Though writing is a creative field, I wouldn’t consider myself a traditional “creative” like a video editor or digital artist. That said, I do use Adobe Premiere Pro to convert my podcast episodes from MP4 files to MP3. While the app works great for that, it’s expensive at roughly $40 a month (at the time of writing). Thankfully, a wonderful and much less expensive alternative has arrived with Apple Creator Studio.

Apple Creator Studio is a new subscription service that bundles some of Apple’s popular creative tools into one affordable package. Available now for $12.99 per month (or $129 annually), the studio includes popular apps like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro, alongside professional utilities like Motion, Compressor and MainStage. You get a lot for your money.

There are also a host of "intelligent" features and a large Content Hub of royalty-free assets within the iWork suite (Keynote, Pages and Numbers). Instead of paying for these apps individually or shelling out for a massive Creative Cloud invoice, Apple has simplified the process for anyone from hobbyists to pros.

Even as someone who just dabbles with creative projects, I find great utility in Creator Studio. Instead of jumping from Premiere Pro, to Audacity, to GIMP to edit video, audio and images (respectively), I can access apps for all of those tasks in one spot. Best of all — and excuse me if I keep hammering this point home — it costs a fraction of the competition!

Here are my thoughts on the main apps I used in Apple Creator Studio, along with some of the other apps and features it includes. Is this the Adobe killer? Read on to find out!

Apple Creator Studio app compatibility

Final Cut Pro: Video editing made easy

Final Cut Pro is Apple’s flagship video editing software, and it now features Apple Intelligence. This includes Transcript Search, which allows you to find specific soundbites by typing phrases, and Visual Search, which uses AI to pinpoint objects or actions across hours of footage instantly.

If you use one of the best iPads, the new Montage Maker can automatically edit together a dynamic video based on your best clips.

Jumping into Final Cut Pro was intimidating at first since I’m so used to Premiere Pro. Thankfully, everything I needed was all there, just arranged differently.

It didn’t take me long to figure out how to find an MP4 from my files and convert it into an MP3. Premiere Pro has more options, such as the ability to set an MP3’s bit-rate, but I like the simplicity of how Final Cut Pro handles this task.

Beyond my simple conversion needs, there’s also a new Beat Detection feature that could be a game-changer for video editors. It uses AI to analyze music and show a Beat Grid in your timeline so you can more easily time your cuts to the rhythm. On top of that, the Magnetic Timeline is still an intuitive way to move clips around without worrying about losing synchronization. If I had a musical bone in my body, I’m sure I’d really appreciate this feature.

Logic Pro: High-end audio for the rest of us

Logic Pro is a professional digital audio workstation (DAW) for musicians and podcasters. The latest version features AI Session Players, including the new Synth Player, and Chord ID, which automatically transcribes chords from audio recordings.

I’m not a musician, but I am a podcaster. The simple audio editing tools let me take the MP3 I created in Final Cut Pro and enhance its sound quality or layer in audio tracks. Learning how to trim, compress, and truncate silence is just as satisfying as producing a finished track. I won’t yet say Logic Pro dunks on my beloved Audacity, but it’s pretty great.

Even for non-musicians, Logic Pro’s Music Understanding feature is impressive. It uses natural language search to help you find the right background track or loop just by describing the vibe you want. If you’re a podcaster, tools like Stem Splitter (which isolates vocals from background noise) and the Mastering Assistant provide a one-click way to make your audio sound like it was recorded in a professional studio.

Of the three main apps I used, I’ll likely spend the most time fiddling with Logic Pro. Yes, there are a ton of options and settings I’ll likely never use unless I decide I want to be a middle-aged rockstar. But I’m always looking to get the cleanest audio possible, and I think mastering this app will help me achieve that.

Pixelmator Pro: The Photoshop killer

Pixelmator Pro is an image editor that’s now available on both Mac and iPad. It’s built on Core ML and Metal, and offers AI-driven tools like Super Resolution (upscaling low-res images while keeping them sharp) and Magnetic Mask, which isolates subjects with a single click.

It took me some time to acclimate to Pixelmator Pro, but like the other apps I tried, I found it very useful. I have to work with a lot of images for my reviews, so this is a solid alternative to GIMP or Photoshop. Having it easily available on Apple Creator Studio has gotten me to use it more — the equivalent of leaving cans of corn on the counter instead of the cupboard.

Streamlined editing

Here’s how Apple Creator Studio is streamlining how I edit my podcast — a process that will surely become faster and more routine as I continue using the apps I need.

Before, I’d (try to) open Premiere Pro, wait for a Creative Cloud background update to finish, then go through several interface hoops just to strip the audio from a video.

Now, I open up Creator Studio, fire up Final Cut Pro, find the video I need converted to audio and am done in less than three minutes. I then open Logic Pro, apply the Mastering Assistant to clean up the track, trim the ends of the track, import my intro and outro music, add them, export and I’m done. Easy as Apple pie!

The power of the (Apple) ecosystem

One of the major things that sets Creator Studio apart from Adobe is the tight hardware integration. Since Apple built the apps for Apple silicon, they all feel snappy and responsive, no matter which device you’re on.

For example, I can start editing an image in Pixelmator Pro on the MacBook Air 13-inch M3 and then move over to the iPad Pro M5, where I can do some fine-tuning with the Apple Pencil. Moving between devices is seamless.

Yeah, Adobe has iPad versions of its apps, but they don’t feel particularly intuitive to use. Here, I get a consistent experience that’s tuned for Apple’s hardware.

Other apps in Creative Studio

Beyond the big three apps I used in Creator Studio, the subscription gives you full access to other professional and productivity tools.

For instance, Motion allows you to create cinematic 2D and 3D titles and effects, while Compressor can handle batch-exporting your files. For live performers, MainStage turns your Mac into a powerful instrument rig.

Even the standard iWork apps get a boost. Keynote, Pages and Numbers now have a Content Hub for curated graphics and Magic Fill in Numbers, which uses pattern recognition to complete data tables instantly.

Bye-bye, Adobe Creative Cloud

Though I’m not the primary target audience for Apple Creator Studio, using it has already streamlined how I edit video, audio and images. If I’m able to get this much utility out of it, I can only imagine what a seasoned pro could conjure up with these tools. I’ve already canceled my Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, and I don’t plan to look back.

If you’re an individual creator, a YouTuber or an amateur like me who needs high-end tools without a soul-crushing monthly bill, switching to Apple Creator Studio is a no-brainer — especially if you already own a Mac or iPad.

Now, if you’re part of a massive production house that lives and breathes by specific enterprise plugins or the collaborative features Adobe has spent a decade refining, you’ll likely need to stay put. But for everyone else? The "Adobe Tax" officially feels like a thing of the past thanks to Apple Creator Studio. It just works.

Apple Creator Studio is available now for macOS 26, iPadOS 26, and iOS 26 and later.

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Apple has released the latest version of its popular video editing software, Final Cut Pro. The company revealed Final Cut Pro 11 in a blog post, and it looks to offer many exciting new features for creatives who rely on the best video editing software. While AI and spatial video are the update's main focus, there are plenty of other goodies to get excited about.

It's a highly anticipated update. After all, it's been a decade since Apple released Final Cut Pro X. Of course, that's not to say there weren't Final Cut Pro updates; Apple just dropped the number.

The overall jist of the Final Cut Pro 11 update revolves around AI-based masking tools, caption generation directly in the timeline, spatial video editing, and general workflow improvement. Most of the features are on Mac. However, the iPhone and iPad also got new versions with some new stuff.

AI editing features

There are two primary AI features in Final Cut Pro 11 — Magnetic Mask and Transcribe to Captions. Similar to the Clean Up tool in iOS 18, Magnetic Mask help you isolate people or objects in a video without a green screen or rotoscoping. It could be a game changer for creating special effects on a lower budget if it works well.

The Transcribe to Captions is less impressive, as apps like TikTok can already do that well. However, it's still nice to have closed captions generated automatically within the video editing software. The Apple-trained large language model transcribes spoken audio without user intervention, which is much easier than manually typing captions.

Spatial video features

Anyone who thought Apple was giving up on the Vision Pro headset, the company including spatial video editing features in Final Cut Pro 11, begs to differ.

With the new version, Apple promises the ability to import footage and add effects, make color corrections and enhance footage just like they would with traditional video formats. Editors can tweak the depth position of titles, and captured footage can also be adjusted during the editing process.

Multiple viewing modes let users preview their Mac display's left- and right-eye angles to see what someone wearing a Vision Pro headset would see.

Once editing is finished, videos can be exported directly to a user’s Photos library, viewed immediately on Vision Pro or shared with others by uploading them to the visionOS Vimeo app.

Workflow improvements

Video editing is time-consuming, so workflow boosters are welcomed within an app like Final Cut Pro.

Magnetic Timeline is a new feature that rearranges clips without desyncing audio and video. Compressor makes it easy to create custom export settings to deliver videos in various file formats. Motion is a new feature that lets editors make 2D and 3D titles, generators, and advanced visual effects.

Some other improvements include enhanced proxy tools that decrease file sizes to shorten transfer times, optimizations for Apple silicon and multicam editing.

iPhone and iPad updates

Apple dropped Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1, which has many workflow optimizations and new features. For example, an Enhance Light and Color option improves color, color balance, contrast and brightness in video or still images in one step.

The company also rolled out a new vertical pinch gesture that can expand or minimize clip height in the timeline and other new options that make editing video on one of the best tablets even better.

Final Cut Camera for iPhone and iPad has some new features, too. For example, Apple added the ability to capture Log-encoded HEVC video in standalone or Live Multicam sessions, the option to enable a LUT preview while recording in Log, and an option for iPhone 16 Pro users to record 4K120 fps footage for cinematic slow motion, that can be imported into Final Cut Pro for iPad and edited.

Final Cut Pro 11 availability

Final Cut Pro 11 is now available as a free update for existing users. If you don't already have the app, it'll set you back $299.99 from the Mac App Store. Compared to Adobe's video editing app Premier Pro, the one-time purchase might be a better option than a subscription, though some users might prefer the lower initial fee.

The iPhone and iPad apps are also available via free updates for existing users.

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Video killed the radio star, but the rise of the internet did not make videos obsolete. Instead, we’ve reached a digital media landscape where video content reigns supreme. We’ve also reached a point where video content is incredibly saturated, and getting eyes on your content is increasingly challenging. To stand out, any long or short-form videos on social media must capture your audience’s attention within the first few seconds, or they’ll simply scroll on. New video editing tools from Wondershare Filmora, included in the latest update to version 14, can streamline your editing process for better productivity while giving your videos the creative kick they need to succeed. 

Punching up creativity and productivity with new editing tools

A highlight of the Filmora 14 update is the Smart Short Clips feature, which revolutionizes the way creators approach video content. This AI-powered tool intelligently analyzes your footage, pinpointing the most engaging highlights and turning it into eye-catching short clips, perfect for all social media platforms. With minimal manual effort, Smart Short Clips simplifies the editing process, automatically generating polished videos. The feature also adds subtitles and designs through customizable templates to enhance both visual appeal and accessibility. Smart Short Clips is an invaluable solution, letting you focus more on your creative vision and storytelling. With this new tool, creating compelling, shareable videos has never been easier.

Audio might seem secondary to video, but it’s often the deciding factor between holding a viewer’s attention or losing them. Viewers won’t stick around when audio is disjointed, too loud, or too quiet. That’s why Wondershare Filmora 14 includes the AI Sound Effects generator. Instead of searching for overused stock audio that may not fit your scene, you can generate perfect sound effects that are tailor-made for your video. From the gentle drizzle of spring rain to the ambient noise of a bustling coffee shop, adding appropriate audio can be as easy as a simple text prompt. 

AI-powered tools in Wondershare Filmora 14 can also enhance and improve your video’s visual quality. Even though we all have cameras in our pockets, camera quality can be fickle in low light settings and front-facing cameras tend to be lower resolution. The AI Video Enhancer tool from Filmora’s latest update restores detail to low-resolution or blurry footage, saving you from reshoots or having to scrap your content plans.

Great content doesn’t stop at high-quality audio and video. Multi-Camera Editing is a surefire way to boost engagement, but syncing multiple angles can be a hassle. Wondershare Filmora 14 streamlines this process with single timeline track editing of multiple camera angles. No more fussing over audio syncing or clunky transitions. The new tool simplifies multi-cam editing, helping you edit faster and more efficiently.

Wondershare Filmora 14 also introduces planar tracking to its editing suite—an advanced tool that allows you to seamlessly integrate graphics, video, text, or other images on a four-point flat plane of your video. Whether you need to swap out a billboard, add branded content, or create in-universe elements, planar tracking allows you to change elements of your scene while still having those elements move realistically with the camera so that your edits feel polished and professional.

Wondershare Filmora gets better with each new update, increasing the number of features available to content creators, editors, influencers, and businesses to create knock-out video content for today’s audiences. Wondershare Filmora is trusted by over 100 million users worldwide and has been recognized for its cutting-edge advancements that improve creativity and productivity for video creators and editors of all skill levels. Try editing with Wondershare Filmora 14 today by visiting filmora.wondershare.com.

With the first wave of laptops running Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus, Microsoft's foray into AI PCs is underway. Unfortunately, they are launching without the ability to natively run certain apps, including a number of Adobe Creative Suite programs.

Some Adobe apps are already optimized for Arm64 but the video editing tools Premiere Pro and After Effects, along with InDesign and Illustrator were not. 

As reported by our sister site, Windows Central, Aaron Woodman, VP of Windows Marketing for Microsoft, said that Illustrator and InDesign will receive native Arm version in July 2024. Video editors will have to wait longer as he said that those versions won't arrive until "later this year." 

While the new Qualcomm chipsets are producing impressive numbers in testing and improved battery life, they do have flaws for software. Apps that aren't native to Arm have to run through emulation which can introduce performance issues and occasional glitches. 

There are apps that don't take as much processing power that can run via emulation without notice but Adobe's programs are not that, especially Premiere Pro and After Effects. 

According to Windows Central, it was not possible to run Premiere Pro via emulation. Apparently, that has changed recently. In our hands on with the Asus VivoBook S 15, we didn't try any Adobe programs. However, we did test Windows Studio Effects and it worked a gem.

Windows Central did test Adobe products and said that emulated version of Premiere Pro struggled with multiple layers and effects and rendering was vastly increased over Intel devices. Though they did say editing simple 1080p 30fps videos was relatively smooth.

With the powerful processing that the Snapdragon chips bring, we imagine that making the Adobe programs run natively will vastly improve performance. DaVinci Resolve, an Adobe competitor, has an Arm64 native version that apparently performs smoothly on Snapdragon Elite X PCs. 

Outside of Illustrator and InDesign, we don't know when exactly these new laptops will get access to the native version of Premiere Pro and After Effects. 

Adobe isn't the only app that needs a native version. Popular video games like Halo Infinite and Fortnite aren't available at launch for Microsoft's Copilot + PCs. Not to mention feature like the Copilot button that is little more than a fidget key.

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We’ve all had that moment. The one where we spend hours, maybe even days, editing a video and carefully hand-selecting the best audio tracks to help tell your story. We wait for the render, export the video, wait for the upload to finish, and then get the worst notification possible. A copyright claim against the video music. 

Wondershare Filmora’s AI Music Generator can make the process of matching music to your video easier. By harnessing the power of generative AI, Filmora allows YouTubers, Twitch streamers, and Influencers to create unique and commercially available audio tracks. With Filmora, the soundtrack to your video can be as unique as your content, helping you retain your audience’s attention and lessening the chances of being on the receiving end of one of those copyright claims. 

Create the soundtrack that best fits your content 

Finding the perfect song can take forever, and content creation is hard enough without adding stress while trying to match audio to your video. Wondershare Filmora gives creators of all skills the necessary tools to create an audio soundtrack that is as unique as the video content it is being paired with. 

Filmora 13’s powerful and popular AI Music Generator sees a major upgrade in version 13.1, adding more than 30 music genres to choose from, including pop, funk, rock, and even lofi hip-hop. The tool also features over 40 themes, including vlogs, travel, gaming, and horror, giving you the ability to adjust the soundtrack you’ve created to better fit your content. You can even adjust the audio’s “energy” and tempo for more control. Filmora 13 makes creating your custom audio soundtrack that suits your content hassle-free, saving you time while also helping you avoid copyright strikes. Copyright strikes and claims that could have caused your channels to be demonetized, suspended, or even banned from your favorite platforms.

More than just music 

AI music generator is not the only tool that Wondershare Filmora 13 has up its sleeve. The Filmora app is stocked full of useful AI-enhanced technology that can help make creating and editing video content a breeze. Filmora’s creative toolkit and accompanying AI-enhanced features are an award-winning package that raises the bar on creativity and productivity in an always-online era.

Filmora offers productivity and creativity-enhancing tools such as AI-supported text-based editing, a tool that transforms your videos into text and allows you to edit them like a document. With Filmora, you can easily create a video with a simple text prompt using the AI Text-to-Video tool. Then pair that video with commercially available music from the AI Music Generator tool to create a cohesive video that looks and sounds professional. Use the AI Thumbnail Creator to create a click-worthy thumbnail in an instant. Filmora offers creators a comprehensive system of creative assets and an AI credit system, helping all creators harness the power of AI and make the most of Filmora’s generative tool suite.

“Wondershare Filmora has established itself as a premier video editor catering to users of all skill levels,” Wondershare Filmora Vice President Wade Liu stated. Whether you’re a seasoned pro working on marketing projects for local businesses or a young creator trying to break out via online video content, there is a tool from Filmora that can save you time and money on the creative process.

Experience the power of generative AI for yourself

Ready to say goodbye to copyright strikes, long hours of complicated editing, and searching for creative assets? Wondershare Filmora 13 is available now on Windows PC and MacOS for just $29.99/qtr. A free trial is available at filmora.wondershare.com so you can test out the powerful generative AI before you commit to purchasing the software. For tutorials and master classes or to learn more, visit Wondershare Filmora on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. 

If you wan't to make a double exposure in Photoshop, we've got good news for you: it's really easy! Gone are the days of film where creating double exposures was a difficult, manual job, which came with the risk of ruining your film shots. Now, all you need is a subscription to one of the best photo editing software applications and about 5 minutes of your time.

Double exposures are an awesome way of adding depth, atmosphere or an artistic edge to your photos. They can be a great way to convey the essence of two images in one. For instance, you can overlay two images from the same shoot, scene or area in one, to convey more of what you saw in the moment. Heck, if we're being cynical, double exposures can also serve as a foolproof way of adding a little more spice to somewhat boring images.

Simply put, creating a double exposure in Photoshop boils down to getting the two (or more) images you want to overlay into the same image canvas as separate layers, then adjusting the opacity of the top one. There are a few ways to do this: you can load them straight from Lightroom as layers, or you can load them in Photoshop as a stack. 

We're going to do it a third, simpler way, though, which assumes you only have access to Photoshop (so we won't be covering how to load from Lightroom). And we won't be loading images into a stack (I'll point out why in the steps below). Once you've got the images into the same canvas though, all methods end the same way by using the opacity slider, so there isn't a huge amount of difference. You can use the steps below to create multiple exposures too — two isn't the limit!

Here's how to create a double exposure in Photoshop.

How to create a double exposure in Photoshop

In this guide, we're using the full Adobe Photoshop CC program, rather than Photoshop Elements — you'll need an Adobe CC subscription to use this software.

As you can see in the image above, two images are now overlaid, resulting in an atmospheric, haunting effect.

That's all there is to it. Now you can share your artistic creations with the world, and experiment making more. Remember that you can repeat the steps above with more image layers to create multiple exposures!

If you'd like more help using Adobe Photoshop, check out our guides on how to open an image in Camera Raw in Photoshop, how to remove a background in Photoshop and how to blur a background in Photoshop.

We really wanted to like Snapfish more than we did mainly because it was so well-organized and easy to use. Creating photo books, calendars and cards with Snapfish’s software was a snap but its finished products left us underwhelmed. Both its photo book and calendar came in last place of the services we tested. On the other hand, its holiday photo cards tied with Shutterfly for first place.

So, if the best photo cards are what you want to make, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Snapfish. Our test cards came out great with colors that popped and balanced exposure. The standard cardstock also felt good. For photo books and calendars, however, the opposite was true. Colors looked washed out both on the covers and the interior pages. This was mainly because the exposure looked off, with highlight areas losing much detail, particularly in portraits of people with pale skin. The pages of our books and calendars were thin and reminded us of something made at home on an inkjet printer — there are much better options to pick for the best photo books. Read more of our mixed feelings in the rest of this Snapfish review.

• Best photo cards
• Best photo books
• Best photo calendars

Snapfish review: Prices

Snapfish photo books
Snapfish’s 8 x 8-inch square hardcover books start at $32.99 for 20 pages, while lay flat versions start at $42.99. You can get a standard hardcover at up to 11 x 14-inches for $74.99, while a premium layflat hardcover in that size goes for $114.99. Softcover books range in price from $15.99 (7 x 5-inch portrait or 5 x 7-inch landscape) to $22.99 (8 x 8-inch).

Snapfish calendars
An 8 x 11-inch, 12-month centerfold wall calendar starts at $24.99, or $32.99 for a 12 x 12-inch version. A traditional “flip-over” desktop calendar starts as low as $9.99, while a wood block desk calendar, which consists of twelve 6 x 8-inch monthly cards and a small wooden block to slot them in, starts at $24.99.

Snapfish photo cards
Like Shutterfly, Snapfish offers a vast array of card types and styles with a variety of frequent discounts depending on the number you order. We ordered a set of 20 5 x 7-inch stationery flat cards with standard cardstock for $44.00, which translated to $2.20 per card. The list price was actually $4.64 each but there was a special discount at the time we ordered. (And there are always Snapfish discounts, which you’ll notice by the somewhat distracting digital coupons that frequently pop up on the right hand of the screen.) The price also decreases dramatically the more cards you order, with up to 500 per set as the maximum amount (if you have a lot of friends and family).

Snapfish review: Software

We wish all of the photo printing brands would emulate Snapfish’s snazzy software. It’s not only simple to use and logically laid out, it turns the process of creating a photo book, calendar or card into a pleasure rather than like pulling teeth.

When creating a book, you can scroll through an authentic looking visual representation of the entire book to see all of the pages more easily. This might seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how much book-making software doesn’t do this, instead choosing a dated page flipping simulation that is not only slower, it doesn’t give you a sense of the whole project.

Photos, backgrounds and embellishments are on the right side of the screen, which is another good choice because it gets them out of the way but still makes them easily accessible. Meanwhile, layouts and designs are found next to each page, so you can quickly experiment with how you want your images displayed.

Once you’ve selected a layout, such as a side-by-side photo spread, just drag and drop your images onto your page. You can then zoom in and center an image by grabbing and holding the hand icon. If you want to move the actual frame in the layout, grab the photo outside of the hand icon and drag the image to where you want it.

If you like what you’ve created, you can duplicate a page with the same design elements to use somewhere else in the book. Best of all, you can scroll through your entire book without loading a new page. Speaking of loading, Snapfish’s book builder had the fastest load times of the various companies we tested, with virtually no lag when dragging and dropping images or scrolling through layouts.

The calendar software is similar to books, but it’s a bit trickier picking layouts and inserting photos. Layout templates are on the left side for calendars and they’re a jumble of options, from one photo per page to four or more. There’s also an “Instagram Layout,” option, which tries to mimic the small square format of Instagram images. We thought it was a poor representation of Instagram, which reduced the impact of the images by making them significantly smaller.

We also weren’t crazy about Snapfish’s Autofill choice, which automatically places images in the calendar for you. It ended up cutting off a lot of our shots through strange cropping. For our calendar, we chose a simple layout that let us place one photo above each monthly grid and liked the results fine, although it was a little boring.

Selecting and designing photo cards was also a breeze despite Snapfish’s extensive selection of thousands upon thousands of options. While we felt overwhelmed picking a card design with some competing services because of confusing organization, Snapfish does a good job of helping you narrow down the choices thanks to filters that let you quickly sort between, for instance, landscape vs portrait photo orientation, card type, colors and other options. As with all of our testing, we chose a simple holiday card design that emphasized the family photo vs something more ornate. But unlike some other services which forced us to weed through many designs that didn’t suit our needs, Snapfish’s smart filtering got us right to what we wanted.

Snapfish review: Print quality

Snapfish photo books
As mentioned previously in this review, Snapfish’s print quality was disappointing for photo books and calendars. The bright glossy hardcover of our book didn’t look bad from a distance, but when inspected closer it lacked detail in the flowing waterfall shot. The limbs of the pine trees at the top of the image also blended together. Not awful but not great either.

