Best Photo Software to use with new iMac

[APPLE-FANATIC]

Hi Guys,

Ok, so I am new at the Photo stuff via Mac. Can someone tell me what is the best software to use for editing photo's, superimposing images into backgrounds, airbrushing (w/o looking like its been airbrushed) photo's, etc. Would Adobe Photoshop be my best start?

[purdueboiler87]

You should check out Adobe Lightroom. I love it.

[auditdirox]

I personally use Pixelmator and love it! It is around 20 bucks on the App Store and does 98% of what photoshop does for about 1/10 the price.

[APPLE-FANATIC]

Originally Posted by purdueboiler87

You should check out Adobe Lightroom. I love it.

Oh wow, ok. Thank you!! I will definitely look into this one

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Originally Posted by auditdirox

I personally use Pixelmator and love it! It is around 20 bucks on the App Store and does 98% of what photoshop does for about 1/10 the price.

Really???

[12dylan34]

If you're serious about it, just buy Photoshop. It's the best and most full-featured, though if you don't need all of its complexity, no need to buy it.

Otherwise, things like Pixelmator work well.

[purdueboiler87]

The great thing about Lightroom is it lets you catalog your images. I have 60,000 images. If someone wants to see my best bald eagle pictures, I can display those in about 2 seconds. It also lets you perform non destructive edits on your photos and is easier to use than Photoshop (at least I think so).

[APPLE-FANATIC]

Originally Posted by purdueboiler87

The great thing about Lightroom is it lets you catalog your images. I have 60,000 images. If someone wants to see my best bald eagle pictures, I can display those in about 2 seconds. It also lets you perform non destructive edits on your photos and is easier to use than Photoshop (at least I think so).

Thats my concern, I have a gazillion photos and more than some need a touch up, edits and other updates. I really need to have to organized properly and easily accessible.

[kaelell]

My vote goes for Lightroom too, I used Aperture which I think is better integrated with iPhoto if you use that for your library, but prefer the whole interface of Lightroom.


I still use photoshop for some more complicated things like compositing, but whats great about lightroom is that you can add non destructive adjustments then open up the photo directly into photoshop, make further adjustments and it saves it back to lightroom.


p.s on a side note I still use iPhoto ( and iPhoto buddy app) to maintain my library as I was already too far embedded into it when I started using Lightroom. But would users of LR recommend taking the time and moving my library over to that?

[dmw16]

Originally Posted by 12dylan34

If you're serious about it, just buy Photoshop. It's the best and most full-featured, though if you don't need all of its complexity, no need to buy it.

Otherwise, things like Pixelmator work well.

This isn't good advice IMO.

For someone into photography (as opposed to digital arts) I don't think that Photoshop is the right choice.

For cataloging your captures and touching up (crop, straighten, dodge, burn, exposure correction, etc) Lightroom or Aperture are much options because that's what they are intended for.

Personally I like Aperture over Lightroom. Apertures image processing methods are more freeform than Lightroom. I'm not sure how else to describe it. But there have been tons of articles and threads on Lightroom vs Aperture and it comes down to personal preference.

Aperture is a little cheaper (although Lightroom was on sale for $80 not long ago) but the price difference probably isn't enough to have that make your decision for you.

I believe both have trial versions available so your best bet might be to test drive them both.

[maflynn]

LightRoom is the application used by most photographers. Aperture is popular but its not really in the same league as LR in terms of marketshare.

I have both, and I like both, but Adobe has done a great job and continually updating and improving it. I hardly use Photoshop, since LR provides non destructive editing, and is very good at organizing the images

[JoeRito]

Originally Posted by auditdirox

I personally use Pixelmator and love it! It is around 20 bucks on the App Store and does 98% of what photoshop does for about 1/10 the price.

This is absolutely true.... long time PS user here and I can admit Pixelmator has a ton of FX for the price and is pretty easy to use.

[rick d]

Lightroom and photoshop Elements 11. Save the bucks over Photoshop full.

[2012Tony2012]

What's the best FREEWARE Photo Software to use on iMac?

[photographypro]

I am a professional photographer, and every pro I know uses Lightroom, with most of us professionals also using Photoshop. However, I do 95% of my editing in Lightroom, and almost never need to open Photoshop. However, for heavy editing, or working with layers, nothing beats Photoshop.

But for $99, Lightroom is a killer application. You can get it for $99 on Amazon. Even at the full retail price of $149, it's a good buy. You could get it on the Apple App store for that.

Actually, if you go to Adobe.com, you can download either one of these programs, and use them for a full month for free. These are full working versions with no restrictions and no watermark, so you can really find out if it's the right program you. If you decide to purchase it, all you need to do is enter the serial number, and you can keep using it. You don't have to uninstall and reinstall everything.