PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Affinity Photo: Platform: Mac
$39.99/£29.99
We're big fans of Affinity Photo, one of the best Mac alternatives to Photoshop around.
Although there's no subscription fee for Affinity Photo – just a one-off fee – Serif had previously promised to release regular free updates to the app for at least the first couple of years.
Fast and Efficient Tool Set
Pan and zoom at 60fps, even with huge images
Live tools, live previews, real-time editing
RAW and regular processing united in one app
Professional
Professional colour spaces and profiles
Pro file formats like PSD supported
Modern camera RAW formats supported
Full set of 16-bit filters
Sub-pixel precision and pixel-perfect snapping
Customisable toolbars, keyboard shortcuts and panels.
Photoshop CC: Platform: Windows/Mac
From $19.99/£17.15 (per month)
The replacement for Photoshop CS6 surprised everyone by not being the expected Photoshop CS7 but 'Photoshop CC'. And surprise turned to consternation when it was revealed that the software would be solely available via the Creative Cloud subscription service.
Time has passed and anger has subsided. Photoshop CC is head-bangingly brilliant, and has too many features to summarise in this small space – but here you can read a run-down of its 15 top features.
Better collaboration with libraries
Manage the distribution of read-only Creative Cloud Libraries so they can be used by team members, but not changed or deleted.
Updated Libraries panel
Find the assets you need faster with new filtered search of Adobe Stock and icons that make it easy to identify licensed Adobe Stock assets.
Match Font
Photoshop can now analyze, identify, and match Latin fonts from an image or photo, taking the guesswork out of finding the perfect font for your design.
See how it works ›
Improved artboards
Now you can duplicate a layer or layer group into other artboards, quickly change artboard backgrounds, and view artboards with transparent backgrounds.
Acorn: Platform: Mac
$29.99/£22.99
Image editing software Acorn debuted back in 2007 and has provided hobbyists and artists on a budget with a great, affordable piece of photo editing software. Features include layer styles, non-destructive filters, curves and levels, blending modes and much more.
The latest version, Acorn 5, added improved speed, an enhanced UI and more. One of the most sought-after improvements was the addition of non-destructive filters, which includes includes a great interface to chain filters together to create unique effects. You can even save and modify your filters after you've closed and re-opened your Acorn image.
Characteristics:
Shape Processor
Shape processors are filters for shape layers which allow you to move, tweak, generate, and adjust shapes. Best of all, the shape processors are non-destructible and stackable just like Acorn’s filters.
Circle Text Tool
Quickly and easily place your text on a circle to create logos and other useful text designs. Modify your text with on-canvas controls for circle radius, rotation, and inversion. Use the baseline and kerning sliders to get things looking just right.
Photoshop Brush Import
Acorn will now import Photoshop brush files (.abr). Just drag and drop the Photoshop brush file onto Acorn to import and make new brushes.
Improved Crop
Trim out parts of your image and even rotate your image while you crop to make the perfect scene. You can even use the crop tool to quickly increase the size of your canvas.
Non-Destructive Levels and Curves
Levels and Curves have joined all the other non-destructive filters in Acorn. You can use Levels and Curves on both bitmap and shape layers, and even save your Curves as a preset for quick editing in the future.
Gimp: Platform: Linux/Windows/Mac
Price: Free
An open-source photo editor that debuted on Unix-based platforms, GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. Today it's available in versions for Linux, Windows, and Mac. GIMP offers a wide toolset - everything you're accustomed to is within easy reach, including painting tools, colour correction, cloning, selection, and enhancement.
The team that oversees development has worked hard to ensure compatibility too, so you'll be able to work with all the popular file formats without any trouble at all. You'll also find a very capable file manager built in, along similar lines to Adobe's Bridge.
