Best Beginner Photo Editor For Mac

It seems like everyone today is a photographer thanks to the ease of use of high tech cameras and the advanced editing programs available to computer owners. Even the most advanced photographers can get lost in the swamp of photo editing programs and applications that are available. Here to shine some light on such technology is a list of the best photo editing apps appropriate for the beginner photographer.

1. We have composed a list of 10 best photo editing software for Mac, especially for beginners, and discussed in this article. The criteria we considered in reviewing each best Mac photo editor app is: If the app portrays an excellent degree of ease of use: Includes the installation and general usage of the app for photo editing.
2. There are many software and tool but Photoshop is best for editing. But it is not free so if want to use a open source software so use GIMP, it is best free software for editing. Or even can try free online tolls.

1. Adobe Photoshop Elements 14

You have probably heard of Photoshop as it is one of the most well known editing programs, but if you’re a beginner, chances are you’ve been too intimidated to give it a try. Now there is Adobe Photoshop Elements 14, designed for entry level photo editors but still complete with the tools Photoshop is known for. What makes this program so easy to use is the fact that there is a “guide mode” which walks you through the entire program step by step. There are additional modes you can enter as your experience level grows. Adobe also offers a 30-day full service free trial so that you can delve into the program and try it before you buy it.

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.

A few of the best features of the software are:

• Importing and organization: One of the first things photographers are taught is to properly organize photos for ease of access. When you are working with an editing software, it can be difficult to keep your photos in a searchable order. Photoshop Elements 14 allows you the ease of importing and sorting your photos based on name, location, date, time, and even ranking so that you can find them easily.
• Easy adjustment tools: The No. 1 thing a photo editing software should be able to do is basic adjustments such as cropping, rotation, saturation, hue, contrast, brightness, red eye removal, etc. Photoshop Elements can do all of these with buttons designated for each modification. The program also comes with guided tutorials for every adjustment you are looking to make.
• Sharing options: With the numerous social media platforms available, part of photography is showing off your work. Photoshop Elements 14 has tremendous photo sharing capabilities that allow you to create greeting cards, photo books, scrapbooks, or just upload simple photos to Facebook, YouTube, email, etc.

2. Corel Paintshop Pro X8

Source: Corel

What once use to be known as a raster graphics editor owned by Jasc Software was bought by Corel Corporation in 2004 and is now known as the Corel Paintshop Pro used today. Corel Painshop Pro X8 is easily comparable to Adobe Elements as it has many of the same features, but one difference is in the program’s interface. The only major drawback is that the software is only compatible with PCs, not Macs. Like Adobe, you can also try out Paint Shop Pro for free for 30 days by downloading it from Corel’s website.

A few of the best features of the software are:

• New features: The Pro X8 has some cool new features in its latest version. One of the biggest new editing capabilities is called the “Magic Fill” which allows you to remove unwanted objects from photos. There is also a lens correction feature which fixes distortions caused by camera lenses.
• Quick edits: Do simple photo edits such as modify lighting, cropping, and color levels with just a click of a button. You can also edit multiple pictures at the same time in a batch edit mode.
• Tagging and sharing capabilities: Paintshop Pro, like Adobe Elements, makes uploading and sharing photos super easy. One particular advantage Paintshop Pro has is that is uses GPS data, which allows you to geo-tag photographs.

3. GIMP

Probably the greatest thing about GIMP, GNU Image Manipulation Program, is that it is a photo editor that is completely free. Beyond the price, GIMP is perfect for the beginner photographer who is looking to explore the editing field. This is an open-source software that is considered a bitmap/pixel based image manipulation program, perfect for simple edits and retouching as well as creating animations. GIMP is considered a portable app, which means that you can install it via a flash drive on any computer. The biggest disadvantage of GIMP is not in it’s capabilities but in the designer interface. But I guess you get what you pay for.

A few of the best features of the software are:

• Plugins: This program allows free plugins and scripts to be imported into the software to improve functionality. It can even open plugins and documents for Photoshop. Just look in the GIMP Plugin Registry.
• Basic image editing: Because GIMP was started as a free alternative to Adobe Photoshop, it has many of the same editing functions. These include the same basic editor features (crops, lighting, colors) as well as layer transparency and smart selection tools.
• Functionality: This program can be used on all devices from Windows to Linux to Mac.

Chances are, there are hundreds of videos languishing on your smartphone, DSLR or compact camera. Instead of letting it collect dust, why not polish it up to share with family and friends? That's where a good video editing program comes in.

Among the paid software, only one — Adobe Premiere Elements 2019— is truly cross-platform, and it emerged as our top pick. Despite its lack of emerging popular technologies, like 360-degree video handling and multicam editing features, it's the easiest video editor to learn and use, and offers plenty of advanced functions, such as guided edits and a revised home screen.

CyberLink PowerDirector 16 is the best video editing software for Windows, featuring a dazzling array of tricks and treats; plus, it's great for editing 360-degree videos, too.
Ed. note: PowerDirector 17 is now available; stay tuned for our review.

Apple’s iMovie, which competes only with cross-platform free apps and Adobe Elements, is the obvious choice for the best Mac video editing software, thanks to its outstanding output, themes and trailers, macOS integration, and features that encourage good moviemaking skills.

For the best free software, HitFilm Express gets the nod for its abundant cinematic capabilities and stylish interface. If you often share your videos on YouTube and other social media platforms, the free, cross-platform VideoPad is your best option.

