Best Mac photo editors: How to edit photos on Mac effectively [+AI]

Macs are great for editing your photos and creating visuals for both personal projects and professional use, like marketing campaigns or presentations. The best thing is that you don’t even need any external software if your needs are simple. You can do it with the built-in Photos and Preview apps.

In this article, I’ll discuss how to edit pictures on a Mac using built-in and third-party apps, so you can choose the tools that work best for your needs.

What is the best Mac photo editor? Our pics

Before we get into the details, here’s a quick look at the top photo editing tools for Mac:

• Luminar Neo for AI-powered photo editing
• PhotoBulk for bulk editing
• TouchRetouch for precise retouching
• CameraBag Pro for professional photo and video editing

How to edit pictures on Mac with the Photos app

If you want to edit photos on Mac using the built-in Photos app, all you have to do is open the app from your dock or in Finder > Applications. Then you can just drop your image onto the app window. Once the image is in the editor, you can do basic editing to refine your image. 

If the image is already imported into the Photos app, you just double-click it and then click Edit to start editing.

Let’s check out the most useful tools.

Crop, straighten, rotate, and flip

To crop an image in the Photos app on your Mac:

1. Click the Edit button at the top right of your Photos app window to go into editing mode. 
2. Open the Crop tab at the center top of your Photos window and drag the angles of the cropping frame that appears on your image to make a selection.
3. Click Done when you're happy with your result.

You can also use the straightening dial on the right side of the image to fix a crooked horizon. Drag the dial left or right until the photo looks level.

To flip your picture, click the Flip icon on the right side of the Photos app window.

To rotate your image, click the rotate icon at the top right of your Photos app window:

Adjust lighting and exposure

There are times when the lighting and/or exposure settings in your camera don’t reflect what you saw with your eyes. In this case, you can adjust the light and exposure in your image to recreate the original scene. 

Simply go to the Adjust tab when editing your image in the Photos app and drag the thumb along the Light slider to adjust.

You can also open the Options menu under Light to access more tools, like Brilliance, Exposure, Highlights, Shadows, Brightness, Contrast, and Black Point. These tools can help bring out the best light and shadow balance in your image.

If you’d like to apply the same light and color enhancements to multiple images in your batch, you can try CameraBag Pro. This photo editing app goes beyond editing a single image on Mac and allows you to save your presets to apply to other images. Just edit your image as you want, and then go to the Presets tab and click Save Preset.

Make your photos sharper and reduce noise

To sharpen a photo in the Photos app, scroll to the bottom of the Adjust menu and tap Sharpen. You can tweak Intensity, Edges, and Falloff, or use AUTO for quick results.

For low-light shots, try the Noise Reduction tool right next to Sharpen. Simply drag the slider to reduce grain.

If you don’t want to manually adjust any of the image editing settings individually, you can use the AI Enhance tool in the Luminar Neo app. This third-party app has plenty of handy tools for refined MacBook photo editing, including the Supersharp extension, AI Skin enhancement, AI Body enhancement, and several presets you can apply to images and tweak to your liking.

Also, check out the Snapseed alternative for Mac.

Fix color balance

Photos can sometimes look too warm or too cool because of lighting or camera settings. When editing on a Mac, you can adjust color and white balance to make your photo look more natural or give it a unique, stylized feel.

Here’s how to edit colors in Photos:

1. Open the Photos app from the Dock or Finder > Applications.
2. Drag and drop your photo onto the app if it's not there yet.
3. Click Edit in the top right corner. 
4. Go to the Adjust tab, find Color, and move the slider to adjust it manually, or click AUTO for automatic changes.
5. Alternatively, you can go to White Balance and move the thumb along the Warmth slider or press AUTO for automated change.

AI tools for one-click photo enhancements on Mac

Luminar Neo has two advanced AI Enhancement features called Supersharp and Portrait Bokeh. You can use these features to perfect your photos and make them stand out. 

Luminar Neo Supersharp

To find the app's Supersharp function, open a photo and select the Tools menu at the top right corner of the screen. 

From there, scroll down to the Supersharp feature, and with one simple swipe, you can enhance your image’s clarity and crispness. 

Luminar Neo Portrait Bokeh

You can also use the app's Portrait Bokeh feature to enhance the overall composition of a portrait or isolate specific features, such as removing or blurring a distracting background. 

