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7 Best Free Mac Photo Editing Software in [Incl. M1 Macs]

Next, click the half-black/half-white circle at the top of the Layers panel and choose Gradient Map. In Pixelmator, duplicate your image layer. Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots, and learn more about Gradients for Pixelmator. Download Gradients for Pixelmator. Pixelmator Pro is a great free Photoshop alternative for Apple products. There’s a gradient map for precise color changes, Point Color.
How to Get Pixelmator Free and Legally.Five uses for gradient masks in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Pixelmator | Macworld
Open and edit huge, 16K images up to megapixels on the inch iPad Pro. Pixelmator for iOS. Available from the App Store for $ Buy. Affinity Photo has the gradient map effect, which can do all that. BTW: For the old Pixelmator app (without the “Pro”) I could download plugins that would.
Pixelmator gradient map free download.Pixelmator for iOS
Using the software’s guided edits , you can add effects and create professional-level images in seconds. PhotoDirector Essential also includes photo management and efficient workflow features, including tethered shooting , soft proofing, GPS photo logs , and AI facial recognition. Image from Pixelmator Pro Tutorials. Pixelmator is a robust photo editor offering various high-end photo editing features.
It is one of the top free Mac photo editing software for its complete macOS integration. The software has all the default Mac menus and shortcuts and allows users to easily pull photos from apps like Mail, Messages, AirDrop, Notes, and Photos. You can even pull still images from FaceTime. The pro features you get with Pixelmator include layer editing, retouching, vector, and AI tools.
In addition, Pixelmator offers various pens, pencils, and brushes for precision image enhancements. As you become familiar with the software, you can customize the main toolbar to contain only the needed tools. You can also organize the various effects and filters in their palettes for quick access. Pixelmator has many pro tools but lacks quite a few found in PhotoDirector Essential. But like PhotoDirector, we found it easy to use, with an intuitive user interface and plenty of free tutorials, making it the second-best free Mac photo editing software on our list.
Image from GIMP. GIMP is a tool used by photographers, illustrators, graphic designers, and even scientists for its varied features. GIMP offers a library containing various effects and filters. Other professional editing tools include precise selection tools, clone brush, and transformation features , such as shear, scale, and crop.
This free Mac photo editing software offers high-quality image manipulation with retouching and restoring tools and a handy split-screen that lets you preview effects before application. This software ranks high on our list because of its advanced features.
However, it remains under PhotoDirector and Pixelmator because it is not as user-friendly. GIMP has a bit of a learning curve, and the interface is cluttered. Image from ThePhotoFinishes. We found Pixlr X to be the best free Mac photo editing software for making quick edits in our research. Pixlr X’s web-based editing software works well for beginners and more experienced editors needing a quick solution for basic edits.
The program has a clean, easy-to-use interface with easily labeled tools. It has many great features, but not so many that it is overwhelming to find the tools you need. Pixlr also features tools for different skill levels, so you can choose to make automated edits or spend some time applying manual changes to your photos. While not as robust as other free Mac photo editing software on our list, Pixlr X does have some professional tools like customizable brushes and a selection of cutting tools like shape, lasso, drag, and magic.
There are also tools for painting and drawing , fine-tuning color tools, and support for layer editing. Unfortunately, Pixlr’s huge stock library and Remove Background app are separate from Pixlr X and require additional sign-in. Based on our research, Pixlr’s advanced features fall somewhere in the middle of other editors of its kind. Unfortunately, the software contains a lot of intrusive ads, which is typical of freeware but not seen in the other free Mac photo editing software on our list.
Image from Malavida. If you often need to apply quick edits to multiple photos at once, then Photoscape X is for you. Users can convert multiple images into a different format with one click. This free Mac photo editing software has an abundance of essential tools – anything a novice photo editor could need. Merge, crop, combine, and resize photos, then add stickers, filters, or text. The program also has some impressive color tools, such as Point Color choose one color to highlight and make the rest of the photo back and white , Selective Color change vibrancy up or down of each color you choose , and Replace Color replace one color with another throughout the photo.
There is also a gradient map for more precise color changes. Photoscape X has an unusual interface that differs significantly from other free Mac photo editing software and may take some getting used to. However, despite the confusing layout, the program remains beginner-friendly. The program has many outstanding editing tools, but it is further down our list because of its lack of format support and export quality. We found Canva Free to be a one-stop shop for graphic design needs.
This free Mac photo editing software has over , free templates in categories for any visual project. Turn your favorite photos into cards, invites, calendars, and more. Canva is a good choice for social media influencers, with lots of tools to help create your brand and maintain a polished presence online. Canva is browser-based with an intuitive, user-friendly interface. The free version of Canva is perfect for home users and beginners.
While we love Canva for design, it lacks some essential photo editing features. However, since it is free, Canva could be a good design tool to use alongside one of our more feature-rich photo editors further up on our list. Image from Fotor. Fotor Photo Editor is a free Mac photo editing software for beginners. The Fotor editing platform is easy to use, and navigating the menus and editing tools is quick and easy. All effects and edits are automatic, with a slider to adjust intensity.
The limited tools are laid out so you can see all options at once. When you click on a feature, a little box pops up explaining what it is and how to use it. The stand-out feature of this editor includes support for importing and exporting various high-resolution image formats. The web-based application offers basic adjustments with additional photo editing features such as adjustment fine-tuning, curving and resizing , and white balance settings.
So we tried out the software with a test image provided by Fotor instead. Applying effects took longer than other photo editors, and the Color Splash tool we tried did not work well. This could be an excellent tool for beginners and offers some fun filters and effects, but Fotor Photo Editor needs to work out some bugs before competing with other free Mac photo editing software.
Here is a step-by-step guide for basic photo editing with our top choice for free Mac photo editing software, PhotoDirector:. For more information on photo editing with PhotoDirector, click here. Editing is integral to the photo creation process. Professional photographers need a robust editor to enhance their photos and give them a personal touch. An editor will bring out the best aspects of their photos while removing imperfections and distracting elements.
And beginners need software that is intuitive and easy to use and that offers guided edits and tutorials so they can utilize all the advanced features available. PhotoDirector Essential is all of the above. The gradient mask is circled here. A color tint was added to the top example to introduce color consistency between the two images.
A gradient mask lets you quickly fade images together into a collage. With at least two images on separate layers within the same document, position the image you want on the top of your collage at the top of the layer stack. Next, press G to grab the Gradient tool—this keyboard shortcut works in all three apps—and then choose a black-to-white, linear gradient.
To do this in Photoshop, trot up to the Options bar and click the down-pointing triangle next to the gradient preview. In Pixelmator, once you activate the Gradient tool, click the gradient preview at upper left of your document and in the resulting menu, click the black to white linear gradient icon. As you drag, a line represents the width of the fade: The shorter the line the less distance you drag , the narrower the fade and the harsher the transition; the longer the line, the wider the gradient and the softer the fade.
When you release your mouse button, the app plops the gradient into the layer mask circled below , which fades the images together. Try dragging from corner to corner or top to bottom and see what you get—depending on your image, one gradient angle may look better than another.
Softly fading a color image to black and white is another creative and impactful effect. To start, add a black and white effect to your image. Click and hold atop your image where you want the color to start fading out, and then drag in any direction for a screen inch or two.