12 Best Professional Photo Editing Software in 2023 [Compared & Ranked]

Photo editing software is a digital tool that allows you to edit your images and make them look better. It can be used for personal or professional use.

Photo editing software is available for both Mac and PC users. There are several types of photo editing software available in the market, but some of them are more popular than others. 
 

 

What Is Photo Editing Software?

Photo editing software is a type of computer program that allows users to edit their digital photos.

The programs are available in a variety of different forms, and they range from simple applications that allow users to apply basic modifications to their images to more complicated programs that offer advanced features such as image correction, image retouching and image manipulation.

Photo editing software can be used by professional photographers as well as hobbyists. Professional photographers use photo editing software to create special effects or add text or other information to images that they have taken on location.

Hobbyists may use photo editing software to improve the quality of their own photographs or those that they have downloaded from the Internet.

Photo editing software can be used in a variety of ways:

• Add text or other embellishments to an image,
• Remove objects from an image (like people),
• Improve contrast and saturation levels in an image,
• Replace colors in an image with new colors.

Best Professional Photo Editing Software

The best photo editing software for professional photographers is Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture.

Many photographers use all three of these tools to edit their photos. Before you spend money on any one of these programs, you should try each one out to see which one works best for you.

Photoshop is the most popular and most powerful photo editing software available today. It has been around for more than 20 years and has become the standard in professional photography. It can do everything from simple image editing to complex 3D modeling and animation.

Lightroom is an excellent alternative to Photoshop if you need more control over your photos than Photoshop gives you. This program lets you adjust color balance, exposure, sharpness, contrast and many other elements of your image while maintaining full control over every step along the way.

Aperture offers a free version that gives most photographers all they need to make great images but also provides plenty of additional features that allow advanced users to take advantage of them as well (such as RAW processing).

1. Luminarai

Luminarai is a free and open source photo editing app that makes professional-looking photos in just a few minutes.

Luminarai is designed to be easy to use, but it can still produce impressive results. For example, Luminarai can remove red-eye in just one click of the mouse.

The app is easy for new users to master, with a simple design and intuitive controls. It also has a large collection of filters and effects that you can use to make your photos look unique.

The program includes an automatic red-eye removal feature that works well even on challenging subjects like animals and people who have dark eyes or eyebrows.

Luminarai also has an undo function so you can fix mistakes without having to start from scratch each time. The program also supports multiple photo albums so you can easily share your creations with others using social media sites like Instagram or Facebook.

Features

The Luminarai features include:

– A weekly video series for beginners.

– A monthly newsletter with tips and tricks for your photography business.

– A monthly newsletter with tips and tricks for your photography business.

– Support forum where you can ask questions, share ideas and connect with other photographers who use Luminarai.

Pros

Luminarai Pros:

1. You can import your images from any other software or camera.
2. It has a simple and user-friendly interface that will make you feel comfortable while working with it.
3. The tool comes with a powerful editing engine that is capable of enhancing the quality of your images in an effective manner.
4. It has an option to allow users to select various types of adjustments for their photos, including exposure, contrast, white balance, saturation, tint and many more others.
5. Luminarai Pros also allows users to apply various types of filters on their photos like soft focus effect, vignette effect among others

2. Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is a powerful, flexible photo editing app for macOS, with support for RAW and HDR images. It includes a selection of classic tools like curves and levels to help you achieve precise results.

Affinity Photo is one of the most popular photo editing apps for macOS, with more than 1 million downloads each month.

The app has been updated frequently since its initial release in 2011, and it continues to receive regular updates that add new features and improve existing ones in response to user feedback.

Affinity Photo is available on both Mac and PC platforms, and it supports third-party RAW formats like DNG as well as Adobe’s DNG Converter.

The app also offers support for Apple’s HEIF format so that you can export your photos directly from the Photos app (iOS 11 required) or save them in your camera roll by default.

Features

Affinity Photo is a great photo editing app for Mac users. Here are some of the features that make it stand out from other photo editing apps.

Affinity Photo Features

1. High-quality editing tools: Do you need to adjust your photos in order to make them look the way you want them to? With Affinity Photo, you can easily fix any problems such as color balance, exposure and more with a single click. In addition, you can crop images and do other minor adjustments with just one click.
2. Undo/Redo: After you’ve made changes to your photos, you may want to undo them if they don’t work out too well or if you accidentally deleted something important from your image. With Affinity Photo, there’s no need to worry because this app has an Undo/Redo option which allows you to reverse all of the changes that were made after clicking “Edit” on any given photo.
3. Powerful filters: This app comes with a bunch of different effects like vintage film grain, soft focus and more so that you can add some extra flair to your photos without having to spend hours making them look perfect! You can also adjust the intensity of these filters so that they match what

Pros

Affinity Photo Pros is a collection of powerful tools for professional photographers. In this collection you will find the best plugins and presets for photography. The Affinity Photo Pro contains some of the most popular photo editing tools in one single place. The Affinity Photo Pro is a complete photo editing solution with advanced photo editing features and unlimited filter effects, perfect for professional photographers and advanced users.