It’s easy to find this tool: simply add an image, go to the Tools section at the top right-hand corner, and scroll down to the Portrait Bokeh feature. 

How to use Selective Color in Photos

Selective Color is another amazing photo editing feature that allows you to make very precise color corrections in your image. To find it, open your image in the Photos app editing mode and find the Selective Colors menu in the Adjust tab.

Move through the suggested color options to tweak hue, saturation, luminance, and range. Additionally, you can use the color selecting tool in this menu to manually pick a color in your image and adjust its hue, saturation, luminance, and range.

Photo effects and filters

If you’re short on time or not confident editing photos manually, just use styles in the Photos app. Go to the Filters tab, pick one, and adjust its intensity with the slider.

For more filter options, try CameraBag Pro, which is packed with presets for portraits, sunsets, architecture, black-and-white shots, and more. 

Luminar Neo is another awesome option that offers AI-powered presets and effects like Sky Enhancer and Portrait Bokeh for quick, pro-level edits.

Read also:

• How to Find The Path Of A File In Mac
• Update Apps on Mac
• Check CPU Usage on Mac
• How to Adjust macOS Camera Settings

How to edit photos using the Preview app

If you need to crop, add arrows, text, or highlight parts of an image, use Preview, the built-in Mac app that opens by default when you double-click an image. Just click the pen tip icon to access markup tools like crop, text, arrows, and resizing.

To resize images in bulk in Preview:

1. Select all images in Finder > Open With > Preview.
2. Press Command + A to select all.
3. Go to Tools > Adjust Size.
4. Enter your new dimensions, then click OK to apply the changes.

This app is perfect for quick how-tos or bug reports. For more advanced edits like annotations and screen recordings, try Capto. To save time on batch resizing, watermarking, or renaming, use PhotoBulk. Both are available on Setapp.

Top shortcuts and tips for faster photo editing on Mac

Here are some easy keyboard and touchpad shortcuts to help you edit photos faster on your Mac.

macOS keyboard shortcuts

Try these handy keyboard shortcuts to speed up photo browsing and editing on your Mac:

1. Use the arrow keys (up, down, right, or left) to scroll through your photos.
2. Click on a picture to select it, or press Shift and click to select a group.
3. Press Command + Y to preview a photo quickly.
4. Start a slideshow by pressing Option + Command + Y.

Touchpad gestures

These touchpad gestures can make photo editing quicker and easier on your Mac:

• Tap with one finger to click.
• Swipe with two fingers to scroll up, down, left, or right.
• Double-tap or double-click to open and close photos.
• Pinch to zoom in or out.

Final thoughts on how to edit photos on Mac

Editing photos on your Mac can be enjoyable when you use the best photo editor for your needs. Once you work out the flow that works best for you, get familiar with your editing tools, and create go-to presets, you'll know exactly which features to use.

Apart from using the built-in photo editing apps like Photos and Preview, you can also try Luminar Neo for AI-powered editing, PhotoBulk for batch resizing and watermarking, TouchRetouch for removing unwanted objects, CameraBag Pro for pro-level filters and presets, and Capto for advanced screen capture and annotation.

All of these apps are available through Setapp, a subscription service that gives you access to 260+ Mac and iOS apps under one plan. You can try Setapp free for 7 days and explore all these tools without paying upfront.

FAQ

What is the best photo editing software for Mac with AI?

The best photo editing software for Mac with AI is Luminar Neo, TouchRetouch, and CameraBagPro. They offer powerful AI tools that simplify complex edits, like removing objects, enhancing portraits, and applying professional filters with just a few clicks.

Does Apple have AI photo editing?

Apple has integrated AI into its Photos app. It offers features like Clean Up, which lets you remove unwanted objects from photos. Image Playground is another neat AI feature that allows you to generate unique images from text descriptions, concepts, and photos in your library.

Which AI tool is best for photo editing?

The best AI tool for photo editing depends on your needs and what you want to achieve. A tool like Luminar Neo comes packed with AI features that can help you refine your portraits. CameraBag Pro gives you more control over what you can see in the background of a picture. 

What is the best way to edit photos on a Mac?

The best way to edit photos on a Mac is by using the built-in Photos app, which can make your images look fresh, clean, and professional. For more complex edits, invest in a great third-party app like Luminar Neo.