GEAR SUPERTEST

Adobe Photoshop isn’t the only photo-editing option anymore! These days we want more from our software t han layers and masks

A lot of things have changed since Photoshop first came to dominate the photo-editing market. We’ve all got much larger more complicated photo libraries now and we need software that can organize, search and share these growing collections. There’s also a growing interest in more evocative ‘looks’ that can be applied quickly and simply.

And most of all, we want to be able to change our minds – hence the rise of non-destructive or ‘parametric’ photoediting, as used by Lightroom, Capture One and a whole host of other photo editors. Often you’ll come back to an image and see a better way of adjusting it, or see how to tweak the settings for better results.

There’s also a general mistrust amongst many of subscription software. Adobe’s Photography Plans are terrific value, but many still prefer to pay for a one-off licence and not have to keep paying monthly fees. The cost of ownership is often not so different, but there’s a big difference in how you pay and how long for!

What to look for in image-editing software

Everyone’s editing needs are different. Here are some things to think about before buying…

Cataloguing tools

Some folk can get by with a simple folder system to keep their photos organized, but most of us need something a little more powerful. By the time your photo collection hits the tens of thousands, you’ll really benefit from a tool that can bring them all together into a single searchable database. With cataloguing tools you can also create albums/collections to bring images together without having to move them from one folder to another. With cataloguing software you can also use keywords to find images quickly and even filter photos by the camera used, the date they were taken and more.

One-click presets

Photo-editors like Photoshop are designed for people who already know what they want to do and don’t mind spending a little time doing it. Programs like Lightroom take the opposite approach, offering image styles that you can click on to apply. If you’re the sort of photographer that likes to see ideas and inspiration for how your images could look, then programs with big libraries of preset are perfect – and since most are non-destructive photo editors, it takes moments to apply them, and you can apply a different preset or edit the settings across multiple images at any time in the future.

Non-destructive workflow

All-in-one cataloguing and editing programs like Lightroom, Capture One and others bring another advantage – they offer ‘nondestructive’ editing tools. This means that all your adjustments are ‘virtual’ and the original image stays unaltered. You can come back at any time in the future, look at your changes and improve them or change them for a different effect. They can also edit Raw files seamlessly alongside JPEGs, without having to go through a separate processing stage, and many editors also offer ‘virtual copies’, so you can try out variations on a single image without having to make copies.

One-off vs subscription

This is a sore point for many who disagree on principle with the idea of ‘renting’ software. But it’s important to take a look at how ‘perpetual’ licenses work, too, because they’re not exactly a bed of roses. It’s true that you can use a license forever after paying for it, but the software won’t be useful forever. Next year another version will come along, for which you’ll need to pay an upgrade fee, so the cost of ownership over time may be closer to subscription charges than you imagine. With subscription software, you get updates and no fees for upgrades; everything is included.