Photographers and photo editors require an efficient, easy-to-use, and powerful program to edit images as per custom specifications. Affinity Photo offers exactly that with its advanced features and simple interface. It proposes a one-time minimal upfront fee, which is $49.99, for an everlasting license. Plus, you get a free 90-day trial period to evaluate the software. This saves users the trouble of spending money on monthly subscriptions programs offering almost the same features at a double price. It is an attractive cost considering all the traits the tool offers, making Affinity Photo an amazing alternative for leading image editing software.
The Affinity interface is the industry standard with various colorful icons. On first running the program, you will see sample images and tutorials that will guide you through the tool. It has a simple and clutter-free workspace divided into five modes called Personas. The default Personas are Photo, Liquefy, Develop, Tone Mapping, and Export. Each persona is task-focused and provides tools for specific work. You can also customize these workspaces according to your preferences.
As the name indicates, the Photo persona is where the main adjustments are made. It has many features, including selection and healing tools, which simplify detailed editing. Liquefy persona is yet another impressive feature as it offers numerous options for image manipulation, enabling you to reshape any part of the image. Tone mapping persona is a high range feature that offers many controls enabling you to combine multiple images regardless of harsh lights.
A key feature in Affinity Photo is that it supports RAW editing i.e., most raw camera images can be easily edited. These raw images open in Develop Persona directly and offer lens correction, noise reduction, and many basic features. The Export persona lets you export your creation in PNG, JPEG, GIF, or any other image format. Affinity doesn’t let you directly export images to social media or via email; however, it does maintain layer function which results in fluid working across different platforms.
Another standout feature is the addition of the Astrophotography Stack function, which is a bonus if you’re an Astrophotography enthusiast. Affinity also offers a powerful set of brushes, overlays, text tools, vector image support, HDR merge, and Panorama. It also saves commonly used settings as presets.
The software has a steep learning curve, but it does have a growing number of tutorials with many useful tips and once you get the hang of it, it is an outstanding image editing software, especially for professionals. It is brilliant for users struggling with the technical aspect of editing with thumbnail previews and non-destructive workflow. Edits can be saved as mesh and be later liquefied.
Affinity Photo is available on both Microsoft and Apple Store. An even cheaper version is also available for iPad for half the price of the desktop version, with complete features. It is mainly a retouching software and highly recommended for comprehensive image editing. One major downside is that it does not have a file management system, but the manufacturers are regularly updating the program, giving it new features and improving the present ones. Overall Affinity is intuitive software and a complete package for aspiring as well as professional editors.