Revisiting switching to Affinity Photo

[Ambrosia7177]

Hello. Several months ago I created a thread asking about alternatives to Photoshop. (Link)

It was a rather intense conversation, with lots for me to consider!

I had to put all of that on hold, because I am trying to start my own business, and there are other things which needed my attention first.

Now that my website and YouTube channel are getting closer to going live, I need to make a decision on photo-editing software.

Based on everything people suggested, and based on the fact that I am a newbie to photo-editing, and based on the fact that I need a solid support community/resources, Affinity Photo seems like a good alternative to Adobe's subscription model and AI.

HOWEVER, I see that Canva purchased Affinity, and I am concerned about investing a lot of time learning software that could switch to the very things that make me hate Adobe and Adobe Photoshop.

(There is this video, A message to our amazing Affinity community , but everyone in the comments section and online seems to NOT believe the promises...)

So I am torn in which direction to go...

- Adobe (and subscription-based software) is definitely out.

- @Herbert123's suggestion of PhotoLine sounds interesting, but I am thinking it is over my head (as a beginner), plus the support/resources seem limited at best.

- There are other solutions, but they just didn't grab me.

- I really need access to a lot of YouTube videos and online resources to get me up to speed quickly. (If it takes me more than a month to become proficient in basic editing, then that is an issue.)


Here are some of my thoughts...

1.) It would SUCK investing bunch of time learning a specific photo-editing application only to have to ditch it in say 2 years which it flips to subscription-only.

2.) Getting up to speed quickly and benefitting from whichever software I choose is KEY.

3.) Then again, 2 years is a LONG TIME, and maybe it makes sense to just focus on the HERE-AND-NOW, and worry about things IF/WHEN they become an issue?

4.) If I don't successfully launch my business, then getting the photo-editing software decision 100% right doesn't really matter.

5.) If I had some reassurance that photo-editing applications are all basically the same, then maybe having to switch later on wouldn't be that big of a deal after all? (For example, if a person knows MS Word, then switching to OpenOffice Writer or LibreOffice Writer isn't that big of a deal.)



As a reminder, my use-case is this...

- Need to create thumbnails from screenshots of my videos for my website and YouTube channel.

- Need to create thumbnails from iPhone and camera photos for my website and YouTube channel.

- Need to edit iPhone and camera photos for articles on my website.

- Need to do basic photo-editing, including adjust levels, contrast, color-curves, cropping, spot-removal, and saving photos to different file-formats and file-sizes so they are optimized for my mobile website.


So what should I do?

Is Affinity Photo a safe gamble for the foreseeable future?

 

[OldMacs4Me]

You would own the current version outright. What happens beyond that is anybodies guess. My biggest complaint has been the selection tools, specifically the lack of a point to point lasso. Not sure whether or not that was fixed in version 2. Otherwise a reasonably viable alternative. Generally when I have questions a youtube search pulls up a video that provides the answers. Typically faster than trying to tree it in the menus, toolbars or help.

EDIT: In Affinity Photo I see there is an added step that changes the freehand lasso, to polygonal aka point to point. Freehand lasso is located under the rectangular marquis tool. So add a step to get the lasso and another step to make it point to point.

Currently PS Elements has managed to adopt the worst features of a subscription app with none of the benefits. I did very reluctantly pay for it but only when there was a 35% reduced price offer. Expect to wean myself entirely over the next 3 years. With me the time will come when the replacement won't run on my outdated OS, and the old version of Elements will stop working altogether. Not a strategy that inspires brand loyalty.

I've been playing with the trial version of Photoline and the learning curve is made steeper by the lack of solid English documentation. Some issues there when attempting to use the cloning tool but that may just be me.

For beginners I do like Acorn8. You will need to learn how to use 'Curves', as the levels tool does not have separate color channels, nor is there a shadows/highlights adjustment. Very low cost and really solid tutorials come with the app. That said the curves tool in Acorn is very well behaved.

