Small airplane in tall grass and weeds.

Software for Photographers

=== by Bob Sutherland ===

My old computer overheated causing internal damage. Many of the programs that I have been using for years will not run on a new computer. Therefore while shopping around researching my options I created this list of available software for photographers.

This list includes software for Macintosh, Windows and Linux computers, and a few mobile applications for smartphones and tablets.


Photo Editing Software

  1. Adobe has created a variety of photo editing programs:
    • Adobe Photoshop for Macintosh and Windows
    • Adobe Lightroom for Macintosh and Windows
    • Adobe Lightroom Classic for Macintosh and Windows
    • Adobe Photoshop Elements for Macintosh and Windows
    The Photoshop, Lightroom and Lightroom Classic programs can be found on their Canadian web page. To find Photoshop Elements look for the word "Elements" in their site menu at the bottom of their web page.
    https://www.adobe.com/ca/
  2. Adobe Lightroom: Photo Editor by Adobe Inc.
    A free application. It is available on Apple App Store for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. It is available on Google Play for Android smartphones and tablets. An online user guide is available at: https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/lightroom-cc/user-guide.html
  3. Snapseed by Google LLC
    A free application. It is available on Google Play for Android smartphones and tablets. It is available on Apple App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Online support documentation is available at: https://support.google.com/snapseed
  4. ON1 Photo Raw for Macintosh and Windows - This program is designed for professionals and photography enthusiasts. There is a comprehensive collection of photo editing tools available including layering, masks and photo stitching. Many educational resources are available.
    https://www.on1.com
  5. Affinity Photo by Serif for Macintosh, Windows and iPad - This program is designed for professionals and photography enthusiasts. There is a comprehensive collection of photo editing tools available including layering, masks and photo stitching. Many educational resources are available.
    https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/
  6. Gimp for Linux, Macintosh and Windows - This is a free, open source illustrator and photo editing program for professionals and photography enthusiasts.
    https://www.gimp.org
  7. RawTherapee for Linux, Macintosh and Windows - This is a free, open source program for processing digital camera RAW files.
    https://rawtherapee.com
  8. darktable for Linux, Macintosh and Windows - This is a free, open source program for processing digital camera RAW files.
    https://www.darktable.org
  9. PhotoScape X by Mooii Tech - There is a free version available providing basic photo editing tools for Macintosh and Windows computers. The paid upgrade option is only available for Windows computers.
    http://x.photoscape.org
  10. RAW Power by Gentlemen Coders for Macintosh, iPad and iPhone - If you have used the discontinued Aperture program by Apple on Macintosh computers then this is an attempt by a former Apple employee to create a modern, updated version of Aperture.
    https://gentlemencoders.com/raw-power-for-macos/
  11. Photos by Apple for Macintosh, iPad and iPhone - Photos is a free program that is factory installed with the operating system on Apple products. It can be used to perform some basic photo editing tasks such as straightening a photo, cropping and colour improvements.
  12. Preview by Apple for Macintosh - Preview is a free program that is factory installed with the operating system on Macintosh computers. It can be used to perform some basic photo editing tasks.
  13. IrfanView (pronounced "EarfanView") for Windows - A shareware program that you can try before buying. Free for non-profit home and education users. The program includes some basic painting, drawing and photo editing tools.
    https://www.irfanview.com
  14. XnSoft has created many applications for photographers. I suggest you visit the website and search around as you will not find everything listed on a single page. There are programs available for computers and a variety of mobile devices.
    https://www.xnview.com/en/
    • XnView MP by XnSoft for Windows, Macintosh and Linux computers. - A shareware program that you can try before buying. Free for non-profit home and education users. The program includes some basic painting, drawing and photo editing tools.
  15. GraphicConverter by Lemke Software GMBH for Macintosh - A shareware program that you can try before buying. This is a Swiss army knife type of program that has a large collection of drawing, painting and photo editing tools for professionals and amateurs.
    https://www.lemkesoft.de/en/
  16. Acorn by Flying Meat Inc. for Macintosh - This is a Swiss army knife type of program that has a large collection of drawing, painting and photo editing tools for professionals and amateurs.
    https://flyingmeat.com/acorn/
  17. Capture One by Phase One A/S for Macintosh and Windows - This is a program for professionals.
    https://www.captureone.com/en/
  18. Luminar by Skylum for Macintosh and Windows
    https://www.skylum.com/luminar
  19. Topaz Studio by Topaz Labs for Macintosh and Windows
    https://topazlabs.com
  20. Pixelmator Pro by Pixelmator Team for Macintosh
    https://www.pixelmator.com/pro/
  21. Photo Studio by acdsee for Macintosh and Windows
    https://www.acdsee.com/en/index/
  22. PaintShop Pro by Corel for Windows
    https://www.paintshoppro.com/en/
  23. DxO PhotoLab for Macintosh and Windows
    https://www.dxo.com/dxo-photolab/
  24. Exposure by Exposure Software (formerly Alien Skin Software) for Macintosh and Windows
    https://exposure.software
  25. Zoner Photo Studio X for Windows
    https://www.zoner.com
  26. Four shareware programs for Windows. Two of the programs are free for home and educational users.
    • FastStone Image Viewer
    • FastStone Photo Resizer
    • FastStone Capture
    • FastStone MaxView
    https://www.faststone.org