The print quality of the inside pages is where Snapfish really stumbles. The floppy pages in our standard 8 x 11-inch book were the thinnest of all we created from the various companies. On the other hand, while the stitched perfect binding of the book looked cheap, the crease between pages cut off only a small portion of the images. Comparatively, most of the other books in our testing obscured noticeable portions of photos in the binding.

Snapfish’s printing overexposed much of the detail in the highlight areas of images while making darker regions, such as shadows, look muddy. Color was also inconsistent with reds and oranges appearing oversaturated, while blues and greens had a slightly washed out appearance. Darker skin portraits weren’t bad but subjects with pale skin looked blown out. And finally, the textured black end papers inside the front and back covers felt low-end and in distracting contrast to the cleanness of the rest of the book.

Snapfish calendars
Snapfish’s calendar came in last for print quality out of the five services we tested. As with the photo book, colors were somewhat muted overall. We used images we shot during a summer trip to Italy for our calendar and there was a disappointing lack of vibrancy on the calendar pages.

This was particularly true for the cover shot, which was of a street scene in Siena. The bright yellow of the girl’s dress and the building behind her came across as a pale pastel, which lacked pop. The same was true for the dull treatment of the various Tuscan streetscapes and landscapes throughout the calendar.

The build quality of the 8.5 x 11-inch, 12-month wall calendar itself was ok if unremarkable. Pages were on the thin side and the spiral bound construction, while better than the rickety one from Shutterfly, didn’t seem durable. Overall, the calendar reminded us of something you might get for free from a dentist’s office – functional if not particularly attractive or impressive.

Snapfish photo cards
As with its sister brand, Shutterfly, Snapfish’s photo cards were excellent. In our testing, they actually finished a close second to Shutterfly and we’d enthusiastically recommend either company if photo cards are the only thing you are making.

Snapfish had no trouble producing accurate color and exposure for the family image on the front of our card, which featured a range of skin tones. There was also good detail in their facial features and clothing. While the "Happy Holidays" text got a bit buried by the family portrait, that was mainly our fault. If we had positioned it above their heads instead of at the bottom of the card, it might have looked better.

The rear of the card, which features an image we shot of the George Washington Bridge at sunset, looked crisp and inviting with good detail in both the bright and shadow areas. The standard cardstock of our flat 5 x-7-inch card was weighty and felt good in our hand. Overall, it’s a professional-level card at a budget price.

Snapfish review: Verdict

Overall, Snapfish was a mixed bag. On the one hand, the company’s user-friendly software was the best of all the companies we tested, which will appeal to those who are new to having their photo products printed with an online service. On the other hand, the finished results were uneven. Snapfish’s photo books and calendars were the worst of the five companies we tested with washed out color, overexposure, and flimsy construction.

Surprisingly though, its photo cards came out on top in our testing. Print quality was excellent, particularly for the family portrait on the front of our holiday card, while the standard card stock had a high-end feel. If ease of use and photo cards are most important to your printing needs, Snapfish is the one for you. Those seeking first-rate photo books and calendars should look to Mixbook, which is tops among the best photo books we tested.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best photo editing software
• Best digital photo frames
• Best photo storage and sharing sites

It pays to know how to copy and paste edit settings in Adobe Lightroom, especially if you use the software or plan on using it a lot.

While Adobe Lightroom is one of the best photo editing software applications out there, there isn't any way of getting around the fact that editing large numbers of photos takes time. One of the ways you can speed up your workflow and cut down on the time you spend in the editing studio is to copy edits from certain images and paste them to other images where the exposures are similar. 

Using this method, you can effectively reduce your editing down to batches of images with reasonably similar exposures, tweaking to accommodate the subtle differences.

It's also a great way to copy and paste certain edits to an entire library of images — for example, copying and pasting a specific color profile like monochrome, or copying a lens profile correction to other images shot on the same lens.

But how do you do it? Well, thankfully, it's easy, but you might not have figured out how if you didn't know where to look. Fear not, this guide is here to show you.

How to copy and paste edit settings in Adobe Lightroom

The process is slightly difference for Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Lightroom Classic. It's more or less the same, but we've broken this guide down into the two different software applications so you can get an idea of the process on the software that's familiar to you.

How to copy and paste edit settings in Adobe Lightroom

First, let's look at the standard Lightroom application, which is a little simpler than Classic, and offers a similar experience across desktop, tablet and smartphone apps.

And voila! Your new image(s) have the same edits applied to them as the original.

How to copy and paste edit settings in Adobe Lightroom Classic

Now let's look at Lightroom Classic, which is a more professional-focused software package, offering better workflow tools and giving long-term users the familiar classic interface. The process is pretty much the same as the standard Lightroom, although the wording is a little different.

That's all there is to it. Whichever version of Lightroom you use, you should now know how to copy and paste edits. We also have other handy photo editing tutorials, so why not check out our guides on how to rotate an image in Lightroom, how to resize an image in Photoshop, how to flip an image in Photoshop and how to resize a canvas in Photoshop.

Knowing how to flip an image in Photoshop is one of those crucial basic learning milestones. Flipping is a basic image manipulation technique that will allow you to give an image an entirely new appearance. Thankfully, it's simple to do.

But while Adobe Photoshop is undoubtedly one of the best photo editing software applications out there, it's fair to say that the program has a steep learning curve, and that it can be super difficult to do even the simplest of things on it when you first start. After all, with so many tools at your disposal, all of them with similar looking tiny icons, looking for a single tool is like looking for a needle in stack of needles. How do you find the specific tool you're looking for?

Thankfully, this guide is here to show you. Flipping an image is super easy, but you have to ensure you've taken a couple of steps before you can. 

Here's how to flip an image in Photoshop.

How to flip an image in Photoshop

1. Load an image as a layer
2. Click the flip symbol

Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.

Before we start, let's ensure we're working in the same workspace, so everything appears on your screen as it does on ours. With Photoshop open, click Window in the top toolbar, then select Workspace > Essentials.

That's all there is to it. Not too tricky, right? But if nobody showed you that you needed to ensure the image was converted to a layer, you might have been left scratching your head.

When it comes to Photoshop, there's no shame in finding things a little tricky — anyone who has used it was in the same boat once. But don't worry, we have a range of other helpful tutorials to help you get up to speed with image editing in the application. Our guides include how to add a border in Photoshop, how to add a drop shadow in Photoshop, how to remove a background in Photoshop, how to create a GIF in Photoshop, how to resize an image in Photoshop and how to add a background in Photoshop.

Learning how to resize a canvas in Photoshop is an important step in your journey to becoming a photo editor. You can start with a certain size canvas and then suddenly realize you need more space. Similarly, if you've imported an image and want to add space around it, for a background or for transparency, you'll need to resize the canvas first.

While Photoshop is one of the best photo editing software applications around, there's no doubt that it comes with a steep learning curve. So while resizing a canvas is super easy, it's totally understandable that you might not know how to do it.

Believe me, if you're just getting into Photoshop, remember that all us other Photoshop users were in the same boat once. And that's why this guide exists.

So, without further ado, here's how to resize a canvas in Photoshop.

Note: Resizing a canvas is not the same as resizing an image. The canvas is what your image goes on. So you're effectively resizing the background. If you want to learn how to change the dimensions or resolution of an actual image, read our guide on how to resize an image in Photoshop.

How to resize an image in Photoshop

1. Press Opt + Cmd + C (Mac) or Ctrl + Alt + C (Win)
2. Or Click Image > Canvas Size
3. Enter new canvas dimensions
4. Click OK

Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.

Before we start, let's ensure we're all working in the same workspace, so the instructions below line up with what you see on the screen. Click Window in the top toolbar, then select Workspace > Essentials.

Something important to remember is that if you're changing a canvas around an already imported image file and you want the new background canvas to be transparent, make sure to convert it to a layer before starting. If your image is showing as "Background" your extended canvas will be a color. Converting to a layer means your extended canvas will be transparent, and you can then change it to a color later on by following our guide on how to add a background in Photoshop.

Right click the image layer on the right hand side and select Layer from Background. When a pop up appears, name your layer and click OK.

With the housekeeping out of the way, let's get on with the show!

Pretty easy, right? Now you know how to change a canvas size, you can add specific borders to your images, or you can simply have more room to add in extra elements! We can show you more ways to use Photoshop in out other tutorials. Next, check out how to add a border in Photoshop, how to add a drop shadow in Photoshop, how to remove a background in Photoshop and how to create a GIF in Photoshop.

Learning how to resize an image in Photoshop is important, as resizing images is one of the core skills you need to get under your belt when you first start using the application.

By resizing an image, you can control the size and resolution of the image, and therefore the file size, allowing you to turn huge 75MB RAW image files into manageable 10MB JPEGs that are suitable for web use.

Knowing how to resize an image will also allow you to tailor the precise size of the image to the overall canvas you're working on.

Resizing an image in Photoshop is thankfully very easy — as you'd expect from one of the best photo editing software applications. But like with most things in Photoshop, it isn't exactly obvious how to do it when you first get started.

Never fear though, this guide is here to show you the way to do it. So, without further ado, here's how to resize an image in Photoshop.

How to resize an image in Photoshop

1. Press Option + Cmd + I (macOS) or Alt + Ctrl + I (Windows)
2. Or Click Image > Image Size
3. Enter your new size and resolution
4. Click OK

Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.

Photoshop can have a pretty steep learning curve, but thankfully we have plenty more Photoshop tutorials to help you get the hang of it. Check out our guides on how to open an image in Camera Raw in Photoshop, how to add a background in Photoshop, how to remove a background in Photoshop, how to blur a background in Photoshop and how to add a drop shadow in Photoshop.

Learning how to open an image in Camera Raw when using Adobe Photoshop is super useful. After loading in an image to get editing, you may realize you need to tweak the exposure or color parameters of the image. To save loading it up in Adobe Lightroom, you'll naturally want to open the image in Photoshop's Camera Raw software (which has the same studio features as Lightroom, without the added workflow tools). 

Adobe Photoshop usually opens RAW files straight into Camera Raw, but it doesn't do it for JPEGs by default. So after loading in a JPEG or other image file, you may be scratching your head wondering how to load the image into Camera Raw. Alternatively, you may have closed the initial Camera Raw window and want to reopen it.

Thankfully, as you'd expect from one of the best photo editing software applications, opening an image in Camera Raw is super easy in Photoshop. Here's how.

How to open an image in Camera Raw in Adobe Photoshop

1. Load an image
2. Press Shift + Ctrl + A (Windows) or Shift + Cmd + A (macOS), OR...
3. Click Filter
4. Select Camera Raw Filter

Read on to see full illustrated instructions.

For more Photoshop tutorials, check out our guides on how to add a background in Photoshop, how to remove a background in Photoshop, how to blur a background in Photoshop and how to add a drop shadow in Photoshop.

Adobe has announced it is putting generative AI to work in Photoshop in order to give users a “magical new way to work” when it comes to photo editing. The company has integrated Firefly, its family of creative AI models, into Photoshop, with the rest of its Creative Cloud portfolio to follow.

The new feature Adobe is keen to stress is Generative Fill, which allows users to extend or remove content in images non-destructively using AI. That means, the newly-created content appears as additional layers without impacting the original image. As with other generative AI tools, Generative Fill only requires text prompts and works in seconds to make changes.

In the image above, the tool was used to overlay the car and the cloud onto the existing image with little more than a simple text prompt.

As well as integrating into Photoshop, Generative Fill is also available as a module in the Firefly beta for other users who want to test it out directly on the web. Like other AI tools, it could become incredibly useful as a means of quick visual idea generation based on nothing more than a few text prompts. Furthermore, as users become familiar with the system, they will be able to collaborate with the AI to refine and improve the images they’re working on.

Of course, Adobe’s suite of photo and video editing software is no stranger to AI assistance. The company has employed its Sensei AI system for features like Photoshop’s Neural Filters for years. But in all likelihood the emergence of Firefly will supercharge the software for beginners and intermediate users.

Firefly is a multimodal family of models so it’s capable of much more than just static images; audio, video and 3D modelling are all included.

“By integrating Firefly directly into workflows as a creative co-pilot, Adobe is accelerating ideation, exploration and production for all of our customers,” said Ashley Still, senior vice president of Digital Media at Adobe. “Generative Fill combines the speed and ease of generative AI with the power and precision of Photoshop, empowering customers to bring their visions to life at the speed of their imaginations.”

Photoshop isn’t the only AI-infused image generator making waves at the moment. Earlier this week, researchers from Google and the Max Planck Institute revealed a white paper on a new image editing tool called DragGAN. The tool uses AI to help users resize and redraw images with little-to-no photo editing experience and offers a tantalising glimpse of the future of image manipulation. 

More from Tom's Guide

• Forget Photoshop — AI imaging tool lets you edit photos with no experience
• Finally, a good reason to use the Windows 11 Microsoft store: AI apps
• iOS 16.5 renders popular iPhone and iPad adapter useless

So you want to know how to create a GIF in PhotoShop? Whether you pronounce it GIF or JIF, the animated image format isn't going anywhere. Despite having been around since 1987 (that’s older than me!), it’s still the favorite way for many of us to share our favorite memes and private jokes, whether you're messaging on one of the best phones or emailing on one of the best computers.

Some things just can’t be expressed in words, so it's understandable that you might want to create your own GIFs instead of using pre-made ones. Thankfully, it's pretty straightforward to make a GIF in Photoshop. So, whether you’re looking for likes in the group chat, looking to send a customized message to a loved one, or just want to know how to make motion images, here’s how to create a GIF in Photoshop.

How to create a GIF in Photoshop

1. Import the images you wish to turn into a GIF. Ensure they are all open as layers in the same canvas.

2. Select Window, then select Timeline.

3. Select Create Frame Animation.

4. Select the three lines menu in the right hand corner, then select Make Frames From Layers.

5. Click the dropdown just underneath the timeline and click Forever — this sets the GIF to loop indefinitely. Hit the space bar to play the GIF and make sure you're happy with it.

6. To export your GIF, select File, then click Export and choose Save For Web. 

7. Select the Gif 128 Dithered preset.

There you go, easier than you would have thought right? My favorite will always be the Dramatic Chipmunk GIF but now you can make your own, feel free to have fun with it! You never know, one of your creations might end up going viral one day. 

If you're on a PhotoShop learning curve, try how to blur a background in PhotoShop or how to add a border in PhotoShop. If you'd rather edit on your iPhone instead check out how to edit photos on iPhone. Perhaps none of these options are for you? Try the best alternatives to PhotoShop. If you love memes, why not try how to make memes instead.

Knowing how to edit photos on Mac for free in MacOS Photos sure comes in handy. It allows you to quickly make alterations to your images so that they look more professional, while letting you iron out any blemishes or the dreaded red eye. By spending a few minutes editing your photos, you can ensure they'll impress whether you're posting them on social media or simply sharing with friends.

As stated, in this guide, we're using Apple Photos on a Mac. This is a great app which comes with macOS, meaning you don't need to splash the cash to be able to edit your photos. As well as allowing you to edit your images, the app ensures you can organise your photos, videos and albums and make quick searches. Sure, there are alternatives, some of which offer more, but those often come at a price. We reckon Photos for macOS is great for newcomers to photo editing and even enthusiast photographers, which is why we've added it to our list of the best photo editing software. 

All that said, it's no use having macOS' powerful editing software if you don't know how to use it. So, here's how to edit photos on Mac using macOS Photos.

Note: macOS Photos' editing tools allows you to process images — that means you can retouch them, correct their exposure and change color. macOS Photos isn't an image manipulator like Adobe Photoshop, so can't be used to digitally alter the contents of the actual image.

How to edit photos on Mac using macOS Photos

Basic edits

The first thing you'll need to do is find an image to edit, then open up the Edit feature.

1. Launch the Photos app on your Mac. Next, find and click an image to edit.

2. You can make two quick alterations. Click the rotate icon, for example, and you can turn your image 90 degrees at a time.

3. You can also click Auto Enhancements. This will automatically adjust the color and contrast of your image. You can click Auto Enhancements again to remove these adjustments.

4. It is also possible to zoom in and out of your image — useful for checking focus or close-up detail. Just drag the slider in the top-left corner.

5. For in-depth editing options, click Edit.

You will now see the editing menu to the right of the Photos app. It's time to get serious.

Get to grips with the Edit menus

When you tap Edit, there will be a wealth of options at your fingertips. You will see be able to make use of the zoom, rotation and auto enhancements features covered in the section above but you will also see a set of three tabs: Adjust, Filters and Crop.

1. Click Adjust and you will be able to make fine adjustments to your image. This will allow you to make changes to the light, color and sharpness of an image, for example...

2. Click Filters and you can quickly change the look of your image. Simply select a filter from the right-hand side then click or drag the slider to adjust its look.

3. Click Crop and you can use the handles that will appear at the corners of image to select the areas of the image you wish to keep.

You can also click and drag the wheel to the right of the image to alter its angle or straighten it.

What's more, you can select Flip in the menu to the right, to flip the image horizontally (hold the Option key to flip vertically).

And you can click Aspect if you want to crop the image to a preset or custom aspect ratio. For example, by cropping it a 1:1 square or a 16:9 widescreen image.

Using the Adjust panel

Making fine adjustments to your image gives you a lot of control and you can go as in-depth as you wish, either manually or automatically. 

For instance, you can change the brilliance of an image (this brightens dark areas, adds contrast and makes images look more vibrant). Or you can alter the exposure which brightens all tones equally from highlights to blacks (exposure stems from a photographic term essentially meaning how long your camera’s sensor was exposed to light, so how bright or dark the image is).

It's also possible to adjust the highlight detail — this lifts the very lightest tones, known as highlights, only. You can change the brightness, which lifts all light tones except highlights, to prevent them 'blowing out'.

You can increase or decrease the contrast, so the difference between lightest and darkest tones by raising and decreasing both respectively. And you can set the black point, which darkens already dark areas when raised, lending more depth and increasing the contrast of the image without affecting lighter tones. 

Increase the saturation to raise the intensity of an image's color and use vibrancy to add saturation to the parts of an image where colors are not already saturated. All of these options are available in the Adjust panel and here is how you can use them.

1. Look at the right-side panel. You will see options for Light, Color and Black & White. There are a few ways of making adjustments here.

2. First, you can drag and move the slider in any of these thumbnail images to alter the look of the overall image. Alternatively, click Auto and have the Photos app make the decision for you.

3. Second, you can click Options underneath each of these sections. As you do so, you can make even finer adjustments. For example, you can concentrate on the shadows when adjusting the light or change the vibrancy of a color.

4. When adjustments have been made, a blue tick appears next to the alteration. You can deselect the blue tick to remove the changes (or click again to add them once more).

Retouch an image

If an image has any marks on it that you wish to remove, then reach for the retouch option. 

1. Select the arrow next to Retouch in the Adjust panel.

2. Drag the slider to determine how big you want your retouch brush to be.

3. Click the brush icon and then use the brush to click the blemished area of your image. The Photos app will attempt to remove the mark. You can also hold down the Option key and select an area of the image that you want to use as a brush and use that to iron out a blemish.

Alter the white balance of an image

You can make images look more white and natural by stripping away unusual color casts. This can work well if, for instance, you've taken an indoor shot and the yellow tungsten light of the room has made the photo look too warm.

1. Select the arrow next to White Balance in the Adjust panel.

2. Click the dropdown menu to choose the type of white balance you want.

3. Select the Eyedropper icon and click any specific colors in the image you want to alter.

4. Use the sliders to make adjustments to the white balance. For example, when using Neutral Gray, you can alter the warmth of the grey areas or you can use Skin Tone to adjust the warmth of the skin tones in an image. By selecting a neutral grey area, you can use the temperature/tint option to make adjustments.

Adjust the curves of an image

Curves don't mean that you're going to be altering the shapes contained with your image. Rather, it refers to the brightness and contrast of your images. It's a complicated but useful function that lets you isolate red, green and blue if you wish or make changes to the black, gray or white points.

1. Select the arrow next to Curves in the Adjust panel.

2. Click the dropdown menu then select RGB, Red, Green or Blue. This will allow you to make automatic adjustments. You will just need to click the Auto button to ensure they take effect.

3. You will also see a set of Eyedropper icons that let you set the black, gray and white points. Select the relevant Eyedropper icon and click the part of the image that best suits that point. For example, selecting Black Point will let you adjust the point at which a black area becomes completely black.

4. You can also click the Add Points button then choose a color in the image to set a point on the curve. By dragging the curve, you can see brightness and contrast changes before your eyes.

Adjust the levels of an image

Levels is similar to Curves in that lets you make tonal alterations to an image. You are able to make changes to the contrast and darken or lighten parts of the image while making modifications to the shadows, black point, white point, midtones and highlights. Color changes can also be made.

1. Select the arrow next to Levels in the Adjust panel.

2. You could now click Auto and have the levels automatically adjusted according to how the Photos app believes they should be set.

3. You can also click the dropdown menu and select Luminance, RGB, Red, Green or Blue. This will allow you to make automatic adjustments. You will just need to click the Auto button to ensure they take effect.

4. The levels can also be adjusted manually. To do this, drag the handles of the histogram. The first handle represents the black point (the point at which black areas become totally black), the second shadows, the third midtones (how light or dark the midtones of the photo are), the fourth highlights and the fifth white point (the point at which white areas become totally white).

Change an image's definition

If you want to add contour and shape along with local contrast and midtone definition, then you need to adjust the definition of your image.

1. Select the arrow next to Definition in the Adjust panel.

2. Now click Auto or drag the slider left and right until the image looks right for you.

Alter specific colours in an image

This is a very useful function, allowing you to make alterations to a specific color. For example, you could change a blue background to one that's purple. It can dramatically alter an image.

1. Select the arrow next to Selective Color in the Adjust panel.

2. Now choose one of the colours and click the Eyedropper icon.

3. Use the cursor to select a specific color in your image. You can now drag the sliders to make adjustments to the hue, saturation (color intensity), luminance (brightness) and range (the number of similar colors that will be affected).

Sharpen your images

At the bottom of the Adjust panel are a set of tools that will make your images appear more vivid. 

You can select Noise Reduction, for example, and drag the slider to remove grainy texture from your image. This is useful if you've shot an image at a high ISO value. At high ISO values, the camera sensor is more light sensitive, increasing image brightness but adding more noticeable grain to the image.

You can also select Sharpen if you want to better define the edges within your image. Use Intensity to adjust the strength of the sharpened edges, use Edges to determine which pixels form an edge and select Falloff to make the sharpening look more or less prominent.

Finally, select Vignette to darken the corners of a photo. This will highlight the image at the centre: use strength to darken or lighten the vignette, use radius to change the vignette's size and use softness to alter the vignette's opacity.

Now you know how to edit photos on a Mac for free in macOS Photos. The software is great, isn't it? Don't worry if you make any mistakes along the way. You can simply click Reset Adjustments at the bottom of the Adjust tab or click Reset in the Crop tab. When you're happy with your image edits, you can also click Done.

But what else can you do? Well, if you'd like to step up a level, why not consider making use of Photoshop? We can show you how to remove a background in Photoshop, how to add a drop shadow in Photoshop, how to add a background in Photoshop and how to add a border in Photoshop. You may also be interested in using Affinity Photo, a great pocket-friendly alternative.

If video is more your thing, then it's always worth checking out the best free video editing software. You may also want to take a look at the best photo storage and sharing sites.

Next up: how to select multiple files on Mac.

In time for Christmas, Wondershare has launched a new campaign. “Capture the Moment” aims to encourage users to produce creative content to share online this holiday season.

The Christmas holiday season is a special time for many, filled with fond memories of past years’ celebrations. Wondershare’s most recent campaign “Capture the Moment” aims to provide a platform to those special memories: by encouraging users to create a video or photograph to share online.

How to enter Wondershare’s Christmas campaign

Wondershare’s new campaign “Capture the Moment” is all about capturing special memories with your loved ones this Christmas. The contest launched December 15, 2022 and wraps up January 10, 2023. 

To enter, record and share funny, surprising, or heartwarming reactions to opening Christmas gifts or surprises, captured either by a photo or video. Submit as they are or edit, using Wondershare’s various editing tools. Don’t forget to follow Wondershare’s social media account on either Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube and add the hashtags #CelebrateWithWondershare and #Holidays for a chance to win one of three $200 monetary prizes. Winners will be selected from three categories: most surprising reaction, funniest reaction, and most heartwarming reaction.

Wondershare’s video editing tools to aid your creative entry

Wondershare is a global leader in creative software. Various powerful tools help you capture and edit fond Christmas moments with ease. Plus, during its Christmas sale, Wondershare has plenty of holiday discounts and bundle offers so you can make the most of these tools. 

