Photolemur

Photo editing and AI combine

$49 Developer Photolemur, photolemur.com Requirements OS X 10.10.5 or later, Core 2 Duo (late 2009 or later), 4GB, 1280x800 display

Photolemur is a photo editor with a difference: it uses subject recognition and applies adjustments automatically. Rather than applying specific filters or fixes, it identifies features such as faces, trees, skies, and landscapes to make enhancements that are specific to the subject and image. What’s more, it learns as it goes, so should get better the more it’s used.

Photolemur looks at image colors, exposure, contrast, and white balance, and analyzes an image on a pixel-by-pixel basis before making adjustments to enhance each shot individually. If you save an image, it’s added to the “success” list, but if you don’t it’s added to the “blacklist,” thus helping Photolemur learn what you like to see.

Photolemur couldn’t be easier to use. Click Load Photo to upload an image or a selection of images, or drag a collection of files to the main screen. It then starts processing the images before revealing the first image, with a line dividing it into before and after views. You can drag the line left or right to reveal more or less of the adjusted version. A sliding control under the preview lets you alter the adjustment on a scale from Realistic to Vivid. In most cases we found the default effect was fine, but it’s nice to be able to make a tweak occasionally. The only other control is a crop/rotate tool accessed via the scissors icon. This can be used as a click-and-drag tool, but you can also enter a specific angle of rotation if you like. It’s also possible to set an aspect ratio for the crop.

If you upload more than one image, the unopened images are visible in the collapsible browser bar underneath the central preview screen. Simply click any of the images to see the adjusted version.

Photolemur is extremely easy to use and works very well, with a variety of adjustments applied to varying degrees to different images. In some cases the adjustment can be very subtle, whereas other images may have a more dramatic edit applied. It works especially well with dull or dark images, bringing them to life by brightening them selectively, boosting the local contrast to bring out details, and increasing color saturation.

THE BOTTOM LINE. Photolemur is very easy to use and it successfully enhances a wide variety of images automatically.