AMS Software PhotoWorks is a photo editor for PC that promises to make image editing easy. With the help of PhotoWorks, you can edit landscapes, portraits and enhance other photos with filters and one-click tools that those who new to photo editing software should find easy to use while those with a little more picture editing experience can use the abundance of image editing tools such as fine-tuning with curves. 

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On paper, it seems that PhotoWorks image editor could have something for everyone, particularly those newer to photo editing, so let's take a closer look at the tools on offer to find out if it's the right photo editing software for you. 

There are three versions of PhotoWorks photo editing software available: Standard, Deluxe and Pro. Standard is the less expensive of the three priced at $19.25, Deluxe sits in the middle at $29.40 and Pro is the most expensive version at $29.20. On test, we have the Deluxe version of the PhotoWorks photo editor app for PC. 

AMS Software PhotoWorks Features

As with their SmartShow 3D slideshow software, AMS Software wants to make it as easy as possible for you to create, edit and enhance your photos. To do this, they have created a user interface that's simple and easy to navigate. Plus. they've split tools up into tabs so you're only using the brushes/filters/effects you need for a specific job. 

There are general enhancement tools (brightness, hue, contrast etc.) as well as specific options for editing portraits, common tools such as the crop tool and curves are grouped together and you have a separate tab dedicated effects (filters) as well as one for adding captions/watermarks to images. 

Effects/changes are applied either with a simple one-click or a pull of a slider and if a little more work is required, it usually just involves 'painting on detail' with your mouse. Anyone who's used photo editing software before will be familiar with the commands and those who aren't will soon pick up the basics. Plus, there are explanations of what tools are and tutorials available should you need them. 

Simplicity while producing excellent results seems to be the name of the game with PhotoWorks which is refreshing to see as sometimes, photo editing software can get a little over-complicated. 

Features of AMS Software PhotoWorks 

• Easy to use photo editor for PC
• Latest image processing technology
• Dedicated area for retouching portraits
• One-Click Effects/Filters 
• Captions and Watermarks
• An array of brushes
• Useful crop tool
• Auto enhancement 
• Online tutorials
• Basic but essential photo editing tools 

AMS Software PhotoWorks Ease Of Use & Performance

The user interface of PhotoWorks couldn't be much more straightforward and easy to get to grips with as it's clean, simple and everything is easy to find/navigate. Once you open an image, there's a menu bar to the top and below this is a selection of tabs that are home to specific groupings of tools that relate to each other. We like this as it means you're not searching through lots of tools to find the one you want. The middle is where your image opens for working on and at the bottom is a toolbar that has the undo/redo buttons, before/after viewing options, zoom and aspect ratio. To the right is where you find all of the tools for editing your image with which range from 1-click filters to sliders and brushes. 

This software doesn't use layers or paths which you'll either like or hate and there are no windows to open as you can in Photoshop - everything is cleanly organised into tabs or you can jump to a specific tool using the top menu system. 

Some may say that PhotoWorks is a little too basic but when you start to look around, you soon realise there are more advanced tools built-in alongside the basic 1-click effects which is great for those wanting to learn how to improve photos rather than just relying on ready-made filters. 

The tools found under the Enhancement tab are set out similarly to the tools in Lightroom - in a list with sliders. These are further split into further tabs, depending on what you want to edit. There's no lag when applying edits and sliders move smoothly when pulled left/right. You can use an 'auto-correction' option but we found this over-cooked photos, over saturating colours so didn't really use it. You can, however, adjust the sliders once the auto-correction has been made should you want to. 

Under 'Tools' are options which you'll probably regularly use such as the Crop tool and Curves adjustment tool. They all work as you'd expect them to with more options opening up when you click on a specific tool. There are even small descriptions of what each tool does which is handy. The 'Change Background' tool is worth a mention as unlike some software, you don't have to be 100% accurate with it. In fact, a few well-placed lines.shapes and the background is removed pretty quickly thanks to clever AI, simple to use tools and easy to understand instructions. If you do find you need a little more help with any tool, video tutorials are available within the software or you can visit the AMS software website. 

Retouch is where you find all of the tools for perfecting your portraits which range from removing blemishes and fixing red-eye to completely changing the look of someone's face. There's also a graduated filter too which is handy when working on a landscape photo, radial filter and an adjustment brush for enhancing specific areas of the image rather than the whole frame. 