Adobe Premiere Elements 2019

Adobe Premiere Elements continues its long reign as the overall best consumer video-editing app, with new automated features and simplified workflows for quick video editing.

CyberLink PowerDirector 16

PowerDirector 16 makes it easy to edit 360-degree videos, but there are a lot of other great features in this program, too.

Apple iMovie 10.1.8

iMovie gives Mac users an easy way to get started creating high-quality movies from videos shot on all kinds of devices.

Our Top Picks

Best Overall

Reasons to Buy

Reasons to Avoid

When it comes to user-friendliness, sophisticated features and ways to output your video, nothing beats the cross-platform Adobe Premiere Elements. For 2019, Adobe streamlined the Quick Edits interface, making it all the more easy for novices to jump in. The company's AI now creates collages and slideshows automatically, and can also trim the fat off your videos.

Read our full Adobe Premiere Elements review.

Best for Windows

Reasons to Buy

Best Beginner Photo Editing Software For Mac

Reasons to Avoid

CyberLink PowerDirector offers a dazzling array of fun, advanced video editing features wrapped in a stunning, easy-to-use package. For this version, Cyberlink has beefed up its 360-degree capabilities, making it far easier to edit 360 videos.

Ed. Note: CyberLink PowerDirector 17 is now available, and features such improvements as better green-screen editing, nested video editing, and multi-cam editing. PowerDirector 17 Ultra is $99, while PowerDirector Ultimate, which includes 360-degree video editing, is $129.

Best for Mac

Reasons to Buy

Reasons to Avoid

Apple iMovie is the ultimate Mac video app for novice filmmakers, combining professional trailers and themes,abundant special effects and an easy-to-learn interface. Version 10.1 added 4K editing and sharing, as well as extended handling to video shot at 1080p and 60 fps. Recent updates tweaked the interface and added Touch Bar support for the latest MacBooks.
Update (June 2019): iMovie is now on version 10.1.12. Recent updates have disabled sharing videos to iMovie Theater and Facebook; you have to save your movies to iCloud Photos to watch them on other devices including Apple TV.

Read our full Apple iMove review.

Best Free Video Editor

Reasons to Buy

Reasons to Avoid

For version 12, the free HitFilm Express has a redesigned, more intuitive interface and plenty of powerful features. While meant for prosumers—there is a bit of a learning curve—beginners shouldn't have too much trouble creating YouTube projects.

Read our full Hitfilm Express review.

Best for Beginners

Reasons to Buy

Reasons to Avoid

Corel VideoStudio, an outstanding editing package for beginners on the Windows platform, is a powerful but easy-to-learn app for anyone who wants to make simple videos quickly without fussing around with complex controls. Its spare but inviting interface offers 360-degree video editing, enhanced lens-correction tools, and 3D text editing.

Read our full Corel VideoStudio review.

Best for YouTube

Reasons to Buy

Reasons to Avoid

VideoPad is a comprehensive cross-platform software package for the YouTube social media crowd. While this app lacks the flashy, whiz-bang appeal of some commercial apps, it’s still a rock-solid choice for simple video editing. From the main menu, you can choose which social network you want to upload to. The app offers a number of YouTube choices ranging from 480p to 4K, as well as Facebook, Flickr, Dropbox and Google Drive, and is free for non-commercial use.

Read our full VideoPad review.

Best for advanced enthusiasts

Reasons to Buy

Reasons to Avoid

Best Beginner Photo Editor

A powerful pro-level app, cross platform you’ll want to use a system with discrete graphics to get the most out of this editor. The latest version of DaVinci incorporates Fusion, previously a stand-alone application, which brings with it four high-end video-production modules for editing, color correction, audio production, and video effects and motion graphics. This video editor is quite powerful, but has a bit of a learning curve. If its 256-page manual doesn't intimidate you, high-level enthusiasts will find a lot of tools at their disposal.

Read our full DaVinci Resolve review.

How We Tested

We tested more than a dozen programs — paid and free — on consumer Mac and Windows laptops for more than 100 hours, to see which are the best for editing, as well as sharing your videos with friends and family.

We evaluated all of the software based on functionality, ease of use, performance, sharing options and new features in the latest versions. We also judged the packages based on real-life uses for a number of categories, including best overall, best free app, best for beginners, best for YouTube maestros, best for Mac users and best for Windows platforms.

Free or Fee?

There’s no reason for the occasional video jockey to fork over any cash, as there are plenty of free apps available for both Windows and Mac. But while the deciding factors for free and paid software may appear to be based on cold hard cash, that’s not the whole story.

People who are looking for a more powerful editor with a variety of built-in resources, responsive technical support and more would be better off dropping some cash on a video editing program.

However, there’s a third option: You can download software such as VideoPad or HitFilm (which offer all of the basics) for free, and then purchase additional features à la carte as your experience and needs grow.

Speed

Performance results are important, but they’re not critical components of software evaluations, because depending on your hardware setup, your mileage will vary. By comparison, ease of use, interface and features carry more weight than export clock speed. Nonetheless, as a single measure among many, speed testing provides valuable comparative information.

As several of the programs on this page have been updated with newer versions since their initial review, we are currently in the process of re-testing them. At the same time, we are upgrading our testing platforms, from laptops with integrated graphics to those with discrete GPUs. This will better reflect the improvement in performance from apps that can take advantage of discrete graphics cards. Stay tuned for the results.