Discover Affinity Photo 2
Amateur Photographer|August 08, 2023
In part 1 of a series, Rod Lawton reveals some hidden depths of Serif Affinity Photo 2, the latest version of this amazingly powerful Photoshop rival
Rod Lawton
Discover Affinity Photo 2

Affinity Photo has built a huge reputation as an Adobe Photoshop alternative that offers the same level of professional features as its Adobe rival, but without the subscription. Affinity Photo 2 brings some major new features and upgrades to boost productivity and creative potential, and we’ll go through some of them in this article. It’s a quick tour, but it will give you an idea of what this program can achieve and the depth of its creative tools.

Affinity Photo is a powerful program that inevitably introduces some unfamiliar jargon here and there. Photoshop is the same. And, like Photoshop, Affinity Photo is designed not just for photographers, but designers and illustrators too.

This means that there may be tools here that you simply don’t need right now. In fact, you can do most regular photo editing from the Layers panel, and any settings to tools you need will pop up as and when you need them.

Affinity Photo also has ‘Personas’. These are like workspaces but go rather further to include tools and processes not available in the main ‘Photo’ persona. The Liquify persona is probably going to be most useful to designers and professional retouchers, the Develop persona is where you process raw files and the Tone Mapping persona is for HDR merging and effects. The Export persona (see the box, right) is for outputting processed versions of your images.

One more thing. If you open a JPEG or TIFF image in Affinity Photo, it will open straight into the Photo persona. If you open a raw file, it will open in the Develop persona first, and you must develop it before it can be edited.

Denne historien er fra August 08, 2023-utgaven av Amateur Photographer.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 08, 2023-utgaven av Amateur Photographer.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERSe alt
Calling The Shots: A Queer History of Photography
Amateur Photographer

Calling The Shots: A Queer History of Photography

Offering an unprecedented view of photographic history through a queer lens, this is a wonderful and powerful book, says

time-read
1 min  |
November 26, 2024
Large-aperture standard zoom, too
Amateur Photographer

Large-aperture standard zoom, too

SONY has also revealed a new premium standard zoom, the FE 28-70mm F2 GM.

time-read
1 min  |
November 26, 2024
Super-fast, high-res Sony Alpha Ai II
Amateur Photographer

Super-fast, high-res Sony Alpha Ai II

SONY has announced its new professional full-frame flagship camera, the Alpha A1 II.

time-read
1 min  |
November 26, 2024
39 awesome accessories
Amateur Photographer

39 awesome accessories

Our round-up of the best accessories we've used and reviewed this year, along with some old favourites. There's something here for every budget, starting from just £7, including tripods, bags, filters and much more

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 26, 2024
Such a thing as society
Amateur Photographer

Such a thing as society

This autumn sees the launch of a major new book and exhibition devoted to examining the multiplicities of photography during 1980s Britain. Peter Dench finds out more

time-read
6 mins  |
November 26, 2024
Join Club
Amateur Photographer

Join Club

The sociable Canvey Island Photographic Club is keen to grow its in-person meet ups

time-read
2 mins  |
November 26, 2024
Capturing flight
Amateur Photographer

Capturing flight

Winners and finalists of Bird Photographer of the Year share their tips for success with Hollie Latham Hucker

time-read
10 mins  |
November 26, 2024
140 years of change
Amateur Photographer

140 years of change

AP has become the world’s oldest surviving consumer photo magazine because we have moved with the times, says Nigel Atherton

time-read
2 mins  |
September 24, 2024
Preserving history in platinum
Amateur Photographer

Preserving history in platinum

A deep dive into the meticulous art of platinum printing, and the collaboration between the Royal Geographical Society and Salto Ulbeek. Mike Crawford explores how they brought historical photographs to life with enduring beauty and precision

time-read
7 mins  |
September 24, 2024
Life in the past lane
Amateur Photographer

Life in the past lane

What was life like for an amateur photographer in 1884? John Wade takes a trip back in time

time-read
3 mins  |
September 24, 2024