{"id":3549,"date":"2020-03-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pathedits.com\/blog\/what-s-the-easiest-photo-editing-software-30-tools-to-choose-from\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T06:19:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T05:19:08","slug":"what-s-the-easiest-photo-editing-software-30-tools-to-choose-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pathedits.com\/blogs\/tips\/what-s-the-easiest-photo-editing-software-30-tools-to-choose-from","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Easiest Photo Editing Software? 30+ Tools to Choose From"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You want to spend less time editing product photos<\/a>, so you\u2019re on a search for the easiest program to use. No pro skills? No problem. We rounded up 36 of the easiest photo editing<\/a> software for beginners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the easiest photo-editing software for beginners?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Adobe Lightroom<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Adobe Photoshop CC<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Affinity Photo<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 2019<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Aurora HDR<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Canva<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Capture One<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Corel Paintshop Pro<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. CyberLink PhotoDirector<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. DxO Photolab<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. Exposure X5<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  13. FastStone<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  14. fotophire<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  15. Fotor<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  16. GIMP<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  17. Inkscape<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  18. Inpaint<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  19. Inpixio Maximizer<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  20. IrfanView<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  21. ON1 Photo RAW 2019<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  22. PPaint.NET<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  23. Photolemur<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  24. Photopad<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  25. Photo Pos Pro<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  26. PhotoScape<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  27. Photozoom Classic 7<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  28. PicMonkey<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  29. Pixlr<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  30. PiZap<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  31. PortraitPro<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  32. Serif PhotoPlus<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  33. Skylum Luminar<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  34. Snappa<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  35. XnView<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  36. Zoner Photo Studio X<\/a><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>subscription plans starting at $8.90\/month OR $89\/year or lifetime license for $225<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use:<\/strong> 4.5\/5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate<\/a> is a full photo editing and digital asset management<\/a> tool. It offers all the features you need from an editor, as well as advanced facial recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Joe Flanagan, lead project engineer at Tacuna Systems<\/a>, uses ACDsee to touch up product photos before uploading them to the website. \u201cI love this tool because unlike so many others, it combines viewing, editing, and organizing into a single package,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cMost of the edits I do are touch-ups to increase the quality and clarity of the photos,\u201d he says. \u201cI use ACDsee because it is fast and very effective.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Adobe Lightroom<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost:<\/strong> $9.99\/month<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use:<\/strong> 4.2\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"Screenshot\n\n\n\n

    We Rock Your Web<\/a>, a business resource for web and tech, deems Adobe Lightroom<\/a> \u201cbest for professional photographers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cOne of Lightroom\u2019s great features is the ability to quickly batch update using your own settings or one of their many preset settings,\u201d says Sadie Cornelius. \u201cIt also allows you to change the lens type, tones, colors, levels and more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    \u201cIn the modern age of filters and auto corrections, Lightroom gives you the ability to manually make incredibly detailed edits to high-resolution photos to make them even more beautiful.\u201d \u2013 Sadie Cornelius, We Rock Your Web\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Adobe Photoshop<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>subscription plans starting at $20.99\/month<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use:<\/strong> 4.2\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"Adobe\n\n\n\n

    Adobe Photoshop<\/a> is a favorite tool for Patrick Garcia, graphic designer at Reliance Foundry<\/a>. \u201cEven product shots done on a white canvas background need backgrounds removed<\/a>, to clear any texture or shadow from the final image. This heightens the focus on the actual product,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    \u201cPhotoshop is my go-to for studio photos.\u201d \u2013 Patrick Garcia, graphic designer, Reliance Foundry<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cPhotoshop’s content-aware tools are my favorite smart PS hacks<\/a>. The content-aware scaling tool maintains the relative dimensions of important visual content, like our products. It’s a powerful new tool.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Affinity Photo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>$49.99<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use: <\/strong>4.3\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"Affinity\n\n\n\n

    Affinity Photo<\/a> is a convenient photo editing tool if you refine your images on an iPad. Like GIMP, Affinity Photo has a user interface that\u2019s similar to Photoshop. If you already know how to use PS, switching to Affinity is an easy transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cIt is easy to use, easy to figure out, extremely intuitive, and very cost friendly,\u201d writes one reviewer on G2<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ashampoo Photo Optimizer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>$29.99<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use: <\/strong>n\/a\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"Ashampoo\n\n\n\n