While as powerful as comparable market leaders, Wondershare Filmora is a much easier-to-use video editor than similar programs. With its intuitive features, Filmora helps make your entry to Wondershare’s Christmas campaign shine, no matter your skill level. Save $20 now on the new Filmora 12. 

Add Christmassy effects and stock footage using Wondershare Filmstock’s extensive content library.  A large selection of festive music will further enhance the feel of your Christmas video entry and helps your project stand out from the crowd. Filmstock is currently 30% off!

DemoCreator, Wondershare’s screen presenter, allows you to share in the joy of your loved ones and enter Wondershare’s Christmas campaign, even if you can’t be there in person. With the help of the program, record and capture those special unboxing moments with your loved ones via video-calling. Pick up DemoCreator now and save 20%. 

Wondershare’s UniConverter makes it easy to share your finished video on different platforms, as it allows you to covert media files to more than 1000 formats for different devices with ease. Compress your video for sharing online, merge several videos of family members opening gifts or burn video to DVDs as a special gift. UniConverter is also 20% off right now! 

In time for Christmas, Wondershare also currently offers holiday discounts and various bundle options to not only capture those magical Christmas moments, but help you boost productivity levels as well.

Wondershare’s productivity tools include PDFelement, a PDF editor that allows you to edit, convert and sign PDF files effortlessly, as well as Edraw, a diagramming solution packed with visual tools to turn complexity into clarity – making it easy to achieve those new year resolutions. You can save 60% off of PDFelement and 20% off Edraw in their current sale. 

To learn more about holiday deals and Wondershare’s various bundle options, check out the "Capture the Moment" website.

Once you know how to blur a background in Photoshop, friends photobombing and strangers walking into shot will never be a problem again. Blurring a background is the perfect technique to make sure that everyone who sees your pictures focuses on exactly what you want them to.

When you blur a background in Photoshop, all eyes fall to the foreground and the contrast in definition can make your main subject really "pop" and stand out. This is an especially useful tool for shots in crowds, such as at concerts or sporting events, where you can blur out strangers' faces and just focus on the memories of having fun with friends.

Although the backgrounds may be blurry, our instructions are clear, so keep reading to learn how to blur a background in Photoshop. 

How to blur a background in Photoshop

1. Create a duplicate of your background layer.
2. Use the Select a Subject tool to highlight the main subject in your image.
3. Click on Select -> Modify-> Expand and then expand the selection by 5 or so pixels.
4. On the Edit tab select Content-Aware Fill. 
5. Disable the two background layers and then add a Layer Mask to your subject layer.
6.  With the Layer Mask selected, choose Filter -> Other -> Minimum and contract the mask by one pixel more than you expanded by.
7. Convert the copy of your background layer into a smart object. Enable the subject layer.
8. Select Filter -> Blur Gallery-> Tilt shift.
9. Adjust the blur’s thickness and position as you see fit.  

 1. First create a duplicate of your background layer. Simply select the layer and press CTRL J (or CMD J on Mac). 

 2. On the Properties menu of the newly created copy, scroll down and click Select a Subject. 

3.  To avoid cutting off the edges of your image, click on Select, then modify and then expand. Expand your image by five pixels or so and click OK. 

4. On the Edit tab, select Content-Aware Fill. The subject of your image should now be bordered by a dotted line. 

5. Make sure that the Output Settings are set to output to a Duplicate Layer, then click OK. 

6.  Disable the two background layers by selecting the eye icon next to each. On your subject layer, add a Layer Mask. 

7.  With the Layer Mask selected, click the Filter tab, then select Other and then Minimum and contract the mask by one pixel more than you expanded by. The edges of the image should now be clean. 

8. Right-click the copy of the background layer and convert it into a Smart Object. Enable the Subject Layer by selecting the eye again. 

 9. Select the Filter tab, then Blur Gallery and then select Tilt-shift. 

 10. Adjust the blur’s thickness with the slider and adjust the position by dragging the lines on the image. 

And you’re all done! It's not a complicated process, but it's a very useful one, right? If something still doesn't look right after blurring the background you could even delete it and insert a whole new one if you learn how to add a background in Photoshop. If you're planning on doing a lot of Photoshop editing, check out the best monitors available. For those who are more au fait with their iPhone, learn how to edit photos on iPhone  

Once you know how to remove a background in Photoshop, there are all sorts of possibilities open to you. This is a really useful skill that can help you stitch pictures together seamlessly, or create graphics and logos that aren’t stuck to a blank square canvas.

Photoshop can seem pretty impenetrable to those who aren’t familiar with it, and with so many functions it’s easy to forget even if you're a regular user. But it is some of the best photo editing software available, so it pays to know your way around it and to master some of its most useful functions. Luckily it’s quick and easy to remove a background in Photoshop, provided you know where to look.

Once you have learnt how to remove a background then you can play with adding a new one. You could insert family members into vacation pictures, change that city picture into one on the beach, or maybe have a friend tightrope walking across the Grand Canyon. Just make sure to use your new powers for good!

Note: There are numerous ways to remove a background in Photoshop. This is the one we like, as it's the simplest, quickest way and works on many images. However, it won't work in all situations and you may need to seek extra help from adobe.com if that's the case.

How to remove a background in Photoshop 

Before we begin, ensure you are using the same workspace as we are, so your screen will look like ours! To do this, open Photoshop and click Window in the top toolbar. Then hover over Workspace and select Essentials (Default).

1. Drag an image into Photoshop to load it, then look in the layers panel, bottom right. If you see "Layer [x]", continue to step 2. If you see "Background", click Layer in the top toolbar, select New, then select Layer from Background.

Why? You need to make sure you're working on a layer and not the background. Many images like JPEGs will be loaded in as a Background layer, which is not technically a layer and cannot be worked on with as much freedom as a layer.

2. In the layers panel, bottom right make sure you've selected the layer which you wish to remove the background. Here we only have one layer, but you may have more than one layer if dealing with multiple image files or you've added a background photo already.

 3. Click Properties in the right hand panel, then click Quick Actions and select Remove Background. 

4. Use the Brush and Eraser tools to tidy up what remains of the image. Erase stray pixels or use the Healing Brush to remove unwanted elements or blend the image. 

 5. If you want to add in a background, drag another image onto the canvas. You may notice it appears on top of the original image in the layers panel.

6. Drag the original image layer above the new image layer.

Now flatten and save the image, or keep on editing and making your image more interesting.

And that’s all it takes! It’s definitely one of the simpler tasks on Photoshop but still not easy if you didn't already know how to do it. You might want to follow our guide on how to add a background in Photoshop to the image we have just created or perhaps if you’re looking to expand your knowledge try how to blur a background in Photoshop or how to create a GIF in Photoshop or even how to add a drop shadow in Photoshop. Of course, you don’t need to use Photoshop to edit images, and if you prefer to use your phone, try our guide on how to edit photos on iPhone. But those who prefer to work on a big screen should check out the best monitors. Want to brush up on your photographic knowledge? Make a start by reading about optical zoom vs. digital zoom.

Learning how to add a border in Photoshop is a necessity if you're regularly printing images. Very often, you'll need to add a border due to the tolerances of professional printers, but they're equally as commonly used to help your image better fit a frame or just look nice.

However, while Adobe Photoshop is certainly one of the best image editing software applications out there, it can be quite daunting to a newcomer, so you may be left scratching your head as to how exactly you're going to give your image its much-needed outline.

Thankfully, adding a border in Photoshop is super easy to do, and this guide will take you through it. While this guide covers similar ground to our other editing tutorial on how to add a background in Photoshop, the process for adding a border is slightly different, so keep reading to make sure you get it right first time.

How to add a border in Photoshop

1. In Adobe Photoshop CC, open the image you'd like to add a border to. Check the layer's box in the bottom right hand corner. If you see "Background" proceed to step 2. Otherwise, if you see "Layer [X]", skip to step 4. 

2. You need to convert your Background layer to a normal layer in order to work on it. Select Layer in the top toolbar, then hover over New. Select Layer from Background.

3. Rename your new layer if you like, then click OK.

4. Press Ctrl + Alt + C (Windows), or Option + Cmd + C (Mac) to open the Canvas Size pane. The easiest way to add a consistent border is to leave Relative checked. This way you are simply adding a specified amount of extra canvas to the existing image. Without relative checked, you will be adding canvas up to a specified canvas size, which is great for backgrounds where you know the resolution you want but a bit fiddly for small borders. Ensure Relative is checked and set the anchor point to the middle square (this ensures canvas is added equally on each side). Then add your desired border size in width and height and click OK.

Note: using this method, border will be added equally on each side of the image, so whatever you type in you should divide in half to work out the border size per side. For example, here we've opted for a border of 100 pixels for both width and height, meaning a 50 pixel border each of the four sides. 

5. You'll notice your image now has a transparent border around it. This needs filling with a color. Select Layer from the top toolbar, then hover over New Fill Layer and click Solid Color.

6. Name your new Color Layer if you like, then click OK.

7. Choose the color you want your border to be. Then click OK.

8. Your entire canvas will now fill with that colour, but you needn't fear. In the Layer box, bottom right, drag your image layer above the Color Fill layer. Fixed.

9. Now you have your border, click Layer in the top toolbar, then select Flatten Image. You can now export your image as you please.

Not too tricky! Now that you're well on your way with image editing, you might want to read our other Photoshop tutorials, including how to add a drop shadow in Photoshop and how to blur a background in Photoshop. Adobe's editing suite isn't the only way to work on photos though, so why not also check out our guides on how to edit images on iPhone, how to blur a photo's background on iPhone and how to edit videos on iPhone. Want to brush up on your photographic knowledge? Make a start by reading about optical zoom vs. digital zoom.

If you're wondering how to add a drop shadow in Photoshop, you're certainly not the first. Adobe Photoshop is undoubtedly one of the best photo editing software applications out there, but to new users its huge array of features and buttons can be a bit daunting. Don't worry, though, because we're here to help you learn your way around. 

Adding a drop shadow in Photoshop is a simple, but very effective way to highlight an element on screen, setting it apart from background elements and creating the appearance of three dimensionality. It works great on both text and images, and once you've mastered how to add one, you'll be using drop shadows constantly.

Without further ado, here's how to add a drop shadow in Adobe Photoshop. 

How to add a drop shadow in Photoshop

• Select the layer to which you want to add a shadow
• Click the fx button, bottom right
• Select Drop Shadow
• Set the shadow parameters
• Click OK

Read on to see more detailed instructions for each step.

Before we start, it's worth noting that you won't see a drop shadow on an element unless there is space around it, such as a background or a border. If you're not sure how to do that, check out how to add a background in Photoshop first.

1. In the bottom right layer box, select the layer you'd like to add a drop shadow to. Look for the fx button just below, in the bottom right corner.

2. Click the fx button and select Drop Shadow.

3. Adjust the drop shadow's parameters, including the lighting angle, opacity and size of the shadow. You can move the Layer Style pop up out of the way to check how the shadow looks on your image. Click OK when you're happy. To go back and edit again, simply double click on the Drop Shadow tab underneath your layer, inside the layer box on the bottom right.

Pretty simple, right? Now that you're well on your way with using Photoshop, you might want to read our other image editing tutorials like how to blur a background in Photoshop. Why not get started by checking out our guides on how to edit images on iPhone, how to blur a photo's background on iPhone and how to edit videos on iPhone. You can also read our guide on how to remove a background in Photoshop.

Want to brush up on your photographic knowledge? Make a start by reading about optical zoom vs. digital zoom.

Knowing how to add a background in Photoshop is one of those skills that's required all the time when using the software. Perhaps you need to set a product photo against a clear white background, or maybe you want to frame a screenshot against a wider image to fit into specific sizing or image ratio requirements. 

Whatever the reason, if you're a regular Photoshop user, you'll probably need to do this a lot. As a daily Photoshopper myself, I'd say it's probably my most-used basic skill and it's super easy to do for yourself. The issue is, however, that although Adobe Photoshop is one of the best photo editing software applications out there, even simple tasks like this one are often buried within its overwhelming mass of buttons and options. But don't worry, we're here to cut through all that and show you how it's done.

Here's how to add a background in Adobe Photoshop.

How to add a background in Photoshop

1. Open Photoshop and load an image
2. Convert the image to a layer (Layer > New Layer from Background)
3. Resize the canvas to fit the background (Ctrl + Alt + C / Option + Cmd + C)
4. Drag and drop an image as a background or create a new fill layer
5. Resize your background to fit your canvas
6. Move your image layer on top of your background layer

Read on to see detailed instructions for each step.

1. Open Adobe Photoshop, then click File, Open in the top toolbar and use your file explorer to select and load an image.

2. Check the layers box, which is bottom right by default. If your image loads as a layer, skip to step 3. If you see "Background" then we will need to convert the image to a layer. Click Layer in the top toolbar, select New, then click New layer from Background.

3. Rename your layer if you like, then hit OK.

4. We now need to adjust the canvas size so there is room for a background. Press Ctrl + Alt + C (Windows) or Option + Cmd + C (Mac) to open the resize canvas window. Leave the Relative box unchecked if you know the size of canvas you want (i.e 4500 x 3000 pixels), and enter your canvas size in the width and height boxes. 

Alternatively, check Relative to expand the canvas from its current size from a set point. Then enter the desired amounts in the width and height boxes. For example: if you wanted to extend the canvas 100 pixels vertically and 50 pixels horizontally, enter 100 in Width and 50 in Height. Leave the anchor point set in the middle square to ensure all additions are applied in an equal split on each side of the image.

Tap the dropdown arrow next to Pixels to select a different measurement, such as centimeters. 

5. You'll now see that the canvas has expanded, with transparent space denoted by grey and white squares. To fill that space with a background image, drag and drop an image into the space. 

If you simply want a solid colour as your background, select Layer in the top tool bar, click New Fill Layer, then select Solid Color. If you want to, name your new fill layer and click OK. Then choose a color and click OK again. You can now skip to step 7.

6. If you're using an image as a background, it may not be the exact size to fit your canvas. Drag the anchor points to fit the image. So that the image's correct ratio is maintained (which stops the image being stretched), ensure the ratio lock symbol is depressed, middle left of the image toolbar. Alternatively, hold shift as you resize the image using anchor points to ensure it is resized in ratio.

Once you're happy with the fitment, click the tick button on the right of the image toolbar.

7. Your background layer will be stacked above your original image. To move your image back to the top, click and hold its layer in the layer box, bottom right. Drag the image layer above the background layer.

There you have it — you've now added a background to an image in Photoshop. From here, you can go on to add further elements to your image, or you can flatten and export it if you're done. 

Now that you're finding your feet with Photoshop, you might want to read our other image editing tutorials. We have other Photoshop tutorials, so take the next step by learning how to remove a background in Photoshop, how to create a GIF in Photoshop, how to add a drop shadow in Photoshop and how to add a border in Photoshop. Adobe's editing suite isn't the only way to edit images though, so broaden your horizons by checking out our guides on how to edit images on iPhone, how to blur a photo's background on iPhone and how to edit videos on iPhone. Want to brush up on your photographic knowledge? Make a start by reading about optical zoom vs. digital zoom.

Adobe is working to change the way users can access Photoshop. According to The Verge, the popular photo editing software is rolling out as a free-to-use version starting with select Canadian users.

Adobe currently offers a web version of the photo editing software in other regions, but that version is designed for collaboration and only offers very basic features. The goal of the new “freemium” version is to offer users access to what Abobe calls Photoshop’s “core functions,” including the ability to refine edges, curves and convert Smart Objects.

Like with the current version of Photoshop on Web this “freemium” version will operate via web browser and require an Adobe account. We expect the new “freemium” version to run on Chrome and Edge browsers only, as those are the browsers that Photoshop on Web currently supports. 

Photoshop Freemium: advantages and disadvantages 

There are likely two major advantages to this new “freemium” version of Photoshop. First, it’s (partially) free. Given that current versions all require a subscription or are incredibly limited, this should be a major boost to any users that want to really dive into the software but are not sure they want to pay a subscription fee.

The second advantage is that because this runs on Chrome, it brings Photoshop to the Chromebook in a more powerful way than ever before. Once this rolls out, Chrome OS users will no longer be reliant on Photoshop Express to edit photos. This also opens up the software to users on budget devices with less power than is needed to run the desktop version of the app, including students. 

Of course, there is a catch. This is being billed as “freemium” by Adobe — not free. That means certain features are still going to be paywalled so that Adobe can eventually get users to subscribe to Photoshop CC. Additionally, while the new version of Photoshop on Web will run on Chrome browsers, it is not expected to run on mobile devices. 

What are the versions of Photoshop currently available? 

Free Photoshop options

As previously mentioned, there are technically a couple of free versions of Photoshop available, but none with the full suite of features. Photoshop on Web is currently a collaborative tool but is being expanded to run Photoshop’s “core functions, and Photoshop Express allows mobile users on Android and iOS to enhance, crop, and share photos. As far as mobile apps go it is a good option, but it is nowhere near as powerful as Photoshop CC. 

Photoshop Elements 

Photoshop Elements is Adobe’s consumer-facing version of Photoshop. While Photoshop CC is not limited to professionals, sometimes it offers more than the average user needs. Photoshop Elements still allows users to have a powerful photo editing tool without paying for features they may not need. Plus unlike Photoshop CC, Photoshop Elements is a one-time purchase — and it’s currently on sale. 

Photoshop CC 

To get access to the full desktop Photoshop CC app, you will need to subscribe through Adobe. There is currently a “Photography” plan with Photoshop and Lightroom for $9.99 a month and 20 GB of storage, as well as a $19.99 a month version that increases the cloud storage to 1 TB. There is also a Photoshop-only version for $20.99 a month, or for $54.99 a month users can access every app that Adobe’s Creative Cloud has to offer.

If you are not ready to commit to a subscription but want to experience the full power of Photoshop CC, there is a free trial for both Photoshop CC and the entire Creative Cloud suite of apps.

If you are still not sure about committing to Adobe’s photo editor, there are some great alternatives to Photoshop. However, with this shift to a “freemium” model, Photoshop is about to get much more accessible for everyone. 

Apple new iMovie 3.0 is an update to an application that you may have forgotten was even on your phone. And interestingly enough, this update kinda revolves around the whole concept of not thinking about what you can do with all the videos you've shot.

iMovie 3.0, available today (Tuesday, April 12) on iPhones and iPads adds two new features that look to remind you of how much you could do with your videos. I know what you're thinking, because it's what I think every time I consider editing footage I shot myself: "that sounds like a lot of work."

Fortunately, iMovie 3.0 looks to remove as much of that work as possible.

iMovie 3.0's Magic Movie is made for the laziest of us

According to my Photos app, I have over 4,100 videos in my iCloud Photos Library. And have I done much with them? With the exception of a single video I published to my personal YouTube, and the random videos I share unedited or turn into GIFs, these videos are just sitting in my iCloud, taking up space.

The new Magic Movie feature in iMovie looks to solve that. You open iMovie, tap Magic Movie and then you'll select videos from your library. Then, iMovie takes the wheel by intelligently identifying the best sections of your footage, then creating a new project with all of your videos.

iMovie will do the stuff you kinda don't want to do, adding titles, transitions and music. For said music, you can use music you've purchased, Apple's own provided soundtracks and audio imported from Garage Band. It even auto-balances its music when it identifies that people are speaking in your videos. Of course, you can adjust that all you want. 

Magic Movie also sports 20 "styles" (think templates) so you can find the look that best matches the vibe in your videos. Of course, you have total control, and can re-edit clips (trimming as need be) in Magic Movie, as well as adjusting transitions and so on.

iMovie 3.0's Storyboards are a mini film school

If you have an aspiring director in your home (yourself included), the other big iMovie 3.0 feature may be a bigger deal. Storyboards takes templates to an extreme, giving you a series of kinds of videos (instructional DIY clips, gaming, online Q&A)  and then a whole shot list for how to make your own.

For each step in that shot list, you can either import a clip you've already shot or just shoot that video right there on your iPhone or iPad. Storyboard projects feature automatic music that adjusts to fit the length of the shots you're working with.

Of course, film can be a collaborative effort, so you can use placeholder clips for when you share your Storyboard project with a fellow creator. Storyboards have their own styles, and you can change the look as you go without worrying about losing your edits.

The update is going out today, so keep an eye out for these new features the next time you fire up iMovie.

Is this the age of the ‘creator economy?’ And if so, are you prepared? No need to panic. Technology may be constantly evolving, but thankfully it’s getting easier to use. This is particularly true when it comes to video editing, and more specifically for Wondershare Filmora 11.

On the back of its past and current success, Filmora 11 has continued to put the ‘creator’ first when it comes offering a tool that is easy to handle, but advanced in its capabilities. No steep learning curve here; users can start running almost immediately. 

Whether you’re an aspiring vlogger, insta-chef or teacher, you’ll use video editing for marketing and the bulk of your content. Creative people are often put off by the complexity and price of some software. What Filmora 11 offers is the chance to stay inspired, without getting bogged down. 

Let's have a look at the latest updates Wondershare Filmora 11 has to offer:

1. Speed Ramping:

Can be best described by the terms ‘bullet time’ and ‘hero moment.’ You have full control of speed adjustment for specific moments, adding artful variance in flow. Add cinematic flair with the click of a button. 

2. Instant Mode:

Deadlines are suddenly knocking at the door, and you need something fast. The Filmora AI algorithm takes your uploaded content and creates an entertaining video for you. 

3. Masking:

Create your own transitions and graphics. Now capable of working on keyframes - which are already a cinch to work with in Filmora. It provides you with overlays allowing you to block out portions of your video. 

4. Audio Sync:

Audio sync allows you to use multiple cameras and record sound separately, without having to worry how you’ll marry the two together when editing.

5. Auto Beat Sync:

Especially useful with music. Filmora will automatically create stunning and artfully put-together montages using your uploaded assets.

6. Stock Media:

No need to be in a creative rut. In-app access to tons of royalty-free stock media will keep you continually inspired.

7. FX Plugins: 

Wondershare have teamed up with industry leaders Boris FX and NewBlueFX who specialize in cinematic quality effects. Access to lots of very sleek looking stylizations are a click away. 

This upgrade is also built on standard features such as color matching, motion tracking, audio ducking and key framing. What Filmora does well, and even more so with Filmora 11, is taking the strain out of complex work and placing powerful tools in the hands of creators who can then get on with creating.

It’s hard to argue against Wondershare Filmora 11 being one of the best video editors in the new creator economy.

Available for Windows and Mac, Wondershare Filmora 11 is reasonably priced at $51.99 per year, and even more fairly priced at $79.99 for a one-time payment and perpetual ownership. That’s way below the most well known competitors, and for what you get it certainly promises to pay dividends in the long run.

A free trial is available here. 

We never know when inspiration is going to strike. It can be at the oddest times. Having the right equipment to jump into gear when that inspiration comes is the surest way to take full advantage of those moments. Nothing sees the mental gears grind to a halt like having to fuss with technology that isn’t quite suited to the task or that causes constant issues turning what could have been a smooth process into speed bump city.

You don’t have to look far to find a whole host of creativity-supporting equipment, though. Dell’s online store has a whole section dedicated to equipment geared up for digital creators. Whether you want to create on the go, get a boost in audio-visual quality,  or break free from a mess of cables that hamper the flexibility of your creativity, there’s gear here for you.

Let’s take a look at the kind of hardware Dell has available all in one spot to let you get creating without barriers.

You can find all of these products and plenty more like them on Dell’s content creator hub here. So go get geared up for the next time inspiration strikes. 

Jenny Slate can add Marie Claire cover star to her already blooming list of professions, which include artist, comedian, actor and author, as she’ll be featuring in the publication’s first-ever Creators Issue in partnership with Adobe. 

You might wonder why Tom’s Guide is flagging this. Well, not only is Marie Claire part of the Future Publishing family alongside us, but the Creators Issue is being powered by Adobe, the company behind some of the best photo editing software and best video editing software (plus a lot more). And Adobe’s suite of creative tools have been used to create the cover of the magazine that will be focused heavily on a broad range of content creators, not least of all Jenny Slate. 

“We are so excited to have Jenny Slate cover our first ever The Creators Issue,” said Sally Holmes, editor in chief of Marie Claire. “She is a creator in every sense of the word — artist, comedian, author and actress. Jenny’s story mixed with the other inspirational female creators featured in this issue harmoniously combine Marie Claire’s commitment to empowering women and telling impactful stories with Adobe’s dedication to inspiring and enabling creativity for all to create a powerful issue aimed to educate, inspire and celebrate diverse voices.”

