Mac Photo versus Adobe Photoshop Elements

PhotoShop elements is a very good tool for photo ediing and graphics compositing; Premiere Elements is for video editing. So the programs are complementing each other.

There is a free trial for Premiere elements: Download Premiere Elements free trial | Adobe Premiere ...

Photos has extensive editing but Elements has more photo editing and much more image editing

LN

There is some photo editing in the basic MAC photo software.

Yes, quite a bit of editing capability. Select and image and use the Return key to enter the editing mode. At the right will be the various editing modes.

In the Adjust mode click on the blue Add button and check all of the options so they are visible in that mode:

That will give you the following in the Adjust window:

Photoshop Elements can do just about everything that Photos can and more. For example use multiple layers so one can add text to an image, remove portions of an image like this:

However, when using PSE one must export the image file to the Desktop and do the editing there.

I do not know if the current offering of PSE, 14, offers integration with a Photos library via a Media browser, like Version 10 has with the iPhoto library:

There is some photo editing in the basic MAC photo software.

Photos has pretty good adjustments for straigthening the horizon, correcting the exposure, the color, the definition and contrast.

PhotoShop Elements adds graphics compositing. You can select and cut regions from one photo and insert it into a different photo, for example exchange the heads of the persons in a photo for the head of someone else, or replace the background - replace the city background by a green landscape our a summer sky or similar.