Aug 25, 2019 The Apple iPad has always been a tempting tool for photographers on the go: slim, lightweight, and now with the current iPad Pro models, powerful enough to do most photo tasks you'd accomplish on the desktop. The software isn't quite there yet. Instagram Photo Apps. The era of smartphones has made us all amateur photographers, but that doesn’t mean we snap flawless photos. Thankfully, there are plenty of editing apps to help us deal with anything from touch-ups to adding visual flair with effects and text overlays.
Best Photoshop App For Mac
BestMacBook for PhotographersiMore2020
Photographers have often turned to MacBooks to get the job done. Portable and powerful, these laptops are great for photo-editing for beginners and professionals alike. For most photographers, we recommend the 16-inch MacBook Pro with an i9 processor, which first arrived on the scene in 2019. There are other noteworthy models we've gathered to help you choose the one that fits your needs best.
Best Overall: 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019) i9 processor
If you're a professional photographer and need the best that money can buy, we highly recommend this version, which comes with an 8‑core 9th‑generation Intel Core i9 processor and Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz. For this, you'll receive a graphics card boost and 1TB of storage versus the 512GB of storage found on the base model. If this isn't enough, you can add more memory, a better graphics card, and more storage. In doing so, the cost of this model can quickly exceed nearly $6,000, which is something to keep in mind.
However, if you're a photographer looking to run video and photo apps, this is almost certainly the one you should buy. Just think carefully before adding extras.
Pros:
Best Overall16-inch MacBook Pro (2019) i9 processor
The best of the best
If you're okay with the price, no doubt this is the MacBook to get.
Source: iMore
When it comes to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, $700 separates the base and most complete package. Add more memory, storage, and a better processor, and the price can jump even more. Despite this, the smaller of the two MacBook Pro models has a lot going for it.
At just over three pounds, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is only slightly heavier than the MacBook Air. For this, you receive a better processor and graphics card, more storage availability, and a Touch Bar. On the downsize, adding an even better graphics card or more storage suddenly pushes this model past the $2,000 mark, which might make you reconsider buying a 13-inch versus 16-inch model.
If you're comfortable with the 13-inch screen size and less concerned with price, you should buy this model over the MacBook Air.
Pros:
Cons:
Best Alternative13-inch MacBook Pro (2020)
More powerful
There's much to love about this model, which offers better internals than the MacBook Air.
Best for Beginners: 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019) i7 processor
The least expensive 16-inch MacBook Pro model still packs a punch, offering a 9th-generation Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz. The base 16-inch MacBook Pro comes with 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory, 512GB SSD storage, and four Thunderbolt 3 ports. The model comes standard with an AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory graphics processor and can be upgraded to AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of GDDR6 (for an extra $100) or AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 ($200) for better performance.
On the obvious downside, this is still an expensive laptop. Plus, you'll need to recharge this laptop more often than you would with the non-16-inch offerings. And like all MacBooks, it isn't usually on sale at a discount.
Pros:
Cons:
Best for Beginners16-inch MacBook Pro (2019) i7 processor
Largest display for less
The entry-level 16-inch MacBook Pro is an excellent choice when the size of the screen matters the most.
Source: Apple
The entry-level MacBook Air (2020) offers a 13-inch Retina display with True Tone, 1.1GHz dual-core 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz, 8GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory, 256GB SSD storage, Intel Iris Plus Graphics, and Touch ID. At 2.8 pounds, the 2019 MacBook Air is the lightest MacBook currently on the market. It's also the least expensive.
The lower price comes with drawbacks, starting with having an slower processor and less robust graphics card than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. It also contains fewer Thunderbolt 3 ports than most of the MacBook Pro models. On a positive note, the MacBook Air offers one more hour of use between charges than the similar-sized MacBook Pro.
Pros:
Cons:Best Apps For Professional Photographers
Best BudgetMacBook Air (2020)
Fun, yet practical
The best all-around option for teachers, the MacBook Air is a great looking device that will provide you with years of service.
Time to snap
In 2019, the MacBook lineup shrunk after Apple discontinued the 12-inch MacBook. The change brings to four the number of Apple laptops we recommend for photographers. Our favorite, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with an i9 processor, is the best choice for professional photographers.
This great device offers an 8‑core 9th‑generation Intel Core i9 processor and Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz. You'll receive a graphics card boost and 1TB of storage versus the 512GB of storage found on the base model.
Looking for even more? Add more storage, better memory, and an improved graphics card for even more splendor!
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Bryan M. Wolfe is a dad who loves technology, especially anything new from Apple. Penn State (go Nittany Lions) graduate here, also a huge fan of the New England Patriots. Thanks for reading. @bryanmwolfe
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Best Apps For Photographers AndroidProp up your MacBook in style with one of these stands
Looking for a stellar stand for your MacBook or MacBook Pro? It's more than just a way to show off your toy: it can help optimize space, reduce desk clutter, help with storage, and more.
Editing your photos on your iPhone is one thing, but editing your photos on your Mac can take your photography skills to a whole 'nother level.
