Ted's Top 5 Photo Editing Programs

14 May 2018

Arguably Photoshop is the greatest and most important photo editing program of all time. It has been a mainstay of the Photographic world for a number of years and it is likely to stay that way, but what about the other options available?
Is there other software available that is more suitable for specific applications?

Below we take a look at some of the high-quality software released in recent years.


Afinity Photo (Mac)

Exclusively for Mac users, Affinity Mac is a faster and easier to use alternative to Photoshop. Some features of note within this user-friendly program are live blend modes, inpainting, separation editing and advanced retouching. 

More advanced users will be pleased to find 16-bits per channel editing, RAW processing, LAB colour, ICC colour management, 64-bit plug-in compatibility and end-to-end CMYK.

Ted's Top 5 Photo Editing ProgramsTed's Top 5 Photo Editing Programs

Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom (Photography Plan) (Mac and PC)

Ted's Top 5 Photo Editing ProgramsTed's Top 5 Photo Editing Programs

As we touched on in the opening paragraph, Adobe is at the forefront of the Photo Editing world with their Photoshop and Lightroom programs. Both options are easily available in the company’s reasonably-priced photography subscription package.

With both of these programs in your arsenal, you have all the tools necessary to make your photographs shine. Lightroom is a great photo organiser and is great for non-destructive processing of RAW files, while Photoshop is ideal for retouching and detailed image layering and effects.

DXO Photo Lab Essentials (Mac & PC)

Discover the best picture quality from inside your RAW and JPEG files easily.

DxO PhotoLab Essential features automated and powerful RAW and JPEG photo-developing tools. Its wide range of presets allows you to adjust the processing to match your tastes and to reveal the best in your images with just a few clicks.

Ted's Top 5 Photo Editing ProgramsTed's Top 5 Photo Editing Programs

GIMP (Linux, Mac & PC)

Ted's Top 5 Photo Editing ProgramsTed's Top 5 Photo Editing Programs

Don't be fooled by the name, GIMP is a powerful piece of editing software.

Compatible with all popular file formats, so you can start using it straight away, taking advantage of the apt file management system and broad tool set. Some of the basic editing features included are painting tools, colour correction, selection, enhancement and cloning.

Photoshop Elements (Mac & PC)

The very popular Photoshop Elements can be described as the cheaper, easier version of Photoshop. The basic tools are present, so this is a great choice if you are looking for a quick and effective program to resize your images or make basic colour and tone adjustments. Some of the more advanced features are missing, while others such as the shake-reduction and de-haze tools are available. 

Overall Elements is great for beginners, but we can’t promise you won’t be upgrading to the more advanced programs later on down the track.

Ted's Top 5 Photo Editing ProgramsTed's Top 5 Photo Editing Programs

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