Editing photos is never an easy work. I am not talking about some effects to your social media images and then post them right away.
These simple editing tasks are possible with mobile editors and in-built editors in your PC or Mac.
When it comes to professional editing tasks, you have to take several things in the considerations;
And, selection of right photo editing software is the main thing especially for professional editing tasks.
Fortunately, you have a lot of options to choose from.
Big industry pioneers like Adobe and Corel are there with their impressive photo editing products. But, you should the right editor for you by taking care of several things.
So, in this article, I am going to give you a list of top 10 things which you should consider while choosing a photo editing software.
Let’s uncover all these steps that have helped me a lot to pick the suitable software when I started working on a paid editing work as a freelancer.
I have also posted an article discussing the best photo editing software for mac and their features. If you own a Mac, this article will surely help you.
1. Editing Requirements
Before anything else, start with your requirements. As we discussed earlier, normal editing tasks for social media or web content are easy using some free and small editing software. These software will be able to cut, crop, and fix dimensions by allowing you to add effects, texts, and colors to your images.
Photo Editing Software For normal tasks:
- Paintshop Pro
- Luminar
- Adobe Lightroom
- PhotoScape
- Capture One
But, when your requirements are advanced, the software must also be advanced.
For example, if you are a photographer and looking to edit your photos professionally, or if you are a freelance photo editor, it becomes important to use a professional photo editor.
Professional Photo Editing Software
Some of the most popular photo editing software that suits best for Photographers and professionals are as follows:
- Adobe Photoshop
- Corel Paintshop Pro
- Canva
- ON1 Photo Raw
- GIMP
2. Features you are looking for
Different photo-editing software comes with different editing tools. As per the type and proficiency of software, you will receive different editing features along with the user-interface.
Also, the features and available tools may vary depending on the type of software and the time for which they are active in the industry;
In most of cases, older software is more likely to have good editing tools as compared to the newcomers.
For example:
if you are using Adobe Photoshop, it is going to give you profound features to not just edit the photos but to create amazing graphics, and your own digital art.
But, let’s suppose if you have PhotoScape editing software, it will just allow you to add typography, effects, and use some simple painting, blur, and contrast tools.
So, to choose the right software as per your requirements, it is crucial to research properly on the internet and check the official websites of each software adequately.
I have posted an article discussing the features and capabilities of Krita to edit photos as free software. So, make sure to read it too.
3. Your Profession i.e Editor, Photographer, Graphic designer
Anyone may face a situation where there is a need for photo editing software for any purpose. So, the field in which you are working will also impact your selection.
Let’s suppose you are a graphic editor and want to edit some graphics using good software. In that case, you can’t rely upon an ordinary editing tool. For that, you will have to choose either Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, GIMP, or any other professional tool.
So, you should choose the best software for any type of editing as per your profession.
If you are editing images as a job, make sure to find a good software with premium service because free software may not work well for you in that situation.
4. Level of expertise [Beginner or Expert]
Choosing a good software is one thing but making the most out of your software is not an easy task.
So, if you are just starting in the field of photo-editing, it is a wise decision not to go for premium editing software.
You can either pick a free software or find one with enough trial period.
In my opinion, you must try Adobe Photoshop as a beginner if you have professional goals. It offers a seven day trial period which is enough to test it.
5. Your computer configurations [Low or High]
Photo-editing is not a heavy task which can highly impact your computer or laptop while using a software for it.
But, when it comes to using top-notch software like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Movavi, you may need a PC, not with excellent but al least average configurations.
A slow or weak computer will impact your editing works a lot while you are navigating through the layers or adding new elements to your images.
So, if you want to do photo-editing as a profession, make sure to have a good computer with decent configurations.
On the official websites of your favorite editing software, you are going to see the minimum system requirements. Do not forget to see that page before buying any software.
6. Price of the software [Free or Paid]
Another big consideration while choosing a photo-editing software is its pricing plan.
As we discussed earlier, it all depends upon your profession and the results you want to receive.
It is obvious that you will have the features and editing tools as per the software you are choosing. The features will vary as per the pricing plan you have picked.
Some of the best but free photo editing software are GIMP, Adobe Photoshop Express, Paint.net, Pixlr editor, Pixlr X, PhotoScape X, and Wix Photo Studio.
However, the best premium options are Adobe Photoshop, DxO Photolab, Cyberlink Photo director, Adobe Lightroom classic, and Corel Paintshop Pro.
7. Online Reviews and ratings
We never know which software is best until we use them personally.
But, another amazing way to check whether the software can suit with your requirement is to check online reviews and ratings.
PCMag, TomsGuide, and TechRadar are some of the best websites where you can find the transparent and reliable reviews of popular photo-editing software
8. The support from the developers
While using a software, you may face several issues. They might be general issues or technical difficulties.
So, you should try to choose a software which has an active community.
Also, a good online support service will be good if you are looking to use these software for enterprise applications.
9. Usability and Learning Curve
In your field, you will definitely want to become an expert and grow. But, it is never an easy task when you do not have enough knowledge of a professional tool you are working on.
Either you can pick a good training course to learn things quickly or the selected software must be easy enough to let you understand its features properly in less time.
So, choosing a photo-editing software with a steep learning curve can demotivate you when you do not see results coming up as the time is passing by.
Some easy to use photo editing software are Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Lightroom, GIMP, and Serif PhotoPlus.
10. Output File Formats
As per your profession and requirements, you will also have to pick a software that can provide output files in your desired formats.
For example, if you want to edit photos and graphics for logo designing, you will have to use software that supports Vector and Raster files.
Some other popular image file formats are JPEG, PNG, PDF, EPS, TIFF, GIF, RAW, etc;
So, make sure keep this thing in your consideration too.
Conclusion:
I have tried to cover as much information as possible in this article. But, each point may not be applicable for you. So, I would suggest you to visit the official sites of popular editing software and check which is most suitable for you.
If you find this article helpful, make sure to share it with others too.
Cheers!