Many of us still keep our main libraries on our Macs because of its faster processors, larger storage, and all-around bigger computing power. The Mac is still the best device for serious photo editing, so you need some serious photo editing apps to make an impact.
The built-in Photos app on Mac offers several useful photo editing tools. You can crop, adjust lighting and color, set the white balance, add filters, remove unwanted blemishes, and a few more things. However, in all honesty? It's not really meant to be a robust editing app, so If you are looking for something to really finish your photos right, we've got a list of the best photo editors for Mac right here. Let's go!
Affinity Photo
If you're looking for a photo editing app that goes above and beyond for the pricetag, while still allowing you complete creative control over your images, then it might be worth it to take a peek at Affinity Photo.
Affinity Photo supports unlimited layers, groups, layer adjustments, filters, masking, and more: you also have access to tools like dodge, red-eye fix, burn, blemish, clone, and patch (so pretty much Photoshop without all the convoluted bells and whistles). Nondestructive auto-saving makes undoing everything you've done easy, so if you need to start from the beginning, the option is there.
Play, manipulate, edit, and get hella creative with Affinity Photo whether you're a serious graphic designer or someone who's just looking to do some basic editing. Your photography will seriously thank you.
Fotor Photo Editor
Searching for a super simple, straight-forward photo editing app that's there to help you edit and not confuse you to the point of ripping out your hair? Then check out Fotor Photo Editor!
With this photo editor, you can easily adjust contrast and color of more washed-out photos, add borders, tilt and shift your images, add different text, slap on a few filters, and so much more, all from the easy-to-find toolbox on the right side of the app. You can even create collages of your photography masterpieces!
The BBC once called Fotor Photo Editor 'light Photoshop', and they're kind of right! You can go above and beyond editing your images with Fotor Photo Editor without getting bogged down by more complicated editing buttons and tools.
Lightroom
When you look into photo editing software, one of the first things that'll pop up is Adobe's Lightroom, and for good reason! It's essentially a staple in the photo editing community.
Lightroom is great for photographers who need to manage a large image library, and who are prepared to commit to (and pay for) Adobe's cloud storage space. But it is purely a photography tool that's a little outside the regular Adobe design ecosystem. (Creative Bloq)
Pretty much anything you want to do with your photo, you can accomplish with Lightroom. You can blend and merge shadows and highlights, sharpen dull, blurry images so they look crisp and clear, add details and tint colors to make a photo stand out, and so, so much more.
While it is a bit more on the complicated side, people who use the program and know how to navigate it are hooked. Keep in mind, there are two versions of the app — there's the Classic version, which is more preferred, and the 2018 CC version.
If you're hesitant about the program and paying for it, you can download Lightroom free for 30 days as part of a trial period. After that, you can add it to your Photoshop CC subscription for $9.99 per month.
Pixelmator![]()
Amp up your photo editing skills with a little bit of help from Pixelmator!
This particular photo editing app allows you to combine two different photos into one (while still allowing you to edit over each layer), add shapes, gradients, filters, tints, and more, and completely change and edit your photography to make it fit perfectly to your aesthetic. You can even mask and cut off certain areas of the photo, giving you more creative control over your final image.
Similar to other photo editing apps, you can also adjust contrast, color, saturation level, definition, and so much more.
It's another great alternative to Photoshop, at least according to our managing editor Lory Gil.
GIMP
Love Photoshop (or the idea of Photoshop...) but don't want all the complicated components and nonsense that comes along with it? Then it might be worth it to take a peek at GIMP.
Similar to Photoshop, GIMP allows you full control over editing your photos: it's an advanced image manipulation program with detailed customization for color reproduction.
You can add layers to your photos, edit and tweak colors, adjust contrast, crop, adjust saturation, and so much more. If you're someone who admires Photoshop but is terrified of the price (or just thinks it's not worth it) then GIMP might be the perfect pal for you.
Snapheal
Say 'bye-bye' to nasty photobombs, zits, perky distractions, and so much more in your photos thanks to Snapheal!
Snapheal is a little bit unique in the sense that it's more of a 'delete now, ask questions later' app. It's more about cleaning up a photo than it is editing it and adding a whole bunch of layers. The tools can either remove large objects or smaller imperfections depending on the mode. You can even adjust the masking tool, use a magic rope, or clone stamp your way to a new photo.
If you're someone who's a perfectionist when it comes to your photography and you just can't stand that one stupid, distracting blur in the background, then Snapheal is the guy for you.
Preview
I know what you're thinking: 'Preview? Really, Cella?'
To which I respond: 'Uh, yeah. Duh, my dude. You use it every day!'
Sure, you can't do a bunch of fancy things with Preview like add filters, adjust contrast, and fix saturation, but you can quickly crop a photo, adjust the color, rotate it, add shapes, texts, and a signature, export as a different format, and more.
Yes, Preview isn't perfect, but it is easy to use and fantastic for making small, fast changes to your photography.
How do you edit your photography?
What is your favorite photo editing app for the Mac? Why does it work the best for you? Let us know what your top picks are in the comments down below!
Updated August 2018: All the choices on this list are still the best of the best!
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