What to Look for in a Photo Editing Laptop

As old as the art form of photography is, there’s no denying that technology continues to advance and bring photographers more features to work with. Pair that with the fact that editing software only gets better for the creatives of the world, and you’ll quickly see that nearly anyone can become a master of photography with a little bit of skill, knowledge, and passion.

Whether you’re a budding photographer or a seasoned pro, take a look at the top features you should look for in your next photo editing laptop.

1. Processors

The top computer processors on the market today are the i5 and i7 CPUs. While both are blazing fast, and give you the chance to upload multiple files at once, there are some things to think about before making a choice between the two.

  • The year the processor was made will make a difference in speed, regardless of the number
  • Older CPUs will be less expensive than the newest ones
  • If you aren’t a professional photographer, you may even be able to get away with an i4 or lower

Before you sell your MacBook and trade it in for the newest model, make sure to research which processor you really need to accomplish your goals.

2. Screen Features

When it comes to choosing the right monitor for your photo editing laptop, there are two features to focus on: screen size and resolution.

To start, you might think you need a bigger screen size to do better work, but that’s not always the case. Though having a bigger screen is nice, you have to think about how you’ll transport your laptop around with you and whether that’ll be a hassle or not.

In addition, you’ll want to make sure the resolution of your laptop is good enough for you to see all the fine details of your beautiful photography. In fact, the color that your laptop’s screen produces will determine how much editing you can do on each photo.

3. Storage Capacity

If you’re a photographer you’re going to need maximum storage capacity on your laptop. And, if you’re a photographer, it’s likely you know how big image files can be. Not to mention the space that’s needed to work with popular photo editing software such as Photoshop.

The best photo editing laptops will come with 1TB of space, which is ideal for professional photographers. However, for those on a limited budget, there’s always the option of using free or premium cloud storage solutions like Dropbox for holding collections of photographs you might not be working on immediately.

4. Price

As always, price is going to play a role in which photo editing laptop you buy.

Of course, if you are looking to build a photography business, and do most of your photo editing on your laptop, you’re going to need to invest in a pricey one that can not only handle your storage needs, but your software needs as well.

However, if you are taking on photography as a hobby, it’s safe to say you can invest in a medium to low grade laptop, take advantage of free editing software downloads, and still achieve stunning results.