Photography Apps

The right app can transform how you shoot, edit, and manage your images — and the options have never been better. This section covers photography apps across mobile and desktop, from camera control tools and on-set references to editing apps and workflow utilities. We cut through the noise to focus on what's actually useful for working photographers.

Luminar Updates Neo and Makes Way for Big Changes Ahead

Luminar Neo users will see an update to their app today. It’s version 1.28.0. Skylum is also moving toward a new name for the app, which is actually the original name. Neo will be dropped, leaving just Luminar.

 

Skylum Adds Lightroom Library Import to Luminar Neo With a Caveat

There's a lot of competition out there for photographers' attention with recent updates of editing software. The big target for competitors is Adobe's ecosystem of programs, and many of my pro photographer friends are pretty locked in on Adobe Lightroom.

 

Photographers Will Be Impressed With the New Photo Features in iOS 27

After some false starts, Apple has gone all out for the upcoming iOS 27, due this fall. There's a greatly improved Siri, based on Google's Gemini, and a host of AI features. Our readers will be most interested in the new photo-taking and editing features in iOS 27, and I was able to download the developer beta for a quick look around. 

 

Aperty Has a New Update and Releases Its 2026 Roadmap

Aperty, professional portrait retouching software, has released a new update designed to integrate more seamlessly into photographers’ existing workflows. Here are the details from Aperty. 

The update reflects months of direct collaboration with users and marks a strategic shift toward deeper plug-in support, improved performance, and long-term workflow stability.

Apple Creator Studio Brings Video, Music, and Image Tools Under One Subscription

Apple has announced Apple Creator Studio, a new subscription bundle that combines several of the company’s professional creative applications into a single plan. The subscription is designed to cover video editing, music production, image editing, motion graphics, and general visual productivity across macOS, iPadOS, and iOS. 

Luminar Neo Adds a Slick AI Assistant

Current owners of Luminar Neo are getting a holiday update with some new and unique features. Besides the usual bug fixes and some speed increases, Neo has added what they call an AI Assistant. 

Stop Checking Forecasts: This AI Predicts Your Perfect Seascape

Every seascape photographer knows the frustration: a stunning location, epic waves, and a sky on fire—but the tide is all wrong. Forget endlessly checking charts. What if you simply received an alert at the exact moment when light, water, and tide align for your masterpiece?

Film Pack 8 Is Out With Full Photoshop Integration and a Clever Time Warp Mode

DxO has updated its film emulation package to version 8, and it's a major update. This latest version introduces two standout features: Time Warp Mode, a new interactive way to explore photography’s past, and full integration with Adobe Photoshop, giving photographers direct access to FilmPack’s creative palette.  

Wireless Tethering With the Hasselblad X2D and Phocus Mobile 2

In professional photography, every detail matters. Being able to view an image large and live while shooting, and adjust immediately, is a real game changer. Traditionally, tethering meant long cables, bulky monitors, and staying locked to one spot. Now, it’s far easier: wireless tethering. 

Do Cameras Need App Ecosystems?

Cameras still act like they’re living in 2008: closed boxes that capture files and little else. Meanwhile, smartphones became cultural powerhouses by embracing apps, and the gap is only getting wider. 

Move Over Lightroom, Luminar Neo Is The One

I've always been skeptical about the introduction of AI into popular applications such as Photoshop; however, as time went on, I started experimenting with specific features, and eventually, Luminar Neo emerged as a standalone and plugin app for Photoshop and Lightroom. Naturally, my curiosity was piqued, and I had to test it out.

Adobe Quietly Releases a Superior Free Camera App for iPhones

Adobe has released, without fanfare, a work-in-progress camera app for iPhones that shows tremendous promise, and I think it will excite photographers. The app is part of Adobe's Indigo Project. 

Here are some Adobe-provided sample images:

Peakto Media Manager Adds Video Pre-Editing and Collaboration Tools

Peakto has been a premier Mac app for organizing and finding photo assets, using AI and metadata to quickly find images no matter where you have hidden them. Now, they are adding powerful collaboration tools and tools for pre-editing video, and we know a lot of our readers are also creating videos as well as still images. 

A Photographer’s Safety Net: We Review Stellar Photo Recovery 12

As a photographer, your photo library is one of the most important things to keep safe and backed up. Of course, you can have backups on multiple drives, cloud storage, and servers, but hardware can still fail. The risk is exceptionally high during or after a shoot, between the time you take the SD card out of the camera and plug it into your card reader.

