Best Photo Editing Software for Photographers

If you want to be a professional, you need a photo editing tool to take your photo to a professional level. When a photographer snaps a photo, all adjustments cannot be perfect at the same time. Photography is all about moment, light & frame. With a DSLR camera, a photographer can manually set all the settings, but the question is can he set all the settings perfectly in the very right moment?

After snapping the photo there could be an extra object in the photo which is needed to be cropped or the photo may be overexposed, the framing may need to be rotated, light and color correction may be required all obviously retouching might come handy and many criteria like those. These can be fixed with the right use of photo editing software.

Various photo editing tools are available in the market which makes us confused that which one is the right one for us. We are going to discuss both paid and free photo editors that are best currently in this article. Other hand, you can also take some support from some photo editing outsourcing company when you not experts on photo editing tools.

1. Adobe Photoshop CC

The most used and recommended photo editor by the professionals is Adobe Photoshop CC. Surely this is the most complete photo editor that is available in the market. It has all the necessary tools, retouching, color correction, plugins that a professional requires. It supports all the file formats and very effective for RAW files.

Pros

• Supports all formats of image
• The best editor for cutting edge
• It takes photos to a professional level
• Creative people can use it in various ways according to their skills
• Great editor to develop photo editing skills
• Very useful for photo correction and manipulation
• Vast integrated stock library
• Plenty of design tools available

                    Cons

• Newbies can find it very difficult to get started with
• Because of its vast interface, even professionals may struggle with the new updates
• The price is very high, some may not opt to use for its price tag

• Adobe Lightroom CC

While some people may struggle to use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom CC can be an alternative for them. This is a very powerful tool with a neat interface. Users find it user friendly comparing with photoshop as Lightroom cut off the extra features which photoshop has.

Pros

• User-friendly with a neat interface
• Excellent for photo arrangement
• Easy and quick adjustments for RAW files
• Lightroom provides non-destructive workflow, the adjustments are saved as catalog and user can modify anytime
• Lightroom doesn’t require heavy processing machines
• One of the best for retouching photos

Cons

• Only supports image file
• Cannot manipulate the image
• Like photoshop, lightroom is also expensive

• GIMP

When it comes to free and open-source photo editing tools, GIMP is undoubtedly ranked among the top. GIMP is designed for both professionals and newbies with various features. As this an open-source software, anyone can use it in their respective operating systems. Just go to the site, download the software, and get started.

Pros

• GIMP is free for all
• This is a light editor and multiplatform as well
• It offers a customizable interface
• It has almost all the tools compared to photoshop
• It has a layering feature
• Updates are available from time to time

                    Cons

• Cannot export to CMYK format
• Non-intuitive for new users
• Slower in performance

• Skylum Luminar 4

Skylum Luminar 4 is different from most of the photo editors and specialized in AI features. These AI tools can analyze the photo and they are non-destructive. Unlike Adobe Photoshop, Skylum Luminar 4 doesn’t require a monthly subscription, it can be bought permanently at a reasonable price.

Pros

• Attractive UI and user friendly
• Built-in AI features
• No need to pay a monthly subscription
• A Vast range of addictive filters
• Available frequent feature updates
• Very handy for automatic photo fixing
• Curves, brushes, gradients, and local adjustments

                         Cons

• Blur, bokeh, and depth of field effects are missing
• Not recommended for those who don’t like AI and auto fix
• Slow processing

• Fotor

Fotor is another free photo editor and super easy to use. This is perfect for beginners as it is both free and user friendly.

Pros

• Free editor with handy features
• Very easy to use
• Good for simple editing

Cons

• Not for deep retouching
• Too many ads
• Very few tools

Conclusion

Photography is incomplete without the use of photo editors. We have discussed a couple of editors and choose the best according to your need.