Final thought. Other than Photoshop's .psd format, I would never save files in Affinity, Photoline or any other editors native format as you then have a file that can only be opened by that app. With Affinity you need to use; 'File>Export' to save a file as jpeg, tiff or other non proprietary formats.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

You would own the current version outright. What happens beyond that is anybodies guess. My biggest complaint has been the selection tools, specifically the lack of a point to point lasso. Not sure whether or not that was fixed in version 2. Otherwise a reasonably viable alternative. Generally when I have questions a youtube search pulls up a video that provides the answers. Typically faster than trying to tree it in the menus, toolbars or help.

Do you think a standalone license and software would be good for 3-4 years?

I've been playing with the trial version of Photoline and the learning curve is made steeper by the lack of solid English documentation. Some issues there when attempting to use the cloning tool but that may just be me.

Where is the Photoline creator base out of?

For beginners I do like Acorn8. You will need to learn how to use 'Curves', as the levels tool does not have separate color channels, nor is there a shadows/highlights adjustment. Very low cost and really solid tutorials come with the app. That said the curves tool in Acorn is very well behaved.

But you think Affinity Photo is a solid replacement for Photoshop?

Final thought. Other than Photoshop's .psd format, I would never save files in Affinity, Photoline or any other editors native format as you then have a file that can only be opened by that app. With Affinity you need to use; 'File>Export' to save a file as jpeg, tiff or other non proprietary formats.

Is that a problem?

Would that cause a loss of quality of you have to edit later?

 

[Herbert123]

As a reminder, my use-case is this...

- Need to create thumbnails from screenshots of my videos for my website and YouTube channel.

- Need to create thumbnails from iPhone and camera photos for my website and YouTube channel.

- Need to edit iPhone and camera photos for articles on my website.

- Need to do basic photo-editing, including adjust levels, contrast, color-curves, cropping, spot-removal, and saving photos to different file-formats and file-sizes so they are optimized for my mobile website.

You know, your use-cases are so simple, that I would just opt for either Krita or GIMP.

Why?

[1] both are open source and free. There is no risk for a company to swoop in and turn it to a subscription model.

[2] both are supported by a huge community and have TONS of Youtube tutorials and written tutorials available.

[3] both have a direct support through forums. And both have been in development for a long time.

[4] both use the same principles as Photoshop.

[5] there is currently absolutely no guarantee that Affinity --now that it is owned by Canvas-- will not go subscription at some point in the future. Then again, there is also no evidence that that is going to happen either. But it CAN happen with commercial software.
With open source software the chance of that happening is almost zero.

Now, I have both GIMP and Krita installed. In your case, with your background, I would probably choose Krita over GIMP.

While Krita is 'marketed' more as a digital painting app, in reality Krita's general purpose image editing, colour adjustment, and image compositing features actually rival those of many "image editors" out there.

Krita's user interface is also friendlier and more in line with Photoshop's approach. The basic workflow is quite similar to Photoshop - another reason why many users like Krita. Krita also has a specific friendly forum where you can ask questions if they arise.

And there are plugins and addons that allow you to add AI stuff too, if you want it. For example, an AI selection plugin is available (similar to Photoshop and Affinity Photo). Or even a full AI image generation plugin.

Everything in your list is easily possible in Krita (or GIMP). And I checked for Youtube tutorials as well - you seem to be well catered for.

- I really need access to a lot of YouTube videos and online resources to get me up to speed quickly. (If it takes me more than a month to become proficient in basic editing, then that is an issue.)

There are thousands of Krita tutorials and online resources to get up to speed quickly. The manual is also pretty good. And a special forum for support: https://krita-artists.org/

5.) If I had some reassurance that photo-editing applications are all basically the same, then maybe having to switch later on wouldn't be that big of a deal after all? (For example, if a person knows MS Word, then switching to OpenOffice Writer or LibreOffice Writer isn't that big of a deal.)

The basic principles are pretty much the same across all image editing software- at least the ones that work layer-based.

Workflows may differ somewhat. For example, Photoshop's workflow is outdated in certain places, and PhotoLine/Affinity Photo/Krita use different approaches to tackle these things.

