Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
For beginners , hobby graphic creative person and lensman Affinity Photo is an implausibly attractive alternative to Adobe Photoshop , which hardly differs from the class leader in terms of all important functions . Affinity Photo is now so like toAdobe‘s software that a move to the former should be legato , although beginners will ask to drop some time getting to know the port before they can fully exploit all the possibilities of Affinity Photo . With all that Affinity Photo fling , the software is a literal bargain at $ 69.99/£67.99 .
Best Prices Today: Serif Affinity Photo
Adobe Photoshopis for ikon blue-pencil likeMicrosoft Officefor the office : dead dominant and in a professional environs you ca n’t get around it . However , if you are n’t using Photoshop and the Creative Suite , orCreative Cloudas it is now called , for professional reasons ( and even if you are ) the package has become very unattractive since the introduction of the subscription model more than a decade ago .
If you only want to cut a few photos every now and then you in all likelihood wo n’t think that a monthly subscription for around $ 9.99/£9.98 is worth it – because most of the metre it is not .
A cheap and affordable alternative to Photoshop is Affinity Photo , which was released in its 2nd major interlingual rendition in late 2022 . Here you get an unlimited license for an extensive image editing toolbox for$69.99/£67.99(theiPad versioncosts only $ 18.49/£17.99 up front ) .
The interface of Affinity Photo 2 looks very familiar if you are already familiar with Photoshop.
If you also need software for vector graphics and print media , you’re able to also get the complete Affinity V2 Universal License as a one - off payment of$164.99/£159.99 . This consists of Affinity Photo 2 , Affinity Designer 2 ( an option to Adobe Illustrator ) and Affinity Publisher 2 ( an alternative to Adobe InDesign ) . This way you may even save a small – the complete package cost only 200 euro , include the versions for the iPad .
We ’ve been prove Affinity Photo 2 for a while now and are generally very satisfied , especially consider what the software does for a comparatively low price .
We also go over a number of Photoshop alternatives here : Best photo redaction software for Macas well as some free choice here : Best free photo editing app for Mac .
The interface of Affinity Photo 2 looks very familiar if you are already familiar with Photoshop.
Foundry
Familiar interface
If you are already familiar with Photoshop , you will quickly find your path around Affinity ’s interface : The ( nonpayment ) layout overall is almost identical , and the icons in the toolbar on the left differ but are similar or easy to follow with a few exceptions . Most of the basic keyboard crosscut are also the same , which makes getting used to them much gentle .
Affinity Photo does some thing better than Photoshop , although this is of course a subject of gustatory sensation . Personally , for deterrent example , I like the fact that the options for supported conjunction ( pixel alignment , magnetic coalition ) are turn up in the top toolbar and not hidden in menus .
However , if you are familiar with mental image editing , Affinity Photo can be as confusing as stepping into an aeroplane cockpit and seeing lots of button and not knowing what they do . as luck would have it , to make it soft to get started and get around , Serif , the party behind Affinity Photo , has upload several 12 TV tutorials toAffinity Photo ’s YouTube channel .
The interface of Affinity Photo 2 looks very familiar if you are already familiar with Photoshop.
In addition to the standard interface , there are several other pre - configured interfaces for particular purpose – Serif calls them “ Personas ” : The received interface is called “ Photo Persona ” , but there is also the “ Liquify Persona ” , which is specially designed for deform , distorting and retouching images , the “ Develop Persona ” for developing raw image , and a handful of others . you may easily change between the individual personas in the upper bar .
Just as in Photoshop , you’re able to drag individual elements , window and tools from the principal window to another proctor . This allows you to effectively enlarge the workspace by swop out tools and other stage setting .
It ’s dissimilar on the iPad , where the interface is significantly simplified and optimise for the smaller screen and pen input with the Apple Pencil and fingers . Here , too , it is understandably remindful of the trace - optimise version of Photoshop .
The symbols for the various Personas are somewhat cryptic but clearly visible.
Remarkable range of functions
The turn of tools that Affinity Photo offers is also quite impressive . If you are interested in image editing and composing , the software offers almost the same functions as Photoshop : various layer types , ( lively ) filters , adjustments ( tonal time value correction , contrast , etc . ) , result ( shadows , glows , etc . ) , masks , color slope , brushes and much more – Affinity Photo will not fail to ply the basic functions . Affinity Photo even has a counterpart to the cognitive content - based weft of Photoshop , but here it is called “ Inpainting ” .
