Easy-to-use photo editing software for Mac

peolsen · #1 (**permalink**) 05-11-2008, 03:13 PM

Hiya,

My dear old mum is a keen photo enthusiast. She recently made a switch from Windows PC to a Mac and is so far loving the Mac. Only one little problem... Her favourite photo editing software is PhotoFiltre (PhotoFiltre download and review - photo editing and effects from SnapFiles), which is not available for Mac.

Does anyone know of some really easy-to-use (preferable similar) software for Mac? Photoshop Elements is far to complicated for her to wrap her head around...

Really appreciate your help, people!

Paul

RacePhoto · #2 (**permalink**) 05-11-2008, 11:12 PM

I suppose she could buy Leopard with Bootcamp and run Windows software, but honest, if you are going to spend the money, might as well buy Elements and be done with it.

For all the people who say Macs are so much better and the higher cost pays for itself in the long run, (which I disagree, but that's not the issue now) or that all the software you own, you have to buy again when you get a new Mac, or that many titles are not made for the Mac at all. Running Windows on a Mac might be the answer?

You can also run Linux on her computer and get Gimp which is free.

Try this page, which looks to have many graphics answers for Mac users.

Pure Mac: Graphics - Software for Macintosh

I used an all-in-one Imac last week, and it was running Windows. I have to admit, it was fast, the monitor was sharp and bright and I was impressed! I don't have the $1600 for one, but I was impressed and it ran CS3 without blinking. Much better than anything Win that I've ever owned.

nicemonkey · #3 (**permalink**) 05-12-2008, 02:38 PM

Have you tried iphoto, its free with the mac and is very simple to use.

peolsen · #4 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008, 09:49 PM

RacePhoto; You can get GIMP for Mac too. No need for neither Windows nor Linux. But she might as well try to learn PS as learn GIMP, in my opinion. And that's out of the question for the moment. iPhoto is quite good but doesn't have enough twaeking options and can't add borders nor text (I might be mistaken as I haven't used it myself in ages).

Found something called PhotoComplete which seems quite brilliant for a software novice. And combined with iWatermark my mum's now quite happy. Thinking about introducing her to LightZone once she get's the hang of curves and a few other things.

Thanks for your suggestions, guys, but the problem is now solved

)

RacePhoto · #5 (**permalink**) 05-13-2008, 11:06 PM

I use IrfanView for all the quick and dirt things. Sometimes I need a quick fix and crop, that's what I use. Small, free and good. No layers and magic wands or shaped marquee tools. That's the one that's not made for a Mac.

Otherwise with some older cameras Elements was included, and it's surprising how much it does. Elements 2 was the last version that ran on Win98, and I still have some older computers using that.

Elements 5 was the last version I had before finding Photoshop 6 on one old desktop, and Corel 5 on a laptop. (I have many hand me down computers) But I stuck with Elements for photography.

Finally I picked up Light Room which I have and don't know how to use. It's supposed to be the tool for photographers and doesn't have all the extras that CS3 (soon to be CS4) has built in, that most of us will never need or use. Light Room handles Raw, organizes files and does non-destructive "developing" of images. So the original is never altered.

With that. As long as she's happy, and it does what she wants, that's the best software for anyone. Don't bother with what's best for me, or someone else, it's always an individual decision.

I always thought of GIMP as Linux based, and since you can see from the above that I'm already confused, I never tried it.