Photoshop Plugins & Filters

  1. 24 Best FREE Photoshop Plugins & Filters: Still Good in 2022 - A blog post by Ezequiel Bruni
    https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/best-photoshop-plugins-filters/

Scanning Software

  1. VueScan by Hamrick Software is compatible with nearly any scanner that is connected to a Linux, Macintosh or Windows computer
    https://www.hamrick.com

I have been using VueScan for a few years. It is better than the software that many manufacturers provide with their scanners for the purpose of scanning printed photographs, film negatives and 35 mm slides. It is also useful for scanning business documents.


Panorama Photo Stitching Software

  1. DoubleTake by Echo One for Macintosh
    https://echoone.com/
  2. Hugin for Linux, Macintosh and Windows - This is a free, open source software program.
    https://hugin.sourceforge.io

I have been using DoubleTake and Hugin for a few years. DoubleTake is a program I purchased over the Internet from the Echo One website. It has been the most reliable of the two programs. A new version of Hugin is released approximately once per year. Unfortunately the Macintosh version of Hugin has not been updated since 2019 and that version crashes on my computer.

ON1 Photo Raw and Affinity Photo are two photo editing programs listed up above that include panorama photo stitching as part of very large comprehensive programs. I tested the demo versions of those programs and found the panorama photo stitching was a completely automated task that either worked or failed for each pair or group of photos I tried. In contrast the user interface of DoubleTake and Hugin programs give you some control over the process and a chance to correct any problems that occur.


Video Editing Software

These video editing software programs can take a folder of photographs and convert it into a slideshow. Drawings, paintings, sound and video files may optionally be included. After a bit of editing the slideshow is saved in a video file format ready for display on the Internet.

  1. Shotcut by Meltyech, LLC for Linux, Macintosh and Windows - This is a free, open source software program.
    https://www.shotcut.org/
  2. OpenShot Video Editor by OpenShot Studios, LLC for Linux, Macintosh and Windows - This is a free, open source software program.
    https://www.openshot.org
  3. Former employees of Photodex Corporation that were involved in creating the now discontinued ProShow program for Windows, and an online version for any computer or mobile device, have now created these new replacement programs.
    • Photopia Director by Photopia ICT B.V for Macintosh and Windows
    • Photopia Creator by Photopia ICT B.V for Macintosh and Windows
    https://photopia.nl/
  4. Movie Maker by V3TApps for Windows 10 - You have a choice of a free version or a pro version with added features
    https://moviemaker.support

It was when I tried downloading and playing around with Shotcut and OpenShot that my old computer went up in smoke. It just did not have enough processing power and RAM memory to handle the resource intensive demands of these programs.