You can use one-click portrait improvements which are applied as previews before committing to an option or you can manually adjust settings under the 'Custom Settings' tab. We were impressed with the one-click options on offer that, for the most part, subtly make changes to portraits and the fact you can further tweek these changes is a big plus point, too. Face Sculpt gives you more control over the elements of the face so you can adjust the size or position of the nose, eyes, lips etc. but don't go overboard as you can make people look like aliens. 

Red Eye removal the Adjustment Brush, Graduated Filter and Radial Filter are all easy to use and worked well but the Healing Brush and Clone Stamp tool aren't quite as good as the same tools found in other photo editing software. Where they sample from isn't always great (you can adjust this) and it doesn't always blend well either but this differs depending on what the background in the image was like. It's not terrible but it's not perfect either. 

Instagram fans will love the Effects tab as it's bursting to the brim with filters which can be applied with one-click, previewed and easily adjusted with a slider. Once applied, the Enhancement tab reopens in case you want to make further adjustments to the image. 

Last up is the Captions tab which you can use to add text to your photos. This could be a great way to add your own watermark and there are stickers available, too, should you be making a poster or want to have a bit of fun with your photos. You can easily move the text box around and adjust the font, colour, size, style, opacity, angle etc. to make your own unique watermark which is handy. 

On export, you can save or print your image directly from the UI or you can go to File>(Insert option here) to quickly save your image, too. There's also an option to set your photo as your desktop wallpaper which you don't see in other photo editing software. 

Overall, PhotoWorks image editing software is really easy to use, there are plenty of tools to play around with and if you love a filter, you'll be extremely impressed at the choices on offer. 

Value For Money

There are three versions of PhotoWorks photo editing software available: Standard, Deluxe and Pro. Standard is the less expensive of the three priced at $19.25 (around £15), Deluxe sits in the middle at $29.40 (around £23) and Pro is the most expensive version at $39.20 (around £31). All three versions are excellent value for money, considerably cheaper than other photo editing software available. 

Alternatives include Adobe Photoshop Elements at around £83 but it does have a more tools and layers as does the full version of Photoshop or Photoshop CC which is now subscription-based and a lot more expensive. There's also Affinity Photo, DxO PhotoLab and Corel PaintShop Pro all of which scored well in our reviews but they are more expensive as they have more tools built-in. There are free options available but, generally, you won't find anywhere near as many features available but Snapseed on smartphones is quite impressive for a free photo editing app. 

AMS Software PhotoWorks Verdict

PhotoWorks photo editing software for PC is a simple yet effective image editor that has just the right amount of tools to keep things easy to use/follow but still allow you to create great-looking images. 

Instagram fans will love the huge amount of filters you can apply with the click of your mouse button and those who are finding their feet when it comes to image editing software will learn quickly with PhotoWorks as it gives you the tools you need to edit landscapes, portraits and any other type of photo without the need for over-complicated tools. 

If you're a Photoshop user or use software of a similar calibre already, you will probably find PhotoWorks a little too simple but Elements fans might want to take a look. 

There are some tools missing that some may find essential (layers, groups etc.) but by removing them, AMC Software has kept things simple, easy to use and fun - a recipe that's key when learning something new. 

For those new(ish) to photo editing or for social media fans who love a filter, PhotoWorks is worth a look but for those with more know-how, you'll probably want to look at an alternative as you'll soon (if you haven't already) out skill the photo editing software. 

Having said that, everything is really easy and quick to use so if you want to make some fast edits with not much effort, PhotoWorks is worth considering; even more so if you regularly apply filters to your work. Plus, those who like their selfies to be Instagram-ready will love the one-click options for editing portraits as they're fast, accurate and again, really quick/easy to apply. 

A couple of the tools could be improved but overall, we're impressed with PhotoWorks photo editor for pc and find no reason why we shouldn't 'Highly Recommend' it. 

PhotoWorks photo editing software for PC is a simple yet effective image editor that has just the right amount of tools to keep things easy to use/follow but still allow you to create great-looking images.

AMS Software PhotoWorks System Requirements 

• Compatible with Windows 10, 8, 8.1, 7, Vista, XP

AMS Software PhotoWorks Specifications

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