Pixel Perfect or Problematic? The Best AI Noise Reduction Software

Pushing your camera's ISO is often a necessary evil in photography. Whether capturing the ambiance of a dimly lit wedding reception, the sprawl of the Milky Way, or the split-second action of wildlife, higher ISOs let you get the shot. The trade-off, however, is digital noise—that grainy, color-speckled texture that can obscure fine details and degrade the overall quality of your images.

Essential Apps to Improve Your Landscape Photography

Arriving at a photography location unprepared is frustrating, especially when the light or weather refuses to cooperate. Thankfully, several apps can significantly improve your planning, making the most of any location. 

Leica Lux App: Leica Looks on Your iPhone

In a sense, the Leica LUX app brings Leica’s look and feel to the iPhone. It offers a less convoluted UI, a more tactile shooting experience, and access to custom Leica color profiles. It doesn’t try to mimic pro cameras through gimmicks and the like—it leans into what the iPhone can already do and gives you more control over it.

Aperty Releases Version 1.3.0 of its Powerful Portrait Editor

We've had a look at Aperty before, the new portrait editor from Skylum, which also offers the popular AI-based photo editor, Luminar. 

The company says update 1.3.0 introduces powerful new retouching tools, significant UX improvements, and expanded language support, making portrait editing more efficient and precise than ever.

DXO PureRAW 5 Adds Local Adjustments, Expanded Performance

I have to say that on many days, I find myself using a DxO product—most frequently, their PureRAW software, which looks at my image metadata in my RAW files and gives me a near-perfect image, correcting my sensor/lens combination, sharpening, and removing imperfections like vignettes and ringing. DxO has more than 100,000 camera/lens combinations covering almost any gear.

Adobe Brings Photoshop to iPhone, Expanding Mobile Editing Capabilities

Adobe has announced the launch of Photoshop on iPhone, bringing its well-known image editing tools to mobile users. The app is designed to provide a streamlined, mobile-first experience while retaining essential Photoshop features such as layering, masking, and Adobe Firefly-powered AI tools. An Android version is expected later in 2025. 

Luminar Mobile Update Adds Raw Support and More to Version 2.2

Well, here's something I did not expect in a mobile photo editing app, but it's a nice surprise. Skylum, which also makes the popular Luminar Neo editor, has added full raw support, an editing history feature, seamless iCloud synchronization, and an improved user interface to its iOS app that runs on iPhones and the Apple iPad. 

What's New?

Review of the New Amaran App for Remote Light Control

On August 20, 2024, Amaran released a brand-new app for wireless light control on mobile devices and desktops. It offers an interface for controlling an ecosystem of multiple lights at once and promises simpler, more intuitive, yet powerful control of lights that support wireless connections. 

Skylum Launches Aperty, a Portrait Editor With AI Offering Fast Results

Skylum, who made quite a splash in the image editing space with Luminar and then Luminar Neo, is setting out to conquer portrait photography editing with Aperty. The company says it's aimed at professionals and serious near-professionals, and it will be available on November 7. 

How to Ditch Adobe and Save Money

Removing Adobe apps from your computer is a big decision, especially when you've been using them for years as a photographer or content creator. These tools are deeply ingrained in the creative process for many, but they also come with a significant financial burden.

Peakto Version 2.0 Gets Smarter, More Useful, and Searches Video

I've been a fan of Peakto image management software since it first launched. I find it indispensable for locating photos, and it offers advanced features that are missing from the "big boys" like Adobe Lightroom. It's Mac only, which will displease some photographers, but it's been that way since the first release.  

How To Retouch Faces in Video

Almost anyone can remove acne or wrinkles in a photo, but retouching a face video used to be a monumental task... until now.  

I've used Retouch4me software in the past and went on record saying it was officially the best set of Photoshop plugins I'd ever tested.

We Review DxO PureRAW 4

Last week, I walked you through the features in DxO's PureRAW 4 but didn't have the software to actually test. Now I've had it for several days and have some observations and comments.

Luminar Now Available for iPad and Apple Vision Pro

It's nice to see Skylum offer the powerful Luminar tools for iOS and a version that runs natively on Apple's new Vision Pro headset. 

It comes as a small but welcome surprise for editors who live in the iOS world and want something more than the basic editing generally on offer.

What Editing Tools Are Available?

The app has rather broad functionality including: