Becoming increasingly more important, photo editing or post-production is now an integral part of photo hobbyists’ and pros’ workflows, and is often the second most critical step to producing a photograph after taking the shot itself. With such importance, it is crucial for photographers to find editing software that can fulfill and support all of their needs, ranging from basic editing control to adjust brightness and contrast, to more complex solutions for performing non-destructive edits with layers and masks, as well as manage an entire library of images. Here’s a look at some of the most popular options out there for handling your photographs post-capture.
Adobe Photoshop
Beginning with the most recognizable photo editing software around, Adobe Photoshop is a product so well-known that its name has been transmogrified into a verb. There is little to say that hasn’t already been said for years about the king of photo-editing software; Photoshop is an incredibly well-rounded application that covers anything from making slight brightness and contrast adjustments, processing raw files, or retouching images all the way up to producing multi-layered, stitched image composites rife with selections and masks. Photoshop is available as part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud; however, for photographers, the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan bundles Photoshop with its younger brother, and second most well-known photo-editing software.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Introduced almost exactly 16 years after the birth of Photoshop, Photoshop Lightroom is a slightly scaled-down, more specialized image editing application. Intended more for photographers than all creatives working with “imagery,” Lightroom is best-known for its non-destructive editing environment, raw file processing capabilities, and file organization and management capabilities. Lightroom is also better tailored to digital photographers in particular, due to the inclusion of several tools for performing batch, repetitive, and synchronized edits. In addition to being available within the Creative Cloud Photography Plan with Photoshop itself, Lightroom is also still available as stand-alone software under the name Lightroom 6.
Capture One Pro 9
Arguably the strongest competitor to Adobe’s offerings in terms of professional workflows and file management, the Capture One series of software gained popularity early on as an apt solution for shooting tethered. Beyond its vast support for various cameras and raw file types, Capture One is also a very capable image editing solution, especially in regard to color management, as well as file organization, through the use of Catalogs and Sessions.
onOne Photo RAW and Photo 10
A pair of complementary applications to suit an entire photo editing workflow, onOne’s Photo RAW and Photos 10 allow you to process raw files, make basic edits, apply creative effects, and manage a photo library. Photo RAW is the newer of the two, and is meant as a single application for developing raw files and applying basic edits without the complexity of cataloging or importing. Photo 10 picks up where Photo RAW leaves off, and allows for more advanced editing controls using layers and various editing modules for producing creative results. Additionally, both of these can be used as a stand-alone application or as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.
Topaz Photography Collection
A truly well-rounded suite of 16 different editing applications, as well as a stand-alone navigational program, the Topaz Photography Collection includes something to tackle just about every type of creative editing situation in which you could find yourself. Dedicated applications are available for converting images to black-and-white, improving detail and clarity, reducing noise, simulating lens effects, and even producing painterly, artistic results. Many of the programs can be used as stand-alone apps; however, all can be used as plug-ins with Photoshop or a handful other editing applications. Additionally, this suite also includes the stand-alone photoFXlab for navigating all of the plug-ins, as well as managing an image library.
DxO OpticsPro 11 Elite Edition
Offering a similar set of post-production capabilities, DxO’s OpticsPro 11 Elite Edition also offers a range of photo-editing controls, as well as file management and exporting functions to suit a variety of applications. Differing from many other applications, though, OpticsPro benefits from DxO’s extensive testing and research on various cameras and lenses to generate specific profiles for more accurate optical corrections, as well as enhanced de-noising for improved clarity. Smart Lighting, Spot Weighted, and ClearView are a trio of additional modes that also help to improve brightness and contrast for more accurate image rendition and greater detail. Beyond DxO’s flagship software, they also offer the unique FilmPack 5 Elite Edition app, which serves a specific purpose to simulate the look of numerous black-and-white and color film types, as well as ViewPoint 3, which is used to correct perspective distortions and other deformed proportions in images often taken with wide-angle lenses.
Perfectly Clear 2.0
A dedicated plug-in for Photoshop, Lightroom, and Corel’s PaintShop Pro, Perfectly Clear 2.0 is an ideal tool for enhancing the look of portraits through the use of its Beautify set of features. This series of tools utilizes facial detection to identify age, gender, and key facial features to allow 10 unique retouching tools to smooth wrinkles, remove blemishes and shininess, adjust skin tone, improve the look of eyes, whiten teeth, and more. Additionally, the plug-in can also be used to perform automatic global adjustments to imagery to affect brightness, contrast, and color.
Corel PaintShop Pro X9
Last in our look at editing tools for photographers is a bundle from Corel: PaintShop Pro X9 Ultimate. The base of this suite, PaintShop Pro X9, is a non-destructive editing application fitted with raw file editing capabilities, a layers-based workflow, and numerous templates and other creative assets to kick-start your creative process. A range of text tools allows you to introduce elements of graphic design to imagery, and photographers also benefit from HDR tools and content-aware fill technology. In addition to PaintShop Pro, this bundle also includes Perfectly Clear 2.0 SE, Corel AfterShot 3, and Live Screen Capture.
Have you a favorite photo-editing program? Tell us about it in the Comments section, below.