To me, all image editing software is pretty much the same, and I usually get up to speed within an hour with a new app. But it very much depends on your own experience and work history. You are a beginner and (seemingly) rather inexperienced, and therefore you will probably experience more cognitive friction when switching between software. Nothing wrong with that. I have the same with other specific software that I have little experience with.


Anyway, just download Krita, download GIMP, and download Affinity Photo and watch some tutorials and test it with one or two of the tasks that you'd like to be able to achieve. In the end only YOU can decide what works best for you.

 

[Herbert123]

Final thought. Other than Photoshop's .psd format, I would never save files in Affinity, Photoline or any other editors native format as you then have a file that can only be opened by that app. With Affinity you need to use; 'File>Export' to save a file as jpeg, tiff or other non proprietary formats.

This makes no sense to me at all? Affinity Photo, PhotoLine, etc. use their own native source file formats to support all the proprietary features in their software. To be able to save, for example, deformation layers in PhotoLine, we MUST save the file to its propietary PLD format. Same with Affinity Photo.

If we'd be saving those files as PSD only, we'd lose access to non-destructive editing of those features!

PSD is also a proprietary native file format: Photoshop. And the problem with PSD is that this file format is only partially documented by Adobe, and does not support specific features that PhotoLine, Affinity Photo, Krita, etc. have to save to retain access to these next time the file is opened. And often PSD files won't open correctly at all between different image editors.

In effect, we'd be severely hampering our workflow by restricting ourselves to the PSD file format only.

PhotoLine and Krita allow for saving a native source file alongside an exported jpg, png, webp, avif, tiff version. That is a much friendlier and effective method. That way both an exported version AND a native source file are saved.

Only save your work files as PSD? No, that is asking for problems when we want to edit the original files later on.

That said, it can't hurt to export a PSD file together with the native source file.

In any case: ensure that some kind of automatic file versioning and/or backup system is in place. NEVER work with only one master file.

Where is the Photoline creator base out of?

Germany. The team consists of two brothers, and being a small team their resources are, of course, limited. The manual is okay, but not great. And some terminology is rather odd. 'Lasso' instead of 'selection', for example.

Is that a problem?

Would that cause a loss of quality of you have to edit later?

Yes, most definitely will that cause issues when we export to PSDs only from any other image editor but Photoshop. We will lose access to specific features and non-destructive editing when we do so.

ALWAYS save your work to the software's native source file format. Then export to the file formats that you require for delivery.

But you think Affinity Photo is a solid replacement for Photoshop?

For the work that you wish to do? Yes, no problem. As a general replacement? It's okay. Animation is missing, for example - which may be important to your work as well (web banner animations, etc.). Affinity Photo also lacks image management of some kind. But you can always download the free Adobe Bridge to manage files. Or just use the Finder.

I also have Affinity installed. My own opinion is that Affinity is fraught with small papercuts. So many that I avoid working in Affinity Photo, because it really feels like "death by a thousand papercuts" to me when I do. I use it for a couple of specific things. Otherwise I work 90% in PhotoLine together with 9% of Krita for most of my general image editing work.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

This makes no sense to me at all? Affinity Photo, PhotoLine, etc. use their own native source file formats to support all the proprietary features in their software. To be able to save, for example, deformation layers in PhotoLine, we MUST save the file to its propietary PLD format. Same with Affinity Photo.

When working with an image it is nice to be able to step back a few paces, so until editing is complete native is fine. However once an edit is complete I really could care less about anything other than the final edit and the original file. Final edit is saved either as Tiff, Jpeg or lossless Jpeg depending on whether or not I need to preserve layers and what else I intend to do. That way I can use any editor I choose. Being limited to Affinity Photo would be most undesirable should they go subscription at some point and my latest version of AFP was not compatible with my current OS.

All that said everyone develops their own approach, which is how it should be.

BTW Preview is often over looked. I find it highly useful for scanning through batches of photos or for quick minor to moderate (full image only) tweaks on the editing end. On the irritating side if sorting a folder of images, the disk should be formatted HFS+, as for some reason dropping a folder of images stored APFS onto Preview does not always sort by name or date.

Will have to give Krita a peak. Never heard of it until now. Thanks!