    Ashampoo Photo Optimizer<\/a> is an easy professional photo editing software<\/a> because you just need one click to make your manipulations. The software automatically detects which enhancements are needed \u2014 no editing skills required.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Aurora HDR<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>$99<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use: <\/strong>n\/a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Pro photog Trey Ratcliff partnered with Skylum to launch this editing tool. Aurora HDR<\/a>\u2019s intuitive interface \u201cmasks nearly all of its technical complexity,\u201d writes Jackie Dove for Macworld<\/a>. With customizable one-click edits and the option to quickly and easily undo any action, it\u2019s a forgiving program for new and experienced editors alike.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Canva<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>free; paid plans starting at $9.95\/month<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use: <\/strong>4.7\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"Canva\n\n\n\n

    Canva<\/a> is a great graphic design and photo editing software. Ideal for templatized graphics and edits, there\u2019s a web-based version and a downloadable app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Calloway Cook, president of Illuminate Labs<\/a>, uses Canva to find stock images<\/a> and edit them. \u201cIt’s extremely convenient that you can edit the images right in Canva,\u201d he says. \u201cIt’s a more efficient process compared with using one website to locate stock images, then having to download them locally and edit them on Canva. We tend to edit for simple image adjustments like opacity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ojala Threads<\/a> also uses Canva. \u201cAs a startup, we can’t afford to hire an illustrator,\u201d says founder Ramona Ferreyra. \u201cCanva allows me to create professional looking tools that are on brand. I animate our images, create frames and adjust the colors.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Capture One<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>subscription starting at $8\/month for Sony\/Fujifilm, or $15\/month for other brands<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use: <\/strong>n\/a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Capture One<\/a> is an easy photo-editing software for photographers or brands taking product photos themselves. With tethered capture, you can shoot directly to your computer \u2014 no lengthy file uploads and downloads. This also gives you the ability to see what your shots look like in real-time, so you can adjust during the shoot.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Corel Paintshop Pro<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>$99.99<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use: <\/strong>n\/a\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"Corel\n\n\n\n

    Corel Paintshop Pro is a simple, easy-to-use tool for budding and experienced designers alike. Entrepreneur Bonnie Vent<\/a> creates and sells T-shirts on Amazon and uses Paintshop Pro to perfect her designs. One particular feature she uses is the Kaleidoscope tool. \u201cIt does a pretty good job of making backgrounds transparent,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThe ability to add vibrancy to make the image pop is also very easy,\u201d Vent adds. \u201cPaintshop Pro is a great option for those needing a simple tool.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nVarious \"Choose Love\" collection T-shirts featuring unique mandala and floral designs available on Amazon.\n\n\n\n

    Vent isn\u2019t the only entrepreneur who uses Paintshop Pro. Becky Beach, owner of MomBeach.com<\/a>, also uses the tool to prep her ecommerce photos. \u201cIt\u2019s less complicated than Photoshop, which has lots of features photo editors won’t need,\u201d she says. \u201cI really like the layout of the tools and the fast learning curve with Paintshop Pro.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    CyberLink PhotoDirector<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>$99.99<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use: <\/strong>n\/a\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"CyberLink\n\n\n\n

    CyberLink PhotoDirector<\/a> is for both professionals and amateurs alike. It\u2019s easy to use thanks to a rollout of new updates mostly based on user feedback. Many photo editing software programs have menus and interfaces packed full of features and icons that can be confusing. But CyberLink PhotoDirector\u2019s navigation is clearly labeled and divided into tabs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One of the more interesting features for product photographers is tethered shooting \u2014 the ability to directly connect your camera to CyberLink PhotoDirector and capture photos from within the software. So if you find yourself in the studio a lot, this feature could be a huge time-saver<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    DxO Photolab<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>Essential $129, Elite $199<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use: <\/strong>n\/a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Best known for its noise reduction, haze removal, and local adjustment tools, DxO Photolab<\/a>\u2019s most recent updates make the advanced photo editing and optical correction software a great alternative to Adobe Lightroom. Even if it\u2019s your first time using DxO Photolab, it can automatically detect the camera and lenses used in images and prompt you to download the necessary correction modules, if not already installed.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Exposure X5<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Cost: <\/strong>$119<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ease of use: <\/strong>n\/a<\/p>\n\n\n\n