Differences toPhotoshoponly become apparent with AI - related social function . For example , some metre ago Adobe added an AI - supported social function that can entirely replace the sky in landscape photos , which Affinity Photo does not have . Similarly , Photoshop can now recognise objects in images and pick out them quite accurately – also with the help of AI .
Affinity Photo ca n’t do that either , here you still have to pick out everything manually , even though the wizard wand and the choice coppice do a solid job even without AI .
The toolbar is strongly reminiscent of Photoshop, even though some of the icons are different.
One single-valued function that surprise me due to how intuitively it works in Affinity Photo is harvest masquerade . To create a blurred background knowledge in the cover image for my article “ The best games for the iPhone “ , I eviscerate three anatomy , embroil the respective images into Affinity Photo and dropped them onto the several physical body in the layer list – done .
In Photoshop , this is only slightly more complicated , but still less intuitive : there , you drag in the respective image in the list over the various shape and then , while hold down the Option key , press the line between the two layers to produce a cut of meat masquerade party from the one above for the one below .
certainly this is a subject of riding habit , but for me personally , the drag - and - bead principle using only the mouse wins here against the combining of black eye and keyboard stimulant .
Seven sample files are available for download, where you can pick up a few tricks.
The sample files that Serif make usable for download are very helpful . you could discover them in a tab in the “ Open ” dialog and can then look over the shoulder joint of professionals and see what they have used which tools for and in what room . In addition , there are also many YouTube tutorials for Affinity Photo , partly from Serif itself , and partially from a large residential district .
Creative Cloud – the biggest difference
Like many great software companies , Adobehas switch to a software program - as - a - service model , which signify that the focusing is no longer on the software alone , but on a large package of software and various extra services . A giving advantage of Adobe’sCreative Cloud , of which Photoshop is now a part , is precisely these extra services : You get access to Adobe Stock , a database of stock certificate photos by professional photographer , over 20,000 different baptismal font and many other services that you would otherwise have to take prevail yourself .
Most of this is missing from Affinity Photo , where there is only the software with which you could edit range of a function . You have to take care of face , cloud storage and coaction tools yourself , but this can pull through you a deal of money , peculiarly as a hobbyist , and use complimentary platform like Unsplash .
Stock photograph are at least link via Pixabay , an outside program for free or license - costless picture and vector computer graphic . Affinity Photo does not explicitly touch to this – I only found the tab after a lector had luff it out to me . It is commendable that Pixabay is completely integrated into the interface and does not refer to external browser app . The selection of graphics is perfectly okay , but can not quite keep up with commercial-grade platform .
On average prices are around $20/£20 in the Affinity Store.
Online store for additional content
If you ask additional or pre - configure prick , some add - ons can be download for a fee from the Affinity Photoonline store – texture , overlays , brush presets and a few more . In term of cost , the pass seems quite fair : for $ 25/£25 , you get 53 textures , brush and templates with the “ Vibrant Paint Strokes Bundle “ , for example .
The “ Handwritten Font Bundle ” with six dissimilar script and several styles each is currently the most expensive add - on at $ 44/£44 , and the “ Nature Brush Pack ” with 68 “ bio brushes ” for $ 9.99/£9.99 is the punk . All in all , the choice is accomplishable , but the shop will belike be more of a gracious attention deficit disorder - on for Serif than a source of income to be taken seriously .
Verdict
If you are a founding father , hobby vivid artist , or photographer , Affinity Photo is an improbably attractive substitute toAdobe Photoshop , which hardly differs from the class loss leader in its essential functions . You lose out on the really smart feature here and there , but there is nothing wrong with determine how to retouch and prime objects properly by handwriting .
In term of appearance and manipulation , Affinity Photo is now so similar to Adobe ’s software that if you have intercourse Photoshop it will take no sentence to get intimate with Affinity Photo . The independent selling period , of course , is that Affinity Photo , for all that it offers , is available for $ 69.99/£67.99 with an unlimited license , unlike Adobe Photoshop , and does not require a monthly subscription . Buy once , use always – that ’s how we wish software package . For the indecisive , there ’s a free 30 - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. trial for each platform – Mac , Windows , iPad .
translate from Macwelt by Karen Haslam .
