Discovering a life beyond Photoshop
ADOBE may have had a bumper 2018, announcing strong profits and new versions of Photoshop, Creative Cloud and Elements/Premiere, but 2018 saw some compelling alternatives for keen enthusiast photographers.
As our editing expert, James Paterson, observed: ‘there’s an argument that many photographers – particularly casual users – don’t necessarily need the depth of tools on offer in Photoshop, which encompass all kinds of workflows, from 3D rendering to video editing.’
Serif’s Affinity Photo (£48.99) is shaping up as a great-value alternative to a Creative Cloud subscription, and involves a relatively shallow learning curve for Photoshop users. The exposure- merging and tone-mapping features are also very handy for HDR fans. Meanwhile, Skylum (formerly MacPhun) had a particularly good Photokina, impressing visitors with its latest version of Luminar 2018, along with Photolemur 3, Aurora HDR and Picture Speed. Skylum now offers a wide variety of tools for image editing.