8 best software for Photographers

Wambui Mugo May 5, 2020

With smartphones and social media, everyone is a photographer. The only difference is there are amateurs, professionals, and enthusiasts. And only pro photographers know the value of taking raw photos bringing them to life.

Currently, there is a slew of software available in the market for you to choose from. The right software will give you the correct colors and lines, erase any blemishes, reduce noise, among others.

Whether you are taking professional shots or just snapping away with your smartphone, you need help to optimize, organize, and edit your photos. Technology is advancing at a tremendous speed and today’s smartphone cameras can’t be compared to cameras a few years back. We have pro cameras with over 100 megapixels.

Photography software has to keep up with these advanced camera features. As a photographer taking pictures with advanced DSLR cameras, you know that your content is king.

Ready to transform your DSLR or mirrorless camera photos?

Here are the best photography programs for you.

Best Photo-editing Software for Pro Photographers

Adobe Photoshop

When it comes to photography, Adobe needs no introduction. They have mastered the art of creating art. The term photo editing is synonymous to ‘Photoshop’ now. No kidding!

Adobe Photoshop is the most popular editing tool in the market with legions of photographers and other content creators across the globe. However, its interface best serves professional creators looking for advanced photo-editing features under one roof. Just name anything you want to do on a photo, chances are it’s already on Photoshop.

It’s difficult to list all the features on Photoshop but some of the major features include:

Top-notch photo retouching and cloning capabilities.
It works very fast on image files regardless of their size.
It has depth map support for HEIF files.
You can work on any major file format including PNG, JPG, GIF, and raw files (like DNG, NEF, CR2, CRW).
It does non-destructive editing, therefore, your images are enhanced.

Capture One

Phase one has developed one of the most powerful RAW image editors in the market. Capture One is a must-have tool if you are a pro photographer who needs to give a fine touch to RAW files (NEF, PEF, DCR, CR2, CRW). It’s made raw image editing a breeze. Also, it’s a better alternative to Adobe Lightroom.

Some of its key features are:

The masking capabilities are similar to Photoshop’s.
It works seamlessly with any raw file regardless of the size.
It offers advanced color editing features giving you superb white balance and color adjustments.
It comes with a customizable user interface.
You can make numerous modifications on each layer and the software won’t be sluggish.

Best Image Resizer for Photographers

Filestar

For both pro and novice photographers, image resizers are one of the most indispensable software for photographers. A great image resizer lets you flip, change resolution, rotate, and crop several images at a go.

Filestar enables you to do all these and change the file format of a single or batch files within a few clicks. The user-friendly interface saves you time and effort increasing your productivity as a photographer.

Some of the key features include:

Supports over 21,000 bulk or single file conversion.
Easily merge documents, video, and audio files.
Supports file numerous image file transformations including rotate, add filters, replacing file names, add watermarks, add text to images, among others.
Compress numerous files to reduce their size.

Best Photography Software for Beginners

Corel Paintshop Pro 2020

If you need a Photoshop alternative but without the advanced features like 3D modeling, detailed typography, camera shake reduction, and face liquefy, Corel Paintshop Pro is your babe. We love it because it’s capable but inexpensive. Not as shrewd but for a beginner, it’s a gem.

Some of the key features include:

Allows 360 image editing.
It offers a smooth and user-friendly experience.
It comes with pre-existing graphic templates.
It has an extensive library of colors, gradients, pallets, picture tubes, among others.
It supports almost all standard graphic formats such as GIF, PNG, JPEG, JPG, as well as native Paintshop pro format (PSP).

Adobe Lightroom

Adobe is a pioneer in developing cutting-edge photography technology. It’s not surprising that Adobe Lightroom is pure gold. It’s straight forward, user-friendly, intuitive, yet a capable tool for photo editing. Unlike Photoshop which is complex and intimidating, Lightroom can be used by even novice photographers. Besides, it supports all the formats that Photoshop supports.

Some key and incredible features are:

Allows photo organization through face detection.
Lens and camera correction features.
It offers a wide array of professional filters.
Efficient blurring and fixing tools.
It has customizable sliders.
Brush and gradient adjustments.
You can efficiently sync it with multiple devices.

Pixlr-X

For years, Pixlr-X has been a favorite free online photo editor for many photographers. The fact that it’s not based on Flash but HTML5 makes it possible to run on modern browsers. Well, the interface is reminiscent of Photoshop Express so it’s slick with impressive customization options.

Some of its most impressive features include:

Over 2 million effects for your selection.
It supports layers and masks.
It comes with a customizable user interface.
It has a desktop and mobile app.
It exports only PNG and JPG file formats.

Skylum Luminar

Skylum Luminar is more affordable and gaining enormous popularity among photographers. It’s image editing capabilities especially filters and HDR, Luminar has got it to the T!

It gives you the perfect blend of Photoshop and Lightroom. If you are looking for the best of both worlds, you have it in Luminar 4.

Some of its greatest features include:

It offers layers and masks.
Their customer support is 24/7/365.
AI-technology at its best with the sun rays and sky enhancer.
It provides a gallery view, filmstrip view, and a single image view.
Photograph management made easy with clever shortcuts.
It supports PNG, JPEG, TIFF, HEIC, PSD, and raw files like CR2, NEF, DNG, PEF, RAF, and ARW.

Pic Monkey

If you are just starting out as a photographer and you need to brush your skills, PicMonkey will do you some good. Especially if you need to post on social, you have numerous collages, touch up, filters, etc.

The user interface is very easy-to-use and it has a free trial version. If the heavyweight photo editing apps overwhelm you, give PicMonkey a shot.

Some of its key features include:

It has advanced touch-up tools.
It has a mobile app for iPhones and Android phones.
Straightforward interface.
Numerous templates.
It supports graphic files like PNG, JPEG, and SVG.

All the mentioned photography software hold their own. However, look at your needs, preference, budget, and editing skills before sticking to one. For instance, a professional photographer looking for a free photography tool should go for GIMP.

Let us know what you picked to add that magical touch to your photos.