MacPhun Creative Kit 2016 review

Drama, beauty and bokeh are just a few mouse-clicks away. You can get rid of unwanted bystanders, too

MacPhun Creative Kit 2016

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This is a deceptively powerful little program. Its object removal tools are disarmingly simple to use, in that you just paint over the object you want to get rid of (you can also use a freehand or polygonal lasso tool) and press the Erase button.

There are actually three different object removal algorithms: Global is the one to use for larger objects, Local is designed for smaller objects like clouds, while Dynamic is used for small imperfections like skin blemishes in portraits.

If one of these doesn't do the job, try another. They also have three different quality settings: Norm, High and Highest.

MacPhun Creative Kit 2016

To get rid of unwanted objects (or people) in your pictures, you can just paint over them with a brush tool and hit the Erase! button.

MacPhun Creative Kit 2016

The object removal process isn't foolproof and it will sometimes leave behind odd artifacts, but mostly it does a really good job.

Much of the time, Snapheal does a remarkable job, banishing objects in seconds and leaving little trace behind. It can struggle with larger objects against busy backgrounds or tight up against other objects you want to preserve, but these would probably be extremely difficult for even the most skilled manual cloner to fix too.

Speaking of which, there is a manual clone option for cleaning up after your main repairs or for times when the automated object removal algorithms can't fix your problem.

MacPhun Creative Kit 2016

In this before-and-after comparison you can see that Snapheal has removed the two posts on the pavement pretty well. It has disrupted the pattern of the paving stones and the edge of the arched doorway, but if you didn't have the 'before' shot for reference you might not notice.

MacPhun Creative Kit 2016

Snapheal takes a few seconds to carry out its repairs, during which time it's progress panel will keep you entertained with interesting and completely unrelated factoids.

Snapheal's simplicity belies its power – but it goes further. There's a Retouch panel which offers simple brush-on adjustments for specific areas of your picture – you only get one adjustment, so it's hardly a Photoshop replacement, but it's often all you need to finish off a picture nicely.

And for a finishing touch you can also apply global adjustments to contrast, saturation, clarity, sharpening and more via an Adjust panel.

Snapheal CK integrates with the other Creative Kit applications – you can send an edited image directly to one of the others for further work – or you can use it as a standalone tool.

Rod Lawton
Freelance contributor

Rod is an independent photographer and photography journalist with more than 30 years' experience. He's previously worked as Head of Testing for Future’s photography magazines, including Digital Camera, N-Photo, PhotoPlus, Professional Photography, Photography Week and Practical Photoshop, and as Reviews Editor on Digital Camera World.