After chatting with Kenny Paul yesterday, we realized that some Photowalkers might still be using mobile only editing apps. Even if you are budget-constrained, there are some very good opensource apps available your PC or Mac!
Darktable is a free and open-source raw photo editor that aims to provide non-destructive image enhancement. https://www.darktable.org/
- Pros:
- Available Formats: It supports various raw formats, making it versatile for photographers.
- Library Features: It allows for collections, imports, tagging & rating so you can create a full digital asset manager.
- Geotagging: The software simplifies binding photos to geotags, allowing you to manage location data.
- Non-destructive Editing: Darktable allows you to edit your photos without permanently altering the original files.
- Basic Enhancements: You can perform basic photo editing tasks, apply filters, and do color correction.
- Color Correction Tools: Shadows, highlights, and other color correction features are available.
- Guides for Beginners: Darktable provides helpful guides for learning the program faster.
- Cons:
- No Online or Mobile Versions: Darktable lacks online or mobile versions.
- Slower Performance: It may run slower than some alternatives.
- Not Ideal for Professionals: While suitable for beginners and Instagram photo editing, professional photographers might prefer other software like Lightroom or Affinity Photo or even RawTherapee (below).
- Interface and Modules:
- Darktable’s interface is more straightforward than Lightroom’s.
- Five modules: Lighttable, Darkroom, Map, Slideshow, and Tethering.
- The Map module helps manage geotags and locations.
- I’m not sure about how effective Tethering is, however.
It is available on PC, Mac, and Linux (which is why it was developed in the first place). For PC users running Windows, it’s also available as a PortableApp… so you don’t actually need to install it in the traditional way.