There are many photo editing apps out there. There is the well known Photoshop, in the Apple Pixelmator or Pixelmator Pro environments is also well known and there are several other interesting options. Personally, after many years and a career as an architect in between, I have a clear favourite: Affinity Photo. My photo editing app.
Wow, I tried photo editing apps
I’ve tried pretty much every major photo editing app on the market. From the days when doing simple editing on the iPad was a pipe dream to now, where cropping an image is as simple as tapping and holding, I thoroughly tested several alternatives. Of all of them, I must highlight three: Affinity Photo, Pixelmator Pro and Adobe Photoshop.
My first photographic retouching, more than 15 years ago, was when Photoshop was still in its CS3 version. I vividly remember the tremendous surprise when at some point I saw the possibility of remove content to make photoshop fill background
Architectural photomontage. The building on the right doesn’t really exist, it’s a square.
During the architecture major, most of the class used Photoshop, myself included. But little by little empecé migrates to Pixelmator. It was simpler, the files were much smaller, and I could achieve the same effects, although sometimes it took a little longer. Later I upgraded to Pixelmator Pro, which kept the same essence, but offered more.
Then I met Affinity Photo. I admit that being used to the simplicity of Pixelmator Pro Affinity it cost me a bit, but having experienced Photoshop I adapted quickly. At the end, all apps are the same, more or less. If you are clear about what you want to achieve, you eventually find the tools.
Features, integration and performance at a consistent price
Affinity photo.
I exposed the preceding context partly to register this article in a time frame, but also of references. I have already told you that I (almost) only use Apple applications and my reasons, but I also consider that in this area I have tried the four applications I mentioned above with sufficient depth and at a sufficiently professional level to make an informed judgment
The reasons? The list is long. Most important is the integration with Apple platforms. Serif, the company behind the Affinity suite, has a Mac-specific division. They focus on the Mac. Windows is there too, but that’s not their main focus. And all of this is noticeable. This is noticeable in performance, in the speed of response of all the tools, in the designin the form of information presentation.
Sample image for an item mounted with Affinity Photo
More reasons. Affinity Photo is a one-time payment. What’s a little high? Well, that depends on everyone. For me it’s totally amortized and it’s much more interesting than the subscription to Adobe. Affinity, in addition to Affinity Photo, has Affinity Designer, for vector design, and Affinity Publisher, the alternative to InDesign for layout. Applications that I also use and that integrate very well with each other.
Streamline the tools in Affinity Photo.
Not to mention the large number of official tutorials on the Affinity website itself, I found in this application an excellent ally for almost all photo editing. Either mount a cover image for an article, like the many you see every day in Applesfera and several of which are in this article, or mount a panorama with several photos taken with the iPhone.
An application that gives me everything I need. Power, specialized tools, a clear interface, excellent system integration and, in addition, a more than ideal iPad version for me when I leave the Mac at home and I need to work. In short, an app that I recommend to anyone who asks me how I edit photos and make montages and that offers an ideal trial version to finish forming an opinion. Many years have passed to get here, but I say it: I am delighted with Affinity Photo.