For the full interview with Slate and to get a taste of her creative process, check out Marie Claire’s exploration into the weird wonderful world of Jenny Slate. 

But there's more to this Creators Issue. In it you’ll find articles covering interviews with artists on upcoming projects, and how creators are harnessing social media platforms, from YouTube to Snapchat and TikTok; check out the Tom’s Guide TikTok channel starring our very own influencer-in-the-making Kate Kozuch. 

Furthermore, The Marie Claire Creators To Watch List is Marie Claire’s inaugural list, supported by Adobe, featuring a diverse list of creators that are on the rise, ranging from artists to animators, producers and social activists.

Then, once you feel a burst of inspiration, you’ll want to check out the 10 Easy Ways to Express Yourself article that will give you key design and storytelling tactics to elevate your creative works from good to great, especially with the help of Adobe Creative Cloud Express tools.

So, whether you want a deeper insight into the creative life of Jenny Slate, are keen to get inspired to pursue a life of creativity, or are simply curious about Adobe creative tools, then Marie Claire’s Creators Issue in partnership with Adobe is not to be missed.

Video editing can be complex thing, but Adobe Premiere Elements 2022 does its best to simplify the process. 

While professionals can spend years mastering the nuances and intricacies of powerful software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, many of us just want to create and share fun and meaningful videos of our life and loved ones. Adobe Premiere Elements excels in this regard, thanks to an accessible interface, comparatively easy-to-use tools, and some cool creative styling. 

The three tabs of the interface — Quick, Guided and Expert — offer novices an opportunity to quickly fix their videos and/or learn more sophisticated workflows, while providing more experienced users with plenty of sophisticated and even powerful tools.

The new version, Premiere Elements 2022, has added a handful of new and improved features, and a couple of them are so useful that they alone will make family and hobby videographers sit up and pay attention. It's an easy choice for the top of our best video editing software list.

Note: This Adobe Premiere Elements 2022 review covers only the newest features for version 2022. Check out our Adobe Premiere Elements 2021 review for a bigger overview.

Adobe Premiere Elements 2022 review: Price

Adobe Premiere Elements’ pricing remains the same for 2022, and unlike Adobe’s Creative Cloud products such as Photoshop CC, you’re buying a perpetual license. For a new purchase, it’s $99.99. An upgrade from a previous version costs $79.99. Or you can buy it in a bundle with Photoshop Elements 2022 for $149.99, or $119.99 for an upgrade.

Adobe Premiere Elements 2022 review: System requirements

Adobe Premiere Elements 2022 runs on both Windows and Mac systems, with Intel 6th generation or newer processors or AMD equivalent (7th generation preferred).

You'll also need at least 8GB RAM (16GB RAM for HD media, 32GB for 4K media); 4GB of GPU VRAM; 1280x800 display resolution (at 100% scale factor);  fast internal SSD for app installation and cache; additional high-speed drive(s) for media, and an internet connection. Premiere Elements 2022 cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices.

For Windows, you’ll need Windows 10 version 2004 or newer (version 21H1 recommended),  64-bit version only, HEIF/HEVC import supported only on Windows 10 version 1903 or later; 6.7GB of hard-disk space for installation and 13GB additional for optional content; DirectX 12 compatible sound and display driver; Windows Media Player; and a compatible DVD burner required to burn DVDs.

For Apple systems, you’ll need macOS 10.15 or macOS 11, 8GB hard-disk space for installation and 11GB additional for optional content.

Adobe Premiere Elements 2022 review: New features

Social-media-ready videos

Most videos created by consumers end up on social networks. And each network has a preferred aspect ratio for optimum viewing. Taking a page from Photoshop Elements (and other consumer photo-editing programs), Premiere Elements 2022 now gives you the ability to choose the aspect ratio of your video project based on where you will be uploading it. 

Your video’s aspect ratio can be defined when setting up your project, and the process is as easy as you'd expect.

Alternatively, you can export your video based on social media preset sizes, as well as presets for different devices such as a TV or a tablet.

For anyone who posts videos to social media — as most of us do — this is a great addition to Premiere Elements. Unfortunately, the one network that isn’t among the setup or export options is Twitter. For Twitter, choose 1280x720 (landscape or portrait) or 720x720.

Reframing your video

When you choose to create or export a video in an aspect ratio other than the original, black borders will be automatically added to your video. Those borders are necessary to avoid cropping any of the action. But you can choose to use the Adobe Sensei AI reframing tool to fill the frame with the central action of your video. The excess will then be cropped away.

For instance, say I want to create a vertical project, but I want to use a horizontal clip. Sensei will analyze the horizontal clip and do its best to keep what it decides is the central action within the vertical crop. 

In my experience, it sometimes cuts off the important detail, because not every central action frame will fit into the chosen aspect ratio. But that aside, Sensei AI reframing makes it easier to create smooth, attractive video projects that combine clips that have different aspect ratios. Just bear in mind that it will work best if you shoot wide, leaving lots of empty space around the central action of your videos.

Better support for vertical videos

When you open a vertical video in a new project, the project will now automatically set its aspect ratio to match the clip. In addition, in any vertical project,  all assets — titles, mattes or backgrounds — will automatically resize when placed in the project. Given how many people hold their phones the long way when shooting videos, this new functionality is destined to be quite popular.

Two new guided edits

The Guided Edits feature in Premiere Elements 2022 helps users learn how to use key video editing workflows. It's a simple setup, that sees you work on your own videos in the Expert tab, with pop-ups guiding you. However, while generally great for helping you master what might initially seem complex processes, the Guided Edits often skimp on explanations. I suspect the idea is to have you learn with as little interference as possible.

For instance, who doesn’t have a video that captures that one perfect moment, but that is either too dark or not sparkling enough? The new Adjust Shadows and Highlights Guided Edit gives step-by-step instructions to correct or improve a clip’s exposure. It takes you from opening and placing the clip into the timeline, through using the Shadows and Highlights tool, then playing the video to check the effect and finally exporting it. However, it doesn’t give any guidance on how to edit your settings after you’ve applied them. 

That aide, the Adjust Shadows and Highlights Guided Edit is a valuable addition to Premiere Elements 2022, and one that encourages users to explore and learn about these essential controls and sliders.

The other new Guided Edit — Animated Overlays — is far less serious: It teaches you how to apply animated butterflies, bokeh lights, snowflakes, clouds, and such to your video. Options include Blend Modes, opacity, uniform or non-uniform scaling, rotation, and an anti-flicker filter.

Adobe Premiere Elements 2022 review: Verdict

Premiere Elements continues to be a great consumer video editing program that's suitable for both novices and more experienced users. 

In the newest version, we were impressed enough with the value of the various new aspect ratio options, the reframing tool and the new Shadows & Highlights Guided Edits to recommend upgrading to Premiere Elements 2022 on the strength of what they offer the typical consumer videographer. And they make this year a good one for new users to download the trial version and see if it’s time to finally take the plunge and buy Premiere Elements.

Movie Maker Online is a totally free, browser-based video editor that represents a cost-effective option for consumers who want to create videos and slideshows without having to download large software files to their computers. 

For an online video editor, this site offers a good range of useful and creative features that will appeal to hobbyists. But come prepared with a lot of patience to navigate around ads and a confusing interface. 

The good news is that you can access the software from any device with a browser and an internet connection — all of which is enough for it to make it into our list of the best free video editing software.

Read on for our full Movie Maker Online review and find out what we like and don't like about it.

• Best free video editing software

Movie Maker Online review: Plans and pricing

Movie Maker Online is totally free to use and is supported by advertisements. However, you can upgrade to a paid, ad-free subscription with fewer upload file size restrictions (currently 2GB) that averages about $1 a day.

Movie Maker Online review: Interface

Just because something’s free doesn’t mean that it comes without a price. For Movie Maker Online, that price is an unusual interface that requires a different — and sometimes frustrating — approach than most video editors.

This browser-based software is sprinkled with ads so you’ll need to disable any ad blockers in order to use the application fully, or upgrade to the ad-free version. While we understand that the people who developed and maintain the software need to make money, it sometimes takes a keen eye to differentiate between an ad and other components that are an integral part of the software. 

Oddly, the video and audio timelines are positioned vertically. Visualizing video frames and the audio track from top to bottom rather than the traditional horizontal (left to right) is a little disconcerting. And having the video and audio timelines separated by other columns makes it more difficult to sync the two. 

Getting started, however, is very easy — thanks to clearly labeled clickable boxes to upload files, add photos and music, and create text. Simple enough. You can also drag and drop files if you prefer. 

There are links for related help tips as well as step-by-step and video tutorials for various functions. And you’ll likely need the help since, unlike most software applications, there are no real toolbars or clearly marked tools. 

Instead, to access many functions, you click on one of the windows and a small set of options pop up. There are also a few features below the main video editor. It may take time, even with tutorials, to get the hang of working with this software, though.

Once you’ve put together a video, just click on Make Video and wait until it’s rendered. You can then view the movie online and download it. Don’t wait too long to save the file, though; the link will only be available “for a few hours.” 

You can use the site anonymously or you can register with a user name and password. The latter will keep your data intact when you leave the site. 

But even working anonymously, as I did, if you don’t close your browser window (or power down your computer), your work to date remains online — at least for a while. The site notes that your data will be deleted in about 24 hours, possibly sooner — depending on demand for servers — so it’s best to watch the time. (Be sure to read the Terms of Service & Privacy Policy; click on Anon in the upper-right corner of the page.)

Movie Maker Online review: Features

Movie Maker Online has a fairly versatile feature set for its class. While it can’t go head-to-head with the features of the best video editing software, you’d be hard-pressed to find many other free, browser-based video editors with as many options. 

As expected, Movie Maker Online offers the basic tools to import, trim and combine video clips. Solid color or still photos can be used for backgrounds and text can be added as well.

While you can add your own assets, Movie Maker Online has partnered with a trio of companies that offer royalty-free music, photos and sound effects at no cost for non-commercial usage. 

You’ll have to register with Jamendo Music to access their free downloads (or pay for commercial usage) but it’s worth the effort for some cool music. I was also impressed with the quality and quantity of the still images, and the sound effects are fun to have. 

Since there’s only a single audio timeline, you may need to lower the volume on your original video track if you’re importing a separate audio source.

An assortment of special effects  are available to add a creative touch. In addition to converting video to black and white or sepia, there are other, more funky visual effects such as blurring or distorting the video. 

Some of the effects may be a little extreme for more serious endeavors, but there are more than enough options to create an artistic video if you’d like. 

Keep in mind that finished videos are limited to 10 minutes, with a maximum of 100 files, so you won’t be creating any epic features with this software. 

Movie Maker Online offers a number of selectable resolution choices when you’re ready to render your video. The maximum output is 1920 x 1080 (HD) but there’s a convenient drop-down list with suggested settings for YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, as well as custom and auto options.

Movie Maker Online review: Performance

One of the benefits of browser-based software such as Movie Maker Online is that you don’t need a high-powered computer to edit video on it, since the site’s server handles most of the heavy load.

Browser-based also means that you can run the software on any device that has an internet connection, so I decided to test the program on an older, slower laptop: an early 2015, 13-inch MacBook Air with 8GB RAM running macOS Catalina (10.15.3) and Safari 13.0.5. 

I had no problems using the site with this configuration. I also tried creating a video on my iPhone 11 with OS 13.3, directly accessing clips from my Photo Library, but the screen felt too cramped and it was difficult to navigate by touch.

The key to a smooth experience, though, is the speed and stability of your connection combined with, we assume, how many other people are processing videos on the site’s servers. My upload speed varied between around 5 and 11 Mbps during testing, so upload times for 100-150MB clips varied from a minute or two to even longer. Upload time, of course, will depend on the size of your files and your internet speed, and I often found myself wishing for a faster connection.

Browsing through the site’s step-by-step help tips and playing tutorials was speedy, but some tasks took longer than expected, such as previewing special effects. Rendering a completed video, albeit a short one, was surprisingly fast.

Movie Maker Online review: Verdict

Movie Maker Online is really a mixed bag. Because it’s browser based, the program is easily accessible. The software also has all the basic components needed to produce a video that will please most consumers. And its 10-minute maximum duration should be more than sufficient for those seeking a free, online video editor. Having easy access to free music, photos and sound effects is certainly a bonus.

But — and this is a major caveat — the user interface can be a major stumbling block, especially for newcomers to video editing. Even though working around the ads that appear on the site is manageable and the site’s help and tutorials are easily accessed, the interface can be challenging. 

It doesn’t resemble standard video editors (even the timelines are vertical instead of horizontal) and you often have to open another window to complete a task such as editing text. 

If you really want a browser-based video editor, Movie Maker Online may well meet your needs. And it costs nothing but a little time to try it out before making any final decisions. 

But if you don’t mind downloading software to your hard drive, there are better free options available, such as Lightworks (LWKS) and HitFilm Express — so be sure to explore other programs as well. 

HitFilm Express is a free, multi-track video editor with plenty of features to keep amateur and enthusiast videographers (and some pros) happy. 

Now in version 16, HitFilm Express has been updated with several new features and improvements such as the ability to record voiceovers and support for decoding H.265 files. As expected, it’s not as full-featured as the best video editing software packages overall, but HitFilm Express is the best free video editing software among the many such programs available.

We've spent hours putting it through its paces to bring you this HitFilm Express 16 review. Read on to find out what we like and don't like about it.

• Best free video editing software

Hitfilm Express 16 review: Plans and pricing

HitFilm Express 16 is 100% free to use in its basic form. Simply download it, validate your free license, and start editing. 

However FXhome, the UK-based developers of HitFilm, also offer a paid option as well as separate add-ons. You can either purchase the pro version — HitFilm Pro — for $349 (with 12 months of free updates) or pick and choose features to customize HitFilm Express to your needs. 

In the end, the latter will cost you more if you purchase all of the more than 30 add-on packs. But if, say, you only want or need some VFX (visual effects) for a particular project, you can pick up one or more bundles starting at $10.

When downloading the program, there’s a slider bar to make a donation but you can move it to zero and get the software for free. If you do make a donation, however, you’ll get certain add-on packs. While you can purchase add-on packs at any time, you’ll save money by going the donation route at the beginning.

Above you'll see just a small sample of what you can get with a donation. As you move the donation slider to the right, you’ll see additional packs that are available.

Hitfilm Express 16 review: Interface

Once you’ve downloaded and activated the program, you’ll see an opening page with links to a manual as well as tutorials and sample videos created with the software. 

The manual can be accessed directly from within the program, but although the user guide is thorough and searchable, it’s probably easier to start with one of the many excellent tutorials — at least until you become familiar with where all the tools are located. There’s also an active and useful HitFilm community to explore. Depending on how you learn best (and on your editing experience), you can jump right in, look through the manual or watch one of the tutorials. 

The UI should be familiar to anyone who has worked with standard non-linear video editing programs. A clean layout includes trimmer and viewing windows as well as a media bin that holds your video assets for easy access. Next to the Media tab, you’ll also find menus for Effects, Controls (for tweaking a selected effect), a History list of all the edits you’ve done and a Text tab. You can “float” these panels or close one or more to customize your workspace. You’ll also find other tools scattered across the UI. Background color can also be customized along a sliding scale from white to black. 

The application’s video and audio timelines are pretty standard and there are comprehensive drop-down menus for specific features and functions such as effects, transitions, exporting and more. HitFilm Express generally provides drag-and-drop ease of use.

Drop-down menus and the toolbar are, for the most part, self-explanatory and logically arranged; just mouse over a tool to reveal the tool’s name and keyboard shortcut. Unless you’re a total novice to video editing, it shouldn’t take long to find your way around the program’s basic features. Some sections are so densely populated with options, though, that it’s a little challenging to work your way through the details in the drop-down menus.

Hitfilm Express 16 review: Features

If you’re just getting started or only need the bare minimum to create your project, HitFilm Express is equipped with the basic tools needed to import, trim and combine video and audio clips. In addition to multiple track support, users can easily apply transitions and add text. The latter offers a full complement of fonts, sizes and other variables to create interesting titles. But there’s much more to the program than its core features, leaving plenty of room for you to grow your skills or to fully utilize the editing skills you’ve already honed.

Since HitFilm Express is a slimmed-down version of HitFilm Pro, you’ll find many features that go beyond the basics, particularly in the Effects panel. Practical tools such as those for color grading, exposure and audio adjustments are plentiful in this panel. Creative options abound as well, including various film looks, light flares, gradients/fills and particles, to name just a few. Within many of these categories, there’s a red “Buy” icon if you want or need individual Pro version options. Sure, it’s a great marketing tool for FXhome and, frankly, is very tempting for impulse buyers like me. But it’s also helpful if/when the hundreds of available effects and variations don’t quite meet your needs and you want to take things up a notch. 

What is even more impressive is that a free video editing software like HitFilm Express offers so many advanced features such as layers, compositing, keyframing, animation, motion tracking and 3D support. 

With the release of version 16, HitFilm Express has gained additional features. Perhaps the most notable and long-requested addition to HitFilm Express 16 is a voice recorder. As the name implies, this feature allows you to record your voice directly to an audio timeline. Just go to File>Record>Voiceover, adjust settings (if needed) and click the red microphone icon to start/stop. This is a welcome addition for most users but is especially important for vloggers, YouTubers, game creators and documentary filmmakers, among others. 

The new version now supports the H.265 codec (also known as HEVC — High Efficiency Video Coding) for better and more efficient compression. This means that H.265 video, which is used by some smartphones, drones and cameras, can now be dropped onto the timeline and used without you having to transcode the file.

Some of the other updates aren’t necessarily mind-boggling but, rather, add another layer of convenience to some tasks. For example, once you finish a video (or are closed to completion), you can use a drop-down menu in the Media bin to remove all unused assets. And video and audio timelines can be locked in sync. 

There are multiple ways to export projects, sections of a video and individual clips but I have yet to figure out which one is more efficient. But all methods offer the same (or similar) options including a list of presets. The latter offers standard output settings for Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, 1080p HD, to name a few. And each preset lists the format, resolution, frame rate and compression settings. You can create and save your own export preset, which is especially helpful if you have specific requirements for the end use. You can also conveniently queue up multiple projects for export.

Hitfilm Express 16: Performance

I tested the software on a 2019 MacBook Pro running Catalina 10.15.7 with 64GB RAM, a 2.3 GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 processor and an AMD Radeon Pro 5500M graphics card. HitFilm Express ran well on my laptop with no glitches. Video and audio clips played smoothly with no hesitation or stutter. Drop-down menus and other navigation was responsive, and effects previewed quickly after dragging and dropping them on the timeline.

Of course, we have to caution that your experience may differ depending on your system specifications and the size of your files. If you’re loading multiple, very large files, using animation, importing and working with 3D objects, you may well need a more powerful set-up than I’ve used. 

HitFilm Express 16 review: Verdict

HitFilm Express is the best free video editing software package available. A solid set of core features is complemented by an interesting — and useful — assortment of sophisticated options, guaranteeing that both newcomers to video editing as well as more experienced users have the tools they need for a wide variety of projects. 

The density and variety of features can be overwhelming at first, so you may need a little help from tutorials and the user guide to discover everything this program has to offer. But, in the end, the user interface is fairly intuitive and easy to navigate. Most users should be able to turn out a simple project shortly after launching the program and advanced users may find that HitFilm Express’ features alone provide creative inspiration. 

Over the years, I’ve tested many software programs and only a handful find a permanent home on my hard drive. HitFilm Express is one of them thanks to its great feature set and overall ease of use. Of course, the fact that it’s free is a real bonus. 

Shotcut is a completely free, full-featured, open source video editing program that deserves respect. 

It’s marketed as a consumer/prosumer oriented intuitive app that gets the job done with minimal interface complexity, and for the most part, it succeeds. 

Basic features like importing video, keyframing on a timeline, cutting and splicing, and adding transitions, titles, and effects, are all accomplished in just a few clicks with plenty of drag and drop for good measure. 

Unlike some other free packages, like our current fave HitFilm Express 15, Shotcut works even with lower-end computers, making it one of the best free video editing software programs around. If you’re an amateur-slash-prosumer videographer with a mid-level Mac, Windows, or Linux system, and do not need a whole lot of bells and whistles or hand holding to accomplish your goals, Shotcut may be a good match for you.

We've spent some time with Shotcut 21, the most recent version, so we can outline what we like and don't like about it. Read on for our full Shotcut review.

Shotcut 21 review: Interface

While it’s not as intuitive as Hitfilm or iMovie, anyone who is even vaguely familiar with non-linear video editing should be able to get the hang of Shotcut pretty quickly. It’s easy to learn, but most novices are not going to just jump right into the program and immediately find their way around. Watching an instructional video or two will go a long way in getting new users accustomed to this software’s conventions. Hover your mouse over a tool to reveal (albeit in tiny print), its function. 

The default layout is sparse and a bit text heavy, but you can use the top menu to switch out different workspaces — or create a custom one — that will make the program more comfortable. All panels are dockable — you can open and close panels at will or separate them from the application frame to focus on a single aspect of your project. You can also switch background colors from dark, light, and system, plus the app supports external monitors.

The app lets you create multiple tracks for audio and video, while conveniently located tools let you stitch it all together in any way you’d like by easily splitting, trimming, and snapping clips together. A history timeline makes it easy to keep track of everything you have done to your footage while an audio meter lets you monitor your levels.

Because Shotcut is open-source, there are a few weird things that Mac and Windows users may take some time getting used to – such as buttons that you think will toggle on and off but do not, or it can take several clicks to see a menu or set of filters. But after working in the program, it all becomes second nature. 

Shotcut 21 review: Filters and transitions

Shotcut comes with a moderate array of built-in filters divided into Favorites, Video only, and Audio only. Some of these filters are simple presets while others, like the chroma key, are customizable. I found these elements more than sufficient for most consumer oriented short movies of friends, family, outings, and occasions.

In addition to built-in filters, Shotcut also provides transitions that you can use to connect clips. One handy feature is the control bubbles at the top edges of each clip that allow you to click and drag to create a fade-in and fade-out effect directly on the timeline instead of searching for and applying a formal transition. You can stack effects in multiple layers on the timeline or use keyframes to animate effects, which all works as expected.

Adding a regular transition requires some doing, first to drag one clip atop another where the overlap creates an automatic crossfade – which is kind of cool – but if you want any other transition style, you have to click the transition space and then seek out other customizable options. Most video editors let you drag and drop transitions between cuts wherever you want.

Shotcut 21 review: Text editing features

Shotcut’s text features really shine. You get many choices of static or animated text with classic video styles like lower thirds, or animations in which your titles drop in from the top or swoop across the canvas over time. Text features are flexible and intuitive, which encourages experimentation. 

The app also has an option for 3D text with adjustable features that include size, depth, and tilt. You can design your own text and titles and save them as presets for future use. 

Shotcut 21 review: Exporting video

Shotcut is compatible with and can export to many file formats. Unlike many consumer packages, you have to consult the documentation or video tutorials to find out which export preset will best fit a posting to YouTube or Facebook. It’s not hard to find, but it would be great if it were labeled as such, as that’s what most users are looking for.

Shotcut 21 review: The newest updates

Shotcut is updated pretty regularly with bug fixes and feature updates and this holds true for 2021. Bug fixes have far exceeded feature updates this year and it’s best to go to the News page on Shotcut.org to stay current. 

While, to date, there have been no major feature updates, incremental changes and improvements were implemented. These include, but by no means are limited to,  additional video filters such as Reflect, Deband and 360: Equirectangular to Stereographic. The latter can be used to create “Tiny Planet” videos — a style of video that can be created in many of the higher end video editors. And 350 video filter performance has been improved. Shotcut has added a Speed adjustment to the Timer as well.

A new GPS Text video filter allows users to add GPS data to videos. These can include parameters such as speed, distance and altitude. It’s pretty slick and can add another dimension to action and outdoor videos.

With direct support for GoPro .LRV files as proxy videos, users with lower end systems have another option for improving performance (see the next section for an additional tip). WebP, a format that supports animation and alpha transparency and creates smaller files while maintaining quality, has been added to Shotcut’s export function.

For a full list of changes for Shotcut 21, head over to the Shotcut Blog.

Shotcut 21 review: Performance

One important feature added in the previous version was Preview Scaling. This is designed to take some of the load off your system by letting you lower the resolution as you add and remove certain clips, tracks, transitions, and special effects. The idea is to edit your video at the same size as the program’s preview window.

Preview scaling lets you set your video to preview at 360p (for a 1080p screen), 540p (for a high-density screen), and 720p (for 4K UHD footage). This new feature is not presented as a be-all end-all for performance issues on its own, though. Instead, it’s designed to be used alongside another feature called low-resolution proxy, which is still under development. There’s also an analogous advanced export setting for reviewing drafts.

