Wait! Is Apple Photos for Mac Actually a Great Little RAW Editor?

I might be slow on the uptake, but I recently rediscovered Apple Photos editing capabilites and was surprised at just how capable it actually is.

[@eruditect]

Glad you made this video… I have been a fan of Apple Photos' editing for quite a while. I develop the RAW file in DXO PhotoLab and then tweak the exported file in Photos. It really works like a charm. 👍

[@Andyhutchinson]

Nice tip, thanks. :)

[@hywel3143]

Your approach sounds good. I'm thinking of purchasing DXO Pure Raw 4 for initial processing, and then exporting to Apple Photos for further editing as necessary. Do you think this would work well?

[@michaelrentz406]

With the knowledge I’ve accumulated watching hundreds of how-to videos on photo editing (in an effort to decide what third party editor to buy [subscribe to]), I have found Apple’s Photos editing tools on my 11 year old MacBook Pro to be more than adequate. I’m not a power user, but Apple’s tools appear to work much like other popular editors. I’m sticking with Apple Photos. BTW, I’m a Fujifilm shooter.

[@Andyhutchinson]

Yea, it's an under-rated gem I reckon.

[@hywel3143]

Hi Andy. Thanks for highlighting the usefulness of Photos. I've been using Photos as an editor since 2010 on a sequence of iMacs, and have seen incremental improvements over the years, rather than a massive improvement in any particular release. I seem to remember that those clever Light and Colour adjusters were introduced around 2020, but am happy to be corrected. You are right: the current version is powerful, and has strong fundamentals, such as very high quality processing of my RAW files (Canon 6D). The "magic wand" auto function is similar to Photomator's "ML" function: both have their quirks and need to be adjusted most of the time, but they can be good stating points. I have Photomator as well for masking/local adjustments, currently on a one year licence since, apart from masks which I occasionally use, Photomator is actually quite similar to Apple Photos. Actually Photos may have the edge overall for me because of the Light and Colour functions which you demonstrated. I'm looking forward to Photos Sequoia, particularly the rumoured possibility of an improved magic wand function driven by more advanced AI which, as any Apple fanboy knows, actually stands for "Apple Intelligence" ;-)

[@Andyhutchinson]

Ah! Thanks for that. So I was only about four years behind the curve to pick up on the cool slider adjustments. Sure is going to be interesting to see what they've changed in Sequoia - I hope it's more than just organisational stuff. :)

[@GordonRunklePhoto]

I've used the editing tools in Apple Photos on iPhone/iPad quite a bit, but not the Mac; looks like they have more features there! Thanks for the pointer!

[@Andyhutchinson]

No worries :)

[@lucky_spyke]

I’ve been using that editor for years because I’m self-taught. Sometimes when I use it, I use the same approach that Jimi Hendrix did when using his guitar pedals. Turn the effect all the way up (or all the way down), then back it off (or up) until you get something you like.

[@Andyhutchinson]

lol - sounds like a solid technique :)

[@focuscapes3903]

Awesome video mate. Switching all my production to a Mac and didn't want to pay the subscription to Adobe and no standalone options for Lightroom on Silicon. This looks spot-on for what I need..... and I'll just re-use my Davinci Resolve licence for video. Finally, soon I'll be using a machine that won't deafen me with crazy fan noise every time I render - and as a bonus, I'll be able to collab on music with my mate on Logic! Keep up the great videos.

[@Andyhutchinson]

Check-out Photomator as well. Single purchase, reasonably priced and very capable with features such as AI denoise and super-resolution that aren't in Apple Photos.

[@focuscapes3903]

@@Andyhutchinson Great suggestion thanks. All I need now is something that deals with bracketing and I'm sorted! 🙂

[@inSurfersParadise]

Oh my. That does look sweet. Haven’t touched Photos. Have actually steadfastly refused to as I keep images on my server and AHHHHGGGHHH!!! it seems to just not want to play over there. Maybe it has changed that requirement too. Your demo shows how cool it would be as a first point of call.

[@Graphicxtras1]

Haven't got a camera for raw files format but I use Apple Photo and the edit feature all the time, a very easy and very powerful app to use

[@Andyhutchinson]

Yea, it's a surprisingly cool little editor, isn't it.

[@pembridgehouse]

Thanks. I am a retired wedding photographer. I was using a bit of photoshop and light room to edit my photos in the past but a couple of years ago I discovered, like you how good photos had become.If I was still doing weddings I would consider photos is good enough and very intuitive to use. I have tested it on many of my old files.cheers Geoff

[@Andyhutchinson]

Yea, it's funny isn't it, I don't know how many years it's been sat there and it never occurred to me to that it might be decent now. :)

[@pdcorlis]

Like you, I haven’t given Apple Photos a fair run for quite some time. To be honest it looks like Apple have cleverly ported over the controls from the now abandoned Aperture app. Rest assured I’ll certainly be spending more time with Photos on the Mac.

[@Andyhutchinson]

Thanks. It was a genuine surprise to me. :)

[@paulcooper9187]

Wow, I have always dismissed this, and gone straight to lightroom on the Ipad. You have certainly opened my eyes to this, and am just getting some shots in raw to have a try. I never realised that Oz had a twin town to the one in Norfolk, its so similar, Cromer Sur La Oz I guess. 🤣 Yeah I realise , just couldnt resist it. You have a busy release week, with three out, but they are different, unsponsored and reflective. Thank You Is that on the Mac, I cant find that on the lastest version of IOS on the Ipad ?

