While I prefer to have the best photo editing apps at my disposal for enhancing my shots, they aren’t always on top of my mind. Especially when all I want is a handful of neat photo editing tools that can let me adorn my memorable shots without having to deal with complex software. At times, a variety of filters prove to be more than handy in sprucing up the pics. At other times, easy-to-use adjustment tools for exposure, contrast, and shadows turn out to be exactly what I need before sharing the images on social media or with loved ones. And for this purpose, I look no further than the stock Photos app for macOS. Let me show how you can edit images using the Photos app on Mac.
Photos app for macOS has got almost all the basic editing tools. For instance, it features a solid collection of filters, a neat cropping tool, and even provides the flexibility to make the needed adjustments for color, light, saturation, exposure, and more. Oh yes, the app has also got a super handy auto enhancement tool especially for the times where you want to beautify your pics without having to go through a tedious editing session.
- How to Duplicate an Image/Video in Photos App on macOS
- How to Edit Images Using Photos App on Mac
- How to Compare Photos Before and After Editing in Photos App
- How to Copy and Paste Adjustments in Photos App for macOS
- How to Revert Photos to Original in Photos App for Mac
How to Duplicate an Image/Video in Photos App on macOS
The very first thing you should do before getting started with editing is to duplicate the image so that the original version will remain intact. As it’s known as the first step of editing photos, you shouldn’t fail to do it.
It’s worth pointing out that you need to choose Duplicate to include the video portion, or Duplicate as Still Photo to pick just the still image when trying to duplicate a Live Photo.
- Launch the Photos app on your Mac and then head over to the image that you would like to edit and open it. Next, click on Edit at the top right corner of the screen.
You can easily zoom in or out on a photo using the zoom slider. All you need to do is just click or drag the zoom slider left/right.
Photos app has got an impressive set of adjustment tools to let you fine-tune several crucial things like exposure, brightness, color, black and white, and more. To get going, click on the Adjust button at the top center.
Make Color Adjustments of Your Image
You can also fine-tune the saturation, vibrance, and color cast of your photo. To get it done, click on the arrow button right to Color. After that, click on the arrow right next to Options. Next, drag any of the sliders to change the appearance of your photo.
- Saturation: It allows you to adjust the image’s overall color intensity.
- Vibrance: It lets you fine-tune the color contrast and separation between similar colors in the image.
- Cast: It adjusts the color cast in the photo.
You can choose to place the pointer over a slider and press and hold the Option key to increase the slider’s range of values.
Photos app has also got some neat tools to make black-and-white adjustments. You can adjust the intensity of tones and grey areas as well as fine-tune your image’s grain.
Apply Filters to Your Images
The Photos app for macOS comes with a handful of filters like Vivid, Vivid Warm, Vivid Cool, Dramatic, Dramatic Warm, Dramatic Cool, Mono, Silverton, and Noir that you can use to instantly transform the look of your image. So, try out each one of them to see how well they go with your image.
The cropping tool comes in handy when you want to get rid of certain portions of the image or improve its composition. Depending on your needs, you can crop an image to a custom aspect ratio, to a preset, or even constrain the pic to its original aspect ratio. Moreover, it also has a role to play when you wish to straighten photos to make them look better.
Be sure to use the Flip and Aspect tools smartly to enhance the appearance of your image. As there is also a reset tool that can let you get rid of all the changes and start fresh, do not fail to go your all out.
The rotation tool has a role to play when you want to have more control over the appearance of your pic. You can click on the rotate button in the toolbar to rotate the image anticlockwise. Continue to click on the rotate button until you get the desired orientation. If you want to rotate the image clockwise, Option-click the button.
Times when you don’t have much time to edit your pics, you should take full advantage of the “Auto Enhance” tool to have the color and contrast of your photo or get your video adjusted automatically. Just click on the auto-enhance button to make your shot look better instantly.
When you are happy with the result, click on Done at the top right corner of the screen or just press Return to finish.
There is also an option to compare your photo before and after editing.
How to Copy and Paste Adjustments in Photos App for macOS
One of my favorite editing features of the Photos app is the ability to copy and paste the adjustments. It plays a key role in accelerating photo editing, especially when you have to edit a ton of images.
- Next, double-click the item to which you want to apply the adjustments and then click on Edit.
What if you don’t like the changes you have made to your photo and wish to revert it to the original? Well, there is a quick way to get rid of all the adjustments. If you want to discard all changes and start over, choose the item in question. Then, click on the Image menu and select Revert to Original.
So, that’s how you can unlock all the handy editing tools of the Photos app for Mac. As I said above, the stock photos app has got all the basic editing tools just like its iOS counterpart, so make the best use of them to enhance the appearance of your photos with ease.
