Do you want to download Photoshop for your Mac? We will show you how to get the full version, save money, or even get Photoshop for free!
Apple’s free Mac apps: Photos and Preview can get the basics of editing an image or photograph. However, if you want to do anything more advanced, you will need a dedicated image editing app.
Adobe’s Photoshop is the industry standard, due to its wide range of features and capabilities. It is one of the most popular software programs available on the market and can be used to edit photos, create graphics, and more.
The Adobe Photoshop for Mac family of products is the ultimate playground for bringing out the best in your digital images. It lets you transform them into anything you can imagine and showcase them in extraordinary ways. From photo editing and compositing to digital painting, animation, and graphic design — you can do it all in Adobe Photoshop 2022.
You also get all the state-of-the-art editing, compositing, and painting capabilities in industry-standard Adobe Photoshop for macOS software, with tools that let you create and enhance 3D images and motion-based content.
Photoshop for Mac
Back in June 2022, Adobe started a trial of a free web-based version of Photoshop in Canada. That version of Photoshop is available globally now, but it is in beta and only works on the Chrome browser or Microsoft’s Edge, with support for Firefox in the works. There is no news as of yet on when it will come to Safari.
This version does not include all the features of Photoshop, but there are lots of quick and easy editing tools available.
For example, there are Quick Actions for lighting effects or removing the background from an image. The main editing page looks similar to the desktop version of Photoshop, with a set of editing tools running down the left-hand side of the window, including Selection tools, Paint Brush, Adjustments for color and lighting, and a Type tool for adding text. Each tool has a quick video tutorial, in case you are unfamiliar with them.
On the right of the editing window, there is a detailed set of tool palettes for working with layers, masks, and effects. There is also a palette that allows people to collaborate online by adding comments to their projects as well. This feature is unique to this version of Photoshop.
This free version of Photoshop only requires that you register for a free Adobe ID account. It is not clear if this may become part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription plan in the future, but for now, it is a way to get Photoshop for free.
Another option that will give you access to some of the Photoshop tools for free is Adobe Express. There is also a Premium subscription version for $9.99/£9.98 per month that includes some additional editing tools. This online web app also includes a number of useful photo-editing tools that are available for free through any web browser. If you want to do some photo-editing you can easily import photos of your own or use some of the free stock photos that are included with Express.
When you import a photo, Express allows you to quickly resize it or pan it around in order to focus on a particular part of the image. You then enter the main Express workspace, which includes a selection of simple filter effects, as well as slider controls that allow you to quickly adjust brightness, contrast, and other settings. You can import additional photos and superimpose them in order to create a collage, and you can also add text and graphics, including a number of ready-made logos and artwork for creating posters, fliers, and other documents.
Express even has simple layer controls, which allow you to edit photos, text, and graphics elements individually.
Also, note that it is inadvisable to download Photoshop for Mac from file-sharing sites. This is because it is very likely to be an illegitimate version of the app and will almost definitely cause you problems. This is how viruses spread.
Features and Highlights of Adobe Photoshop
Neural Filters
With Adobe Sensei, Photoshop lets you explore a range of creative ideas with new re-imagined filters. You can colorize your old black-and-white photos, alter facial expressions, or drastically edit your portraits.
Sky Replacement
Quickly select and replace the sky in a photo, automatically adjusting your scenery colors to match the new sky. Get the mood you want in your photos even if the shooting conditions weren’t perfect.
Create your digital masterpiece
Elevate your digital art with custom drawing brushes or jump-start your work with preset PS brushes. Photoshop also lets you level up your photo retouching skills. Add clarity to your work by cutting distracting parts of the image out with Content-Aware Fill in Adobe Photoshop.
From a stray arm poking into the frame to a Jeep ruining your safari photo, use Content-Aware Fill in PS to clean up images and keep the focus on your desired subject.
Pattern Preview
Envision how your design will come to life as a pattern. You can now quickly visualize and create seamlessly repeating patterns in real time with Pattern Preview.
Enhanced cloud documents
Access previously saved versions of cloud documents directly within Photoshop for Mac. It is now easier than ever to preview, mark, and revert to earlier versions of your creative documents.
Learn more directly in the app
With the new in-app Discover panel, you can search and discover new Photoshop tools, hands-on tutorials, and articles. There are also quick actions to help you level up and take on new challenges in Photoshop.
Recommended System Requirements to download Photoshop for Mac
- Processor: Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
- Operating system: macOS 11.0 (Big Sur), macOS 10.15 (Catalina), or macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or later
- Graphics card: 1280 x 800 display and 1 GB or greater of video memory is minimum
- RAM: 8 GB or more
- Monitor resolution: 1920 x 1080 display or greater at 100%
- Hard disk space: 4 GB of available hard-disk space; additional space is required for installation
- Internet: Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.
Note: 7 days trial version. 2 GB of cloud storage. Limited access to services.