[@Andyhutchinson]

Cheers Paul - yea it's the Mac version. And yes, there are heaps of places in Oz named after the same in the UK. For instance Launceston in Cornwall gets Launceston in Tasmania, but they pronounce it lawn-ceston. We used to Holiday in Norfolk when I was a kid - I think swimming in the North Sea prepares you for anything in life!

[@artl.187]

I enjoyed your video on Apple Photos. I’ve been using Apple as my only editor since I’m not comfortable using Abobe Photoshop or Lightroom, nor fond of exporting/importing files since all my photos are in the Apple ecosystem. So is Apple’s Photo similar to Photomator but with little or no advanced AI denoising, resolution and masking power? Do you think Apple’s Sequoia may include these functions given the direction that Apple is going with more AI power on their new M4 chips?

[@drwatsonismine]

Did you try the retouch? Is it good at all?

[@bencompson]

Retouch is a pretty simple tool but i find it works quite well when you get the hand of selection.

[@drwatsonismine]

@@bencompson thanks! I will check it out on some raws. I appreciate your help and advice.

[@Andyhutchinson]

Yea, it's ok. Perfectly good for dust spots, but it does struggle on larger objects.

[@Jim-ot9sd]

Might make me finally commit to Photos - I use DxO for Raw - would still use it. for noise reduction and cropping - over to Photos for Light and Colour - like the look of the ease of it. Wouldn't be in Raw of course, do you think it would make a difference using TIFF or High Quality JPG ?

[@Andyhutchinson]

I've heard quite a few folks say they use Photos for precisely that - finishing. As to the TIFF/JPEG - depends on what you're planning to do with the finished file. For print I'd go TIFF or DNG.

[@Jim-ot9sd]

@@Andyhutchinson Thanks for that - would be for slides or Final Cut, so still digital - JPEG it is. :)

[@cristibaluta]

The only time i took and edited some iphone raws they were underexposed 2 stops from what i can see on the phone, wtf is happening? I think Photos is ok if you edit a single image though

[@kevin_stenhouse]

My spirit was crushed just like those blacks when you said Fuji wasn't supported. Oh Apple.

[@Andyhutchinson]

I know, right.

[@bradwong8743]

Good review, Apple Photo is great on my Ipad Pro - use it all the time go get fast quick edits for my Social's and to send to friends and family.

[@Andyhutchinson]

Cheers, yea it's a really handy quick-fix :)

[@gaprofitt]

So no go for FUJI raw's in Apple Photos?

[@Andyhutchinson]

Unfortunately not. As a work-around you could convert to DNG in something like Pure RAW 4, which is an extra cost, but it does also do the lens/camera correction and AI denoising that Apple Photos will not.

[@leedodge4227]

It has been years since I even thought of Aperture, at equal stages of development, I preferred Apple software in some ways.

[@Andyhutchinson]

Yea, it was a great app.

[@inSurfersParadise]

I think Photos just found 8500 images it couldn’t read on the NAS drive. So… doesn’t play well with others.

[@Andyhutchinson]

Yea, as I mentioned in the video, it won't currently read any of my 74,000 Fuji RAW files. It's a shame because it's a genuinely cool little editor.

[@gman5375]

We need something to challenge these Adobe capitalists and their subscription model. 💸

[@Andyhutchinson]

lol - thankfully we have a company with a $3tn market-cap to save us ;)

[@kaihsiangju]

Cannot agree more. The adobe is truly terrible treating their customers. I have many friends leaving Adobe to find alternatives due to the greediness of the company and the disregard for their customer’s privacy with their recent saga. Their products are in general good, but the company behind is despicable.

[@AnthonyPero92]

CapCut wiping the floor with Adobe

[@yuka-youtube]

@@AnthonyPero92that is ccp related. be cautious. very cautious

[@professorp9903]

great review, as an apple user i wholeheartedly agree..good to remind folks of the simple things in life..whilst MS was trying to dominate the world Apple was the leader in graphics & image manipulation..but as with so many things Apple, when they have the potential to shoot for the moon they shoot & miss (meaning they could take on Adobe but they haven't for some reason) 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@CameraCombo]

Apple photos is super fast and offers most things, but it needs to create a massive database, the noise reduction isn't that great, and it's still rather difficult to copy settings from one photo to many photos. For me, DXO is my editor. Still, Apple Photos is free. Also, I personally like Pages.

[@Andyhutchinson]

Yea, like I said, I wouldn't ditch my main software for it, but it's surprisingly capable. I run all my RAWs through PureRAW 4 for pre-processing.

[@hywel3143]

@@Andyhutchinson That's interesting, Andy. I am thinking of purchasing PureRaw 4 for pre-processing and then Photos or Photomator operating within Photos as a second stage. So presumably the photos in this video were pre-processed with PureRaw before being sent to Photos?

[@cristibaluta]

I hate any editor that requires importing, i use Bridge

[@Andyhutchinson]

Yea, it's surprising it's free, considering it's from Adobe.

[@cristibaluta]

@@Andyhutchinson Yes but it opens camera raw and photoshop to edit, so it's free only to browse the photos

[@SpencerLupul]

too bad the phone app still stinks

[@Andyhutchinson]

Agreed. I use Lightroom Mobile.