Shotcut 21 review: Verdict

Shotcut offers all the basic functionality of a good video app, though it does so with somewhat of a clunky feel. For those used to operating in a Mac or Windows environment, the open source conventions and interface will take a bit of getting used to. It’s also missing more flashy consumer features variously contained in apps like VideoPad,  HitFilm Express, and DaVinci Resolve like VR, multicam editing, and motion tracking. But that’s probably not so big a deal for most amateur memory makers.

For video novices and social media posters, there are easier and more intuitive free packages available than Shotcut (such as the aforementioned HitFilm and VideoPad). But for those familiar with video editing and who seek an app with plenty of useful features, moderate system requirements, and is completely free, you have nothing to lose by giving it a shot.

Lightworks is a free video editing software package for Mac, Windows and Linux with an option to upgrade to a paid Pro version. 

The software has a strong heritage in filmmaking, with Pulp Fiction, Jerry Maguire and The Wolf of Wall Street just a few of the many movies that have been edited on it. But don't go thinking that long list of award-winning film credits means it's for professionals only: the free version of Lightworks is generally consumer friendly and will be more than enough for most basic editing tasks.

What's more, those experienced with non-linear video editing will find plenty of advanced features to produce a polished video, even in the free version reviewed here.

While we were impressed with the software’s feature set given its “price,” the biggest drawback is its maximum 720p export limits. Still, there’s a lot to like about Lightworks, now on version 2021.3, and it's a worthy inclusion in our best free video editing software list. Find out if it's the right video-editing tool for you in our full Lightworks review.

Lightworks review: Price and availability

Lightworks (LWKS) is available as a free download from the official Lightworks website. The current version is 2021.3, and there are regular updates to keep it fresh. Another big plus point is that it's available for Windows 10 (and even Windows 7/8), Mac and Linux operating systems.

For more advanced editing options, you can subscribe to the Pro version. This costs $24/month, $240/year or $390/outright (the latter also adds Boris FX compatibility).

Lightworks review: Interface and ease of use

Installation is quick and easy, although you need to register to activate Lightworks. It’s a non-intrusive process that only requires a name and a password.

The software opens to a clean interface with a project browser — a grid of tiles that holds your projects. It’s here that you create a new project, or open one you’ve already started.

Four tabs at the top of the main window provide access to LWKS’ main workspaces: Log, Edit, VFX and Audio. Each provides its own unique set of tools and options. 

Log, for example, allows you to enter additional metadata, adjust timeline settings, work with cue markers and more. Edit is self-explanatory and you’ll spend most of your time in this workspace. VFX provides access to a variety of effects (fades, presets, etc.), as well as color adjustments, text and more — all very useful for practical and creative fine-tuning. 

Audio delivers a wide range of sound controls. As you explore the interface, a series of tooltips introduces the various components and features with brief but useful explanations to get you started. (These can be turned on/off in settings.)

There are numerous drop-down menus for a variety of tasks. Your best bet is to visit the LWKS.com community and read through the guides or head over to YouTube and watch one of the many helpful videos. LWKS was updating the Forum at the time of this review and while they have an excellent beginner’s video tutorial on YouTube, you may have to wait for them to produce more advanced tutorials for the latest version. I wish there was a Help option within the software, though. 

Lightworks review: Video editing features

Once you figure out where everything is — which may take a little time — you’ll discover a well-rounded set of features, from the timeline and audio options to helpful tools to keep your assets organized. 

LWKS offers a number of ways to import assets into the program. In the Libraries section, you have access to a variety of cloud services including Dropbox and Google Drive. Naturally, you can access your local files from local drives as well. If you need additional video or audio clips, you can import them directly from a trio of sources, but have your credit card ready to purchase; Amazing Music Tracks, Audio Network and Pond5 offer a wide variety of options for your video project and though you can incorporate the watermarked clips into your project, you'll have to purchase them before export.

The program also has “bins” to organize your internal clips into folder-like sections, which makes it more convenient to grab one or more topical assets when you need them.

Keyframes are available and I was impressed with some of the audio controls above and beyond the standard equalizer and other adjustments (hum removal, boost treble). For example, if your subjects are speaking, there are special adjustments for vocal sounds such as reduction of female or male sibilance.

LWKS offers a lot of drag and drop simplicity, even for more advanced tasks. I did find using brackets to set in and out points on the timeline a little clunky, but the program’s “mark and park” using the I and O keys (for in and out points) is much easier.

There’s a lot to explore in this program and I hope that LWKS soon offers advanced tutorials to help its new users take advantage of all this software has to offer.

Lightworks review: Export

Well, as one would expect, there’s a limit to how much you get for free. And while Lightworks provides more features and performance than I initially expected from a freebie, there are limits. While you can choose a variety of options for playback (including full frame and UHD 4K as well as fps), there are strict limits on exporting files: 720p (maximum) in H.264/MP4. The Pro version, however, opens up 4K export options.

The good news is that LWKS provide direct uploads to YouTube and Vimeo with a choice of frame rates. But, again, your choices are limited: 240p, 360p, 380p, 480p and 720p.

Lightworks review: Performance

I tested the software on a 2019 Apple MacBook Pro running Catalina 10.15.7 with 64GB RAM and a 2.3 GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 processor with an AMD Radeon Pro 5500M graphics card. The program ran smoothly and quickly, even when rendering. 

Like any video program, you may experience minor lag time with larger files (this happened only occasionally with this system). But since the free version only outputs a maximum of 720p, there’s really no reason to load up the program with high-res files. And that means you can get away with the minimum system requirements (see box above for details) rather than a super-powered machine.

I was a little taken aback that there was no File>Save drop-down menu. That’s because LWKS saves your work regularly in the background — unobtrusively and without any slowdown. It’s a feature I really appreciate for reasons that will go unmentioned here, if you know what I mean.

Lightworks review: Verdict

This free software program has a lot to offer and provides the user with a wide range of tools to create pro-looking videos. It may take a while to discover all of LWKS’ options but the essentials can be mastered relatively quickly with only a basic familiarity with how video editing works. 

While the export limitations may be a dealbreaker (and not worth the paid upgrade to the Pro version) for some people, if you’re posting online only and want to keep file sizes small, this may fit the bill — especially with the program’s direct output to YouTube and Vimeo.

Lightworks doesn’t take up much space on a hard drive and downloads and installs fairly quickly, so you won’t sacrifice anything other than a little time to see if it's the program for you. 

• More: The best video-editing software right now

Adobe Creative Cloud is hardly the first name that springs to mind when you think of a cloud storage service. After all, Adobe has always been more famous for its suite of creative design software, be it Photoshop or Illustrator. 

However, with a slew of quality-of-life changes that have made its cloud storage platform more intuitive and functional, this platform may well become your primary online storage service. In our Adobe Creative Cloud review, we take a look at the platform’s best features to determine if it’s the best cloud storage service for you.

Adobe Creative Cloud: Plans and pricing

Adobe Creative Cloud offers more than just a cloud storage platform. The creativity suite is valued highly within the creative industry, making this one of the more expensive solutions we have reviewed. Still, if you are someone who already uses or plans to use Adobe’s software, the cloud storage offering is added icing on the cake.

Adobe Creative Cloud costs $89.99 a month for individuals. You can reduce this cost to $59.99 a month by signing up for a one-year contract or to the equivalent of $54.99 a month if you pay yearly in advance. This is a plan that includes the entire suite of creativity applications from Adobe as well as 100GB of cloud storage. While that’s not a lot of storage for a primary storage platform, it is still more than sufficient for managing your creative workflow. 

If you are a student enrolled in an eligible institution, you can get the entire suite for a discounted price of $19.99 a month.

Then, of course, there’s the business plan. It costs $89.99 per license per month and offers 1TB of cloud storage per user. You also gain access to an admin console and user analytics, both of which are accessible via the web interface.

Adobe Creative Cloud: Features

Adobe Creative Cloud isn’t big on features when it comes to its cloud storage platform. The pitch here is rather focused on its suite of creativity apps, with the cloud storage serving as more of a unified platform to access, manage, and use these applications. 

Adobe constantly synchronizes the latest versions of all files stored via its cloud storage platform to the device or devices of your choice, provided you have access to a stable internet connection. Changes are synchronized in real-time, allowing you to collaborate with other creative professionals as you make live changes to your projects.

Adobe Creative Cloud has some limitations on file sizes, but it's improved from the past. You can upload files up to 20GB in the Creative Cloud Files folder. You can store up to 350,000 files. What’s more, download and upload speeds are relatively slow compared to other cloud storage platforms, but they have improved over the past two years. 

The drag-and-drop interface of the cloud storage platform is intuitive and easy to use. You also get access to a limited file versioning feature that allows you to restore previous versions of your creative work up to a few weeks prior. This is helpful should you find yourself wanting to undo some of your recent changes.

Adobe Creative Cloud: Interface and in use

Creative Cloud is a creativity suite first and a cloud storage platform second. The interface is fairly intuitive and easy to use, but more suited for real-time cloud collaboration rather than long-term file storage. 

Creative Cloud has improved its file format support. It now supports DNG, HEIF, HEIC, PDF, TIF, JPG, GIF, SVG, PSD, BMP, PNG, and AI files. It’s worth keeping in mind that this is a platform meant primarily for managing your creative files, however, and users looking for a general-interest cloud storage provider should best look elsewhere.

Adobe Creative Cloud: Support

Adobe offers phone and chat support options during normal business hours for both individual and business users. Learn & Support—Creative Cloud’s dedicated knowledge base and help center—is also filled with a range of how-to guides and tutorial videos to help beginners get started with the software.

Adobe Creative Cloud: Security

Adobe Creative Cloud’s storage platform is based on Amazon Web Services, making it an efficient as well as secure cloud storage service for storing important files. The provider has servers located in the EU, the US, and the Asia-Pacific region. 

While all data is encrypted during transit, Adobe does not make clear whether data at rest is encrypted for Creative Cloud Personal. However, Creative Cloud for Teams and Enterprise does offer encryption both in transit and at rest.

Alternatives to Adobe Creative Cloud

As a cloud storage provider, Adobe Creative Cloud doesn’t quite match the breadth of features offered by services like IDrive or Google Drive. This is because it’s not a dedicated cloud storage platform, but rather an extension of a cloud-based creativity suite.

IDrive, for example, offers plans that are a lot more affordable, along with 256-bit AES encryption for data in transit and at rest. You can also opt to use a private encryption key, which means not even IDrive can access your data. It also offers business plans for companies looking to utilize cloud storage.

Adobe Creative Cloud also comes with similar encryption measures for Team and Enterprise users, but the information is sparse on the quality of at-rest encryption offered in personal plans. It doesn’t offer nearly as much flexibility with its data plans, either. It also lacks additional features like bandwidth throttling and data verification.

Google Drive, on the other hand, offers productivity-based file editing capabilities that are second to none. The plans are also very affordable and offer a lot of control and flexibility over how much storage you want. If you are looking for a general cloud storage solution rather than a creativity suite, Google Drive is a much better option than Creative Cloud.

Adobe Creative Cloud: Final verdict

Adobe Creative Cloud is the best and perhaps only cloud-based creative solution in the market. However, it falls fairly short when judged simply as a cloud storage solution. This is because the cloud storage platform itself is meant to serve as an extension to the rich creativity suite, rather than as a permanent storage solution in its own right.

If you regularly download web images, it's helpful to know how to convert WEBP to JPEG or PNG. You've undoubtedly come across WEBP images on websites, though you may not have realized the pictures were in that format until you right-clicked them and chose "Save as..." 

WEBP was developed by Google as a way to display web images using a unique compression system. This reduces their size by up to a third compared to the traditional JPEG and PNG formats, while retaining their quality. 

The trouble is that many popular image editors, even paid ones, still don't support WEBP. This means that you can't open WEBP images you download to your desktop if you want to edit and reuse them.

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One solution is to right-click the WEBP image on a web page and choose "Open image in new tab," then take a screenshot of it. However, this won't preserve the picture's quality; in fact it'll be comparatively low resolution.

A better option is to convert the WEBP file into JPEG or PNG format, so you can do whatever you want with the image. In our guide below, we'll explain the two best ways to convert WEBP to JPEG or PNG, for free.

How to convert WEBP to JPEG or PNG using Microsoft Paint 

Although many image editors can’t open WEBP files, let alone convert them, one notable exception is Microsoft Paint. This built-in Windows app is often dismissed as basic, but it does a great job of converting WEBP images to JPEG or PNG format. Here’s how to use it.  

1. Launch MS Paint, either from the Start menu or by typing “paint” in the Windows search box and clicking Paint at the top of the results list.

When Paint opens, click the File menu and choose Open.

2. Browse to the WEBP image file you want to convert, then select it and click Open.

3. Once the WEBP image loads in Paint, click the File menu and move your mouse cursor down to “Save as." Select “JPEG Picture” or “PNG Picture” from the side menu. 

4. When the Save As box opens, choose the folder you want to save the converted image to, and enter a file name. Ensure that “JPEG” or “PNG” is selected in the “Save as type” menu, then click Save. 

Your WEBP file will now be converted to your preferred image format, so you can open it in your preferred image editor. Or if you want to stick with Paint, see our guide to how to edit images in Microsoft Paint. 

How to convert WEBP to JPEG or PNG using an online converter 

If you’re not using a Windows PC, the easiest way to convert a WEBP file to JPEG or PNG is to use an online conversion tool such as CloudConvert. This site works with macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux, as well as Windows, and the process takes a matter of seconds.

1. Visit CloudConvert in your desktop or mobile browser. Click or tap the arrow next to the Select File button on the homepage.

Choose whether you want to upload the WEBP file from your computer (or mobile device), enter its URL to convert it from the web, or import it from Google, Dropbox, or OneDrive.

2. CloudConvert will automatically detect the format of the file as WEBP. If not, click the “Convert” drop-down menu and select “Image,” then “WEBP.” 

Now click the “Convert to” drop-down menu and choose “Image,” then “JPG” or “PNG.” 

3. CloudConvert will adjust to show “WEBP to JPG Converter” or “WEBP to PNG Converter” as the page title. Click the “Convert” button to convert your file.

4. Once the conversion is complete, just click the Download button to save the former WEBP file to your computer or mobile device as a JPEG or PNG image.

CloudConvert lets you convert up to 25 files (of any format) per day for free, which should be enough for most people. If you need more, you’ll need to register with the website and either buy credits (called “conversion minutes”) or pay for a subscription.

Read more about the service’s payment options on the CloudConvert Pricing page 

• More: The best cloud storage for photos: free and paid
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Working on UI/UX design projects can often be frustrating due to how complicated they can become and how difficult it can be to try to collaborate with multiple other people on tasks at the same time. One of the best ways that these roadblocks can be overcome is with effective tools, but unfortunately, most current design and prototyping tools lack good solutions.

However, that has changed with the arrival of Wondershare Mockitt, a clean, simple, and powerful design and prototyping tool that will allow you and your team to work together quickly and efficiently without any confusing interfaces or other complications. Here’s an in-depth look at what makes Mockitt stand out. 

 Plan, prototype, and design effectively 

The first thing that makes Mockitt such an effective tool is how powerful and capable it is. Whether you need to plan and plot out your ideas, put together a quick prototype, or create beautiful and attractive designs that users will love, Mockitt has a tool that’s perfect for you. 

Mockitt’s Flowchart Tool is ideal for planning out the logic of your designs, as with it, you can quickly visualize each step of the process with a wide variety of different shapes, colors, lines, and fonts. These options help keep everything organized and easy to understand, giving you a rock-solid foundation to work off of as you move into the prototyping and design stages. 

Speaking of prototyping, Mockitt also comes with a suite of excellent prototyping tools. With tons of different widgets available to choose from and the ability to create folders, transitions, animations, and various programming rules, you can create everything from a simple mockup to an advanced prototype with ease. Mockitt also includes hundreds of different templates and media assets that can be used to complete prototypes in minutes if your team needs something fast. 

Finally, Mockitt also comes with a Design Tool that allows you to take your prototype and spruce it up with beautiful designs. With this tool, you can make use of a wide variety of graphics, shapes, colors, images, fonts, symbols and more across as many layers and pages as you need. The Design Tool even allows you to create designs for both desktop and mobile devices, ensuring that users will love using your interface regardless of what device they’re using. The Design Tool also supports importing Sketch files and exporting your design, meaning that you can seamlessly integrate it into your existing workflow. 

 Systems perfect for beginners and veterans alike 

Mockitt is also incredibly beginner-friendly, yet it also doesn’t sacrifice any advanced functionality. This is due to the tool’s clean and clear interface that never overwhelms you with too much information at once, but always has more advanced options at the ready if you need them. 

Mockitt’s various tools also utilize a drag-and-drop system that makes adding elements or making changes easy and quick to do. Compared to the systems used by other tools, this drag-and-drop approach is much faster, simpler and precise. 

 Work with your team seamlessly 

Lastly, Mockitt was built from the ground up to ensure that collaboration with others is seamless. All of Mockitt’s tools allow you and your team members to make changes and additions at the same time over the cloud, complete with autosaving and real-time updates. 

In situations where access to certain parts of your projects needs to be limited to select individuals, Mockitt also has admin-specific tools that allow them to restrict access and give various levels of permissions to each team member. This feature guarantees that you won’t need to worry about colleagues editing parts of the project they aren’t supposed to. 

 Designers should look no further than Mockitt 

While many design tools available these days lack some important features, Mockitt stands out from the crowd by not only offering a ton of valuable flowchart, prototyping, and design tools, but also by using a simple and clean interface as well as advanced cloud-based collaboration systems. With Mockitt, you and your team can create everything from a simple flowchart plan to a top-notch user interface without any roadblocks at all. 

Notably, there’s even a free version of Mockitt that allows you to take advantage of much of what it offers without ever even paying a cent. There’s a free trial available for the more advanced versions of the tool as well, including both the personal and enterprise versions. Additionally, Mockitt’s paid versions are incredibly affordable with prices starting at $12.9/month.

As you probably know, Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) offers a powerful set of products to help creators design, build, and edit their work. With over 20 apps specially made for photographers, film editors, designers, and web and UX developers, it’s well worth grabbing the Creative Cloud suite, or its individual apps, at a discount.

In this article, we’ve put together the best Adobe Creative Cloud discounts available today. The CC suite boasts visual design apps such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Lightroom Classic, top-notch video editing software Premiere Pro , and motion graphics editors After Effects and Animate. For web design and prototyping, you’ve got Dreamweaver, InDesign, and Adobe XD.

Every CC subscription includes 100GB of file storage, thousands of exclusive fonts, free portfolio website hosting, and collaboration tools such as sharing and commenting.

Whether you’re new to creative products, or a professional looking for a good deal, this round-up won’t disappoint. Bear in mind that some of these offers might be available to students and first-subscribers only, and may depend on where you are in the world, so read the terms and conditions before signing up.

The best Adobe Creative Cloud discounts available now

Student and teacher plan: Get Adobe CC All Apps plan for just $19.99 a month

For those who study or work in education, the Creative Cloud suite comes at a reduced price. If you grab the Student and Teacher All Apps deal, you save over 60% on the normal subscription fee.

Adobe Stock: Get 10 free Adobe Stock images

US: Free 30-day trial

UK: Free 30-day trial

AU: Free 30-day trial

Adobe offers its Stock service free of charge during a 30-day trial. If you sign up to Adobe Stock for one year, at $29.99 a month, your first month—or 10 images—will be free. But if you don’t want to pay after the trial, you can cancel your subscription, no strings attached.

Adobe Creative Cloud discounts: Download a free trial of your favorite apps

Download a free Photoshop trial for PC, Mac or iPad now

If you want to see what the hype is with this popular graphics editor, you’re in luck, because Adobe is offering Photoshop on a seven-day free trial. Then, if you’re ready to invest, choose one of the subscription options—otherwise, cancel before your trial ends. Our guide on how to download Photoshop provides you with more details on all of your options.

Download a free trial of Illustrator for PC, Mac or iPad now

Another top design program, Adobe Illustrator can be trialled for free for seven days before you embark on a paid subscription. If you decide to pay for it, you can buy it as a standalone or as part of the CC suite. Read our guide on how to download Illustrator to learn more.

Download a free trial of Premiere Pro for PC or Mac now

Adobe Premiere Pro is our top pick for the best video editing software. It may not come cheap, but its comprehensive toolkit helps video makers create outstanding professional content. You can try it for free for seven days, then cancel or continue with a CC subscription. See our guide to how to download Premiere Pro to find out more. 

You can also view our guides on how to download InDesign, how to download Acrobat, and on how to download After Effects.

How to get the best Adobe Creative Cloud discount

We’re updating this page with new Adobe Creative Cloud discounts, so you’re always up to speed with the latest deals. Keep checking in by bookmarking this page—if there’s a new discount, you’ll find it here.

You can also check for discounts on the Adobe website.

More of today's best Adobe CC deals

Our price tracking software is always searching for the best Adobe deals. Scroll down to see today's best Adobe Creative Cloud deals and discounts.

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If you’re currently shopping around for the best e-signature solutions, then Adobe Sign is a trusted industry leader with plenty to offer.

Adobe Sign comes as part of Adobe’s comprehensive Document Cloud (DC) platform, and can be purchased via three paid subscription plans: Adobe PDF Pack with e-sign, Adobe Acrobat DC with e-sign, and Adobe Acrobat with advanced e-sign.

In this article, we explain how to download Adobe Sign, as well as how to try it for free. We also go through all the available paid plan options, so you can choose the subscription that best suits your requirements.

Can I download Adobe Sign for free?

There are three paid plans that include Adobe Sign, and two of them—Acrobat Pro DC with e-sign and Acrobat Pro DC with advanced e-sign—come with seven-day free trials.

To access either of these free trials for Sign as a single user, you need to create an Adobe ID account first. You can set this up with your email address or through your Google, Facebook, or Apple accounts.

Next, you need to enter your credit card details on Adobe’s secure payment page. Unless you cancel your subscription within the seven free days, it will automatically become a paid plan.

For the Adobe Sign business and enterprise plan, there’s a 14-day free trial that gives you access to all of Adobe Sign’s features. It doesn’t require a credit card, but you do need to provide other details including your name, your company name and size (the number of people in your team), your business email address, your phone number, and your country/region.

How do I buy Adobe Sign DC?

As we’ve mentioned, there are three paid plans that include Adobe Sign: Adobe PDF Pack with e-sign, Acrobat Pro DC with e-sign, and Acrobat Pro DC with advanced e-sign. All three of these plans are available to purchase on Adobe’s website. Simply visit the Adobe Sign landing page, select "Plans & Pricing", then select "Buy Now" next to the plan of your choice and follow the instructions.

Adobe PDF Pack with e-sign is a basic online-only suite, which enables you to create, e-sign, share, convert, and combine PDFs online.

Adobe Pro DC with e-sign and Adobe Pro DC with advanced e-sign are desktop software suites. Adobe Pro DC with e-sign comes with extra features like password protection and text/image editing tools, while Adobe Pro DC with advanced e-sign adds customized branding to e-sign requests, plus other enhanced functions.

There are also multi-user editions of these plans, which allow you to add extra licenses to your account as your team grows.

What’s the price of Adobe Sign DC?

With each single user plan, you can choose between an annual or monthly subscription.

Adobe PDF Pack with e-sign costs $199.88 for the whole year, which works out as $9.99 a month—though you can’t pay in monthly instalments. Then there’s the monthly plan, which costs $14.99 a month, where you aren’t committed to paying for a whole year’s subscription.

Adobe Pro DC with e-sign costs $14.99 a month with the annual plan, or $179.88 if prepaid for the whole year. If you opt for the monthly plan instead, it’ll cost $24.99 a month.

Adobe Pro DC with advanced e-sign is the most expensive plan. With the annual subscription, it ordinarily costs $27.99 a month, or $239.88 if prepaid for the whole year.

For business team or multi-user editions, Acrobat DC with e-sign requires an annual commitment, and costs $16.99 a month per license or $203.88 a year per license. Acrobat DC with advanced e-sign also requires an annual commitment, and costs $29.99 a month per license ($21.99 a month per license with the introductory offer) or $263.88 a year per license.

If you’re interested in the business and enterprise plan for larger teams, you’ll need to contact the Adobe sales team to obtain pricing information.

Adobe Sign discount for teachers and students

Adobe doesn’t currently offer a Sign or Acrobat DC discount for teachers and students. However, those in education can still enjoy a saving of over 60% on the Creative Cloud All Apps subscription, which includes Adobe Acrobat Pro DC—an excellent PDF management tool.

