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Photodirector 8: cheaper than Photoshop, Elements, or Lightroom, but packs a punch under the hood. Photoshop has been the undisputed last word in photo... PhotoDirector 8.0.3: Worthy Cheaper Alternative to Photoshop.

Photodirector 8: cheaper than Photoshop, Elements, or Lightroom, but packs a punch under the hood.

Make special moments even more special with a host of easy to use or advanced techniques

Photoshop has been the undisputed last word in photo editing for as long as I can remember.

But like any king, there are any number of potential usurpers and rivals to the crown. One such worthy competitor is PhotoDirector. At a fraction of the cost of Photoshop, Light Room, or Elements and at a much shallower gradient of learning difficulty, is definitely worth a look, if nothing else.

PhotoDirector 8:Ease of use

PhotoDirector in the right hands, can also be quite a powerful photo editing piece of software. At the same time, even relative tech novices can achieve good results within just a few minutes.

The main window offers a straight up choice of viewing modes, easily allowing you choose the style you want for what you want to do, be it picture browsing or image editing.

At the most basic level, different lenses and effects can be applied within a few seconds, and the results saved. Cropping, changing hues or colors are fun to experiment with and are all quite easy to do, and the results are easy to save and find with little to no confusion. For the enthusiast or the advanced photographer, PhotoDirector has something to offer.

Creating and storing albums is a nice touch.

One of PhotoDirector’s big bonuses are the inbuilt tools that allow its users to create a straightforward and easy to use organizational systems so that you can manage your photos and albums correctly, whether using keywords, color labels, star ratings or by self created settings, which is nice.

Advanced stuff

Users who have used Lightroom before will probably quickly notice that PhotoDirector is somewhat similar.

The main interface is comprised into the Library, Layers, Adjustment, Slideshow, and of course, printing.

Some of the more notable features include similar features to Lightroom and Photoshop right down to the graduated and radial feature effects.

Full of Self-Confidence

Impressive editing capability

PhotoDirector also offers some interesting features of its own that are well worth exploring in the Edit panel, including some very decent effects that are just missing from other competitors such as Lightroom.

As you would expect PhotoDirector also works with just about every file format going and going from RAW to a finished image within the software is a hassle free process.

If I were to level a criticism at PhotoDirector, it would be that the cloning tools and layers while good, aren’t quite on the same level as its rivals. But that is a minor gripe.

Conclusions

Overall, PhotoDirector is a solid and impressive photo-editing package. It can be used as easily by beginners and advanced users alike. Results are good and the storage options work very well as well.

Unfortunately, it isn’t free. That said it’s price is very reasonable, especially compared to the likes of Photoshop and Lightroom etc. But, there is a free trial period, which means you can try before you buy, so why not try it now, and see if PhotoDirector has all you need.

You can download PhotoDirector for free, here, from FileHippo.com.