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Is Affinity suitable for beginners?


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Hi

 

I am an enthusiastic photographer who would like to start playing with editing my photos.

I am currently doing my research to find an alternative to the app on Windows 10 which does not have the capabilities I would like to use. Your product looks very good but I have some concerns. I have asked the questions on your FB page but as yet have not received a response.

The main concern I have is ease of use, also can I / could I import my pics from other sources i.e. Windows photos and finally how easy is it to upload from Affinity direct to social media? 

I have also emailed support and asked the above questions but have not response, which has caused me a to have second thoughts about whether I should consider Affinity, but it looks a good programme at a very good price.

 

Many thanks in anticipation of your response, best wishes Dave.

 

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Hi @Morphy,
Welcome to Affinity Forums :)
Yes, you can open/import images from Windows Explorer and other file browsers/managers as long as they can export the files contained within their libraries or are able to send the files to other apps for editing. Affinity Photo doesn't offer any functionality to share images directly to social media websites - you will have to do it manually through their websites or third party apps.

If you haven't worked with any photo editing applications before you will have to spend/invest time time learning the basics. It's not that Affinity apps are difficult to work with - the basic functionality (adjustments/filters, selections etc - are easy to understand) but it also provides more advanced functionality which require some knowledge to take advantage of. I advise you to download our (currently) 
90-day free trial which will give you plenty of time to experiment with the app and see if it fulfils your needs. There's plenty of information, articles and video tutorials available both on our website (see here) and on YouTube and other channels you can rely on to get acquainted with the app. If you have any trouble/questions don't hesitate posting them here on the forums. There's plenty of users willing to help.
 

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Hi Dave!

Taking your questions in reverse order -  Affinity Photo (AP) doesn't publish to social media.  You can export a file in a suitable format, but how you put it on your platform of choice is up to you.

Windows Photos isn't a source for your images, it just opens and displays the files you tell it to - but AP can handle the same files.  There are programs that have a cataloguing feature, with the ability to edit selected images with an external editor.  AP can be used like this, but don't buy it from the MS Store if that's the way you're going - MS' sandbox environment makes it somewhere between difficult and impossible, though this may change in the future (holding your breath is not advised!).

Is it suitable for beginners?  I think a lot depends on your expectations.  AP is capable of doing a lot more than just simple adjustments, so it can seem quite intimidating if, like me, you start by not knowing what can be done, much less how to do it!  If you're already at the stage where you know what you want to do then go ahead and try it - it won't cost you anything more than time.  The "official" videos are an excellent source of instruction but Simon Foster's (aka drippy cat) videos on YouTube are a bit more comforting if you've no experience of image editing and its terminology.

AP, AD & APub user, running Win10

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Hi Thank you for your response and advice. I have also received a response from the FB which was very helpful! It sounds very much like AP{ is would provide me with what I want i.e. somewhere to learn the basics but also provide more advanced features as I getter better! I like the fact that it uses layers which I believe means that it is non destructive! 

Being retired I have the time to spend learning and the fact that there are tutorials is also a bonus. I think I will take advantage of the free trial and go from there! It certainly looks a good programme and it receives good reviews! When it comes time for me to purchase I will buy direct from the site rather than through MS store.

Thanks again for your time and advice. Best wishes Dave. 

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13 minutes ago, Morphy said:

I like the fact that it uses layers which I believe means that it is non destructive! 

Not exactly!  Having layers doesn't mean that everything's non-destructive, but there are often options to do things non-destructively which involve layers.  E.g. dodge & burn are destructive, but you can use another layer and a suitable blend mode to make them non-destructive (there's a tutorial about this).

AP, AD & APub user, running Win10

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2 hours ago, MEB said:

I advise you to download our (currently) 90-day free trial which will give you plenty of time to experiment with the app and see if it fulfils your needs.

The other thing to be aware of is that all of the Affinity apps are currently on sale at 50% off, but that sale has been ongoing for quite a while now and will almost certainly end before the next 90 days have elapsed. If you sign up for the newsletter you should receive an end-of-sale notification in good time to take advantage of the generous discount.

https://affinity.serif.com/newsletter

https://affinity.serif.com/photo

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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3 minutes ago, Alfred said:

The other thing to be aware of is that all of the Affinity apps are currently on sale at 50% off, but that sale has been ongoing for quite a while now and will almost certainly end before the next 90 days have elapsed. If you sign up for the newsletter you should receive an end-of-sale notification in good time to take advantage of the generous discount.

https://affinity.serif.com/newsletter

https://affinity.serif.com/photo

Well I just tried to  sign up to the newsletter and I am told that I am already registered.

Yet I do not seem to get the newsletters.

Yes, I keep a check on purportedly spam emails.

How often do these emails supposedly arrive please?

Is there a glitch where part of the system thinks I am registered but another part does not and they don't communicate with each other?

William

 

Until December 2022, using a Lenovo laptop running Windows 10 in England. From January 2023, using an HP laptop running Windows 11 in England.

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8 minutes ago, William Overington said:

How often do these emails supposedly arrive please?

I didn’t receive any emails from the Affinity Team (Affinity@Serif.com) last month, but in March I received three: two about content packs and one about recent Affinity Spotlight articles.

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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15 minutes ago, Alfred said:

I didn’t receive any emails from the Affinity Team (Affinity@Serif.com) last month, but in March I received three: two about content packs and one about recent Affinity Spotlight articles.

I have just searched my inbox for the email address that you stated.

One from 24 April 2021 hanks me for registering.

There is one in March, 19 March 2021 which I had not noticed and is unread, entitled Spotlight: 50% off True Grit content packs on the Affinity Store

One in February, which it appears I had read.

Nothing else since November 2020

William

 

Until December 2022, using a Lenovo laptop running Windows 10 in England. From January 2023, using an HP laptop running Windows 11 in England.

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Thanks IanSG I have signed up for the free trial and will set some time aside over the next day or two to familiarise myself with the programme. I have a lot of photos to experiment on! 😉😁

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