Affinity Photo: The Ultimate Photoshop Alternative for Professional Photo Editing

In the realm of photo editing software, Adobe Photoshop has long been the industry standard. However, for creative professionals and enthusiasts seeking a powerful, cost-effective alternative, Affinity Photo emerges as a top contender. This sophisticated photo editing tool offers a robust feature set, intuitive interface, and seamless performance that rivals Photoshop — all at a fraction of the cost.

Why Affinity Photo is a Superior Photoshop Alternative

1. One-Time Purchase vs. Subscription Model

Unlike Adobe Photoshop’s subscription-based pricing, Affinity Photo offers a one-time purchase model, making it a budget-friendly choice without sacrificing professional-grade capabilities. This is particularly appealing to photographers and designers who prefer predictable costs without ongoing fees.

2. Comprehensive Editing Tools

Affinity Photo matches and often exceeds Photoshop in several key areas:

• Advanced Layer Management: Supports unlimited layers, masks, clipping, and adjustment layers.

• Powerful Selection Tools: Includes smart selection brush, refine edge tool, and selection refinement options.

• Professional Retouching: Features frequency separation, dodge and burn tools, and inpainting brushes.

• RAW Editing Capability: Full non-destructive RAW editing within the app.

• HDR Merging and Panorama Stitching: High dynamic range imaging and panorama creation are built-in.

Full Raw Development page

Adjustments page containing many different tools to help shape your photo into the exact image you invisioned.

Affinity also accepts photo presets just like photoshop. These presets are called LUTs. These LUTS can be a great starting point for your editing process. I use my own personal LUTs for editing all of my photos.

3. Speed and Performance

Affinity Photo is optimized to handle large files and complex compositions without the lag that sometimes plagues Photoshop users. Its use of modern hardware acceleration on both Mac and Windows platforms ensures faster rendering and smoother workflows.

4. Cross-Platform Support and File Compatibility

Affinity Photo supports both macOS and Windows, with a fully functional iPad version offering desktop-class editing on the go. It also opens and exports Photoshop PSD files, making workflow transitions effortless for teams migrating from Adobe products.

5. Professional Editing for Diverse Users

Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, or digital artist, Affinity Photo provides:

• Non-destructive editing workflows ensuring original images remain intact.

• Customizable UI to tailor the workspace to specific project needs.

• Extensive plugin support that adds flexibility and enhances functionality.

Key Features at a Glance

Feature Affinity Photo Adobe Photoshop Pricing One-time fee (no subscription) Monthly subscription Platform Support Mac, Windows, iPad Mac, Windows Layer Support Unlimited, including adjustment & masks Unlimited RAW Processing Full non-destructive RAW editing Full non-destructive RAW editing PSD File Compatibility Open and edit PSD files Native format Performance Hardware-accelerated, optimized speed Good but may lag with very large files Mobile Editing Full-featured iPad app Limited iPad app

How to Transition from Photoshop to Affinity Photo

Migrating to Affinity Photo is straightforward:

• Open existing PSD files directly without loss of adjustments or layers.

• Use familiar tools and shortcuts that mirror Photoshop’s layout to ease the learning curve.

• Access extensive tutorials and community resources to master advanced techniques.

Conclusion

Affinity Photo is a premium photo editing software that offers exceptional functionality comparable to Adobe Photoshop but without the recurring subscription costs. Its sophisticated features, performance efficiency, and cross-platform compatibility make it an ideal Photoshop alternative for professionals and creatives. Embracing Affinity Photo empowers users to produce high-quality graphics and images while maintaining control over their budget.

For those seeking a powerful, professional-grade photo editor outside the Adobe ecosystem, Affinity Photo is undoubtedly worth serious consideration.

Just Start

One thing that I regret in my life is spending so much time wishing I had done something. If I could go back in time and tell myself one thing, it would be to just start creating. You may not be the best at photography, but you can start.

I’ve used full frame gear, APS-C, and even micro four thirds. Each of them has served a great purpose. I currently use an older micro four thirds camera with a 20mm prime lens. The camera and lens combo cost me less than my APS-C Sony a6000 did when I got it brand new.

The Olympus EM-5 MK2 with the LUMIX 20mm f1.7 (pictured above) has become my favorite combo for everyday photography. It is a truly pocketable powerhouse. When I am wearing athletic shorts, which I tend to wear quite often, I can comfortably fit this combo in the same pocket as my iPhone.

The 16MP sensor captures fantastic detail. I used to shoot the Sony A7Rii with its 42MP sensor. What I can say is resolution doesn’t seem to be all that. I don’t use any upscaling image processing, but I can confidently print a 20 x 30 inch print from this resolution, and the results are fantastic!

This is an older camera, so it does come with its limits. It is a contrast based autofocusing system, and with that comes some challenges. Single shot autofocus works great when you chose a small focus point. The disappointing part comes with continuous autofocus. I’ve learned to set the lens to single point autofocus, set my focus point, and capture several images in a row because the continuous autofocus is worthless. Knowing this, I act like continuous autofocus doesn’t even exist when shooting. Knowing this limit, I am able to work within my camera’s limitations to capture the images that I want.

This last image is of my wife on an evening walk. I take this thing with me every time I leave the house just so I can capture things just like this. This is a straight out of camera JPEG image with no editing done whatsoever.

While having something lightweight and portable, I have been able to capture images that I may have otherwise not been able to. So take that camera with you on your trip, take pictures whenever you can.

The simple moments often become the best memories, but those memories quickly fade when there is nothing left to remember them by.

So Why Pharmacy?

Growing up, I always had a giving heart. The only thing I wanted to do was to help people. It made my heart happy to see an impact on others’ lives. At the time, this was true mostly for my own mother. She was going through a battle with health issues that had her in and out of the hospital many times. The one thing that was always on my mind was “What can I do to make my momma feel better?” With this mindset, I moved on in my school career and found that I had an aptitude for the sciences. I loved figuring out how things worked, why this reaction made that color, etc. So, I decided then that I would take my love for science and my desire to help others and merge the two to ensure that I was always passionate about my work. This brought me to pharmacy. The field of pharmacy is filled with many opportunities for pharmacists to help patients on different scales. I could work as a researcher in developing a new medication to fight cancer, work as a retail pharmacist seeing patients on a one-on-one basis, work as a clinical pharmacist counseling the doctors on medication recommendations, and many more things. If you have made it this far in the blog, thank you so much for reading! I do hope you have found my first post to be an enjoyable read! I plan to continue writing these posts on a regular basis. If you like my work, do visit my website and my Instagram. Both are linked down below.