What’s new in Affinity Photo Pro v1.2.5:

– New Features:

– Improved Interface:

– Added button to select color space on MacOS X 10.12 Sierra (1607) systems.

3. Pixelmator Pro

Pixelmator Pro is the professional version of Pixelmator, and it’s available for purchase as an in-app purchase. In this article we’ll take a look at how you can use Pixelmator Pro in Photoshop, but if you’re not using Photoshop, there’s nothing stopping you from using it instead.

Pixelmator Pro costs $79.99 and if you want to use it with Photoshop CC 2018 (or later) you need to have that version installed on your computer.

If you’re using an older version of Photoshop, or don’t have access to the latest version, then that’s fine – just install Adobe Photoshop CC 2015 and then install Pixelmator Pro on top of it (you’ll need to pay for that separately).

Pixelmator Pro gives you a number of features that aren’t available in the free version:

Layer styles: Layer styles are a feature that allow you to apply effects to individual layers by adding different types of effects such as blur, shadow or glow. These can be applied either individually or combined together into one layer style (e.g., “Drop Shadow”). You can also create your own custom layer styles by combining existing ones together with your own custom settings (e.g., “Drop Shadow + Drop Glow

Features

Pixelmator Pro is a powerful image editor and retouching tool. Here are some of its most popular features:

• Smart Brush – This feature lets you paint on the canvas with one brush. You can also apply various effects to your images like blur, tilt shift, and others.
• Seamless panorama – This feature lets you seamlessly stitch together multiple images into a seamless panorama. It’s a great way to create high resolution panoramas from images shot from different angles.
• HDR Photo Editor – This feature lets you edit HDR photos using Pixelmator Pro’s powerful tools for editing HDR photos. You can adjust exposure, color, contrast, etc., all within the same photo editor.
• Highlight & Shadow Detailer – This feature lets you selectively apply highlight or shadow effects on specific areas in your image based on their brightness values (i.e., highlights are lighter than shadows).
• Color Balance Tool – This tool lets you modify the color balance of an entire photo without affecting the other colors in it.

Pros

Pixelmator Pro is a creative software for the iPad and iPhone that features a wide range of tools for editing images, including drawing, painting, text, filters and effects. The app has hundreds of presets that you can use to create your own unique creations.

Pixelmator Pro Pros:

1. Pixelmator Pro is free to download with an optional subscription for $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year.
2. It is designed to make it easy for anyone to edit photos using professional-grade tools like layers, masks, adjustment layers and so on.
3. It also comes with a number of preset effects such as sepia tone, black and white or vignette that you can apply to your photos with just one click!
4. You can access all these features from within the app itself without having to go back into Photoshop or another program on your computer where these tools are located!

4. Pixstudio

Pixstudio is a photo and video editor for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. It’s an easy-to-use app that lets you edit photos, create animated GIFs and share them online.

Pixstudio has a simple interface that makes it easy to use. You can add text and stickers to your pictures, adjust the color of your images with filters, crop or rotate them, and more. You can also add music or upload videos from your computer to change the look of your pictures.

You can use Pixstudio to take and edit videos in addition to photos. The app allows you to record videos in HD quality at 60 frames per second (fps) or 24 fps on mobile devices running Android 4.2 or higher and iOS 7 or higher. It also supports recording audio at 96 kHz/24 bit on Windows 10 devices running Windows 10 Creators Update (build 17133).

Features

-Pixstudio is a fully featured photo editor with an easy to use interface.

-Pixstudio offers all the tools you need to edit your photos, including powerful editing and retouching tools.

-The powerful brush tool allows you to paint with different effects on your photo. You can add shadows and highlights as well as remove blemishes or wrinkles from your face.

-The blur tool allows you to add motion blur to your photos. This will make it look like the subject of your photo is moving when he was not. You can also use this tool to add depth of field or blur out unwanted elements in your image.

-Pixstudio also comes with a number of filters that allow you to edit your images in many different ways. These include simple filters like saturation, contrast and brightness adjustments as well as more complex ones like distortions and warps that distort the color balance of an image.

