Third-party apps and extensions

Luminar AI

£79 FROM skylum.com

Luminar uses machine learning to recommend a suitable template (or file) for each image (such as a portrait or landscape). It also enables you to quickly and creatively enhance a landscape by adding a new sky (without needing to be a compositing master). You can also summon it as a Photos extension.

DxO PhotoLab 4

£89.99 FROM dxo.com

PhotoLab 4 uses machine learning to remove noise and colour fringing (chromatic aberration) while preserving important details. A powerful Control Point tool enables you to make selective adjustments to a sampled circular region. The downside is its inability to read Apple ProRAW files.

Lightroom Classic

£9.98 per month FROM adobe.com

If you have multiple hard drives containing thousands of old DSLR photos, Lightroom Classic will help you create a catalogue that knows where every file is located (even if the drive isn’t plugged into your Mac). It boasts a powerful set of Raw processing tools, making it essential for pro photographers.

PhotoDirector 365

£49.99/year FROM cyberlink.com

PhotoDirector 365 looks similar in layout to Lightroom Classic but it benefits from a Guided mode that takes you through a range of advanced editing techniques. It also boasts some eye-catching filters that will help give your images extra impact on social media feeds, such as Twitter and Instagram.

Photoshop Elements 2021

£86.56 FROM adobe.com

This cut-down version of Adobe Photoshop still gives you the ability to edit in layers and make powerful selective adjustments using masks. Guided Edits help you get to grips with a range of editing techniques. Unlike the subscription-only full version, you can buy Photoshop Elements outright.

Capture One 21

£179/year FROM captureone.com

Like Apple’s Photos, this app enables you to make selective adjustments to shadows and highlights using sliders. Capture One 21 gives you greater control by enabling you to make adjustments to a host of properties using brush-based styles, like teasing out more sky detail using a Deep Sky brush.