With this discount, the All Apps plan only costs $19.99 a month (increasing to $29.99 a month after the first year), or $239.88 a year if paid annually (increasing to $359.88 after the first year).

How can I get started with Adobe Sign?

If you’re new to Adobe Sign, you should take advantage of Adobe’s online tutorials, or by selecting "Learn & Support" on the Adobe Sign landing page.

There are several video guides to choose from, including how-to guides on sending, signing, and tracking documents, as well as editing templates and creating digital signatures, among others. What’s more, you can filter the content by selecting "Beginner" or "Experienced" at the top of the web page.

Adobe Sign: Key info you need to know

Since its launch in 2015, Acrobat DC (of which Adobe Sign is an integral part) has been a leading cloud-based PDF management software suite that enables users to create, edit, e-sign, share, and manage PDF documents with both colleagues and clients. Read our guide on how to download Acrobat to find out more on how to get Acrobat for your machine or your business.

Adobe Sign is used and trusted by businesses of all sizes, and its e-signatures are legally binding and conform with e-signature laws across the globe.

Adobe Sign: Android and iOS apps

There’s an Adobe Sign mobile app, which works on Android and iOS supported mobile devices. It’s available to purchase and download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. 

To use Adobe Sign on your mobile, you need to have an Adobe subscription that includes Adobe Sign—such as Adobe PDF Pack or Adobe Acrobat DC.

With the mobile app, you get all of your important e-sign solutions in one place. You can sign documents on the go, send them to others for signing, manage and securely store them, as well as scan paper documents to turn them into PDFs.

Adobe Sign alternatives

DocuSign is popular across the world. It comes with great encryption/security and matches Adobe Sign for e-signing features and functions. It also has a user-friendly interface and can be integrated with Salesforce, Apple, and Google apps, plus others.

Other viable alternatives include Secure Signing, SignEasy, and OneSpan Sign.

Want to download Premiere Pro but unsure where to start? We’ve got you covered. 

Choosing between the best video editing software platforms can be difficult, but if you’ve decided Premiere Pro ticks all your boxes, this guide will talk you through how to download Premiere Pro with a free trial or with a subscription. Plus, we’ll offer some beginner-friendly Premiere Pro tips to help you get started with the software.

Can I download free Premiere Pro?

Premiere Pro is subscription-based video editing software, but you can try the program before purchasing by utilizing Adobe’s free seven-day trial. After this, you will be required to buy the software via a Creative Cloud membership—downloading Premiere Pro for free in any other way is illegal, and you could end up downloading harmful viruses or malware onto your system.

To try Premiere Pro, you can head to the Adobe website to set up your account and download the app onto your system.

How do I buy Premiere Pro?

If you decide you’d like to continue using Premiere Pro post-trial, you can head over to the Adobe website and choose from a variety of payment plans and subscriptions.

Premiere Pro is only available as part of a Creative Cloud membership—once you’ve created an account, you can choose between a single app plan offering just Premiere Pro or a multiple app plan. A rolling monthly subscription to Premiere Pro alone sets you back $31.49 a month, or the “all apps” plan with over 20 apps costs $79.49 a month, so it depends on how many apps you’ll be using as to which is the most cost-effective for you.

Creative Cloud offers memberships tailored to individuals, students, teachers, businesses, and enterprises, so it’s worth looking through all the plans to decide which best suits your needs.

What’s the price of Premiere Pro? 

For individuals, Premiere Pro as a standalone app will cost $31.49 a month on a rolling monthly subscription. You can reduce the price of this by paying for an annual plan monthly — bringing it down to $20.99 a month — or by paying for an annual plan upfront, which costs $239.88 each year. All of these payment options include access to the latest features and Premiere Pro updates, 100GB of cloud storage, Premiere Rush, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark.

Creatives that use a variety of Creative Cloud apps may find the multiple app plans more cost-effective — the “all apps'' plan gives access to over 20 Adobe creative apps, including Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and InDesign. For arguably better value, you can get all the apps for $52.99 a month on an annual plan; $79.49 a month on a rolling monthly plan, or $599.88 for an annual plan paid upfront. Alongside the apps, users will have access to the latest features and updates, 100GB of cloud storage, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark.

The prices quoted here don’t include tax, but full price lists for students and teachers or businesses can be found on the Adobe website. It’s also worth keeping an eye on the Adobe special offers page for the latest discounts.

Premiere Pro discounts for teachers and students

As a student or teacher, you’re eligible to save over 60% on the usual cost of the “all apps” plan, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro. 

Signing up for this plan will set you back just $19.99 a month on an annual plan for the first year, rising to $29.99 each month thereafter. Paying for an annual plan upfront will cost you $239.88. 

There is currently no option to get a discount directly on the single Premiere Pro app. However, opting for the “all apps” discounted plan actually works out cheaper than paying for Premiere Pro individually. 

How can I get started with Premiere Pro?

If you’re new to Premiere Pro, you’re in good hands — there are a range of tutorials to help you get started. After downloading the software, you can head over to the Adobe Help Center to access guides covering topics such as understanding the editing panels, working with graphics and titles, and adding effects. 

The Adobe Help Center also offers a variety of guides and useful resources for a number of general inquiries. If you’re unsure of anything, you have the option to chat with others in the community forum, or speak to a team member instantly via the webchat on the page.

Premiere Pro: Key info you need to know

Adobe Premiere Pro is an industry-leading video editing software application suitable for handling complex video projects. With a variety of innovative tools on offer alongside the artificial intelligence of Adobe Sensei, transforming raw footage into a professional project has never felt simpler. 

Premiere Pro offers seamless integration with other apps like Photoshop and Audition, and you can edit footage in any format, from 8K to virtual reality. Available on both macOS and Windows, Premiere is highly accessible, and the variety of tutorials available make it relatively beginner-friendly — likely the reason the software is a favorite with professional video editors and hobbyists alike.

Premiere Pro: Android and iOS apps 

While Premiere Pro isn’t available directly as a mobile app, you can edit on the go with Adobe's free editing mobile app, Premiere Rush. If you’re looking to create videos specifically for social media, the simple user interface will get you editing and exporting smaller projects much faster.

Premiere Rush works on iPhone, iPad, Android, and desktop, with your projects automatically syncing to the cloud whenever you make edits. This means you can switch between devices easily without losing any changes.

Alternatively, there are plenty of other Android and iOS apps to aid your editing experience, including Adobe Spark, which enables you to easily create graphics, web pages, and video stories. The full range of available apps can be explored and downloaded by heading to the Adobe website.

Premiere Pro alternatives

Finally, if you’re unsure of whether to download Premiere Pro, there are alternatives available, including the cheaper, but slightly less full-featured, Adobe Premiere Elements 2021. Check out our guide to the best video editing software, where you can find out more details on programs like Final Cut Pro X and Filmora9.

Most of us are multimedia users nowadays, let's face it, whether we realise it or not. The need for simple-to-use software to create and edit has never been more vital. Whether we are editing photos, video clips, or simply creating PDFs there has always been a need for a software package that makes all this possible with minimum fuss. Since 2004 Movavi has had a singular vision – to provide creative software that is accessible, and simple to use, so everyone can take part, have fun, without having to navigate complicated and confusing programs, of which there are many.

Movavi came into being, over 15 years ago now, as a humble start-up made up of a small group of enthusiasts with this shared vision, and has been working tirelessly since then to bring it into existence. Since its inception the Movavi vision has spread, and now employs 400 people on an international scale, as well as providing a plethora of video, music, and photo editing software that embodies this vision of simplicity and ease-of-use, and to make it available for all ages and walks of life. If Movavi’s continued growth points to anything – it’s that this vision clearly has something to it.

By keeping an open mind and playful outlook Movavi has managed to bring together all the tools you need. Movavi does this using one simple method in particular – listening to its users. And precisely by doing this it bridges a gap where it’s sometimes believed that certain software is only for certain types of people. Movavi software is all you need and is an easy and reliable multimedia program. The whole point to Movavi is that it is fun and fulfilling to use – it’s what they want, so why wouldn’t they want the same for you? Movavi also does this by keeping an eye on the ever changing world of IT, so you don’t have to. 

Record, edit, and convert.

The peach in Movavi’s creative collection is the video editing software. It takes the simplicity of the type of of photo editing we all do and applies the same simple logic to video editing (Movavi’s Picverse is a winner, too, and comes in a handy app) Movavi Multimedia Software not only includes all the tools you need at your disposal – whether you’re a seasoned blogger, home movie-maker, or maker of educational videos or slideshows for work – the Movavi Multimedia Software simplifies the whole process for you, making it intuitive. It really covers everything you might need. Movavi Multimedia Software allows you to convert between 180+ different file formats for a start. File conversion can at times be a frustrating early stumbling block for novices and professionals alike. Here it’s as easy as pie. Have a look see, here. 

Movavi Multimedia Software also comes with an all important screen recorder, check it out here. For anyone who wants to record video calls, or other general activity. Let me give you an example: You’re having issues with a website or another piece of software, and trying to relay the problem or ask how to do something from a customer service representative in a chat window, or through email. Instead of going round in circles trying to explain – you simply press record, using the screen recorder app, and record the problem you are having in real time, then send. Simple. This is also the perfect tool for creating instructive videos for distance learning. Want to know how to add effects to that movie you're making using Movavi’s Multimedia Software? I’ll record myself doing just that, and send it over to you. Oh, you can also add a voice over, or cool cursor effects to highlight what I’m doing in the video. 

For you gamers out there Movavi also provides another app – Gecata – that’s perfect for recording your gameplay, so you start uploading and showing off via youtube. I mean – provide helpful instructional videos, of course.

Whatever you are using to record with though, your phone, desktop or something a little more professional, the editing software is very intuitive and easy to use. The Movavi video suite’s interface keeps everything in one place, so it’s easy to navigate. You can  - record, edit, and convert all in from the same Movavi launchpad. It’s pretty easy to make your work, whatever that may be, look slick and professional using any number of titles, filters, and transitions. Grab a free trial see for yourself.  

For over 20 years, Adobe InDesign has been one of the leading desktop publishing (DTP) software suites. It’s widely regarded as the gold standard by professionals in the world of digital and print media.

InDesign is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) platform, which comprises over 20 apps in total. You can test out InDesign with a free trial, and otherwise it’s available to buy on its own with a single app subscription, or bundled with the comprehensive Creative Cloud All Apps plan.

In this article, we show you how to download InDesign, as well as how to try it for free. We also explain the paid plan options, so you can decide what suits you best.

Can I download InDesign for free?

Although there isn’t a dedicated free starter plan for InDesign CC, you can opt for a seven-day free trial, which allows you to explore InDesign’s features and functions on your Mac or Windows desktop. This trial is included with the InDesign single app plan and the Creative Cloud All Apps plan.

Before you can begin the free trial, you need to create a free Adobe ID account, which you can set up with your email address, or through your Google, Facebook, or Apple accounts.

You also need to provide Adobe with your credit card details, which means your subscription will become a paid plan if you don’t cancel it within the free trial period.

Alternative free download options might be advertised by outside vendors, but you should avoid them, as these links won’t be safe or legal. 

How do I buy InDesign CC?

You can purchase and download InDesign CC by itself with the single app plan, or as part of the Creative Cloud All Apps subscription package.

The single app option comes with 100GB of cloud storage and three other related Adobe apps: Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark.

The Creative Cloud All Apps plan includes over 20 Adobe creative apps, as well as 100GB of cloud storage. Although this plan is more expensive, it offers the best value for money if you want to use a selection of Adobe suites.

Both of these plans are advertised on Adobe’s website. Select "Buy now" to go to Adobe’s secure payment page, then follow the instructions to purchase and download your chosen InDesign plan.

What’s the price of InDesign CC?

The InDesign single app plan costs $20.99 a month with the annual subscription, or $239.88 if prepaid for the whole year. There’s also a separate monthly plan, which costs $31.49 a month on a rolling basis—making it the least cost-effective option.

As for the Creative Cloud All Apps plan, this costs $52.99 a month, or $599.88 if prepaid for the whole year. You can also pay on a rolling monthly basis, which costs $79.49 a month and is, again, the least cost-effective option.  

For businesses, the Creative Cloud All Apps plan costs $79.99 a month for one license, while a single app plan is $33.99 a month for one license. With this business edition, users will have access to 24/7 technical support, 1TB of cloud storage, and cross-app integration with popular workplace apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams.

InDesign discount for teachers and students

Adobe doesn’t currently offer a standalone InDesign discount for teachers and students. However, they can still enjoy a saving of over 60% on the Creative Cloud All Apps subscription.

With this discount, the Creative Cloud All Apps plan only costs $19.99 a month (increasing to $29.99 a month after the first year), or $239.88 a year if paid annually (increasing to $359.88 after the first year).

How can I get started with InDesign?

Whether you’re a newcomer, a seasoned pro, or somewhere in-between, there are plenty of dedicated InDesign online tutorials on the Adobe website, located all in one place.

There are 22 video tutorials in total, covering how to get started, page layout techniques, printing tips, and text formatting, among other things.

What’s more, you can quickly find what’s relevant by adjusting the User Level (split into "Beginner", "Intermediate", and "Experienced") and/or "Topics" filters—located on the left side of the web page—to suit your needs.

InDesign: Key info you need to know

As previously mentioned, InDesign CC is an industry-leading DTP software suite, which enables users to create professional page designs, layouts, typography, and imagery/graphics. As such, it’s used by professionals to produce, print, and share a variety of first-rate content—from books and newspapers to digital magazines and interactive PDFs.

To aid team collaboration, you can upload your projects to the web and share files in a PDF format. As well as integrating with the Creative Cloud platform, InDesign can also be used with Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), meaning you can easily share content from all your projects.

With both the single app and Creative Cloud All Apps plans, you’ll automatically receive any new InDesign updates for free, as and when they’re released.

InDesign: Android and iOS apps

Presently, InDesign CC remains a desktop-only application and is compatible with Mac and Windows computers.

That said, there’s Adobe Comp, which is a free app you can use on mobile devices (including iPads) that support iOS or Android operating systems. Adobe Comp allows you to create page designs for mobile, web, and print formats, while on the move. You can also send Comp mobile projects to your InDesign desktop suite.

Adobe Comp is available to download from the App Store (with a mobile running iOS 9.0 or later) and the Google Play Store (with a mobile running Android 4.4 or later).

InDesign alternatives

Affinity Publisher is one of the best alternatives to InDesign, especially when it comes to the quality and quantity of its page layout features. Like InDesign, Affinity Publisher is available to use on Mac and Windows computers.

What’s more, if you’re not keen on the idea of entering into a subscription, as is the case with all Adobe apps, you don’t have to with Affinity Publisher—it’s yours for a one-off fee of just $24.99 (at the time of writing).

QuarkXPress is another solid option that comes with useful features and a one-off fee. However, if you want a good free alternative to InDesign, then you might like Scribus, which offers lots of layout design tools for those on budget.

When it comes to vector graphics software with first-rate drawing functions, Adobe Illustrator is the industry leader and a long-time favorite of many artists and creative professionals.

Illustrator is part of Adobe’s expansive Creative Cloud (CC) platform and can be downloaded at no cost with a free trial. Beyond the trial, there are two paid subscriptions to choose from: the Illustrator single app plan and the Creative Cloud All Apps plan.

In this article, we show you how to download Illustrator CC and how to try it for free. We also go through the paid options, so you can choose a plan that works for you.

Can I download Illustrator for free?

Yes, you can download the full version of Illustrator for free, but only on a seven-day trial basis. You can find it on the Adobe Illustrator homepage by selecting "Free Trial".

Before you can begin the trial, you need to create a free Adobe ID account, which can be set up with your email address—or through your Google, Facebook, or Apple accounts.

As part of the sign-up process, you also need to enter your credit card details, meaning that your subscription will automatically become a paid plan after the seven-day trial ends. If you want to avoid being charged for a subscription, you’ll need to cancel it within that seven-day time frame.

Alternative free download options inevitably crop up on the internet, but you should always avoid them, as these will not provide safe or legal links. Stick to the official Adobe website.

How do I buy Illustrator CC?

To buy Illustrator means signing up for a Creative Cloud subscription plan. You have the choice between buying Illustrator as a standalone app, with the single app plan, or as part of the comprehensive Creative Cloud All Apps plan, which comprises over 20 Adobe creative apps.

The single app plan gives you 100GB of cloud storage, and comes with three other related Adobe apps: Adobe Spark, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Portfolio. You’ll also have access to the latest Illustrator updates as and when they’re released.

As the name suggests, the Creative Cloud All Apps plan includes the entire range of CC creative apps, as well as 100GB of cloud storage. Although this plan is more expensive, it works out as better value if you intend to use a selection of Adobe suites.

Both of these plans are on Adobe’s website. Select "Buy now" to go to a secure payment page, then follow the instructions to start your chosen subscription and download Illustrator.

What’s the price of Illustrator CC?

The single app plan costs $20.99 a month with the annual subscription, or $239.88 if prepaid for the entire year. Alternatively, you can pay on a rolling monthly basis which, at $31.49 a month, is the least cost-effective but most flexible option.

The Creative Cloud All Apps plan costs $52.99 a month, or $599.88 if prepaid for the whole year. You can also pay on a rolling monthly basis, which costs $79.49 a month and is, again, the least cost-effective option.  

For businesses, the All Apps plan costs $79.99 a month for one license, while a single app plan is $33.99 a month for one license. With this business edition, users get 24/7 technical support, 1TB of cloud storage, and can use Creative Cloud in combination with workplace apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Illustrator discount for teachers and students

Adobe doesn’t currently offer an Illustrator CC discount for teachers and students. However, they can still get a saving of over 60% on the Creative Cloud All Apps subscription.

With this discount, the plan only costs $19.99 a month (increasing to $29.99 a month after the first year), or $239.88 a year if paid upfront (increasing to $359.88 after the first year).

How can I get started with Illustrator?

If you’re new to Illustrator CC, the learning curve might be a bit steep at first. However, there’s help at hand in the form of tutorials on Adobe’s website.

On this tutorials page, there are several useful video guides that cover various topics—including getting started, drawing lessons, and using Illustrator on iPads, among other things. What’s more, by selecting "Beginner" or "Experienced" at the top of the screen, it’s possible to filter the content and find what’s relevant for you.

Illustrator: Key info you need to know

Adobe Illustrator has been around since 1987, and is a popular choice with artists and other creative professionals. It’s widely regarded as one of the leading vector graphics software suites around, as it enables users to make scalable, high-resolution illustrations, logos, icons, billboard designs, product packaging, and other striking visual content.

The latest version of Illustrator for desktop and iPad, released in February 2021, includes many AI-enhanced features powered by Adobe Sensei—such as an auto-trace tool. There’s also a new "Invite to Edit" function, which allows you to easily collaborate on your creative projects with colleagues.

Illustrator: Android and iOS apps

Illustrator can be used on Mac and Windows desktop, and on iPads that run on iOS 13.4 or later. However, as it stands, Illustrator is not yet available on mobile devices.

If you want to use Illustrator on your iPad, it’s available to download from the App Store and is included in the Illustrator single app plan—meaning you’ll have to enter into a paid subscription.

There’s also a free app called Adobe Illustrator Draw, with which you can create free-form vector designs and export them to other Adobe CC apps, including the Illustrator suite on your desktop/iPad.

Adobe Illustrator Draw is available to use on mobile devices that support iOS or Android operating systems. It can be downloaded from the App Store and the Google Play Store.

Illustrator alternatives

One of the best alternatives to Illustrator is Affinity Designer, which offers a highly competitive array of design features and functions, with only a few tools missing. Additionally, Affinity Designer can operate on Mac, Windows, and iOS platforms, and only requires a one-off payment.

If you’re on the lookout for vector-based drawing software that’s particularly geared towards digital design, then Sketch might be of interest. Although it’s only available to Mac users, it comes with many impressive tools, particularly for creating icons and logos.

Read our guide to the best alternatives to Illustrator to see how these two fared in our comparison, and to find out which other products we recommended.

If you’re currently exploring the best PDF editors, then it’s little wonder that Adobe Acrobat may have grabbed your attention. 

This expansive PDF editing software is packed with an impressive array of features and functions, which enable you to convert various files into a PDF format and then edit, sign, and share them.

The two main desktop versions of Acrobat—Adobe Acrobat Standard DC and Adobe Acrobat Pro DC—are available to purchase and download from Adobe’s website.

In this article, we explain how to download Acrobat, as well as how to try it for free. We also go through how much each Acrobat subscription costs, so you can choose the plan that best suits your needs.

Can I download free Acrobat?

A seven-day free trial is available for Acrobat Pro DC, but not for Acrobat Standard DC. There’s also Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for desktop and mobile, which is completely free to download and a great option for more basic PDF management needs.

If you want to try Acrobat Pro DC for free, you need to create an Adobe ID account first, which you can set up with your email address—or through your Google, Facebook, or Apple accounts.

Before you can begin your free trial, you also need to enter your credit card details on Adobe’s secure payment page. This means your subscription will automatically become a paid plan after the seven free days, unless you cancel it within that time.

Make sure you only download Acrobat from the official Adobe website. Alternative download methods are often advertised on the internet, but these won’t be safe or legal links.

How do I buy Acrobat DC?

Both Acrobat Pro DC and Acrobat Standard DC can be purchased as subscriptions on Adobe’s website. Once you’ve selected the Acrobat edition and subscription of your choice, simply click "Buy now" to go to Adobe’s secure payment page, then follow the instructions to purchase and download the software.

Acrobat Standard DC is for Windows desktops only, and can be purchased as a standalone app via a subscription. The Standard DC suite enables you to create, fill, sign, edit, combine, password-protect, and share PDF documents, among other things. 

Acrobat Pro DC can be used on Windows and Mac desktops. It’s available to buy on its own or bundled with the comprehensive Creative Cloud All Apps plan. With the Pro DC suite, you get everything that Standard DC offers, plus many advanced features too.

What’s the price of Acrobat DC?

You can choose between an Individual or Business subscription plan, both for the Standard DC and Pro DC suites.

For individuals, Acrobat Pro DC costs $14.99 a month with an annual subscription, or $179.88 if prepaid for the whole year. Alternatively, you can pay $24.99 a month on a rolling monthly basis (with no annual commitment).

Acrobat Standard DC is slightly less expensive for an individual. It costs $12.99 a month with an annual subscription, or $155.88 if prepaid for the whole year. With a rolling monthly subscription, it costs $22.99 a month.

As for business subscriptions, you must make an annual commitment if you want Acrobat for your team. Acrobat Pro DC costs $16.99 a month per user, or $203.88 a year per user if prepaid. Acrobat Standard DC costs $14.99 a month per user, or $179.88 a year per user if paid upfront.

If you want to purchase Acrobat Pro DC with the Creative Cloud All Apps subscription bundle, it costs $52.99 a month, or $599.88 prepaid annually. You can also pay on a rolling monthly basis at $79.49 a month.

For business teams, the All Apps plan costs $79.99 a month for one license, while a single app plan is $33.99 a month for one license. The business All Apps plan comes with 24/7 technical support, 1TB of cloud storage per user (reduced to 100GB for Acrobat Pro DC as a single app), and full Creative Cloud integration with work apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Acrobat discount for teachers and students

Adobe doesn’t currently offer an Acrobat DC discount for teachers and students. However, those in education can still enjoy a saving of over 60% on the Creative Cloud All Apps subscription.

With this discount, the All Apps plan only costs $19.99 a month (increasing to $29.99 a month after the first year), or $239.88 a year if paid annually (increasing to $359.88 after the first year).

How can I get started with Acrobat?

If you’re new to Acrobat DC, there are plenty of online tutorials to explore on Adobe’s website. You can watch video guides that cover a variety of topics—from Getting Started introductions to How-to guides on editing, filling, signing, and sharing PDF documents.

Furthermore, you can organize the content by selecting either the Beginner or Experienced filters at the top of the web page.

Acrobat: Key info you need to know

As with many Adobe apps and products, Acrobat DC is highly regarded and widely used by business professionals across the world.

You can use Acrobat DC to create, fill, sign, edit, and share PDF documents. As such, Acrobat DC is ideal for when collaborative input on important documents is needed, between both colleagues and clients.

It’s also possible to protect documents with effective security measures, like passwords, metadata deletion, and redactions, so that sensitive information always remains private.

Acrobat: Android and iOS apps

There are three freely available Adobe Acrobat mobile apps: Adobe Acrobat Reader, an all-in-one mobile PDF editing app; Adobe Scan, for on-the-go document scanning; and Adobe Fill & Sign, for filling, signing, and sending documents.

