My experience developing a full session with Pixelmator Photo

Discuss Photomator and photo editing.
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2022-04-01 11:11:14

I agree with all of the above. Exposure should be in stops, and I would add that temperature should be in Kelvins not percentages. I also would like to see an eye drop tool for temperature and tint, I mean it is super basic and helpful. Edit: I just realized there is one hidden behind a “secret” menu. Bad interface decision. Please add a visible button for the eye drop tool.
Blimey, that’s so annoying, I’ve been using this for so long without knowing that. That’s an inexcusable UI faux pas. Thanks for pointing that out. Yeah, that needs adding to the main view somehow, you should be able to just click on that eye dropper icon.

And another little thing. I’d like to be able to close a panel once I’m finished with it (as you can in Raw Power), so it tidies the screen a bit, and you’re not having to scroll as much.

There’s also another bug (already mentioned before, so not being fixed yet), we’ll a couple really. I tend to use Levels a lot, but find the histogram display in the Levels panel is frozen if you select an image with this panel open. As you apply edits above it in the flow, it doesn’t change. I have to close and reopen it to refresh it.

Again with the levels panel, unlike all other panels, if I open it with it partially below the level of the display, it doesn’t pop up into view. At least most of the time, very occasionally it does. [Edit: ok, I’ve noticed that this does work, but only if the header part of the panel is aligned with the bottom edge of the editing sidebar when you open it].
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2022-04-02 04:30:17

Blimey, that’s so annoying, I’ve been using this for so long without knowing that. That’s an inexcusable UI faux pas. Thanks for pointing that out. Yeah, that needs adding to the main view somehow, you should be able to just click on that eye dropper icon.
As you said, no excuse for this. I know there is no real state left in the panel as it is, but then create some for the button. It shouldn’t be two clicks, and specially be hidden from main view, we didn’t even know it existed lol.

I don’t know if the team is reading this thread anymore 😂 (if they ever did) so I created a feature request thread. Feel free to add to it if you like.

I do hope they fix the bugs you mention, as well as add a visible button for the eye dropper and change the scales mentioned before. 🤔
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2022-04-02 05:51:23

As you said, no excuse for this. I know there is no real state left in the panel as it is, but then create some for the button. It shouldn’t be two clicks, and specially be hidden from main view, we didn’t even know it existed lol.
Perhaps swapping it for the ML button would be more useful :wink:

Cheers.
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2022-04-02 16:59:35

I agree that Raw Power has more raw controls but also like the Pixelmator interface better and find it much easier to share to other apps without saving all the edits.

If you need local adjustments and don’t want to pay a subscription fee the two major standouts are Affinity Photo and Snapseed. Both allow you to work with layers, masks and brushwork.

I only shoot ProRaw these days, usually start with Pixelmator and do any global adjustments then share to Snapseed where local adjustments are very convenient. Snapseed has several adjustments you don’t find anywhere else for iOS. The Selective feature with U-point technology developed by Nik software is amazing. The Tonal Contrast feature is very adjustable with five sliders. The first Image Adjustment controls has Ambience, much like Brilliance in the native Photo app. Glamour Glow I’m finding to be excellent and can be used for background only if desired. Everything is a layer so valuable local edits are quick and easy. I use the Apple Pencil for that work.
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2022-04-02 17:04:56

Yes, I have Affinity, but on an iPad it’s very clunky to integrate with My Photos library. I have yet to really work with it though, but my current intention is to maintain the non-destructive workflow as much as possible. I’ll probably look to Affinity more when I want to get a bit more creative with some copies.

As for Snapseed, I have nothing Google installed on any of my devices. And usually use YouTube logged out.
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2022-04-02 18:29:06

And another little thing. I’d like to be able to close a panel once I’m finished with it (as you can in Raw Power), so it tidies the screen a bit, and you’re not having to scroll as much.
You can close a panel after you’re done, every panel has that secret menu at least for blocking the sliders (it may have other options depending on the panel) which also collapses that panel.
Snapseed has several adjustments you don’t find anywhere else for iOS. The Selective feature with U-point technology developed by Nik software is amazing.
I tried Snapseed a long time ago and didn’t like it very much. I’ll give it a try again, sounds like it has come a long way.