Pros

Pixstudio is a professional photo editor for Windows. It can be used to edit your photos, add special effects and filters, crop, transform, resize and rotate images.

Pixstudio Pros:

* A wide variety of tools for photo editing

* Support for RAW files (NEF, CR2, DNG)

* Support for JPEG, TIFF and BMP formats

* Support for panoramas (full 360 degrees)

* Quick sharing with other apps via Facebook or Twitter

* Fast import from your digital camera or card reader (SD/SDHC)

5. Paintshop Pro

Paintshop Pro is a professional digital painting software, which is designed and optimized for professional artists and illustrators. It has been used by many artists, animators and designers worldwide to create their artwork.

Paintshop Pro is the latest version of Paintshop, which was first introduced in 1998. This version has been updated to include many new features and improvements including better image quality and faster rendering speed.

PaintShop Pro 2016 features include:

Color Management – The latest version of Paintshop Pro includes several new features that allow users to more effectively manage colors in their compositions.

These include: new color management tools, color picker controls, advanced color management for ICC profiles, improved color management for gradients and more.

Enhanced Save/Load Features – Save and load paths have been expanded to include camera renderings as well as documents with multiple pages or images. Mac OSX Sierra users can also save files directly into the Photos app using Apple’s new “Save To…” command (File > Save As…). Mac OSX 10.12 will also improve the way save settings are saved between versions when prompted by our Save As dialog box or editing controls.

Features

Paintshop Pro Features:

Paint shop pro is one of the best painting software. It has a lot of features that make it stand out from other painting software. The following are some of the most popular features:

1. Painting Mode: This feature lets you create your own custom mode that can be used to paint in any way you want. You can also use this feature to paint with watercolors, pencils and more.
2. Import/Export: This feature lets you import or export certain parts of your image into other images or files on your computer, for example if you want to create a painting from scratch or if you want to share it with someone else or print it out for yourself.
3. Image Editor: This feature allows you to edit images and photos before importing them into Paint Shop Pro so that they look exactly how you want them to before saving them into Paint Shop Pro (PSP).
4. Color Balance Tool: This tool lets you change colors in an image by adjusting its brightness, contrast and saturation levels using sliders on the right side of the screen so that they appear as close as possible to what they should look like when printed out on

Pros

Paintshop Pro is a great painting app for Android, but it’s not perfect. Here are some of the pros and cons of this app that you should be aware of before deciding to buy it.

Pros:

– Easy to use interface

– Lots of tools

– Support for multiple canvases

– Free trial option included in the app

6. Capture One

Capture One is a powerful, professional grade, open source digital image editor and RAW image processor. Capture One’s unique color engine, powerful editing tools and excellent workflow make it an artist-friendly solution for photographers and design professionals.

Capture One is a professional grade digital image editor and RAW image processor that supports many different file formats including TIFF, JPEG, PSD, PNG, DNG RAW and more. Capture One provides complete control over every aspect of your images from exposure to color correction to noise reduction.

Capture One’s integrated RAW processor makes it easy to convert your photos into a variety of different file formats including TIFF JPG PSD PNG DNG RAW DPX TIFF etc..

Capture One is a highly customizable application that can be used by beginners as well as professionals. It has a powerful color management system which allows you to adjust the look of your images in real time via its onscreen controls or by using the tools in its color correction panel.

This makes it possible to match the look of your photos with those taken on various models of cameras or used in different applications like Photoshop Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw.

Features

Capture One is a powerful RAW processor that can be used to process images in any way you want. Whether it’s touching up photos or creating video files, there are plenty of options to choose from with Capture One.

Capture One has the following features:

• RAW processing: Capture One lets you work with your RAW images in ways you never thought possible. You can add various settings like shadows, highlights, color curves and more. This makes it easier for you to touch up photos and make them look their best.
• Fluid Masking: The fluid masking feature lets you adjust the opacity of your image by dragging it with your mouse. This makes it easy for anyone to create beautiful effects quickly and easily. Of course, if you’re more experienced at this type of thing, then this feature will do nothing for you!
• Batch processing: If you want all of your photos processed at once, then batch processing is just what you need! With this feature turned on, Capture One will automatically process all of your images in one shot without having to use the same settings twice or wait for the program to finish each image individually

Pros

Capture One Pros is a professional image editing software that can be used for editing RAW images and supporting the full range of color management, in addition to processing HDR images. Advantages of Capture One Pros include:

– Support for the full range of color management including live view and playback;

– Support for HDR images;

– Full support for RAW files;

– Support for all major RAW file sizes (CR2, NEF, DNG) and formats (EXR).

7. ACDSee

ACDSee is a photo editor with many tools and features. You can use it to edit your pictures and make them look better.

