Best photo editing programs for MAC: All of you are so supportive. I'm a newbie at photography so I have lots of questions. This site has helped me in so many ways. So..... I'm looking...

Vcs31299 Loc: New york

All of you are so supportive. I'm a newbie at photography so I have lots of questions. This site has helped me in so many ways.
So..... I'm looking for a photo editing program that will work on my MAC computer. I enjoy editing pictures so I hope to find one that is good.
Thanks....

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

You can do a fair amount of editing with the iPhoto program that came with the computer. You can also download Picasa from Google (it's free) to complement it. Then, if you get the post-processing bug, you can move up to Lightroom, Photoshop, or a number of other more sophisticated programs. Apparently they all have Mac versions.

But, if you haven't done any post-processing at all, I'd start with the iPhoto you already have to get your feet wet.

tombackman Loc: RHODE ISLAND

I second John's suggestions.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Vcs31299 wrote:

All of you are so supportive. I'm a newbie at photography so I have lots of questions. This site has helped me in so many ways.
So..... I'm looking for a photo editing program that will work on my MAC computer. I enjoy editing pictures so I hope to find one that is good.
Thanks....

Some free editors you might want to try:

Light Zone
Raw Therapee
Dark Table
Picasa
Gimp

Lots of products for a cost as well, the best in my opinion, Lightroom & Photoshop, there is Aperture - but Apple discontinued Aperture for an as yet unreleased product.

There are lots more products for OS X, but I have not tried them yet - I am sure others here will add to the list.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Vcs31299 wrote:

All of you are so supportive. I'm a newbie at photography so I have lots of questions. This site has helped me in so many ways.
So..... I'm looking for a photo editing program that will work on my MAC computer. I enjoy editing pictures so I hope to find one that is good.
Thanks....

Everyone needs a good base program to catalog their photos, organize them and do basic editing, also raw conversion for raw shooters. You've been given recommendations about several above. Try them before deciding but make sure your choice works well with most other programs because if you enjoy editing you won't be satisfied with just the basics. The lightroom/photoshop combo for $9.99 monthly does everything I need but not quite everything I want.

After the basics is when the real fun begins, with creative edits. I'm a software junkie and have tried lots of them but one of the most interesting is the just-for-mac Macphun suite.

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

Lightroom and Photohshop CC Ya can't beat the price @$9.99
iPhoto is being redesigned, and I tried to use it early on
found it terribly difficult to use. Yes it's s quick way to
edit and make small adjustments to your photos and it does that quickly but past that as a catalog for your photos it is clunky and difficult to use

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

minniev wrote:

Everyone needs a good base program to catalog thei... (show quote)

:thumbup:

Yep, I started with Iphoto, moved to Aperture, then when Apple announced they were giving up on Aperture I switched to Lightroom and Photoshop for the 9.99 monthly photographers bundle - GREAT!

In my opinion, Lightroom is head and shoulders above Aperture for raw conversion and editing. It is as good as Aperture for keywording and organizing. And then you have Photoshop ;)

I used to say that Lightroom did 90% of my editing, Photoshop did the other 10%, but honestly now the percentages are changing to more like 75% & 25% I think.

Really great tools.

IShootEverything Loc: TN

I know one of the men who worked to make the whole software system, he is also a professional photographer. He has used almost every photo editor on the market. He uses CS6 as do I. But before he let me use that he had me use photoshop elements 12. They are both truly amazing and would serve you well. The only difference is if you want a more simple editor then you should go with PE 12. And if you want to do anything you can think of to your photos you should go with CS6. If you do go with either of those he and I can help you with any questions you may have.
Hope this helps.

P.S. So for me the best photo editing program is CS6. Works wonderfully with Mac and PC.

IShootEverything Loc: TN

Dngallagher wrote:

:thumbup: br br Yep, I started with Iphoto, move... (show quote)

I used LR only once because as soon as I opened it, it changed the way I label my photo folders, it started to take over my computer. I had a system for labeling my photos and LR tried to change it. I got rid of LR because I hate it.

IShootEverything Loc: TN

Dun1 wrote:

Lightroom and Photohshop CC Ya can't beat the price @$9.99
iPhoto is being redesigned, and I tried to use it early on
found it terribly difficult to use. Yes it's s quick way to
edit and make small adjustments to your photos and it does that quickly but past that as a catalog for your photos it is clunky and difficult to use

If you are looking for a fast way to edit photos. Try using Paint on your computer, no joke. It's what my mother uses.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Ishootcanon wrote:

I used LR only once because as soon as I opened it, it changed the way I label my photo folders, it started to take over my computer. I had a system for labeling my photos and LR tried to change it. I got rid of LR because I hate it.

Lightroom only does what you tell it to... it is important to learn and understand how it functions - IT does not force you to do anything, nor does it take over your computer.

There is a learning curve to deal with, but in my opinion, and I am sure others will agree, it is well worth the effort.

BUT, it is a personal choice.

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

Dngallagher wrote:

:thumbup: br br Yep, I started with Iphoto, move... (show quote)

I also followed near the same track when I first moved to Macs, I used iPhoto, then I purchased and started using Aperture, my wife even gave me One one tutoring. My tutor was a total disgrace at my first lesson he sat down and said well what do you want to know. Of course my answer was I would like to know how to use Aperture. His reply well you need to work with it some more until you get a better idea what you want to know. So that alone was a huge turnoff.
So I starting using Lightroom and Photoshop and have never regretted the move

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Dun1 wrote:

I also followed near the same track when I first m... (show quote)

I always really liked Aperture - I started shooting raw and it always seemed that they all ended up way under exposed. I spent quite a bit of time doing Post Processing work in Aperture.

After getting into Lightroom, it seemed that the post processing work was not as intensive and I end up with much better results in a fraction of the time.

IShootEverything Loc: TN

Dngallagher wrote:

I always really liked Aperture - I started shooting raw and it always seemed that they all ended up way under exposed. I spent quite a bit of time doing Post Processing work in Aperture.

After getting into Lightroom, it seemed that the post processing work was not as intensive and I end up with much better results in a fraction of the time.

In CS6 and PE 12 it is very ez to brighten a dark photo. It is done before you even get in to the editor.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Ishootcanon wrote:

In CS6 and PE 12 it is very ez to brighten a dark photo. It is done before you even get in to the editor.

Yes, just like in Lightroom, Aperture, IPhoto and almost every editor....

The point being made was that the raw conversion software is different, and Adobe seems to have a better conversion from the Nikon raw than Apple did in my opinion.