Artistry Photo Pro

Instagram meets Photoshop. $30.99 | HELLOIAT.COM

This app wants to be the Instagram of your Mac. Getting started is easy — just open an image and choose a filter. Next, use the adjustment controls to tweak the image. Simple numbers and sliders make the edits easy, and a series of thumbnails indicates their impact. You can also apply additional effects by selecting the ‘Add Adjustment’ option. There’s a good selection of options available and the thumbnail makes it easy to experiment, but a couple of basic controls (crop and straighten) are missing. However, we were told an extension to connect the app to Photos is imminent, which will solve that issue.

You can paint in an effect using the controls revealed by clicking the paintbrush icon to the right of each adjustment title. There’s an option to detect the edges in your image to limit changes to specific areas, but we had mixed success with it. While the selective adjustment feature can be useful, it can also get frustrating because you have to click on the brush icon twice every time you want to adjust the size, hardness or opacity of the brush, or switch to the eraser to correct a mistake. Moreover, if you change your mind about the effect you want to use and click on a different one in the bottom row, your carefully crafted painting is lost.