ACDSee is a free software, so you can download it from the Internet and install it on your computer. Once installed, you will be able to use ACDSee’s powerful tools to do all kinds of editing tasks.

The program has many great features that make it stand out from other photo editors available in the market today. It has an easy-to-use interface that makes it easy for anyone to use.

The interface has been designed in such a way that anyone could easily figure out what the different buttons do just by looking at them!

ACDSee has many powerful tools that allow users to do some amazing things with their photos without having to worry about anything else except getting their work done. Some of these tools include:

Adjustments – This tool allows users to adjust brightness, contrast and saturation of their image using sliders or using eyedroppers (the eyedropper tool allows you to choose any area of your image and change its color). The Adjustments tool also includes an exposure slider which allows users to adjust the exposure value (EV) of their image.

Features

ACDSee Features

The ACDSee application is one of the most popular photo management software available on the market today. It has a number of features that make it stand out from other similar applications. Here’s a rundown of some of the most useful features:

* Photo Management Tools: ACDSee provides a number of tools for editing and organizing your photos. There are color editors for both photos and videos, along with basic tools like crop, rotate, resize and enhance features. You can also use the tool to add borders around images or create collages from multiple photos at once.

* Image Viewer: The image viewer lets you view your photos in their original size or in a small preview window at full resolution. You can also view them as slideshows or in thumbnail view. This is useful if you want to see how an image will look when printed or edited later on.

* Photo Albums: The photo album feature lets you organize all of your photos into albums by date, location or other criteria (like people in images). You can then sort through them based on any criteria you choose, including popularity or size. The album interface also offers several options for sharing

Pros

ACDSee is a professional photo editor and organizer for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It provides the most powerful photo editing tools available today to create amazing images, whether you’re a professional photographer or an amateur shutterbug.

The latest version of ACDSee Pro includes over 100 new features and enhancements, including:

* Improved RAW support for RAW photos from cameras like the Nikon D810 and Canon 1D X Mark II

* A new “Blur” tool for creating gorgeous bokeh effects

* New editing options for high-end cameras including control over focus points, exposure bracketing, white balance presets and much more!

* Powerful lens correction tools now included with all RAW files that are imported into ACDSee Pro via Camera Raw 6.3

* Improved quality during Noise Reduction processing with noise reduced images saved in JPEG format

8. DXO Photolab

DXO Photolab is a professional photography studio that offers photo editing and retouching services. We are based in Los Angeles, California and we work with photographers from all over the world.

Our main focus is to provide our clients with the highest quality retouching services at an affordable price.

We use Adobe Photoshop CS6, which comes with an amazing feature called Content Aware Fill. This allows us to identify spots of skin, hair or other flaws in your image and easily fix them.

If you need more control over how your image looks, we can also use Photoshop for color correction and other advanced editing techniques.

Our team of professionals has years of experience working in high-end photography studios around the world. We know what it takes to get your images looking their best!

Features

DXO Photolab Features

1. It is a software that allows you to create professional-looking photographs, videos and images for your business. It’s easy to use and can be used by anyone who has a digital camera or smartphone.
2. DXO Photolab uses the highest quality technology available in the market today. This enables it to produce images that are super sharp, clear and have vivid colors.
3. DXO Photolab offers unlimited image printing, so you don’t need to worry about running out of prints because you can print as many as you want – all in one place! You can also choose from over 100 different photo finishes that will add additional flavor to your images.

Pros

DXO Photolab Pros

The DXO Photolab Pro is a very powerful, versatile machine. It’s great for beginners and professional photographers alike. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Great for beginners and professionals alike
2. Powerful enough to take professional quality photos
3. Easy to use, even for people who have never used a DSLR before

9. On1 Photo Raw

On1 Photo Raw is a photo editing software that can very easily be used by photographers to edit their photos in the digital domain. It has been developed by On1 Technologies, a company that was founded in 2002 with the goal of creating software for digital photography and publishing.

On1 Photo Raw is a powerful, yet easy to use program that gives you access to all of the latest features in digital photography. You can use it to change any aspect of your images without having to worry about anything else.

This program is ideal for anyone who wants to take advantage of the latest technology without having to spend an arm and leg on it. It’s also extremely powerful and allows you to do things that aren’t available with other photo editing programs, such as retouching skin imperfections and removing blemishes from photos.

Features

1. Distortion-Free High Dynamic Range (HDR)

No other RAW processor gives you the same level of control over high dynamic range (HDR) photography as On1 does. With On1, you can create stunning HDR images by combining multiple exposures or by compositing multiple exposures on a single image in Photoshop or Lightroom.

