Affinity Photo Extension for Photos

[elfritzen]

Does anyone know of a tutorial describing the use of Affinity Photo as an extension in Apple’s Photos?  I’ve tried to use Affinity Photo to edit my photos in Photos and I have a few questions.

1.  Do I have a to save a copy of the edits I apply in AP as an AP document before the edits are applied and returned to Photos?

2.  If I edit a RAW file,  what type of file is returned to Photos?  Is it a JPG? TIFF?

 

I’m trying to incorporate Affinity Photo into my workflow using Photos and I’m trying avoid saving many different copies/versions of an image.

 

Thanks.

Ed

 

[MEB]

Hi elfritzen

Here's how to do it using the Edit in Affinity Photo extension:

Click the thumbnail image in Apple Photos to see the image in full screen then click the Edit button on the top right of the interface. Apple Photos switches to edit mode - the interface becomes dark. Click the three dots icon (again on the top right of the interface) to access the Apple Photo's extensions. Select the Edit in Affinity Photo extension to send the image to Affinity Photo. The image will open in Affinity Photo. Edit it as you see fit then close the document - you will be prompted to save the file - save it and close the document in Affinity Photo if it's still open. The image will be sent back to Apple Photos. Click Save Changes on the top right corner in Apple Photos to save the changes.

As far as i know the image is saved back as a JPG in Apple Photos.

With this method you can't save a copy as an .afphoto file (Save As is disabled) unless you select and copy all the layers (menu Edit ▸ Copy) while you are in Affinity Photo then go to menu File ▸ New From Clipboard and save that new file as an afphoto file.

 

If you are using macOS High Sierra there's another method available that you can use: with the image in full screen in Apple Photos go to menu Image ▸ Edit with ▸ Affinity Photo but seems there's currently a few issues here which i'm currently checking.

 

[elfritzen]

Thanks for the reply, MEB.  Your process is essentially what I’ve done, so I’m reassured that I was doing things correctly.  My confusion comes when Affinity Photo asks to save the document before closing and returning to Photos.  If you can’t save a copy as afphoto file, as you say, what exactly is being saved?  I’ll have to look at this again when I’m at my computer later today.  I appreciate the help.

 

Ed