The reviews and tutorials on Life after Photoshop are based on these Mac versions and I make the assumption (rightly, I hope) that the Windows versions will be the same. I work exclusively on a Mac, but all the programs but one in this list come in both Mac and Windows versions. So it seems to me the simplest and most ‘neutral’ way to list these programs is in alphabetical order.
This is even more true for people like me who use two or more applications to get the full spread of features they want.
The fact is, everyone will be looking for something different in their software, so trying to put this list in order of merit really doesn’t make much sense.
Photographers want software that will organize and catalog their images, offer creative and inspiring preset effects, let them try out different image ‘looks’ on single images, add an effect to whole folders full of images at a time… and so on. Image editing software now has to do more than retouching, compositing and detailed Photoshop style manipulation. This is how Life after Photoshop came about. The fact is, though, that the whole field of image editing has opened up to a far wider audience who want to do a lot more with their images – and more quickly and simply – than Photoshop was ever designed for.
You would just say Photoshop, and that would be it. This was trickier with Pixelmator Pro, but doable once you got used to the different controls.Choosing the best image editing software used to be easy. Another way it can be used is for set extensions.įor instance, if you want to see what a shot might look like with more sky, you can use it to make more sky. The most logical use for Pixelmator Pro's Repair tool as a filmmaker is erasing objects from scout photos that will need to be covered up by the art department. Once you get a little muscle memory, you won't notice a difference. It's those little things you'll have to get used to when switching to a new program that can slow you down. Within Retouch is the Repair tool that performs similarly to Content-aware Fill. With Pixelmator Pro, basic things like layers and masks stay the same, but for something like Photoshop's Content-aware Fill, it uses a set of extension tools called Retouch. Retouch and RepairĪs with any new program, one of the frustrations is learning the new naming conventions for special tools. With this technique, you can comp in backgrounds from your location scout and have immediately slicker previs shots that will help the team get a handle on how you envision staging the scene. Let's say you shoot the rehearsal on your phone with portrait mode in a blank rehearsal space that's hard to cut out normally. As for tools, it has over a dozen different adjustment types including levels, curves, color balance, sharpen, and grain to tune your images. If you shoot RAW, Pixelmator Pro supports RAW photos from over 600 digital cameras including Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, and Sony. The versatile program works with Photoshop's (PSD) layered file format and many common image file structures we all work with. Better yet, the software supports the new M1 chip from Apple, so it has some speed under the hood. Pixelmator Pro is currently in version 2.0.5, and it's one of the best programs I've used for photo editing outside of Photoshop. Let's take a deeper dive into Pixelmator Pro. The latter has a popular following of users who like its tight integration into Mac software and hardware for more efficient rendering and automation. Pixelmator for iOS is designed for Apple smartphones, Pixelmator Photo is for iPads, and Pixelmator Pro is geared toward Mac computers. Pixelmator has been around since 2007, and they offer three different software options, each one dedicated to a specific platform.