Affinity Photo: Affinity Photo Editor

Overview Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is a full-featured image editor built for speed and precision. With a one-time purchase model and a focus on professional workflows, it covers everything from RAW development to complex compositing. Whether you are migrating from Photoshop or starting fresh, its clean interface, deep toolset, and cross‑platform support (desktop and iPad) make it a compelling choice.

Core Workflow

  • Personas: Affinity Photo organizes tasks into Personas—Photo, Develop, Liquify, and Export—so you can switch context without clutter. This structure speeds up common tasks like color correction, retouching, and output.
  • RAW to Finish: Import RAW files into the Develop Persona for demosaicing, exposure balance, and lens correction. Move to the Photo Persona for layers, masks, adjustments, and non-destructive live filters. Finish in Export Persona with presets for web, print, and social.
  • Performance: Built with a modern engine, it leverages multi-core CPUs, GPUs, and Metal/DirectX acceleration for real-time previews, even with large, multi-layer documents.

Affinity Photo Key Features

  • Non-Destructive Editing: Live Filters and adjustment layers keep edits flexible. You can mask, reorder, and tweak any step later.
  • Advanced Retouching: Frequency separation, inpainting, dodge and burn, and healing brushes deliver studio-grade portrait work.
  • Selections and Masks: Refine hair and edges with advanced selection tools, blend with gradients and vector masks, and use channels for precision.
  • HDR, Panorama, and Focus Merge: Automated stacks create natural HDR, seamless panoramas, and deep focus composites.
  • Batch and Macros: Record macros for repetitive tasks and run them in batch to standardize a set of images.

Why Choose Affinity Photo

  • Cost-Effective: A perpetual license with free updates within major versions makes budgeting simple.
  • Cross-Device Consistency: The iPad app mirrors desktop power, supporting Apple Pencil and full PSD round-tripping.
  • Compatibility: Reads and writes PSD, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, and more without breaking layer structures. Convert color to grayscale affinity photo.

Quick Tips for New Users

  • Start in the Develop Persona for RAW; commit only when the histogram is balanced and highlights are safe.
  • Use adjustment layers instead of direct edits; pair with masks for localized control.
  • Organize with layer groups and names—complex composites stay readable and fast.
  • Save reusable looks as macros, and export presets for common delivery specs.

Who It’s For

Photographers, designers, and illustrators who want pro capabilities without subscriptions will feel at home. If you rely heavily on niche Photoshop plugins, test your workflow first, but for most editing and compositing needs, Affinity Photo is fast, stable, and ready for production.

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