 

[r.harris1]

If your primary concern is how you pay to license your software, whether it’s by subscription or paying a one-time license cost for a particular version as in Affinity’s 2.x, then you probably should consider open source software. You don’t get direct support and features come whenever the community can get to them, but the license terms are generally user-friendly. On the other hand the license cost for Affinity 2.x is fairly negligible in the grand scheme of operational expenses for a business and it’s super high quality software. Don’t over think it

 

[BotchQue]

You would own the current version outright. What happens beyond that is anybodies guess. My biggest complaint has been the selection tools, specifically the lack of a point to point lasso. Not sure whether or not that was fixed in version 2.

It has, but even better is a new "subject select" feature added to 2.0 that uses AI; I've downloaded 2.0 but haven't played with it yet (my "studio" is being re-configured), saw a demo on EweTube and it looked pretty impressive!
You mentioned you'd asked this question "a few months ago", not sure if that was before or after Apple bought Pixelmator Pro, an even cheaper possibility. That one probably won't go Subscription either; Apple bought Logic Pro (for music recording) years ago and it's still a one-time purchase.

 

[smirking]

Your use cases are so basic, the answer is anything. I can't even come up with a photo program that won't do what you need. They all do that. You could probably just use Preview.

It doesn't take days or weeks worth of training just to resize and touch up photos. Don't overthink it. Just get something, use it and if it doesn't work out, move on. We're talking the most basic of use cases here.

Also, for your use case, if you're already used to Adobe, just buy Adobe Photoshop Elements. It'll do all of this and you own the license.

 

[bousozoku]

The Affinity applications are good and the company, Serif, has been around since the 1980s. The fact that Canva has some control now shouldn't be a problem.

I've been a user of all three Affinity applications and find them extremely usable. I don't expect that to change.

However, for long term photo editing, I've been a Capture One Pro user since 2006. I used a couple of Adobe applications before that, but they didn't suit me and now, the subscription process really doesn't sit well with me, although I suspect that will be the future of software.

You can use Gimp and Inkscape and other open-source applications but they never felt as though designers had any say in the applications. They always felt awkward to use, at least, for me.

 

[Herbert123]

You don’t get direct support and features come whenever the community can get to them,

The same can be said about commercial software. Affinity users have been asking for years for a number of expected features, and are still waiting for these to turn up. Half-baked features are implemented and it takes ages for these to be improved and lifted up to a more workable level.

Photoshop users have been clamoring for various features which can take years to be integrated or are still up in the air. Decades old bugs remain untouched. Let's not mention Dreamweaver, Animate, AdobeXD, Fireworks, Muse, ... And a slew of other discontinued and badly developed Adobe apps. Adobe's management of Animate (formerly Flash) is an utter disgrace, running it into the ground when their users gave them countless suggestions how to move the software forward and blatantly ignoring those voices.

I've contributed to open source projects as well as commercial ones. It just isn't true that open source projects do not directly support their users - many do. A bug is reported, and it is generally fixed in the next update - which is my experience with Blender, Krita, and OpenToonz. Features are implemented according to requirements of users, companies, etc.

GIMP's developers are much more fickle. Open source and developed at a rather slow pace.

PhotoLine's developers --a commercial project-- are incredibly responsive to bug fixing. Also to suggestions for new and/or improved features.

VectorStyler's developer --excellent commercial replacement for Illustrator-- is incredibly responsive and has been adding new features and requests like there is no tomorrow.

So, no: it very much dependent on the software and the people behind the software in regard to the quality and level of direct and responsive support and feature implementation.

Being free and open source does not equate to poor support and feature integration. Neither does costing money and proprietary equate to great support and implementation of wanted features.

As always the answer is: it depends.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

Also, for your use case, if you're already used to Adobe, just buy Adobe Photoshop Elements. It'll do all of this and you own the license.

Unfortunately that is no longer the case. The license now lasts 3 years after which the app is kaput unless you 'borrow' a newer version. That said if you have an older version of PS Elements that works with your current OS no reason not to continue using it. Most of the basics are very similar to versions 15 years old. Most of the so called improvements can be classified as either bells, whistles or clutter.

