it might be time to look into some of the other paid, but cheaper photo editors on the Mac. You’d be surprised what you can get for under $100.
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Best Photo Editor Free For Mac
Earlier this week we took at look at some great free web based alternatives to Photoshop. Since we don’t always have web access (this can be especially true during our favorite photo editing time: while riding on a plane), we decided it was a good idea to look at some free photo editing options available for download.
In this list we’ve broken our software down just like we had with our web based list. Basic applications will perform basic photo editing tasks like cropping and resizing, while the More Robust applications will be more akin to Photoshop with options such as working with layers. Applications built for the Mac will have an “M” at the end, Windows a “W,” Unix a “U.”
Best Free Photo Editing Software For Mac
- iPhoto: Since iLife comes free on every Mac, it makes our cut for a decent free basic photo editor. Of course iPhoto also boasts great photo organization in addition to the simple editing. M
- PhotoFiltre: This simple editor is like a pared down Photoshop and would have made our More Robust category had it included layer support. W
- Picasa: Think of this software as Google’s answer to iPhoto mashed with flickr. M, W
- PhotoPlus: Yet another basic photo editor, bonus for the lay users, this one comes with a tooth whitener tool. W
- Photoscape: This basic photo editor allows for RAW conversions to JPEG and has a tool for creating animated GIFs. W
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Free Apple Photo Editing Software
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- Gimp: Easily the most popular free robust Photoshop replacement, and it is easy to see why. With an amazing array of editing tools and thriving developer community, Gimp is a fantastic choice for a real Photoshop replacement and is the one we most frequently use here at Unplggd. M, U, W
- LiveQuartz: This easy to use editor has a surprising amount of tools including layer management and multi-touch support. M
- Seashore: Another open source editor, Seashore, features gradients, textures, and anti-aliasing for both text and brush strokes.
- Paint.Net: Originally intended as a free replacement to Microsoft Paint software, Paint.Net has grown over the years into a much more powerful tool that includes layer support and several editing tools. W
- Pixen: This open source editor is designed specifically for pixel artists and features elegant layer support and great animation tools. M
Did we miss your favorite free photo editing application?
Photo Editor For Mac Free Download
(Lead Image: flickr member William Brawley editing photos, licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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