Editing RAW Images with Mac's Photos Program
Jun 30, 2019 14:09:01 #
I have been pretty much a JPEG shooter for a long time, and have finally decided to make the jump to RAW. I am wondering if anyone in UHH uses Mac's "Photos" program for editing RAW images, and if so, do you find it adequate? I have Affinity Photo, but find that difficult. It's a pretty heavy program with lots of features that I don't think I'd use to edit photos just for my own use. Same with LR, but it seems easier to use. I'd appreciate any good input regarding "Photos" for RAW editing. Thanks in advance.
Jun 30, 2019 14:10:39 #
Jun 30, 2019 14:42:47 #
Wingpilot wrote:
I have been pretty much a JPEG shooter for a long ... (show quote)
The "editing" capabilities of the Photos app are lame. For RAW images you have a lot of potentials, so Affinity or Lightroom which are complex for a reason is what you should use. I struggled with Lightroom until I took a class at a local camera store, then the lightbulb went off.
Jun 30, 2019 14:52:39 #
A large number of UHH members use Adobe Photoshop Elements. It is a one-time purchase, currently available for $149.99. Not a subscription. Elements is much more like Lightroom - it is full-featured with editing tools if you are dealing with a complex situation, but is just as capable of doing a simple editing job if that is all you need. The option is yours. All editing software has a learning curve, but Elements is more intuitive than others. Lots of reference/instruction for Elements is available on Adobe’s website, on YouTube and elsewhere.
Jun 30, 2019 15:02:06 #
If you own Affinity already, don't spend more money. If you think the day has come to be a RAW shooter, then the day has come too to become a RAW editor. Use u-tube for free training videos and get on with the training tasks and give up on the short-cuts. The only real short-cut is to set your camera back to JPEG.
Jun 30, 2019 15:08:06 #
Wingpilot wrote:
I have been pretty much a JPEG shooter for a long ... (show quote)
I sometimes still use Photos on my IMac and my iPad. But only for jpegs. On my iPad I also still have available the Photoshop Express apps for RAW processing. But I finally broke down my mental barriers and learned to use Elements and Affinity. Affinity is by far the better of them all for me, plus there is a very good tutorial in the App Store. I find it quick and easy now to do a general lighting change on my RAW shots and it looks clearer and more detailed than what I am able to do on Photos with jpegs.
Jun 30, 2019 15:11:48 #
cmcaroffino
Loc: Sebring, FL
Raw Power is an inexpensive app for processing raw photos developed to work as an extension from Photos or as a stand alone and can be purchased from the App Store.
Jun 30, 2019 15:12:13 #
Good advice here. I think a class on LR or Affinity, or one of the online tutorials might be a good idea. I was just wondering if anyone here uses "Photos'" RAW editing and how well it works. But it looks like it may be fairly basic and limited in capability.
I think JPEG's are fine, but I am finding out that it's pretty hard to edit images where you want to edit just a portion of a photo. Seems like for JPEG images you get to edit the whole image and that's all, which is fine if it came out of the camera about the way you wanted it to, but if you aren't satisfied with one certain area, you can't fix it because the entire image gets modified.
I appreciate the info.
I think JPEG's are fine, but I am finding out that it's pretty hard to edit images where you want to edit just a portion of a photo. Seems like for JPEG images you get to edit the whole image and that's all, which is fine if it came out of the camera about the way you wanted it to, but if you aren't satisfied with one certain area, you can't fix it because the entire image gets modified.
I appreciate the info.
Jun 30, 2019 15:13:46 #
Jun 30, 2019 15:14:11 #
cmcaroffino wrote:
Raw Power is an inexpensive app for processing raw photos developed to work as an extension from Photos or as a stand alone and can be purchased from the App Store.
Might check it out.
Jun 30, 2019 15:31:55 #
rjaywallace wrote:
A large number of UHH members use Adobe Photoshop ... (show quote)
But PSE is a poor choice when it comes to editing raw files (that's what the OP is after)!
Jun 30, 2019 15:47:49 #
Wingpilot wrote:
I have been pretty much a JPEG shooter for a long ... (show quote)
I don't think much of the Photos program. I use it every once and awhile for an iPhone photo, usually something like an interior shot of my rentals, which is where I would keep that type of photo. All of my "art" related photos, that's how I think of them, are on an external hard drive and linked to LR. I use LR and PS. There are many programs to choose from today for image editing: Luminar, Affinity, ON1, AdobeLR/PS, and many others. Go online, do a search, then try some out, normally it's free for maybe 30 days. See which one you like. Luminar is geared toward the beginner and provides you with many filter effects and is a very good program. Each program offers similar but different options. You must determine what you want in a program and then search those types of programs online.
Jun 30, 2019 17:40:42 #
I am seeing what I need to do. I believe I'll stick with "Photos" for iPhone pics and begin doing photos from my A6300 in LR. I have access to that. My grandson is coming up to visit from Missoula on the 23rd, he's a pro and very skilled in Light Room, so he can give me some good instruction. I've been avoiding RAW for some time, purely because I've been intimidated by it. I need to expand, because I've taken some photos in JPEG that were ok, but had they been RAW images, I could likely have made them very good. Never too old to learn, I suppose--it just takes a bit longer nowadays. Thanks all of you for steering me in the right direction.
Jun 30, 2019 18:25:14 #
Wingpilot wrote:
I have been pretty much a JPEG shooter for a long ... (show quote)
Use the Photos program on your Mac for a while and decide for yourself how it fits your needs. Don't let anybody talk you in to something else until you see for yourself.
Initially Photos was pretty weak, but there have been significant improvements.
You already have it on your Mac, it won't cost you a cent to try it.
Jun 30, 2019 20:02:20 #
Mac wrote:
Use the Photos program on your Mac for a while and decide for yourself how it fits your needs. Don't let anybody talk you in to something else until you see for yourself.
Initially Photos was pretty weak, but there have been significant improvements.
You already have it on your Mac, it won't cost you a cent to try it.
Initially Photos was pretty weak, but there have been significant improvements.
You already have it on your Mac, it won't cost you a cent to try it.
I've been using it for JPEG's so far, but haven't explored it's RAW abilities yet. It's not quite as simple as importing RAW images, picking one, and then just start editing. Seems there's a couple hoops to leap through first. I need to study up. For more "important" stuff I'll be learning LR, since I already have access to it.
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