Affinity Photo does have local adjustments and layers within the develop persona which is great, but as Andy pointed out, it doesn’t integrate well with Photos and well, you can’t batch process at all. So you have to start over with every photo you open. It’s more like Photoshop. I use it a lot after I export JPGs from Pixelmator Photo, as a Photoshop replacement, I love it but I don’t use the Develop persona.
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2022-04-02 18:37:43

I do understand the integration issues but I’m really interested in anything that does local adjustments in a good way. I have been using Nik software back when Google and Adobe Camera Raw were still getting their footings and better things were available like DXO. Nik developed Snapseed not Google. They did buy out Nik. I have absolutely no problem with that but would really like to hear of alternatives for local adjustments that don’t require a subscription. Be nice to see this with Pixelmator at some time but it I’m using it almost daily right now and have been for decades.
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2022-04-02 18:59:04

I guess it is fine if you use it to process a few photos every time. In my case I often do two hour photo shoots and process all the photos. So for me batch processing is a must. If I take like 20 photos in the same location with the same lighting, I can process one photo and paste the adjustments to the rest, and then quickly fine tune each and move on to the next few photos. So batch processing or copy and pasting adjustments is a must, if I can’t do that, then the software is of no use to me.

Pixelmator Photo works great except for the lack of local adjustments and a few minor things.

Affinity Photo for me is a step later in the process and only for a selection of the whole set, to process skin and other things.
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2022-04-02 19:38:04

I her you. You have special personal needs and that’s not uncommon. Do what works best for you. I don’t do photography as a profession anymore, lived my career as a photographer and retired 10 years early. Now I do it because I can’t stop doing it. Lol

One note and it might or might not help but Snapseed has a feature called Last Edits. You just tap that one button and all the edits you’ve done just previously are added to the current image minus Selective edits. I find that useful.

I’m always looking for good alternatives though so maybe one will appear some day.
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2022-04-03 07:45:51

You can close a panel after you’re done, every panel has that secret menu at least for blocking the sliders (it may have other options depending on the panel) which also collapses that panel.
Ok, I never really got what that was, thank you. However, that’s still another messy UI item. Too many clicks for that operation.

For me, it seems possible to have made the icons in the headers slightly smaller, and fitted them in. Without wishing to keep quoting Raw Power, but here it is, you don’t even need any icons at all, you just click on the header name to open or close the panel. The on/off switch could be a simpler select box, rather than a switch. Alternatively, a small rotating triangle icon perhaps, there’s room as they put a lock icon in when that’s used (a weird way to do it IMHO). And removing some of the % signs would save some space too.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Pixelmator, it’s an excellent photo editor, this is just some nit-picking.
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2022-04-03 07:51:33

One note and it might or might not help but Snapseed has a feature called Last Edits. You just tap that one button and all the edits you’ve done just previously are added to the current image minus Selective edits. I find that useful.
Pixelmator has a ‘Recents’ in the Presets panel, where you can pick one of the last few edits you did, although it doesn’t include cropping. Raw Power also has a Last Image preset too, which includes everything (easy to deselect or edit each panel).

I’m still trying to find out how ‘private’ Snapseed is. I have very little trust in anything by Google, and wary of any data harvesting they might be doing. Where does all that AI data they use to analyse your images go to?
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2022-04-03 19:43:25

by Cantisani I tried Snapseed a long time ago and didn’t like it very much. I’ll give it a try again, sounds like it has come a long way.
I decided to give Snapseed a try myself today. I have no idea how that's managed to get the accolades it has, seems pretty awful to me. The UI is very awkward, and everything is hidden. It doesn't pick up originals from Photos, only low res previews, and the file viewer/selector is plain terrible. Any adjusters I tried are so fiddly to use, and you have to keep selecting the hidden panel to change tools.

Also check out the plethora of reviews for it crashing and freezing - and have a look at the version history to see the developers solution (basically don't use the functions that cause the freezes). And it's updates are few and limited in scope. Seems its quite close the being 'abandonware'.

I can also find very little information to confirm the level of privacy it actually has.

Looking at that, I still think that a combination of tools, such as Photos, Pixelmator Photo, Raw Power and Affinity Photo, offer an economical (even if you buy all of them) and varied set of options for editing photos that are being updated regularly, with more features being added all the time.

Certainly good enough for most amateurs anyway :-)
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2022-04-03 19:49:04

I agree, I tried it yesterday and closed the app within a few minutes. The interface is terrible, not for anyone who want to edit more than one photo at a time (and waste a lot of time in the process). I’ll wait for Pixelmator Photo, RAW Power or even Darkroom to bring local adjustments, I hope the first two do it soon.

Snapseed is just a toy in my opinion, a Google experiment that doesn’t fly, not for serious use.
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2022-04-03 19:51:37

by Andy Hewitt 2022-04-03 12:45:51
Ok, I never really got what that was, thank you. However, that’s still another messy UI item. Too many clicks for that operation.