 

[Herbert123]

It has, but even better is a new "subject select" feature added to 2.0 that uses AI; I've downloaded 2.0 but haven't played with it yet (my "studio" is being re-configured), saw a demo on EweTube and it looked pretty impressive!

Curb your enthusiasm, I'd say.

I tested AI segmentation selection tools in Photoshop, Krita, and the new Affinity Photo 2.6, and while they can be time savers, none of them work at a level yet that can be called 'professional'. Still requires manual editing.

And often old-fashioned channel-based selection methods still work faster and better in my opinion.

 

[Herbert123]

Unfortunately that is no longer the case. The license now lasts 3 years after which the app is kaput unless you 'borrow' a newer version. That said if you have an older version of PS Elements that works with your current OS no reason not to continue using it. Most of the basics are very similar to versions 15 years old. Most of the so called improvements can be classified as either bells, whistles or clutter.

I agree. Photoshop Elements still doesn't even have a proper Curves tool.

Just download Krita (or even GIMP) instead and access features far beyond Elements. Or work in Photopea https://www.photopea.com/ (browser-based Photoshop clone).

I just can't see why anyone would use Elements these days anymore.

 

[Herbert123]

When working with an image it is nice to be able to step back a few paces, so until editing is complete native is fine. However once an edit is complete I really could care less about anything other than the final edit and the original file. Final edit is saved either as Tiff, Jpeg or lossless Jpeg depending on whether or not I need to preserve layers and what else I intend to do. That way I can use any editor I choose. Being limited to Affinity Photo would be most undesirable should they go subscription at some point and my latest version of AFP was not compatible with my current OS.

I do understand your concerns with relying on commercial software that may or may not go down the subscription route. It is one of the reasons why I tend to avoid subscription software and commercial software that relies on a server connection to be activated.

A lot of my work I reuse in newer work and projects. The beauty of non-destructive editing is that I can easily copy solutions from older projects into newer work, and I've built up a library of files/templates that speed up my workflow tremendously. PhotoLine works beautifully for me, but I do worry sometimes about the two aging developers. With open source software an entire community of developers pretty much ensure continued development, of course. In my time I've seen too many commercial programs go belly up, singular developers pass away, get sold to larger (investment) firms, or discontinued because of... whatever.

Working with open source software is, more or less, the only method to remain in control over one's software. Commercial software is always a bet against time in my experience. Over the years only a few of the commercial offerings remain, while the open source ones that I use remained, grew stronger, and have grown up. And most of the commercial ones that remain went subscription only. :-(

Btw, one of the advantages of working with open source software is of course that ALL older versions remain accessible (including the source code!) and can be installed (if not directly in a newer OS, still via a virtual machine). All legally and for free.

 

[Herbert123]

Will have to give Krita a peak. Never heard of it until now. Thanks!

Krita is super nice to draw and paint with. It's amazing this is open source and freely available to anyone.

Digital Painting. Creative Freedom.

Krita is a professional FREE and open source painting program. It is made by artists that want to see affordable art tools for everyone.

krita.org

It was made by and for digital artists, comic artists, and animators. David Revoy is an open source digital artist who uses it daily and also helps out with Krita's usability:

David Revoy - Artist, Instructor, using only Free/Libre and Open-Source software since 2009.

Website of David Revoy, artist and instructor using only Free/Libre and Open-Source software since 2009.

www.davidrevoy.com

 

[smirking]

Unfortunately that is no longer the case. The license now lasts 3 years after which the app is kaput unless you 'borrow' a newer version.

Bummer. That's news to me. I've bought a copy for my wife a couple of times. I guess I'll have to buy another one next year then.

I guess that breaks down to somewhere around the $30/year range. I can live with that. My point would remain about the feature set described being so basic that there's no need to scutinize the what-if's. If you like it and the price is good, go with it. There's no need to overthink or invest a lot of time mastering the program just to do basic retouching.

I've had to use a lot of image editing apps. I've had to code up a few simple Web based ones too. The basics are pretty similar no matter where you go.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Is Affinity Photo a safe gamble for the foreseeable future?

