Photographers and creative professionals must have image editing skills in this era of digital photography. If you are retouching portraits, improving landscapes or altering pictures for originality purposes, it is necessary that your Mac has a strong image-editing tool.
The good thing about Mac users is that they have a wide range of image editors to choose from. A variety of options exist to cater for different budgets and needs ranging from basic editing apps with minimal features to advanced professional suites.
Here we will discuss some of the best image editors available for Mac both free and paid versions. Let’s take a look at the best image editor for Mac.
Why Is Image Editor So Popular?
Image editors have become extremely popular for several key reasons:
- Ease of use – Image editors offer learning curve that can be easily mastered by any person because they do not require a lot of technical skill to edit images. Most smartphone have image editing applications installed, so general editing is easily accessible.
- Creative liberty – image editors can make alterations directly visible to the user with cropping, color/ lighting, filter, texture, text/ graphic imposition abilities etc. This just fuels creativity and self-expression.
- Enhancing details – With an image editor, one has the ability to select areas for repair in order to clear blemishes, red-eye, blur or any other object that may be disturbing in the photo.
- Professional outcomes – There are many sophisticated post-processing tools like advanced editors such as HitPaw.
Top 7 Stunning Image Editors for Mac
1. HitPaw Photo AI
HitPaw Photo AI is an impressive all-in-one AI photo editor that provides powerful image enhancement, removal, and generation capabilities. With its cutting-edge AI technology, HitPaw makes it easy for anyone to improve and transform their photos with just a few clicks.
The biggest pros of HitPaw are its powerful AI capabilities, simple interface, speedy performance, and wide range of editing tools. It’s an unbeatable option for enhancing and transforming photos through AI. The only con is the lack of more advanced manual editing controls. But for AI-powered editing, HitPaw is hard to beat in terms of functionality and value.
Features
- AI Photo Enhancer to improve clarity, color, lighting & details
- AI Portrait Generator to create professional portrait photos
- AI Art Generator to turn text into unique visual artworks
- Passport Photo Maker to auto-resize and crop for passports
Pros
- Intuitive AI for one-click photo enhancements
- Cutting-edge capabilities like AI art generation
- Simple interface that’s easy to navigate
- Batch processing to enhance multiple photos
Cons
- Some features within the software are only accessible on paid subscriptions
2. Photos for MacOS
Photos is Apple’s integrated photo management and editing application that comes pre-installed on all Mac computers. It is the best free image editor for Mac. It allows users to easily organize, edit, and share their photo library in one seamless workflow. With Photos, Mac users can leverage iCloud syncing to access their photo library across devices, make basic enhancements to images, create albums, and share photos on social media or via email/messaging all from one intuitive app.
Features
- Photo library management
- Basic editing tools
- Sharing capabilities
Pros
- Seamless iCloud syncing
- Intuitive interface
- Free with MacOS
Cons
- Limited editing capabilities
3. GIMP
GIMP is a completely free and open-source image editor available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. It has an extensive set of professional-grade tools rivaling Photoshop and a passionate community of users and developers supporting it. GIMP provides a powerful alternative to paid options.
Features
- Support for layers, masks, curves, etc.
- Extensibility via plugins
- Advanced selection tools
Pros
- Completely free and open source
- Advanced tools rivaling Photoshop
- Huge community support
Cons
- Steep learning curve for beginners
4. Luminar Neo
Luminar Neo is a creative-focused photo editor for Mac and Windows packed with AI-powered tools, filters, effects and templates to quickly enhance images. It provides stunning results with minimal effort, ideal for casual users.
Features
- AI photo enhancer
- Creative filters and effects
- Templates for instant looks
Pros
- One-click AI photo improvements
- Intuitive interface
- Great for beginners
Cons
- More limited compared to pro editors
5. ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac
ACDSee Photo Studio is photo management and editing software designed for Mac and Windows with a focus on workflow efficiency. Key areas of emphasis are speed, organization and intuitive editing tools.
Features
- Photo management tools
- Quick edits like cropping
- RAW support
Pros
- Fast photo browsing and culling
- Affordable pricing
- Clean interface
Cons
- More advanced editing requires upgrading
6. Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Lightroom is the industry standard software for RAW photo editing, organizing and workflow used widely by professionals. It provides powerful capabilities tailored for photography.
Features
- Powerful RAW processing
- Cataloging and search
- Preset workflows
Pros
- Intuitive digital asset management
- Great RAW file editing
- Ecosystem integration
Cons
- Requires a Creative Cloud subscription
7. CyberLink PhotoDirector
CyberLink PhotoDirector is a photo editor for Windows and Mac packed with powerful AI photo enhancement, layered editing and advanced color grading tools for skilled users.
Features
- AI-powered photo enhancement
- Advanced color editing options
- Unique creative effects
Pros
- Excellent AI auto enhancement
- Detailed color curve editing
- Layers and masks
Cons
- Steep learning curve for beginners
Conclusion
If you are using Mac this is good news because there will always be the best image editors for Mac ranging from Photos, Enhancer pro and Adobe Lightroom for professional usage. This means that casual users will find it easy to edit and organize their images using apps like Photos, Luminar Neo and ACDSee.
In particular, Mac image editors have their benefits, but what makes the HitPaw Photo AI shine is its AI photo enhancing options connected with its intuitive controls. As for those who are seeking for AI-based photo editing tools to improve their photos’ quality with shiny and awesome results, you may try out the HitPaw Photo AI with amazing AI enhancement for better photos at a reasonable price as well.