What photo editing software to buy

[Ysarex]

I ended up buying the Affnity software and so far I'm enjoying it. Thanks for the help.

I didn't chime in earlier, but as Adobe is the "800 lb gorilla" of the photo editing world, you'll find just about everything is designed to support their software. Loads of software that can operate as a plug-in ... build those plug-ins for Photoshop & Lightroom.

But the downside to Adobe software is that you can no longer just buy it. Now you have to "rent" it by the year. I am frustrated that people let them get away with calling it a "cloud" model since the features needed to qualify as a "cloud" product are not present. They do not offer "service elasticity". I can not pay for the software when I want to use (at the point of value) and not pay when I am not using it. They act like you get to rent it by the month... but it isn't actually possible to rent it for a month. It's a subscription with 1 year terms.

I bought Affinity for my iPad (of all things ... I still don't own it for the desktop). I found that it's really pleasant to use. It does everything I would normally use Photoshop to do (it even knows how to open .psd files) but it's easier to use and frankly it seems to do a better job. I was impressed. And of course you don't have to "rent" it.

I have not yet found a non-rent version of digital asset management (something to replace Lightroom). Skylum makes a program called Luminar and they are positioning themselves as a Lightroom alternative. But the big "catch" is that they do not have digital asset management ... but claim they are launching this in 2018. I'm taking the "wait & see" ... I would only buy it if they had digital asset management (and it needs to be decent). But on the plus side... this is software you get to "buy" (and it's reasonably priced). It's not "rental" software on a 1 year term like Adobe.

I’ve been using Affinity for iPad ($19.99!) and so far I love it except for sharpening. Care to share your thoughts/steps for sharpening? I’ve been using the Unsharp Mask filter but I can’t get it to work as well for me as when I was using PSE11 Unsharp Mask feature. The values don’t carry over. Also there seems not to be a general “sharpening” tool outside of Unsharp Mask.

Not sure about the iPad version but the desktop version of Affinity can sharpen a photo using two methods other than Unsharp mask.

Both methods require than you create a duplicate Layer.

First: Under Filters/Sharpen there's an option for High Pass. Create the dupe layer and then apply the High Pass filter to the dupe. You'll have to experiment with different values -- try 14 as a starting point. You'll get a pretty odd looking gray ghosty outlined image. Change the blending mode for that layer from Normal to Soft Light and the image will sharpen. Adjust opacity for the dupe layer to taste.

Second: Under Filters there's an option for Frequency Separation. Create the dupe layer, select it and then select Filters/Frequency Separation. You'll have to add two values in the dialog that pops up. Suggest a radius of 3 and 75%. Lower the radius for less sharpening and raise it for more sharpening. Click apply and your dupe layer will be replaced by two layers one labeled High Frequency and one labeled Low Frequency. Delete the Low Frequency (middle) layer and the image will sharpen. Use the layer opacity slider to adjust the amount of sharpening.

Joe

 

[Ysarex]

AFFINITY PHOTO FTW!

Unless like the OP you happen to be shooting and processing RAW files. Affinity is the best Photoshop clone to come along and it's a great bargain but it's raw processing workflow is destructive. It's critical to understand that if you use Affinity to convert raw files you lose all your work once you click on Develop and any changes you may want to make later will require that you start all over from scratch -- that's a big ouch.

Joe

 

[happasmith]

I would recommend Lightroom but it's not for free. But it's a good way to practice if you plan on venturing into professional or serious hobby photography. Otherwise, get the software that comes with the camera.

 

[sergezap]

It really depends from your workflow.
The most universal solutions imho is Adobe Photoshop + Camera Raw or Capture One.
Is depends what you really need. As for me, Lightroom (which has the same RAW engine as Camera RAW) has the worst camera profiles ever. I used Lr on Sony, Canon, and Panasonic.
If you don't need a retouching take a look on C1.

 

[SquarePeg]

Again... I have done this in Photoshop... I have not yet attempted to do this in Affinity Photo. But I may toy with it just to see if it works.

Please let me know if you give this a try.

