What do you need to create great portraits on a Mac? Start with a good portrait photo and avoid iPhoto completely. It doesn’t do what you need done.
Mac users have plenty of inexpensive, professional-level post production apps that can turn basic photos into high quality portrait masterpieces that dazzle. PhotoDazzle: Beautifier is one.
Dazzled By PhotoDazzle
Our photography trend in the past year or two is decidedly different than a decade ago. In the past, Carol and I each had a DSLR that took hundreds of photos which we dutifully dumped into iPhoto.
Along came the iPhone and a few thousand photo enhancement apps both of which have one thing in common.
The iPhone’s camera improved every year, and iPhone photo enhancement apps added more features.
As we developed some experience and expertise in iPhoneography and post photo production, the MacBook Pro with Retina display became our go to device for photos, especially portraits.
One app that caught our eye earlier this year is PhotoDazzle: Beautifier for the Mac. I don’t know of a way to get excellent portrait photos for less money.
PhotoDazzle: Beautifier isn’t like other photo enhancement apps.
First, it’s all about portraits and the typical portrait elements– wrinkles, skin color, hair, eyes, lipstick, eye shadow– that kind of thing.
That means the tools you use to enhance a portrait are specifically for portraits. Editing is done in real time. The tools are obvious and each comes with granular controls.
The loupe lets you zoom into pixels so effects can be subtle, but everything is layered so you can get into trial and error mode with ease.
There’s a very impressive 3D view so you can see previous edits as layers.
Use the PhotoDazzle: Beautifier tools to change eye color, modify lip color, add eye shadow, even whiten teeth. The app is smart enough to change hair color, get rid of or reduce wrinkles and blemishes with a few clicks, and even change the skin tone; it’s like tanning but digital.
The most outstanding tool is the magic brush which automatically matches the effects you need, but any effect can be erased and undos are unlimited. All effects are non-destructive anyway.
The advantage PhotoDazzle: Beautifier has over the hundreds of iPhone apps is screen size– it works wonderfully on a Retina display MacBook Pro, but is also fullscreen capable for the iMac’s larger screen real estate.
Well done. Modestly priced. Fabulous results (with a good photo, a little trial and error effort to master the tools, and some taste).
