Travel is all about capturing memories and adventure. Whether you use your smart phone or a digital camera, you count on your camera to adequately seize the moments you want to remember. However, sometimes a person adds an unnecessary flash, takes a crooked shot, or simply takes a bad picture. This is where Zoner Photo Studio X can help you create the best possible photo for your captured image.

Like other popular photograph editing programs, Zoner Photo Studio X (“ZPS-X”) is windows-based software for editing and organizing photographs. Since many of my readers are avid travelers, finding a worthy editing program is essential; this is why I decided to review ZPS-X. As I have never used any other photo editing software, I can’t compare programs, yet only judge Zoner Photo Studio X as a stand-alone product.

In full-disclosure, I am not much of a tech-savvy person. My background is in the medical field, so everything about software, photography, and editing is pretty foreign to me. However, I am a fairly fast learner and eventually learned my way around the program. I played with the software for about fifteen minutes and was able to alter this old photo from completely unusable to a photo that at least captures part of my New Zealand trip. The photo used to look like this:

Now it looks like this:

It was amazing to see the image come to life!

Let’s learn a little about the editing software of Zoner Photo Studio X:

The 4 Elements of Zoner Photo Studio X

The Manager Module

In the Manager Module, you basically “manage your photos”.  Here, you can create titles and descriptions for every photo. Attach key words, locations, specific GPS coordinates, or simply drag the photo onto a map. Organize and sort your photos into files in one convenient place.

The Develop Module

This is where your photo comes to life. In the Develop Module you can change all of the key elements of your photo, thus “developing” it the way you want. This includes fine-tuning the white balance, exposure, color, tone, and sharpness.

If you don’t want to spend time on all the nitty-gritty details, you can simply use the automatic fix to improve the image. Choose from a wide variety of Instagram-like filters and presets to add on color filters, change the photo to black and white or sepia, add grain, or try other filters.  Perfect your photos by improving light and shadow, straightening horizons and crooked pictures, adding vignetting, or enhancing the sky or foreground.  All of these amazing presets make it easy for non-technical users to quickly fix their images. Zoner Photo Studio X even has preset filters to smooth lines, brighten eyes, and even whiten teeth.

The Editor Module

Perform basic or advanced alterations in the Editor Module. Here, you can crop and rotate images, fix red eye, and add shapes. You can even add text, draw, or paint onto your photos. In this tab, you can execute portrait adjustments including facial editing and enhancements of the eyes, lips, chin, jaw, and nose (and other traditional “photoshop” fixes).

As with most photo editing software, you can manipulate photos easily by replacing a cloudy sky with a sunny one or erasing people, cars, or buildings out of your image.

The Create Module

Within the Create Module, you can design and construct exciting projects with your images. Create your very own photo books, calendars, and canvas prints. Specify the photo book size, personalize details of the calendar, and even place your order through the program. Within in the Create Module, you can even put together video presentations and photo collages easily with Zoner Photo Studio X.

The Verdict

After using the software for a few days, it was plain to see that Zoner Photo Studio X can drastically improve your photos. That being said, there was a bit of a learning curve for me to figure out the software. Granted, I will learn more as I continue to use the program, but I had the most difficulty with the advanced editing of retouching faces and trying to alter the sky in a photo.

If you are tech-savvy and use a PC for photo editing, then I think Zoner Photo Studio X is a great program for you. As a travel blogger, I could see myself using the software to create amazing images for the blog. I really like the options available in the Create Module. It’s very convenient to be able to improve your images and then place them into projects right away, versus exporting and importing the photos into different programs.

However, for those that aren’t very knowledgable in technology, it will be a tougher climb to understand the ins and outs of ZPS-X. That being said, the regular price of Zoner Photo Studio is reasonable, at $50/year for new subscribers. (It’s on sale now for $26/year!) You can also pay monthly ($5/month) AND get the first month for free. So, if you try it out and find it’s too difficult to use or it’s too much for what you need it for, you don’t have to continue the subscription.

To top it off, Zoner gives you 20 GB free on Zoner Photo Cloud and provides customers online support. Get emails delivered to you weekly that provide helpful tips, pointers, and info on the software, updates, and special features.

Here are a few key points to remember about the program.

• is only for PCs and Windows based computers. There is no version for MacBooks at this time.
• can be used in conjunction with a graphics tablet.
• allows you to batch edit your photos to save you time.  You can edit hundreds of photos at once. Choose from 50 different tools to perform edits like resizing, fixing the exposure, and more, all at once.
• does not lock your edited photos into the program. You can freely use your altered images elsewhere.
• allows you to keep your unaltered original photo.
• allows you to export your photographs for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or your own website.
• easily create photo books, calendars, and videos in the Create Module.
• has a universal search box that can help you find photos based on keywords, location, ratings, and more.
• has the ability to specify all of the locations where your photos are taken and group them into areas on a world map.
• is always being updated with new features and fixes to ensure you’re working on the best possible version of Zoner Photo Studio X.
• ZPS-X allows you to view RAW files immediately without having to wait before each one loads, saving you precious time.
• features a RAW development module and an editor filled with masks and layers.
• provides you with a free online magazine where you can get helpful tips, informative content, and inspiration.
• provides customer support and has an online manual for users.

For more information on Zoner Photo Studio X, check out the video below or check out Zoner.com.

Happy Editing!

Julie

Disclaimer: I received a free trial of this photo editor to test out the program and give an honest review.