First: Under Filters/Sharpen there's an option for High Pass. Create the dupe layer and then apply the High Pass filter to the dupe. You'll have to experiment with different values -- try 14 as a starting point. You'll get a pretty odd looking gray ghosty outlined image. Change the blending mode for that layer from Normal to Soft Light and the image will sharpen. Adjust opacity for the dupe layer to taste.

As far as I can find in the iPad app, there is no Sharpen filter - only Unsharp Mask.

Second: Under Filters there's an option for Frequency Separation. Create the dupe layer, select it and then select Filters/Frequency Separation. You'll have to add two values in the dialog that pops up. Suggest a radius of 3 and 75%. Lower the radius for less sharpening and raise it for more sharpening. Click apply and your dupe layer will be replaced by two layers one labeled High Frequency and one labeled Low Frequency. Delete the Low Frequency (middle) layer and the image will sharpen. Use the layer opacity slider to adjust the amount of sharpening.

There is a Frequency Separation option and I'll give this a try if it works with Unsharp Mask but if not then it's not an option as no straight "Sharpen" filter.

 

[Ysarex]

Again... I have done this in Photoshop... I have not yet attempted to do this in Affinity Photo. But I may toy with it just to see if it works.

Please let me know if you give this a try.

First: Under Filters/Sharpen there's an option for High Pass. Create the dupe layer and then apply the High Pass filter to the dupe. You'll have to experiment with different values -- try 14 as a starting point. You'll get a pretty odd looking gray ghosty outlined image. Change the blending mode for that layer from Normal to Soft Light and the image will sharpen. Adjust opacity for the dupe layer to taste.

As far as I can find in the iPad app, there is no Sharpen filter - only Unsharp Mask.

Second: Under Filters there's an option for Frequency Separation. Create the dupe layer, select it and then select Filters/Frequency Separation. You'll have to add two values in the dialog that pops up. Suggest a radius of 3 and 75%. Lower the radius for less sharpening and raise it for more sharpening. Click apply and your dupe layer will be replaced by two layers one labeled High Frequency and one labeled Low Frequency. Delete the Low Frequency (middle) layer and the image will sharpen. Use the layer opacity slider to adjust the amount of sharpening.

There is a Frequency Separation option and I'll give this a try if it works with Unsharp Mask but if not then it's not an option as no straight "Sharpen" filter.

The Frequency Separation method doesn't require any other type of sharpening -- no need to have a Sharpen filter so if the iPad version supports Frequency Separation that should work.

Joe

 

[pixmedic]

PortraitPro - Easy Photo Editing Software is running a 50% off sale.
the new version now handles raw files. i got the pro studio and body bundle for $99 and it seems to work really well. it might be a decent alternative to LR. they also have a landscape version. the body studio is new to me, and it lets you make all sorts of adjustments to arms, legs, torso, head..pretty much everything. not sure how much i would actually use it though. might have been better off just skipping it, but we'll see how it goes. dont do much portrait work any more, but it was intriguing so i gave it a go.

 

[Yzerwing]

PicMonkey is absolutely FREE and you don't even need to download anything. It is limited but works well and is simple to use.

 

[Ysarex]

PicMonkey is absolutely FREE and you don't even need to download anything. It is limited but works well and is simple to use.

The OP's opening sentence was, "I shoot with a Nikon D300 in RAW mode." -- no PicMonkey.

Joe

 

[happasmith]

Lightroom is really good and I think it's a must for every photographer. It can also be used if you are into graphic design.

 

[OldCam]

There are free (opensource) software alternatives to try before you buy something. Trying is free, just backup your pictures beforehand so you can use them again after you decided to buy a license for example Adobe software. Thanks to Joe i got myself turned into using Rawtherapee, and Gimp is on its way to version 2.10 and is now able to import 32 bit files. Hope it helps.

 

[espresso2x]

I use RT as well. Pp3s for various camera and (adapted) lens combinations. I find the auto distortion corrections for the 'native' lenses a bit conservative though, usually increase the correction values.