There are no guarantees in the software business (look how Apple screwed us with Aperture, and how Adobe became evil after merging with Macromedia) but IMO yes. Affinity is a safe gamble.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

Your use cases are so basic, the answer is anything. I can't even come up with a photo program that won't do what you need. They all do that. You could probably just use Preview.

It doesn't take days or weeks worth of training just to resize and touch up photos. Don't overthink it. Just get something, use it and if it doesn't work out, move on. We're talking the most basic of use cases here.

Also, for your use case, if you're already used to Adobe, just buy Adobe Photoshop Elements. It'll do all of this and you own the license.

As long as her older version continues to work with whatever OS she uses there is no reason to update.Newer versions have been adding bells, whistles and clutter. The core features have remained static for at least 15 years. The lend/lease approach started with PS Elements 2025. IMO it should end there as well.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

You know, your use-cases are so simple, that I would just opt for either Krita or GIMP.

Why?

[1] both are open source and free. There is no risk for a company to swoop in and turn it to a subscription model.

[2] both are supported by a huge community and have TONS of Youtube tutorials and written tutorials available.

[3] both have a direct support through forums. And both have been in development for a long time.

[4] both use the same principles as Photoshop.

Thanks for the advice. I had not heard of Krita before.

While I am pro open-source, I have to be honest that I have tried using GIMP and Inkscape in the past and found them to be "clunky" with a poor UI design. (And in the past, at least, there was little to no support online, including quality How-To videos on YouTube.)

There do seem to be videos on Krita, but I notice it is classified as a "drawing tool". I that the path I want to go down?

[5] there is currently absolutely no guarantee that Affinity --now that it is owned by Canvas-- will not go subscription at some point in the future. Then again, there is also no evidence that that is going to happen either. But it CAN happen with commercial software.

But the larger questions were...

1.) Do you think Canva would switch to a subscription-based plan with Affinity pro in say the next 2-3 years?

2.) If I learn Affinity Pro, are the concepts mostly transferrable to other video-editing software (e.g. Photoshop, Pixelmator Pro, <some other software>)?

With open source software the chance of that happening is almost zero.

Obviously.

Now, I have both GIMP and Krita installed. In your case, with your background, I would probably choose Krita over GIMP.

While Krita is 'marketed' more as a digital painting app, in reality Krita's general purpose image editing, colour adjustment, and image compositing features actually rival those of many "image editors" out there.

Yeah, I feel like GIMP basically sucks unless you are already proficient with video-editing software and can deal with the poor UI.

Krita's user interface is also friendlier and more in line with Photoshop's approach. The basic workflow is quite similar to Photoshop - another reason why many users like Krita. Krita also has a specific friendly forum where you can ask questions if they arise.

Do you have any online forums that you can recommend with a link? (Ones that are super responsive like MacRumors!)

Everything in your list is easily possible in Krita (or GIMP). And I checked for Youtube tutorials as well - you seem to be well catered for.

Ugh! I just spent yesterday downloading like 30-40 videos on Affinity Photo.

There are thousands of Krita tutorials and online resources to get up to speed quickly. The manual is also pretty good. And a special forum for support: https://krita-artists.org/

Is that the best and most-active forum, or are there others?


Can anyone speak to how Krita compares to Affinity Pro as far as ease-of-learning, ease-of-use, and overall capabilities for editing photos and creating thumbnails for YouTube?

The basic principles are pretty much the same across all image editing software- at least the ones that work layer-based.

Is Krita layer-based?

Is Affinity Photo layer-based?

Is PhotoLine layer-based?

Workflows may differ somewhat. For example, Photoshop's workflow is outdated in certain places, and PhotoLine/Affinity Photo/Krita use different approaches to tackle these things.

To me, all image editing software is pretty much the same, and I usually get up to speed within an hour with a new app. But it very much depends on your own experience and work history. You are a beginner and (seemingly) rather inexperienced, and therefore you will probably experience more cognitive friction when switching between software. Nothing wrong with that. I have the same with other specific software that I have little experience with.