For me, it seems possible to have made the icons in the headers slightly smaller, and fitted them in. Without wishing to keep quoting Raw Power, but here it is, you don’t even need any icons at all, you just click on the header name to open or close the panel. The on/off switch could be a simpler select box, rather than a switch. Alternatively, a small rotating triangle icon perhaps, there’s room as they put a lock icon in when that’s used (a weird way to do it IMHO). And removing some of the % signs would save some space too.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Pixelmator, it’s an excellent photo editor, this is just some nit-picking.
Of course, I agree with you. All those controls should be visible, not hidden behind secret menus. There’s room for improvement in Pixelmator’s interface for sure.
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2022-04-03 20:06:55

The Snapseed interface is back from the birth of mobile. Nik isn’t here to upgrade it anymore but it works far, far better than you perceive. The crashing started after a recent iOS update and I know how to prevent it from crashing. It works flawlessly for me, I send 16 bit tiffs from Pixelmator and yes you can get full jpeg files out of Snapseed full rez so it’s a finishing tool for me. I won’t go any further though as you have made up your minds, closing the app after a few minutes. Lol
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2022-04-03 20:11:28

I won’t go any further though as you have made up your minds, closing the app after a few minutes. Lol
Don’t take it the wrong way. In my case I had tried Snapseed before and actually used it for a few photos. Back then I didn’t like the interface but there weren’t many options. I just saw that the interface hasn’t changed and it is not for me. I know the app, but I decided a long time ago I didn’t like it, that’s why it took me a few minutes to confirm my decision.
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2022-04-03 20:17:02

I doubt they will ever change the interface now and that’s too bad. When I was using Nik stuff on the PC they sold the Sekective as Viveza for $200 all by itself and there were several good offerings besides like their Color Efects which had some amazing tools. Most of them were lame though so it had to be picked over. Now it’s free and I find three, maybe four tools I really like. The rest don’t I don’t find useful.
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2022-04-03 20:24:33

by Ryder 2022-04-03 00:00:00 I doubt they will ever change the interface now and that’s too bad. When I was using Nik stuff on the PC they sold the Sekective as Viveza for $200 all by itself and there were several good offerings besides like their Color Efects which had some amazing tools. Most of them were lame though so it had to be picked over. Now it’s free and I find three, maybe four tools I really like. The rest don’t I don’t find useful.
I agree, I also had a few Nik tools on my mac, I loved the one for B/W conversions, can’t remember its name? It was good!. It’s too bad we won’t see them as a separate app on the iPad. I just can’t work with Snapseed interface, I mean, I could pretend to give it a chance but I know it will only collect virtual dust in my iPad.

PD.. it was Nik Silver Fx. I liked that one, I used it for some of my favorite BW photos.
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2022-04-03 21:07:20

Yes, Silver Fx, I had that one too. It was indeed fantastic.

I just need local edits so the subject can be edited without dragging the background with it.

One thing I’d like to see in Pixelmator is the denoise tool moved to the adjustments panel with some interactive controls. Be nice to have a more detailed raw panel too. Maybe I’ve missed it but not seeing a tonal control in raw where it works like Brilliance in the native app. And some local editing too of course.
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2022-04-04 15:00:35

by Ryder The Snapseed interface is back from the birth of mobile. Nik isn’t here to upgrade it anymore but it works far, far better than you perceive. The crashing started after a recent iOS update and I know how to prevent it from crashing. It works flawlessly for me, I send 16 bit tiffs from Pixelmator and yes you can get full jpeg files out of Snapseed full rez so it’s a finishing tool for me. I won’t go any further though as you have made up your minds, closing the app after a few minutes. Lol
Yeah, you make some assumptions there. It's not my first try of Snapseed either. And I've been a computer software user for 42 years, as well as a digital camera user for 22 years, along with trialling almost every bit of photo software there is.

I can make a good fist of using darktable and RawTherapee too, so I'm not a novice, and I know what I like and prefer when it comes to UI. I even used to produce a few documents using LaTeX, so I can find my way around stuff. I can tell within minutes whether any software is going to be something I'll use, or not.

For all that I've used and tested over the years, IMHO there is nothing out there that ticks every box. As they say, 'you can't please all the people all the time....' But some gets nearer than others, and it's often the case that UI and feature sets become a compromise.

Only you can decide what features you need the most and what you're prepared to do without if needed.
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2022-04-13 17:39:43

Hi guys, just to let you know that someone finally did it.

Darkroom has masks now, and they work pretty smoothly. They’re mostly based on AI, apart from radial and linear. The AI does a pretty good job. Still I wish they had implemented a brush to refine things, perhaps that is coming later. The bad news: they incremented the price for the rent and to own the app. The “forever” price is now $75 (it was $50). Still not bad considering you also get the mac version.

I’m on the fence, I wish they had the brush tool. I think I’m going to rent it for a bit and see how I feel using darkroom and if I like it I’m buying. If not, well, it’s good that they upped the bar for the rest of the apps.

Pixelmator Photo, your turn!

Image
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2022-05-04 17:55:41

Pixelmator photo is a raw processing app. It doesn’t have that capability.

To do things like add text, layers, compositions etc there’s the Pixelmator app (it’s a different app).

I suggest you take a look at Affinity Photo too, a ver powerful photoshop-like app. Super recommended.