All three of these mobile apps can be used on mobile devices supported by iOS or Android operating systems. You can download them from the App Store and the Google Play Store.

The Adobe Acrobat Reader mobile app is a popular PDF viewer and comes with an impressive Liquid Mode setting, which means you can effortlessly read PDF documents, as well as annotate, fill, sign, and share them.

Acrobat alternatives

Although Acrobat DC is a great PDF editing option, there are several viable alternatives.

Take PDFpenPro, for example, which is available to Mac users and comes with an extensive array of editing features. With this PDF tool, you can fill out forms, build PDFs from scratch, create tables of content, and edit scanned documents. 

Update: Adobe has announced a free web version of Photoshop

If you’re currently exploring the best photo editing software available, then it’s no surprise if industry-leading Adobe Photoshop CC has piqued your interest.  

Photoshop CC is part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud platform, and can be downloaded from the Adobe website. You can purchase Photoshop CC on its own, as part of Adobe’s Photography plan, or bundled with the comprehensive Creative Cloud All Apps package.

In this article, we explain how to download Photoshop CC, how to try it for free, and how much the paid plans cost, so you can decide which option suits you best.

Can I download Photoshop for free?

Photoshop CC doesn’t come with a free starter plan. However, you can try out its features and functions at no cost with a seven-day free trial, which applies across all three of the paid plans that include Photoshop CC.  Additionally, Adobe has started rolling out a "freemium" web browser-based version of Photoshop that will work in Edge and Chrome browsers.

To opt for this, you need to create a free Adobe ID account first, which you can easily set up using your email address—or through your Google, Facebook, or Apple account.

Before you can download Photoshop and begin your free trial, you also need to enter your credit card details on Adobe’s secure payment page (which you’re directed to after selecting "Try for free"). If you don’t opt out of the subscription within the free trial period, it will automatically become a paid plan.

Whether you’re buying Photoshop CC or testing it for free, be sure to only download it from the official Adobe website. Other vendors might advertise alternative download methods, but these won’t be safe or legal links.

How do I buy Photoshop CC?

You can buy Photoshop CC by itself via a Single App plan. This is available for use on desktop and iPad, and comes with 100GB of cloud storage, plus four other related Adobe apps: Spark, Fresco, Portfolio, and Fonts.

Photoshop CC is also available as part of a larger Photography CC plan, which includes the Lightroom CC (for desktop and mobile) and Lightroom Classic (for desktop) photo editing suites.

Alternatively, you can buy Photoshop CC as part of the comprehensive Creative Cloud All Apps package, which includes over 20 Adobe creative apps, as well as 100GB of cloud storage.

All of these plans can be purchased on Adobe’s website. Simply select "Buy now" to go to Adobe’s secure payment page, then follow the instructions to purchase and download the subscription of your choice.

What’s the price of Photoshop CC?

Photoshop CC as a single app costs $20.99 a month, or $239.88 if prepaid for the whole year. You can also pay for it on a rolling monthly basis at $31.49 a month, although this isn’t as cost-effective.

The bigger Photography plan comes with 20GB of cloud storage and costs $9.99 a month, or $199.88 if prepaid for the whole year. You can upgrade the plan to include 1TB of cloud storage instead, which increases the price to $19.99 a month, or $239.88 if prepaid for the whole year.

If you want to use Photoshop CC via the All Apps subscription bundle, it’ll cost $52.99 a month, or $599.88 prepaid annually. You can also pay on a rolling monthly basis, which costs $79.49 a month and is, again, the least cost-effective option.  

For businesses, the All Apps plan costs $79.99 a month for one license, while a Single App plan is $33.99 a month for one license. With this business edition, each user gets 24/7 technical support, 1TB of cloud storage, and can integrate Creative Cloud apps with other popular work apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Photoshop discount for teachers and students

Adobe doesn’t currently offer a Photoshop CC discount. However, teachers and students can still enjoy a saving of over 60% on the Creative Cloud All Apps subscription.

With this discount, the All Apps plan only costs $19.99 a month (increasing to $29.99 a month after the first year), or $239.88 a year if paid annually (increasing to $359.88 after the first year).

How can I get started with Photoshop?

If you’re new to Photoshop CC, there are several helpful tutorials to explore on Adobe’s website.

Whether you want to learn the basics or hone your skills, there are many video guides to choose from, including various Getting Started tutorials, editing tips, and How-to lessons—both for desktop and iPad users. 

What’s more, you can filter the content by selecting either the Beginner or Experienced options at the top of the tutorials web page.

Photoshop: Key info you need to know

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 is packed with an impressive array of cutting-edge features and functions—many of which are AI-enhanced by Adobe Sensei. As a result, Photoshop CC remains one of the most popular photo editing suites among creative professionals.

However, due to the sheer number of tools available, Photoshop CC might also be a little overwhelming for photo editing novices. If you’re a beginner, you could purchase the Photography CC subscription plan and get to grips with the Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic apps first, then move onto Photoshop CC. 

To find out what we thought about Photoshop, read our Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 review.

Photoshop: Android and iOS apps

Although you can’t use Photoshop CC on mobile devices, there’s Photoshop Express, which is a free photo editing app available to use on mobiles.

With Express, you can edit and add various filters to your photos, then upload them to social media platforms. Express is also compatible with Photoshop CC, which means you can export mobile projects to Photoshop CC for further editing.

The Express app is available to download from the App Store (with a mobile running iOS 10 or above) and the Google Play Store (with a mobile running Android 4.1 or above). Find out how to download Adobe Photoshop Express in our guide.

There are lots of other free offshoot Adobe Photoshop apps for iOS and Android as well, such as Photoshop Fix and Photoshop Mix.

Photoshop alternatives

Photoshop CC commands lots of justified attention, but there are several appealing alternatives that are also worthy of your time and consideration.

Take Affinity Photo, for example, which offers a competitive range of tools and features that are well-suited to editing professionals. What’s more, it’s markedly less expensive than Photoshop and doesn’t involve a subscription. 

You can read our full guide to the best alternatives to Photoshop to find out which platforms rank highly as other options; you can also read our guide to the best free photo editing software to see what options are available for free.

CyberLink PhotoDirector is an often overlooked photo editing app that appeals to both consumers and prosumers. Over time, it has come to include most of the important features hobbyists and memoirists expect from their photo editors, with a healthy dose of artificial intelligence thrown into the mix. PhotoDirector facilitates numerous artificial intelligence special effects, animation effects, content aware features, photo merge, video-to-photo effects, layer-based editing, watermarks, face and body enhancements, and 360-degree photo editing.

Despite its densely packed feature set, we found during this CyberLink PhotoDirector review that they’re easy to use and learn. The Express Mode will appeal to beginners while experienced photo editors will invariably launch directly into Full Mode to quickly access the app’s large spectrum of features. It’s easy to see why it’s some of the best photo editing software around.

CyberLink PhotoDirector 12: Price and availability

There are various ways to purchase PhotoDirector on both Mac and Windows platforms, both as a perpetual license or subscription. A perpetual license for PhotoDirector 12 Ultra for both Mac and Windows costs $100, with upgrades priced at $70. 

CyberLink also offers a subscription plan called PhotoDirector 365, which is currently available on Windows for $55 per year based on an annual plan. The 365 version is not yet available for Mac at this writing, but is in the works, and will be out soon. Prices are often discounted from the MSRP either by third-party vendors or CyberLink itself. A free trial is also available. PhotoDirector also offers a free, ad-supported mobile app for both iOS and Android, which we have not tested for review.

Subscribers get immediate updates, various goodies like background music, artistic plug-ins and effects, images and sound files from Shutterstock, and 50GB of online storage. Sadly, some of the newest special effects features are limited to the subscription plan. In this review, we combine both the Mac Ultra program and the Windows 365 subscription to cover all the headlining features in version 12.

CyberLink PhotoDirector: System requirements

PhotoDirector 12 Ultra is available for Mac and Windows and can run quite well on older systems. You will need a 64-bit system running Microsoft Windows 10, 8/8.1, and 7. On the Mac side, you will need macOS 10.13, 10.14, or 10.15. It requires an Intel Core i-series or AMD Phenom II and above, 128 MB VGA VRAM or higher, and 4GB of RAM. 

CyberLink PhotoDirector 12 Ultra: Interface

CyberLink is famous for cramming a huge number of features into a fun, easy-to-use interface. There’s a lot to account for, but the logical layout divides the interface into six distinct categories: Library, Adjustment, Guided, Edit, Create, and Print. 

Library is for image organization, including face recognition. Adjustment is where Raw files are processed alongside other popular formats. The Guided section is where you’ll find Guided Edits, which walks users through complex effects step-by-step. The Edit section is for standard image editing with the familiar Layers, Tools, and Layer Masks, while the Create section facilitates slideshows, animated GIFs, and Motion Stills which are two or more similar images used to create an animated effect.

Most people will spend the bulk of their time in the Adjustment, Guided, or Edit tabs. The Adjustment tab gives you most of the edits you would expect with both manual and preset adjustments for white balance, tone, detail, and more for regional and global adjustments. In the Adjustment mode, you can view Before and After variations on a split screen in various magnifications.

CyberLink PhotoDirector 12 Ultra: Best face forward

PhotoDirector’s People Beautifier module gives you multiple opportunities to make people in your photos look their best, including slimming faces, removing shine, and brightening eyes and smiles.

The techniques are simple and effective as you brush on effects and adjust their intensity. Subjects still look like themselves, but without distracting skin imperfections and perhaps fewer wrinkles and under-eye shadows. Sliders make it easy to have your subject look as natural or as plastic as you’d like, so good judgment is critical. 

CyberLink PhotoDirector 12 Ultra: Special effects

CyberLink’s stated specialty is making your photos look more like art. For that, there are new features including Glitch Art, which lets you apply a multi-colored glitch effect, a Dispersion Effect where parts of an image dramatically disintegrate, and Person Segmentation, which lets you remove human subjects from their backgrounds, replace backgrounds, or apply special effects to either. One-click Style Effects and a Light Rays Effect let you add a burst of sunlight to images.

Artificial intelligence, which is starting to dominate popular pro and hobbyist level image editing programs like Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, makes an appearance in PhotoDirector as well. A DeBlur tool that subtly clarifies your photos, as well as popular style transfer techniques that make pictures look like paintings, are consistently quick to process. These brush and slider based tools are easy to use and infinitely customizable with instant results. 

CyberLink PhotoDirector 12 Ultra: Glitch Effect

Guided mode’s Glitch Effect features a colorful, adjustable double exposure that you can shift vertically and horizontally and adjust the fade or transparency. As with other Guided effects, you can automatically exclude the treatment from a subject or apply it only to the subject.

CyberLink PhotoDirector 12 Ultra: Pro level features

While PhotoDirector is marketed to consumers, there is a wide prosumer appeal in the program as well. For instance, the app’s manual adjustments can identify the precise interchangeable lens you used to shoot an image and it can process numerous camera raw formats.

No program can cover every single format, so if this is important to you, make sure the app is compatible with the camera you are using. 

CyberLink PhotoDirector 12 Ultra: Layers and text

PhotoDirector’s Edit mode uses non-destructive layers, much like we’re used to with Photoshop and other pro-level image editors. You can create empty layers, edit with layer masks, group layers, add adjustment layers, and create clipping masks.

PhotoDirector offers 27 blending modes, which offers a lot of creative options. One significant use is to apply text to images with the program’s detailed text controls, which let you adjust font, size, kerning, shadow, and border effects —  including bevel and emboss. 

CyberLink PhotoDirector 365: What you get with a subscription

Features like Sky Replacement, Sparkle, and free access to the Shutterstock stock photo and video site come only with a PhotoDirector 365 subscription, as opposed to the standalone perpetual licenses. Sky replacement, a Guided feature with AI underpinnings, worked especially well, and alongside the Shutterstock subscription, may be a strong incentive to purchase the subscription, which is currently available only on Windows, but is coming soon for the Mac.

Sky Replacement, which relies on AI, is extremely easy to use. Just choose the built-in preset sky you want to use while handy sliders let you customize the effect. You can use a static sky or moving clouds to create GIF animations. Additional presets are available online. 

Sky Replacement, which relies on AI, is extremely easy to use. Just choose the built-in preset sky you want to use while handy sliders let you customize the effect. You can use a static sky or moving clouds to create GIF animations. Additional presets are available online. 

Sparkle is a specialized effect that offers dozens of varieties of tiny highlights that provide some dazzle for posters, greeting cards, and photos. Just pick the kind of sparkle you want to use from the presets and apply endless adjustments either with preset auto settings or manually. You can add or remove individual sparkles from the composition, change their rotation and color, and much more. Sparkle is not something you’d use every day, but it’s easy, fun, and works well.

CyberLink PhotoDirector 12 Ultra: Bottom line

CyberLink PhotoDirector 12 Ultra is a consumer and prosumer oriented photo editor with a vast portfolio of AI-based artistic special effects baked in with nuts and bolt image editing features. The interface is friendly and easy to manage.

If you want the professional industry standard, Adobe Photoshop is your deal. If you want a pure consumer experience, then Photoshop Elements is the better pick. If you want something in between, then give CyberLink PhotoDirector a try. We would have preferred that features like the Sky Replacement and Sparkle be included as part of the perpetual license, but otherwise most hobbyists and memoirists will be happy for the many features that give them room to grow.

FL Studio, previously known as Fruity Loops, is one of the most popular Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) suites on Earth. It’s a complete package for music production, using an accessible interface to let you compose, arrange, record, edit, mix and master music to a professional level. If you need to edit audio, you’re going to want to download FL Studio.

The software’s greatest strength is its versatility. There are four distinct editions for Windows and macOS, ranging from the $99 Fruity Edition — ideal for bedroom musicians and hobbyist editors — to the $499 All Plugins Editions, the ultimate tool for production professionals.

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There’s also an FL Studio Free Trial version you can download and use indefinitely; it’s equivalent to the $199 Producer Edition with all available plugins, and lets you render projects to WAV, MIDI, MP3, and OGG. However, instrument presets cannot be saved in the Free Trial, and some instruments are not fully registered. As such, it’s worth buying one of the full versions if you want to get serious about your audio editing.

Here’s how to download FL Studio, and what you can do with this immensely popular DAW.

Where to download FL Studio

Regardless of which version you want, to download FL Studio you should start by heading to the Image-Line website, where you’ll find editions for both Windows and macOS.

• FL Studio for macOS or Windows: Image-Line

FL Studio is not limited to computers, as there are mobile versions of the app that you can download, too. Prices vary by platform, with the Android version of FL Studio Mobile costing $15 and the iOS version available for $14. FL Studio Mobile can also be installed on a PC from the Windows Store, though if you’re on a laptop or PC we’d recommend one of the desktop versions instead.

• FL Studio Mobile for Android: Google Play
• FL Studio Mobile for iOS: iOS App Store
• FL Studio Mobile for Windows 10: Microsoft Store

What you can do with FL Studio

FL Studio’s possibilities are practically limitless, as all versions of this elite music creation software allow for everyone to scratch their creative itch. You can use the DAW to record instruments and vocals, cut up and compose songs track by track, add beats and effects, mix and master your creations and much, much more.

The different price ranges of FL studio allow for everyone to find the perfect version on their budget, and the extensive demo version lets up-and-coming creatives work on music projects without worry.  

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DaVinci Resolve collects professional-standard editing, color grading, audio, and effects into one application, and with every update, strengthens its place among the best video editing software for serious editors.

The latest version, DaVinci Resolve 17, includes significant improvements to several features and was released in public beta form in November. In our DaVinci Resolve 17 review, we assess the features, interface, pricing, and support of Blackmagic Design’s software.

DaVinci Resolve 17 review: Plans and pricing

The standard version of Resolve is completely free, which is remarkable for such comprehensive software, and includes most major features. 

There’s also a premium version, DaVinci Resolve Studio 17. This has numerous additional features, including a neural engine, Dolby Vision audio tools, support for multiple GPUs, and advanced noise reduction.

It costs $295, which covers all future updates. This is similar to the $299.99 cost of Final Cut Pro and more cost effective than the subscription fee model used by Adobe Premiere Pro.

DaVinci Resolve 17 review: Features

Resolve includes nonlinear editing, color correction, audio post, and visual effects streamlined into one application. Each of these areas has several new features in Resolve 17. We’ll look at some key additions.

Color grading has always been one of Resolve’s strengths, and new HDR grading tools further that. You can now create color wheels with custom roll-off for specific tonal ranges, a color warper that lets you adjust two parameters at once, and better mask-based targeted grading. Resolve’s color tools are complex so they require technical expertise to master, but they are the best available.

Fairlight, the audio editing workspace, has received its biggest update yet. It’s much more powerful than before, able to mix 2,000 tracks in real time, and has new keyboard shortcuts that make the process faster. Automation has been improved; you can record any parameter change over time, and when you trim or move any clip, the automation will follow your edit, meaning last-minute edits won’t damage the mix.

Resolve is designed for teams to collaborate on a project. Now, artists can work simultaneously without disrupting each other’s work, so color, effects, and sound editing can begin before the editor has locked picture. This useful time-saving functionality was previously only available to premium users, but is now included in the free version.

DaVinci Resolve 17 review: Interface and in use

The main edit interface has a similar layout to competitors: multitrack timeline along the bottom, media browser in the top left, preview monitor top center, and the effects panel in the top right. It works well and is easy to get used to.

There’s also an alternative layout, the Cut Page, designed for fast turn-around editing. It includes a dual timeline; the upper timeline shows the entire edit, while the lower timeline focuses on where you’re working. Clips are no longer collected in bins but appear as one collected tape. It’s unusual at first but can speed up the process.

And, there are five further workspaces — Media, for importing footage; Fusion, for effects; Color; Fairlight, for audio; and Deliver, for exporting. Each is carefully designed to match the needs of the task. The Color page is as good as any application designed specifically for color grading, and Fairlight matches up to any audio-specific program.

Resolve can seem daunting because so many features are packed into several workspaces. But this latest release improves usability. Timeline navigation is now consistent across different workspaces, as is the design of the clip inspector, and the new metadata slate view makes clip sorting easier. Once accustomed to the interface, you’ll find that Resolve links its many functions together smoothly.

DaVinci Resolve 17 review: Support

There’s a lot to learn — DaVinci's manual runs more than 3,500 pages, and the guide to new features in Resolve 17 alone is 240 pages. But Blackmagic is on hand to help with any issues. You can email the engineers and get a fast and helpful response, or phone them if there’s a team in your country. Plus, the website has a useful range of video tutorials, and with the program’s growing userbase, you may find your question’s already been asked on the customer forum.

DaVinci Resolve 17 review: The competition

Other free video editing applications include Hitfilm Express, VSDC, and iMovie. These have simpler interfaces and enable a good standard of work. Hitfilm in particular has a very good interface, as well as a number of effects and composition tools.

However, these competitors lack Resolve’s state-of-the-art features and all-in-one nature, with few options for advanced color, audio, and effects work. Resolve matches up to expensive high-end software like Adobe Premiere Pro, and is used by Hollywood film and TV productions. As far as free editing software goes, it’s by far the most advanced.

DaVinci Resolve 17 review: Verdict

DaVinci Resolve is one of the most comprehensive editing applications available, enabling a professional standard not just in nonlinear editing but in color grading, audio post, and visual effects. It gets better with every update, and there are some great new features in Resolve 17. When it comes to free video editing software, nothing matches it.

Because of its complexity, though, it’s not the best choice for less experienced editors. If you want to create basic videos without spending much time learning the ropes, there are better options, such as Hitfilm Express. However, some improvements in Resolve 17 have made the interface more intuitive.

So, if you’re a confident editor and willing to put some time into it, DaVinci Resolve is the choice for you. The free version includes most features needed for high-quality video editing, while the additional features make Resolve Studio worth the price for professionals who edit regularly.

• More: Adobe Premiere Elements 2021 review

If you’re getting into video editing software for the first time, there’s a good chance that you’ve already run into a confusing piece of video editing jargon. Learning the meaning behind the niche words and phrases that professional video editors throw around can make your life a lot simpler. And knowing how to use specialist editing terms will enable you to follow video editing guides and discuss your work with other editors.

To help you become a more confident video editor, we’ve put together an A–Z list of the most important video editing terminology. Sometimes filmmakers make life extra confusing by referring to the same editing techniques in multiple ways. That’s why, where appropriate, we’ve included commonly used alternative phrases, too.

If you’ve found a bit of video editing lingo you don’t understand, simply look it up in the comprehensive list below.

Video editing terminology

Academy Leader
The short clip with numbers counting down that plays before a film. Also often called a film or countdown leader.

Aspect ratio
The ratio of the width to the height of an image. Traditional square-looking TV programs use an aspect ratio of 4:3. Other common standards include 1.85:1 and 16:9.

Bit rate
Also referred to as the data rate, this is the amount of information required to store a second of video or audio. Normally, it is measured in kbps (kilobits per second). Bit rate is influenced by factors such as footage resolution.

Chroma keying 
A technique used in post-production to layer multiple videos on top of one another by making a particular color in one of the layers transparent.

Color correction
The stage of post-production in which an editor adjusts the color balance of footage to set the mood or produce an output with a consistent tone.

Continuity editing
Editing to remove inconsistencies between multiple shots that could contradict the apparent progression of a final sequence.

Cut 
An abrupt transition from one sequence to another. The name derives from when analog film reels had to be physically cut up and re-joined to get rid of unwanted footage.

Cutaway 
A shot inserted into a continuous sequence, often showing something which is not central to the main action of that sequence.

Establishing shot
A shot that gives context to a sequence by showing where it will take place. Used commonly as an opening in older films.

Fade
Fades are a widely used type of transition that involves the gradual darkening and lightening of a shot or the dissolving of one shot into another. 

Frame rate
This is a number that expresses how many still images are combined to make a single second of footage. Feature films traditionally use a frame rate of 24 frames per second (fps). For slow-motion shots, the raw footage is often shot at a high frame rate that is reduced during post-production.

Handles 
Handles, or clip handles, are extra pieces of footage that begin before a clip’s transition in-point and continue after its out-point. In post-processing, clip handles are often preserved so that sequences can be extended later if needed.

J cut
A cut in which the sound of the following scene begins before the video changes.

L cut
A cut where the video changes, but the sound of the previous scene continues.

Non-linear video editing
Non-linear editing (NLE) is where footage and content are not directly modified during the editing process. Most video editing software today is non-linear.

Letterboxing
Letterboxing is the process of adding black bars above and below an image. This can be used to produce an artificially wide aspect ratio or display wide footage on narrow screens.

Montage
A series of shots displayed in quick succession. Montages are often set to music and intended to give the impression of progress over an extended period of time.

Three-two pull-down
A three-two (3:2) pull-down is the process used to transfer footage between film and video frame rates. More specifically, this means converting from 29.97 to 24 frames per second (fps).

Timecode
A video timecode is a set of numbers that count up as a sequence progresses. These represent a synchronized time system and enable editors and editing applications to make frame-by-frame modifications.

Timelapse
A timelapse is basically a sped-up shot. Timelapses are usually made by compressing real-world time so that seconds, minutes, or hours are each represented by single frames.

Temperature
Temperature, or color temperature, is measured in Kelvin and refers to how warm the colors of an image are. Warmer images appear to have a red tint, and cooler images have a blue tint.

Transcoding
Transcoding means taking an audio-visual file and converting it to another format, usually compressing the file in the process to reduce the amount of space used.

Rendering
This is the process of applying edits to footage to create video and audio render files. These are normally made by video editing software so that you can preview your project in real-time.

Ripple editor
A ripple editor is a tool, available on most video editing platforms, that enables you to edit a single clip without modifying any following edits.

Rough cut
A draft project stage in which footage is assembled in order but without finalized edits. In rough cuts, placeholder transitions, music, and graphics are commonly used.

Rule of thirds
The rule of thirds is a widely used compositional technique that involves dividing an image into a grid of nine squares, with important objects placed at the points where gridlines meet.

Scrubbing
Scrubbing is the action of dragging your cursor along a timeline manually in order to preview your footage at a different playback speed.

Shot/reverse shot
A way to organize a conversation scene. In a shot/reverse shot sequence, two characters are filmed separately, and the editor cuts back and forth between two perspectives that approximately show the viewpoint of the out-of-shot character.

Storyboard
A storyboard is a plan containing illustrations, sketches, or drawings of each shot in a film project.

White balance
White balance determines how different colors appear in a given image. Typically, color is balanced to give white or gray objects the appearance of neutrality under a certain lighting condition.

Wipe
A type of video transition in which one clip replaces another by traveling across the visual frame. Various types of transition wipe are possible. One example is the barn door wipe, where the new clip enters from two opposing edges of the screen simultaneously.