I am a beginner, and my #1 goal right now is to get up-to-speed ASAP because becoming proficient with photo-editing and thumbnail creation is way down my list of priorities, and I can't invest a lot of time right now on learning those things.

(I still have to code my mobile website, build my information architecture, get back to editing videos, and mostly focusing on content creation.)

Anyway, just download Krita, download GIMP, and download Affinity Photo and watch some tutorials and test it with one or two of the tasks that you'd like to be able to achieve. In the end only YOU can decide what works best for you.

So I can try Affinity Photo 2 for free?

 

[Ambrosia7177]

If your primary concern is how you pay to license your software, whether it’s by subscription or paying a one-time license cost for a particular version as in Affinity’s 2.x, then you probably should consider open source software. You don’t get direct support and features come whenever the community can get to them, but the license terms are generally user-friendly. On the other hand the license cost for Affinity 2.x is fairly negligible in the grand scheme of operational expenses for a business and it’s super high quality software. Don’t over think it

@r.harris1,

I don't mind paying for software one-time, but I REFUSE to go down the subscription-based (i.e. perpetual cost) rabbit-hole.

What is most important to me is TIME!!!

I spent last Spring and Summer becoming fairly proficient with DaVinci Resolve and video-editing, only to get my *ss kicked on YouTube with little to no traction.

On YouTube, everyone says that "TITLES and THUMBNAILS are KEY!!!" and so I am waking up to this reality... *licking wounds*

There is also the fact that I am trying to launch a mobile website, and I will need the ability to make lots of mobile-friendly and mobile-optimized photos for news articles that DOWNLOAD QUICKLY!! (And which look professional.)

I had a copy of Photoshop in the late 1990's when the www was starting, but haven't done photo-editing since.

This has been a decade-long WOUND, and to function in the modern world - and to be a successful online business owner - I TOTALLY need to not only become "proficient" with photo-editing and graphic design, but I need to EXCEL.

Problem is that I am already working 17 hour days, 7 days a week, and don't know where I can find the time. (And I cringe that I have to waste several days doing taxes this/next week!!)

So LEARNING QUICKLY and getting GOOD RESULTS is my #1 goal.

(I can afford $90 for Affinity Photo 2 if it is the best choice.)

The reason I posted here was because I don't want to become a master of Affinity Pro over the next 2 years, then Canva screws people like Adobe did, and now I have lost 2 years worth of time learning something I will never use again.

Overthinking?

It's what I do best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😊😊😊😊

So what do you think?

Just based on downloading 40 Affinity Pro videos yesterday- but not watching them yet - it seems that there is a ton of resources and support and videos for Affinity Photo.

And my sense is that Affinity Pro feels "professional" with an easy to use UI?

(A lot of the videos I downloaded where about switching from Photoshop to Affinity Photo and what people think.)

I am just feeling so overwhelmed with life right now that I want to cry.

Just figured I'd come here to get some GOOD ADVICE and not waste time or go down the wrong path.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

It has, but even better is a new "subject select" feature added to 2.0 that uses AI; I've downloaded 2.0 but haven't played with it yet (my "studio" is being re-configured), saw a demo on EweTube and it looked pretty impressive!
You mentioned you'd asked this question "a few months ago", not sure if that was before or after Apple bought Pixelmator Pro, an even cheaper possibility. That one probably won't go Subscription either; Apple bought Logic Pro (for music recording) years ago and it's still a one-time purchase.

Apple bought Pixelmator Pro??

I think I started my original thread back in maybe May or June 2024.

Not to further complicate the conversation, but how does Pixelmator Pro compare to Affinity Photo 2 now that Apple bought it?

Fwiw, not only do I want "easy to learn" and "good community support", but I also aspire to become mine-level to quasi-expert over time, so I'd like something I can grow with.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

The Affinity applications are good and the company, Serif, has been around since the 1980s. The fact that Canva has some control now shouldn't be a problem.

A-ha, that is what the "Serif" word is that I saw appended to some Affinity Photo titles on YouTube!!

You would like to think that the Canva CEO is *smart enough* to see a golden opportunity to NOT go subscription-based licensing since all of the people Adobe pissed off would be prime customers!!

I've been a user of all three Affinity applications and find them extremely usable. I don't expect that to change.

Another advantage of learning Affinity Photo is that I could also buy and learn their design application (name?) and so then I'd be getting into a "suite" of products and an "ecosystem".

Longer term, I totally want to learn how to do vector graphics (SVG) as well as motion graphics.

For YouTube thumbnails and simple word titles and basic design, maybe I can get by with something like Affinity Photo, but I think learning how to do graphic design and vector graphics would be really powerful for my business.

However, for long term photo editing, I've been a Capture One Pro user since 2006. I used a couple of Adobe applications before that, but they didn't suit me and now, the subscription process really doesn't sit well with me, although I suspect that will be the future of software.

Is that Nikon?

I used to have really expensive DSLR, but they died and I moved onto iPhones for my mobile journalism.

Can see buying a mirrorless and getting into fancier photography when I have the $$$ (and time), but for now, I do all of my video and photography using my iPhones.

As such, I don;t need something like CaptureOne or apps that work with RAW.

You can use Gimp and Inkscape and other open-source applications but they never felt as though designers had any say in the applications. They always felt awkward to use, at least, for me.

I agree 1000%

Gimp and Inkscape feel like they were designed by C++ programmers and not people who actually use the software to create things and make $$$.

I am very loyal to Firefox, LibreOffice, Thunderbird, etc. But those apps are usable, and Gimp and Inkscape have always felt lame to me - and certainly not applications that will help me to learn photo-editing and graphic design.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

I do understand your concerns with relying on commercial software that may or may not go down the subscription route. It is one of the reasons why I tend to avoid subscription software and commercial software that relies on a server connection to be activated.

THIS is another important requirement that I should mention - and not assume...

1.) I do NOT want any software where I am forced to work on "the Cloud" and save all of my proprietary and copyrighted material on someone else's server!!

I am old school, and expect my software and DATA to remain on my computer and that's it!!


2.) I do NOT want any software that is going to surreptitiously slurp up my original files/photos - or my finished work - and use it to train some AI and ultimately steal my work and turn around and try to profit off my work.

Btw, I realize the end of freedom and humanity is right around the corner, but I can live the dream a few more years before everything gets sucked up by the Borg!!

Working with open source software is, more or less, the only method to remain in control over one's software. Commercial software is always a bet against time in my experience. Over the years only a few of the commercial offerings remain, while the open source ones that I use remained, grew stronger, and have grown up. And most of the commercial ones that remain went subscription only. :-(

All very true, and why open-source is always my first choice.

I just had lots of disappointing attempts trying to learn and use GIMP and Inkscape, and so in that area it is "once bitten, twice shy"...

Btw, one of the advantages of working with open source software is of course that ALL older versions remain accessible (including the source code!) and can be installed (if not directly in a newer OS, still via a virtual machine). All legally and for free.

True.

 

[arkitect]

The reason I posted here was because I don't want to become a master of Affinity Pro over the next 2 years, then Canva screws people like Adobe did, and now I have lost 2 years worth of time learning something I will never use again.

IMHO these skills are transferable. You are not going to lose anything by moving from one app to another.

I started in the early 90s with Photoshop… CorelDraw!… many other applications and now Affinity Photo.

It is like driving a car — sure the dials may have a different design, but they still show the same info.
The brakes work like in other makes… and if you can drive a manual car that'd be even better preparation.

Anyway.

That's my 2 pennies.

Edit:

As a reminder, my use-case is this...

- Need to create thumbnails from screenshots of my videos for my website and YouTube channel.

- Need to create thumbnails from iPhone and camera photos for my website and YouTube channel.

- Need to edit iPhone and camera photos for articles on my website.

- Need to do basic photo-editing, including adjust levels, contrast, color-curves, cropping, spot-removal, and saving photos to different file-formats and file-sizes so they are optimized for my mobile website.

Actually I would think you get most of what you want to do by using the built in editor in Mac Photos.
Its free (assuming you have a Mac) and truly it has more bells and whisltes and options than most people need — especially as you point out that you will not be editing any RAW photos.