I am looking for a free or inexpensive simple photo manipulation program for my mac. I used to you photoshop but now realise is is very expensive. I have tried affinity photo which might be ok but of course you need to pay for it. Any advice?
iMac, macOS 10.12
Laflin wrote:
....I have tried affinity photo which might be ok but of course you need to pay for it. Any advice?
FWIW, it is currently on sale for $34.99, which is quite inexpensive for
what you are getting.
Another option if you are working with RAW files, is RAWTherapee
(https://rawtherapee.com) which is also free.
There is also the obvious option of Apple's Photos, which on Catalina has
had some pretty significant improvements.
Also, for just an image browser, culling and tagging and metadata manipulation,
you can still use Adobe Bridge CC for free. You only need to download the Creative Cloud
app (which manages all Adobe CC apps) and create an Adobe account and log in.
That is what I am currently using for my image management/photo processing hub.
Laflin wrote:
....I have tried affinity photo which might be ok but of course you need to pay for it. Any advice?
FWIW, it is currently on sale for $34.99, which is quite inexpensive for
what you are getting.
Another option if you are working with RAW files, is RAWTherapee
(https://rawtherapee.com) which is also free.
There is also the obvious option of Apple's Photos, which on Catalina has
had some pretty significant improvements.
Also, for just an image browser, culling and tagging and metadata manipulation,
you can still use Adobe Bridge CC for free. You only need to download the Creative Cloud
app (which manages all Adobe CC apps) and create an Adobe account and log in.
That is what I am currently using for my image management/photo processing hub.
Hi Laflin,
Here is a link to a YouTube channel with dozens of FREE instructional videos on Darktable.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCaNtZp57HsNmK9lGUMDS8f3rYugoeaSh
I’m a certified Lightroom instructor and enjoy sharing my Lightroom expertise, Darktable is a very competent, free software for editing JPEGs and Raw files. I hope you can find something that fits your budget and needs.
Among search results for InPixio for Mac, there is a free trial? noted with one of the links presented
in the Search results I see; https://duckduckgo.com/?q=InPixio+for+Mac&t=ffsb&ia=web and a
macappstore(?) link to get an app.
Most of these are Not from official Apple mac store. ~ Some suggest in-app purchase(s) of upgrade
to retail version after their free or limited-use trial subsides. But anything outside official retail looks
some kind of scam or perhaps broken code to access the maker's product. (retail $69.)
Reading some details, suggest of named "InPixio" offerings may not be official; likely could be hacks.
Another researched link suggests the actual InPixio costs near $70. & review suggests not worth it.
INPIXIO PHOTO CLIP MAC review | Macsoftreview
https://www.macsoftreview.com/2018/inpixio-photo-clip-mac-review/
(Others linked results, use words like 'Cracked' or perhaps likely stolen use codes.)
The ToyViewer has complexities that I'd barely scratched the surface of ~ and while
it may seen a bit lacking where instructions are concerned, could yield good result.
The maker of Graphic Converter still offers a product for retail, had seen good reviews.
Has link to trial preview offer; among other, from Lemke image editing etc software.
Try GraphicConverter Test for free: GraphicConverter is shareware. That means you can
test the product free of charge and without any obligations before you purchase it.
Then you might want to increase your budget, generally what you get with more money are "guided" actions to walk you through different photo manipulations. I particularly like PhotoShop Elements, but it is a bit more than "free".
Thank you very much for these ideas. I want to be able to cut and layer images as well as to remove backgrounds, etc. and used to do this on something called picmonkey which used to be free. Ridiculous names. I have apple photos but not on catalina. What do you mean by raw files?
Raw files are files created by cameras that support them, primarily digital SLR. The advantage of RAW is they contain much more meta data than jpg which means for editing you have far more control.
Raw files in the DNG format have been available since the iPhone 7 series. Apple hasn’t supported the format through the native camera app, but the API is available to 3rd party developers.
Many cameras support a native Raw format, Nikon=NEF, Canon=CR2/3, Olympus=ORF, etc. Most major brands support Raw formats.
The Raw data is the data directly off the sensor/chip. Raw files are 16bit, while JPEG and HEIC are 8bit files and literally have only half the data of a Raw file. Raw files support billions of colors and JPEG supports 16.7 million colors. This is very significant when accurate skin tones are a priority.
Raw files can be edited with no loss of quality. Editing a JPEG will always result in a loss of quality. Repeated editing of the same JPEG, will always result in some loss of quality. This can become very noticeable after just several editing sessions.
Hi Jeff
Thank you very much for your help. I just downloaded Darktable and as I am not really adept at this kind of program need to read some instructions but could not really find anything. The jargon is over my head so it would be useful to understand some of it. I am mainly wanting to be able to remove backgrounds. Any further advice. would be appreciated. Thanks
Thanks again. I find that darktable and other photo programs are not exactly what I am looking for which is to do with clipping, removing backgrounds, etc. I stumbled upon InPixio and wondered if anyone is familiar with this. It says free but imagine there is a catch to it and eventually you need to pay for it. Any advice on this?
Thanks for your quick reply. I am actually now trying to get to grips with Gimp which is just a bit complicated but I expect maybe this is the best option. Any suggestions on how to learn it rather than the stumbling around in the dark.
Thanks very much for your advice. I am now looking at Toyviewer although I am struggling with a simple thing like removing backgrounds, etc. I hope this is possible here.
Sounds sensible. I shall look into this. Many thanks.
Depending on the vintage of macOS you are using, there are a few good free softwares;
one that I've used awhile from older to newer Mac OS X, one fits a niche that may help.
(Items do OK via 'AirDrop' to Mac further use and edits; for sharing, from iPhone, etc.)
• ToyViewer for Mac ~ on the Mac App Store
(Later version: up through High Sierra, and to Mojave)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/toyviewer/id414298354
Maker site info, for 10.12.+ newer. (Incl. link to older 10.9.5 version)
http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~ogihara/en/macOS.html
(My older versions go back to PPC Tiger 10.4.11/Leopard 10.5.8.
in working vintage macs; and newer in 10.11.6, 10.14.6.)
There is GIMP.
best free photo manipulation program for Mac