Conclusion

No matter what video editing software you use, internalizing the meaning of these phrases will improve the results of any editing project you work on. Understanding video editing terminology is a lot like having a new toolkit that you can use to be more precise about your work and communicate ideas to the other creatives you collaborate with.

Remember, you can begin to apply this knowledge immediately, even if you’re on a tight budget, thanks to the huge range of free video editing software  out there.

• Read our guide to the best video editing software.

Update: Adobe has begun rolling out a "freemium" web-based version of Photoshop.

Photo editors can count on regular updates to Adobe Photoshop CC, the company’s subscription-based photo editing program, but there is still a yearly major update of the program that’s designed to make a splash. This year, the company rolled out an immense upgrade for Photoshop 22, also known as Adobe Photoshop CC 2021.

This latest version of Photoshop increasingly relies on Sensei, Adobe’s highly touted artificial intelligence engine, to facilitate a host of impressive features. The most high-profile of these include Sky Replacement, new Refine Edge selections, Neural Filters with an eye toward simplifying complex workflows, and new searchable options for help and other features.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021: Price and availability

Photoshop CC 2021 is available only via subscription as part of three possible options. However, they have begun rolling out a "freemium" model that can be used in either Chrome or Edge web browsers. This "freemium" version is currently available to select Canadian users, and will give free access to what Abobe calls Photoshop’s “core functions.” 

For $53 per month, you get Photoshop as part of an entire Creative Cloud package that also includes 20 CC desktop and mobile apps like Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Premier Pro, InDesign, After Effects, plus fonts and 100GB of cloud storage. For $10 per month, you get the Photography plan, which offers Photoshop, Lightroom and Lightroom CC for the desktop and 20GB of online storage. For $21 per month you get the same Photography Plan with 1TB of online storage.

Here is a more detailed list of Adobe’s pricing for Photoshop CC.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021: System requirements

Photoshop can span multiple systems without a loss in functionality, though users with older systems may have to wait longer for some operations to complete. Photoshop is available both on the desktop for Mac and Windows and also on the iPad.

Windows users need to run Windows 10 (version 1809 or later) with at least 8GB of RAM and preferably 16GB. A GPU with DirectX 12 support and 2GB of GPU memory is the bare minimum. You also need 4GB of available hard-disk space with additional space for installation.

Macs need a multicore 64-bit Intel processor running macOS Mojave (version 10.14) or later. The app requires at least 8GB, and preferably 16GB, of RAM and 4GB of available hard-disk space with more needed for installation.

Adobe has beta versions available for new ARM-based computers for both Mac and Windows, but warns that these versions are not officially supported and are not fully featured as yet.

Photoshop CC 2021 is loaded with new features; we’ve highlighted the highest-profile ones below. 

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021: Sky Replacement

It’s impossible to calculate how many hours photographers spend trying to make a dull sky look presentable – but it’s astronomical. Sure, you could surgically swap out a background, but that’s detailed work involving painstaking selections, replacements, and blending. With Photoshop 2021, you can simply replace the sky with a command, an easy operation that takes less than a minute. It’s so easy, you might feel guilty. You can use the presets built into Photoshop, which come in three categories: Blue Skies, Spectacular, and Sunset.

You won’t want to just stop at presets because a sky both represents and affects the lighting for the rest of the photo, which the replacement feature handles automatically. Adobe has also added foreground adjustments like Flip to change the direction of the light, Lighting Adjustment, and Color adjustment, to further harmonize the new sky with your intentions for the photo.

You don’t have to rely on Adobe’s built-in presets at all. Instead, you can easily import your own sky images to work into your photo. What makes this feature really shine is the ability to adjust the parameters after the fact. Each adjustment comes with its own mask so that you can tweak it the same way as any other adjustment. I found the combination of controls easy to work with for dramatic improvements to landscapes accomplished in a few clicks – which is the point.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021: Neural Filters

Nowhere does Photoshop’s reliance on artificial intelligence reach as far as in Adobe’s new Neural Filters, which are based on machine learning algorithms. Skin Smoothing and Style Transfer are the two officially released filters, with the former the most useful in smoothing facial and skin imperfections. You want the visage to look natural, only better. The Neural Filter – which you toggle on or off when it recognizes a face – mostly does a nice, subtle job, giving you the option to blur and smooth even more.

Skin Smoothing

I found the blurring tweak a bit much, and turned it down on some faces in order to preserve the look of natural skin texture. Mostly the smoothness at 50 percent was enough, but you can crank it up just a tad, and still have a natural looking face.

My only complaint about this feature is that it sometimes doesn’t blend well with necks, so there may be an obvious contrast with the neck, though on the bright side, it prevents you from going too far. You can still tweak the generated mask, adjust exposure, tone, brightness, and other parameters just like any other photo, and the results are non-destructive.

Style Transfer

Style Transfer, the other officially released Neural Filter, imparts the style of an image to your current photo, kind of like the Prisma app on the iPhone. While it’s fun and creative, it may have less practical use.

Smart Portraits

Adobe has a bunch of other cloud-based Neural Filters still in beta — and some are kind of way out. The most interesting of the lot is Smart Portraits, which lets you adjust critical aspects of a subject’s features. You can make your subject look happy, sad, or angry. You can change their age, the direction of their gaze, thicken hair, and alter head or light direction. These filters don’t always give you the results you’re expecting but they’re fun to play with, and even a little scary sometimes.

In addition to the two released filters, and several beta filters such as Colorize, Super Zoom, Photo Restoration, and more, Adobe is also gauging interest from users for developing a slate of additional proposed neural filters.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021: Refine Hair and Object Aware

Hair and fur are the bane of existence for photographers who seek to select and isolate subjects from their background. Photoshop has a long history of improving selection tech with its Photoshop upgrades and now, the new Refine Hair button can be a truly one- or two-click operation. It’s super easy to use and stunningly accurate, even on hair wisps blowing in the wind.

One reason we are able to mask the fur so quickly and easily is that the Select and Mask workspace now offers an improved Select Subject button and a new refine-edge option called Object Aware, in addition to the older Color Aware. Color Aware is best for simpler backgrounds where it’s easier to differentiate between the subject and the background, while the new option is better at handling busier backgrounds.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021: Pattern Preview

Photoshop isn’t just about photography. This upgrade offers a huge convenience for designers in the Pattern Preview function, which lets you create a tile that you can use as part of a seamless background pattern for any kind of design.

Just identify your pattern, enable Pattern Preview, add any elements you want to one part of the canvas, rotate or transform the objects anywhere on the canvas, and the result repeats endlessly and precisely throughout the canvas. Once you’re done, you can turn off the preview and you are left with the exact tile you can use to create the pattern.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021: Discover panel

The Help menu now launches a new Discover panel that lets you search for specific help directly in the program rather than having to sign into Adobe’s web-based forum or other third-party help. Discover is designed to help users with specific problems based on your queries and content you’ve already worked with. It also brings up tools and tutorials, and even offers immediate menu-based pointers -- a wee bit like Photoshop Elements’ Guided Edits -- which can be a huge help to both new and experienced users.

One aspect of Discover is Quick Actions, droplet type commands that perform a series of actions in one go. Right now, Adobe includes four actions in the new Discover Panel: Remove background, Blur background, Make B/W background, and Enhance image, but more are promised.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021: Many more new features

Photoshop CC 2021 has tons of other improvements, and overall they are well thought out and helpful. For example, this version adds Brush Tool search alongside various specific preset searches, quick access to the popular Content Aware Fill feature, one-click reset of smart objects (layers containing editable raster and vector data) from any number of transform operations, permanent offline availability of online stored documents, precise versioning for cloud documents, and a new plug-in menu to discover and install plugins from Adobe’s marketplace.

Adobe updated and revamped its live shape tools, providing new ways to work with lines, rectangles, polygons, and triangles, with new controls that make resizing and adjusting shapes easier and faster. All of these significant features work as advertised.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021: Bottom line

Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 is not fooling around. It delivers a ton of AI-based improvements to your workflow that offer simple, one-click handling that save time and effort for operations that you perform all the time, whether it’s improving portraits, selecting and masking, editing landscapes, accessing content aware fill, or creating backgrounds for print or web.

While the Sky Replacement, Refine Hair, and Skin Smoothing Neural Filter are worth the price of admission, this new version of Photoshop is loaded with enhancements big and small that appeal to a wide range of users from photographers to graphic designers to painters. More casual photo editors may find that Adobe Photoshop Elements ($99) is a more cost-effective option, but for those who need more powerful tools and can benefit from more frequent updates, you can’t beat Photoshop CC. There’s literally something that will benefit every user, regardless of specialty.

• More: Corel PaintShop Pro 2020 Review

We’ve consistently rated CyberLink PowerDirector as one of the best video editing software for Windows users for its user-friendly interface and regularly updated features; PowerDirector 18, for instance, received a glowing 4-star review from us. Now, for the first time, the program is available for macOS users. 

PowerDirector offers a lot more flexibility and control than a program like iMovie, but isn’t quite as advanced as Adobe Premiere Elements 2021 or Final Cut Pro. Although experienced editors might find it lacking on this macOS version, for an initial launch there are a number of features that will appeal to enthusiasts looking for something a bit more powerful than iMovie. 

CyberLink PowerDirector 365: Price and availability

PowerDirector 365 for macOS was released in the fall of 2020. It uses a subscription based model and can be purchased for $19.99 for a single month, or $69.99 for an entire year—making it a more affordable option than Adobe’s Premiere Elements ($99.99) or Final Cut ($299.99). 

CyberLink PowerDirector 365: System requirements

PowerDirector 365 requires a computer with at least Mac OSX 10.14 operating system and an Intel Core™ i-series or Apple M1 (with Rosetta support) CPU. 

CyberLink PowerDirector 365: MacOS vs. Windows versions

PowerDirector 365 has borrowed many of the features found in the Ultimate version of the Windows program—audio scrubbing, 4K video preview, library preview and 1:1 aspect ratio are all there. But common tools like image stabilization are notably absent from this first version of the software. According to Cyberlink, this feature and others will be added through updates coming in 2021. 

CyberLink PowerDirector 365: Interface

PowerDirector is designed to be a plug-and-play video editing software; even if you’ve never edited a video before, the interface is approachable and easy to pick up. A timeline sits on the bottom of the screen and has sections for music and video files. When you drag your files into the timeline, the program automatically splits clips into the sections in which they belong. 

By default, PowerDirector 365 stacks the tracks so video sits at the top and effects and overlays appear underneath the main track. If you’ve used any other video editing software this setup won’t seem intuitive, but PowerDirector allows users who prefer a different layout to reverse the stacking order of the tracks. This can be changed through the program’s Preferences menu. 

When you select a clip within the timeline, options for Tools, Fix/Enhance and Keyframe appear. Tools is where you can select blending modes, crop, zoom and pan, adjust video speed, access Masks and the PiP designer. Fix/Enhance menu allows you to make exposure, color, lens distortion, and white balance adjustments, while Keyframe allows you to make micro adjustments to the footage. Essentially any edit that you might want to make to the footage exists in plain sight, rather than being buried in a menu. Users can undock the timeline and library to create a custom workspace as well. 

If you’re a longtime Mac user, navigating PowerDirector’s workspace will take some getting used to. The keyboard shortcuts and trackpad movements that might be burned into your muscle memory don’t necessarily apply here. Many of the editing tools that you will want to access are found by right-clicking. It’s a slower way of working, and not quite as precise as other programs. 

CyberLink PowerDirector 365: Key features and what’s new

Since this is the first time PowerDirector has been available for macOS, everything here is technically new. Although the program isn’t quite as robust as the Windows version of PowerDirector—you won’t find an image stabilization effect in this initial release—Cyberlink has integrated most of the features found in the Windows version. 

Audio scrubbing and 4K video previews—two features only found in the PowerDirector Ultra version for Windows— are available in the macOS version.

The PIP (picture-in-picture) designer lets you combine clips together for use in different projects. It’s similar to the Double Exposure feature found in Adobe Premiere Elements in that it allows you to play video within graphic elements. Within the PIP you will find tools to easily Chroma Key footage for interesting layering techniques, add masks, add keyframes and animate objects within a frame. Clips edited within the PIP designer can be saved and reused with other projects as well—an interesting feature for editing social teasers or sizzle reels. 

Keyframes offer more control over how and when effects are applied to footage and gives editors the ability to make adjustments to object position, transparency and scale. 

The program comes loaded with a number of motion-graphic titles, lower-thirds and credits—additional downloadable templates will be added every month. Drag and drop one of the presets into your timeline and then customize animations, typeface and color by double clicking on it. You can see a preview of the animated text in the Title Designer, making it easy to experiment before saving the title into your timeline. 

Video Collage Designer creates a multicam view using anywhere from two to seven pieces of footage. Like many of PowerDirector’s other features it's really a matter of dragging and dropping and then applying customizations. Everything can be previewed within the Video Collage Designer before it's added into the timeline. Additional Video Collage layouts can be downloaded through Cyberlink. 

The program comes with hundreds of royalty-free background music options that can be added to your videos and, like so many of PowerDirector’s other features, new tracks are added every few months. Songs are sorted by genre and so finding something that fits the mood of your video piece is fairly straightforward. 

Downloadable Color LUTs make it easy to adjust the colors of a scene by dragging and dropping into the timeline. The LUT’s work a lot like an Instagram filter, but also let users make micro adjustments using the Fix/Enhance menu. The Effect Room is also where you can find effects that will Glitch, Mirror, or Fisheye your footage. These can be fun, but use them sparingly. Unfortunately this version of PowerDirector lacks some of the most commonly used effects by video editors like auto-stabilization or rolling-shutter reduction.  

CyberLink PowerDirector 365: Verdict

Cyberlink’s PowerDirector 365 for macOS is an excellent option for novice and amateur editors looking for something a bit more advanced than iMovie. The subscription model is more affordable than Adobe’s programs and offers users extended access to effects, motion graphic titles, royalty-free background music and Color LUTs—giving the program added value. 

The lack of macOS friendly shortcuts and some of the program’s language will likely be frustrating for folks who have spent a lot of time working with Mac products. And maneuvering through the timeline to make precision edits—like cutting to the beat of a song—can be a little tricky. 

Still, PowerDirector’s UI is very intuitive for new users. We see this program as being perfect for families looking to edit together end-of-year recaps for the holidays or footage documenting milestones—think of all the unwatched videos from such events sitting in your camera roll. Its ability to handle 4K footage is a huge asset, as is the ability to edit and export in a 1:1 format — perfect for Instagram. That feature alone will make this an appealing tool for content creators who want a way to edit footage on a laptop instead of their phone.

The newest version of Apple iMovie saw the introduction of a bevy of new features for both Mac and iOS, including brand new filters that lend your home films a comic-book effect and 25 new soundtracks covering all genres. 

With this update, Apple has also patched the issues with the Redo effect, making it easier to edit on your iPhone and iPad, as well as your Macbook or iMac. 

In this Apple iMovie review, we'll see if it still has the chops as one of the best free video editing software programs. We’ll look at every aspect, from inclusive features to usability and competition, to see if this movie-making software can work for you. 

Apple iMovie review: Plans and pricing

iMovie has been totally free for iMac, Macbook, iPad, and iPhone users since 2013. New devices come with iMovie pre-installed, and it’s free to download on Apple’s App Store. 

Apple iMovie review: Features

iMovie includes a variety of technical editing tools and hot new features so you can create fun home movies that you’ll proudly share with family and friends.

iMovie’s August 2020 update (2.2.10 on iOS and 10.1.15 on Mac) brought a handful of new filters to the editing suite, three for iOS (Comic, Comic Mono, and Ink) and five for Mac (Comic, Comic Mono, Comic Vintage, Comic Sepia, and Ink). 

Apply these filters to your movies to give them a gritty, illustrated effect, which makes them look as though they’ve been hand drawn. Although younger movie makers (we’re thinking teens) may find this feature enchanting, older filmmakers likely won’t try this gimmick more than once. 

Despite the two filters that weren’t included on the iOS update, those that opt to edit on their iPhones and iPads do benefit from 25 new soundtracks that weren’t included in the Mac update. Soundtracks are great for giving your movies an epic quality, no matter what genre you’re working with—whether that’s romance, horror, action or suspense. Although the generic quality of these soundtracks means you may prefer to import your own music, the horror soundtracks are our favorite, as they’re effective at setting viewers up for a fright. 

The October 2020 iOS iMovie update made it easier to create videos on your iPhone or iPad than previously. You can now customize a title’s font, color, size and style, change the background color, and modify filter intensity with a slider. What’s more, you can now import, share, and edit HDR videos from the Photos library. Although the iMovie Mac application remains better for completing your project, you can now seriously begin contemplating the style of your movie on the iOS versions of the app.

Easy to import from iOS to Mac

Previously, it's been difficult to begin projects on the iPad and iPhone then transfer them to iMovie on Mac, where there’s more post-production editing tools. Happily, iMovie’s October 2020 iOS update to version 2.3 simplified the process. Now, you can begin cutting a project on your iPhone or iPad, and then wirelessly transfer 4k videos, at 60 frames per second, via iCloud to your iMovie Mac dashboard application.

Background noise is the scourge of amateur movie makers who don’t have professional sound equipment. Conveniently, iMovie includes a background noise reduction feature which automatically reduces static and hum, while preserving dialogue. However, in comparison with tools like HitFilm Express, iMovie post-production sound enhancement leaves something to be desired.

Apple iMovie review: Interface and in use

Be advised that iMovie is only available on Mac products, and you need to be running at OS X 10.14. 6 or later, with over 2GB of hard drive space to spare. To get iMovie, simply head to the Apple App Store and download it. When you first open the dashboard, you’ll be greeted with the three tabs at the top of the interface: Media, Projects, and Theatre. 

Every video clip you’ve uploaded so far is kept in the iMovie Media Library, and it can also be found to the left of the project interface in a dropdown menu. Easy access to the Media Library allows you to find resources quickly while you’re working on a project. The Media Library synchronizes with your Photos library, so you’re able to find and use any media from there. 

Footage from projects is automatically categorized as belonging to the project it’s associated with in the Media Library, and all projects are stored under the Projects tab. Theatre is where your finished movies are kept. Finally, you can Airdrop your project to other Apple devices, email it to friends, or upload it to iCloud from Theatre.

Apple iMovie: Support

iMovie user guides are available for all Apple devices on the Apple website. Apple also has a troubleshooting guide to common iMovie problems. 

If you can’t find the answer to your query there, Apple first encourages you to visit its community support forum to see if someone can resolve your issue, or if it has been solved previously. If that doesn’t work, you’ll be directed toward Apple’s AI support which will direct you to phone, email, or chat support to resolve your issue. 

In case of serious technical error, you’ll find that booking an appointment at a Genius Bar and receiving face-to-face help is less time consuming than going through the rigamarole of Apple’s online support. You’ll typically be advised to visit a Genius Bar at the end of the process, anyway, if they can’t resolve your issue remotely.  

Apple iMovie: Security

Apple does not share any data it gathers about your iMovie use with third parties or use it to inform advertising and marketing. It limits the amount of data it can gather from iMovie during the design process to ensure no one can discern too much personal information from your iMovie usage behavior. 

Facial recognition in photos and videos is not cloud based, so that information is never shared with Apple. 

You cannot password protect the iMovie application, but you can password protect your account to restrict access by other users of the device to your iMovie projects.

Apple iMovie review: The competition

HitFilm Express is likely iMovie’s biggest rival, with the bonus of being compatible with both Mac and Windows. It requires more patience to become adept with than iMovie. However, it will appeal more to advanced filmmakers and videographers as it includes more post-production quality enhancement tools than Apple’s offering. It’s also free, although donating a little is encouraged to ensure its existence going forward.  

Serious videographers will often graduate from iMovie to Final Cut Pro X, Apple’s video editing software for professionals. It allows for video and audio enhancement in post-production, includes more complex effects, and enables 360° editing. 

Apple iMovie review: Verdict

Most budding videographers and Mac users will gladly begin mastering their craft on iMovie. As it’s completely free, you can explore your video-editing curiosities without putting a hole in your wallet. 

What’s more, the new features, like the comic book style filters and soundtracks, give novice videographers the opportunity to create movies that resemble the films they love. However, those serious about making videos will want to move onto software with a broader range of post-production features. 

• Read our guide to the best video editing software
• Adobe Premiere Elements 2021 review
• Best video editing apps

Hitfilm Express has been at the top of our list of the best video editing software, and the latest version, HitFilm Express 15.1 keep it in its number-one spot. While it's accessible for beginners, it also has a lot of powerful features for pros, with its latest update adding video stabilization, motion tracking tools, WAV audio export, and more. 

In this Hitfilm Express 15 review, we analyze every aspect of the software and show why it's once again the best.

Note: This review only covers what's new in Hitfilm Express 15; for a look at previous versions, be sure to check out our Hitfilm Express 14 review.

• Best free video editing software

Hitfilm Express 15 review: Plans and pricing

Most users will love the fact that HitFilm Express 15 is 100% free, forever. Simply download the program, validate your free license with your FXhome account details, and start creating. 

However, you will be asked for a donation when you download the program. What’s more, different donation levels come with bonus features to increase the functionality of your software. 

For example, the Starter package, which is available with a donation of $9 or more, adds an extra theme, along with additional editing, color, and VFX features. The Content Creator ($19) and VFX Artist ($39) packages add even more advanced features. 

While it may seem a little sneaky to ask for a donation when you’re downloading a free program, there’s actually great value for money to be had here. The extra tools and features are available for individual purchase, but by far the cheapest way to get them is by making a donation when you’re getting started.

Hitfilm Express 15 review: Features

The recent HitFilm Express 15 update comes packed with a range of impressive new features. Things like WAV audio exports, a crop and pan/zoom effect, a GoPro FX reference effect, a color adjustment effect, and the powerful auto stabilizer stood out as exceptional. 

One of our favorite additions to HitFilm Express 15 is the auto stabilizer tool. Basically, it takes advantage of AI technology to automatically stabilize shaky footage. And as most people with video editing experience will know, this saves a huge amount of time compared to manually stabilizing footage. 

Although it’s only available with the Pro version of HitFilm Express, the new color adjustment effect is amazing, to say the least. We found that it provided significantly more flexibility and customizability than the tools available with previous versions of the software, and it really made it a breeze to change tones, hues, saturation, and more. 

Hitfilm Express 15 review: Interface and in use

To get started with HitFilm Express, simply sign up for a new account and request a download link. The installer link will be sent to your email address. Download it and follow the prompts. Note that the installer package is quite large (the Windows version is 399MB), so it could take a few minutes to download. 

The user interface itself is feature-rich yet attractive, and it’s designed in much the same style as many other video editing programs. At the bottom of the screen, you will find a timeline editor that allows you to overlay video and audio files. On the bottom left, there are media, effects, controls, history, and text menus. 

There are also two different video viewers: one that lets you view and trim raw media files, and one that lets you edit your compilation. Numerous effects options allow you to add everything from video and audio transitions to distortions, and even the most skilled editors will find a lot to like here. 

Hitfilm Express 15: Support

Those without a significant amount of video editing experience will benefit from HitFilm Express’s advanced master classes. These are designed to help newbies get a handle on the powerful tools at their disposal, and they really are impressive. 

There are also numerous technical support articles, FAQs, and guides available to help you set up the software and get started. And you can submit a support ticket via the FXhome website. Note that the customer service team only works weekdays from 9 am to 5:30 pm GMT, and replies to support requests can take up to 48 hours. 

HitFilm Express 15 review: The competition

There are numerous video editing programs on the market. Although HitFilm Express 15 may be the right option for your needs, it’s worth considering a few alternatives. 

One such is Adobe Premiere Elements 2021, a top-rated editing program aimed at newer editors. Although it is a little expensive, it comes with impressive, beginner-friendly features, including 4K support, various AI tools, and guided editing. 

VideoPad is another great choice, particularly for those creating videos for social media and YouTube. Like HitFilm Express, it’s available for free. There are also premium home and business versions that are jam-packed with advanced features. And what’s more, it’s available on both Mac and Windows operating systems.

HitFilm Express 15 review: Final verdict

At the end of the day, HitFilm Express 15 more than lived up to our expectations. It’s well deserving of its position as the best free video editing programs, and it comes with a suite of advanced tools that even the most knowledgeable videographers will love. 

What’s more, the user interface is relatively intuitive without compromising on power, and the sheer number of editing features is amazing. There are also numerous masterclasses and other resources to help you familiarize yourself with the program, although the live support services do leave a little wanting. 

Overall, we highly recommend testing HitFilm Express if you’re looking for a powerful free video editing program.