2. Auto-Bracketing

With auto-bracketing, On1 can automatically adjust your exposure between two shots taken with different exposures. This is an ideal tool for correcting some of the most common problems with photos, such as overexposed highlights and underexposed shadows.

3. Lens Correction

On1 offers automated lens corrections that correct lens distortion and vignetting issues caused by camera angles and perspective differences in photographs taken using wide angle lenses or telephoto lenses, as well as geotagging issues such as incorrect time zone settings or daylight saving time adjustments.

Pros

On1 Photo Raw Pro is a powerful RAW editor for Mac and Windows, offering advanced tools for RAW processing and editing of images.

Included in the On1 Photo Raw package is a full set of tools for editing your images, including:

– RAW processing tools

– Advanced image corrections and enhancements

– Adjustments for RAW files saved by other cameras (i.e. Canon or Nikon)

– Adjustments for Lightroom presets, including the popular VSCO Film Pack and VSCO Cam Pack

– Support for Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)

– Annotation tools to make it easy to add text and other information to your photos. This includes support for adding notes and keywords that can be searched by clicking on them in the photo viewer window.

10. PortraitPro

PortraitPro is a suite of tools that help you create great-looking portraits and caricatures. It’s designed to be easy to use and accessible to everyone.

PortraitPro includes:

PortraitPro Studio – This is the main tool for creating portraits and caricatures. It has a simple interface that lets you easily add elements such as eyes, noses and mouths to your portrait or caricature.

You can also use it to make fun images like animals with hats on their heads, dogs with sunglasses or cats holding steering wheels.

PortraitPro Camera – This app uses your phone’s camera to take photos of people or objects in front of you. Once you’ve taken the photo, you can open it in PortraitPro Studio where you can edit the photo before sharing it online or by emailing it directly to friends or family members.

PortraitPro Studio Pro – This app includes more advanced features than PortraitPro Camera (such as changing skin tone, adding different styles for clothes) as well as more advanced image editing tools (such as cropping).

Features

PortraitPro Features

PortraitPro is a complete photo editing software that gives you the freedom to edit and create your own images. The program comes with a host of features, including:

1. Tilt Shift Lens
2. Adjustment Layers
3. RAW Converter
4. Photo Effects
5. Image Editor (Effects)

Pros

PortraitPro Pros is a professional photo editing software which can help you to create stunning and professional photos.

PortraitPro pros has many features, including:

–  Photo editing tools: crop, rotate, resize, add text and watermark.

–  Share your photos with friends on Facebook or Twitter.

–  Save the photo as JPEG or TIFF file format.

–  Add text to your photo with one click.

–  Create a high quality print with the powerful inking tool.

Characteristics To Look For In Photo Editing Software

Here are some characteristics to look for in photo editing software:

Clean interface. The interface should be simple and easy to use, but it does not mean that a complex interface is better. The best photo editing software has an intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to quickly accomplish their tasks.

Professional-level features. Photo editing software should have professional-level features such as RAW support, RAW processing, and other advanced features that make it easier for users to edit their images without having to learn how to use the features themselves.

Multitasking capabilities. Photo editing software should allow you to work with multiple photos at one time and perform multiple functions on each image simultaneously until all of your edits are complete.

This is especially important if you are working with multiple images since it makes it easier to keep everything organized while you work on them all at once.

Professional Photo Editing Software – Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between professional photo editing software and regular photo editing software?

A: A professional photo editing software can do more than just simple image correction, such as adjusting color, brightness and contrast. It also includes a batch processing function so that you can combine multiple images into one file. This saves you time and effort by eliminating the need to upload each picture separately.

Q: Is professional photo editing software necessary?

A: Professional photo editing software is not necessarily required if you want to edit your photos on your own computer.

However, if you want to publish your photos online or print them with a professional printer, then it’s highly recommended that you use a professional photo editing software program to make sure that your images look their best for maximum impact.

Professional Photo Editing Software – Wrapping Up

Professional Photo Editing Software – Wrapping Up

If you’re looking for a professional photo editing software, these are the 5 best photo editing software packages you can buy.

If you’re a photographer or a photographer-in-training, then chances are that you’ve spent hours learning how to edit your images to make them look their best. Whether it’s correcting exposure issues or working with post-processing effects, there are plenty of different tools available to help with this process.

But what if you want something a little more advanced than just basic editing? What if you want something that allows you to take your photos from good to great? Well, there are always those who want more out of their images than just straightening out the curve of an eyelash or removing some dust particles from their viewfinder, and in this article we will look at some of the best photo editing software packages on the market today.