Open & write PSD
Layers, groups, masks and blend modes survive, in both directions. Your archive stays readable, your deliveries stay compatible.
C Photo · Diamond
The Photoshop alternative for photographers.
A full image editor in the Photoshop mold: toolbar, options bar, dockable palettes, the familiar keyboard shortcuts. Built into Amberald; buy once instead of subscribing.
01 Layer editing
A full image editor. Built in.
Pixel layers, adjustment layers, live filters, masks, shapes and text in one document. 27 blend modes, groups, clipping masks, layer styles. Computed linearly on the GPU, blended Photoshop-compatibly.
- Tools you know: brush, heal, clone stamp, gradient, text, shapes, paths, dodge & burn
- Retouching classics built in: frequency separation, liquify, warp, content-aware scale, focus stacking
- AI selection, local: subject, sky, person, hair, or one click on an object; as a selection or a layer mask
- Pen tablet support on all three platforms
02 One photo stays one
No more TIFF ping-pong.
In Lightroom, “edit in Photoshop” means a frozen, giant copy next to your RAW. In Amberald, the layers sit on top of the living develop recipe: one photo, one catalog entry, and grid, export and print always show the finished picture.
- Develop stays alive: readjust a slider, the montage stays on top
- Non-destructive: the original is never touched, every layer stays individually editable
- One click between rooms: Library, Develop, Photo; one app, one window
- No catalog required: Photo opens files directly, like any image editor
RAW → develop recipe → Photo layers
- Lightroom + Photoshop: RAW → frozen TIFF copy → a third file for delivery
- Amberald: one photo, one entry; develop and layers both stay alive
- Tile, loupe, export and print always show the composed result
And if you prefer the classic way: PSD works in both directions.
03 PSD & craft
Speaks fluent PSD. And craft.
Channels & calculations
Channel view, image and channel calculations, 8 and 16 bit, grayscale.
Layer styles & blend options
Drop shadow, inner glow, blend-if: the classics, no detours.
Stack math
Mean, median, focus stacking: average out noise, remove passers-by, get macros sharp front to back.
Guides & grids
Rulers, snapping, guides and crop overlays up to the golden spiral.
The shortcuts your hands know
Tool letters and keyboard shortcuts like Photoshop's, and the shortcuts are remappable.
04 The honest answer
Does it replace Photoshop? Almost.
Amberald Photo is built for photo workflows: retouching, montage, delivery. Whether your special cases are covered is what the trial will show you, 30 days free, every feature included. And since PSD works in both directions, every road stays open.
One app. Three rooms.
Library, darkroom and montage; buy once instead of subscribing. For Windows, macOS and Linux.