How to download Photoshop for Mac
You can get Adobe Photoshop for Mac by either of two ways:
From the Mac App Store
To download and install Photoshop on a Mac, follow these steps:
- Open the Apple Mac App Store on your Mac.
- Search for “Photoshop” and click the “Install” button.
- When the installation is complete, open Photoshop and click the “Open” button.
- Navigate to the “Applications” folder and open the “Adobe Photoshop CS6” folder.
- Double-click the “Photoshop.app” file to open Photoshop.
- Click the “File” menu and select “Open.”
- Navigate to the photo or image you want to edit and open it in Photoshop.
- Use Photoshop to edit the photo as you please.
The final step is to save the edited photo. To do this, click the “File” menu and select “Save.
You can also use the “File” menu to open the “File Format” dialog box and select the appropriate format for your photo. When you are done editing the photo, you can either click the “Exit” button or click the “File” menu and select “Close.”
Again, this is a common question that many users ask, but it is important to note that downloading Photoshop for free is illegal and can lead to severe penalties. Users who download Photoshop for free are breaking the law and can be prosecuted.
From the Adobe website
You can also download a free trial of Photoshop from Adobe’s website. Here are instructions for downloading Photoshop on a Macbook:
- Go to Adobe’s website.
- Click “Download Photoshop” under “Creative Cloud.”
- Select “Photoshop CC” from the list of programs.
- Click “Download Trial.”
- Follow the instructions to complete the installation process.
Once you have downloaded Photoshop, you can launch it by double-clicking the icon on your desktop. You will need to provide your Adobe ID and password to activate the trial version.
How to download Photoshop for Mac for free
The free versions of Adobe Photoshop don’t include all the features. If you want to use the full version of Photoshop, there are a few options that could get you a copy of Photoshop free for a limited time, or on a short-term subscription.
Trial: The first option is a Photoshop trial. There is a 7-day free trial that gives you access to the full program, with no restrictions. While Adobe advertises the free 7-day trial, you can actually get 14 days free, because you can cancel within 14 days of your initial order and get fully refunded.
In fact, you could, theoretically, get 21 days free if you had the trial and then canceled your subscription after 13 days.
Monthly cancel any-time subscription: The second option is signing up for a monthly subscription on a monthly rather than an annual basis. This won’t give you Photoshop for free, but the option will allow you to subscribe to Adobe Photoshop on a temporary basis and cancel when you no longer need it.
There are two monthly subscription packages. One is cheaper ($20.99/£19.97 a month) because it is part of an annual plan. The other is a more expensive option ($31.49/£30.34 a month), but you can cancel without having to pay Adobe anything.
If you sign up for the cheaper ‘annual contract, paid monthly’ and then choose to end your subscription, you will be able to do so. However, if you end the contract after the first 14 days, you will be charged a lump sum amount of 50% of your remaining contract obligation, and your service will continue until the end of that month’s billing period.
How to download Photoshop for Mac without a subscription
Once upon a time, Adobe sold what was known as a ‘perpetual license’ for Photoshop and its other apps. This allowed users to own the app without paying a subscription. Unfortunately, the service has long since been canceled.
There is one option though: you can buy Photoshop Elements. Photoshop Elements is designed for amateur rather than pro photographers, but it does offer a number of photo editing features that might be sufficient for your needs.
You can buy a copy of Photoshop Elements directly from Adobe’s website for $99.99/£86.56. You can also buy Photoshop Elements on the Mac App Store, where the price is actually less than Adobe’s price at $79.99/£79.99.
The benefit of Photoshop Elements is that you can buy it outright and install it on your Mac. You will have access to features like masks, layers, colorization, image manipulation, and other useful, more consumer-level effects with Elements.
If you are a creative professional though, or are used to the full-blown version of Photoshop, then you may find too many tools missing from the box. If you want to take a look, there is also a 7-day free trial of Photoshop Elements so you can take the software for a test run.
Photoshop for Mac price
There is no actual straightforward answer to this; it depends on how you want to buy it.
Photoshop: If you just want the single Photoshop app, you can have that for $20.99/£19.97 a month if you sign up for a year, or $31.49/£30.34 a month if you just pay on a monthly basis.
Photography Plan: The Photography Plan is the best deal. It includes Photoshop, Lightroom (for web and mobile), and Lightroom Classic (for desktop). That bundle costs $9.99/£9.98 a month, but you will be on a contract for a year. You get 20GB storage included (there’s a 1TB storage option that costs about $10/£10 more a month).
Business: If you are a business user, you can choose to sign up for the Business option where you can get a single Photoshop license for $35.99/£26.49 ex VAT a month per license. It is worth noting that all the Adobe CC apps, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and Acrobat, cost $84.99/£61.99 (ex VAT) per license a month.
How to cancel a Photoshop subscription
Here’s how to cancel your subscription:
- Sign in to the Adobe web page where you manage your plans
- Sign in to your Adobe account.
- Under the My Plans tab find Manage Plan (or View Plan) and click on that.
- Now click on Cancel plan.
- Give your reason for cancellation.
- Click on Continue.
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