What people recommend, in their own words, with the receipt.
American photographer and writer on cameras and photography; publishes long-running equipment reviews, technique guides and buying advice at bythom.com.
17 things
1PasswordSoftware AgileBits
I've been using 1Password since it first came out, and it's proven to be the most robust and secure password and private information handler in the Mac realm.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
KeynoteSoftware Apple
Let's start off with the winners: Keynote is simply better than PowerPoint. Once you start using Keynote you won't want to go back.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
NumbersSoftware Apple
Numbers is an excellent, slightly simplified, and more approachable Excel.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
Fujifilm X100VIHardware Fujifilm
The downside of a D-Lux8 to the X100VI is autofocus; the X100VI is state-of-the-art, the D-Lux8 is still using some now stale art. Recommended (2024 to present) but pricey and difficult to find in stock
Hogan's Fujifilm X100VI review on bythom.com; the closing verdict line carries its own timestamp (Dec 27, 2024).
bythom.com ↗·2024-12-27
Intego Internet SecuritySoftware Intego
Utility software I find useful and recommend: Intego Internet Security
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
Carbon Copy ClonerSoftware Bombich Software
If you need a way to reliably (and hands off) backup your system, I find Carbon Copy Cloner to be the best choice, though SuperDuper comes very close
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
EtreCheckSoftware Etresoft
EtreCheck is the utility you want to pull up and run. It's like System Report on steroids and with clearer information as well as useful recommendations.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
MoomSoftware Many Tricks
If you're dealing with big screens and lots of windows open, trust me, you want to take control over what appears where, and Moom will help you do that.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
DuckDuckGoSoftware DuckDuckGo
switch out the search component from Evil Google to something far less sinister and less privacy invading, such as DuckDuckGo.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
PDF ExpertSoftware Readdle
the best of the PDF editors I've found on the Mac.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
CleanMyMacSoftware MacPaw
there are so many cache, cleanup, maintenance, and uninstall bits to keep track of, you're going to appreciate that you can do it in an automated fashion without having to keep track of all the details yourself.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
MacBook AirHardware Apple
Basically any 16GB/512GB or better Air is a solid portable these days, and should handle moderate Photoshop use just fine.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Hardware” page on his own site, where he says which Macs photographers should consider. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
Nisus Writer ProSoftware Nisus Software
My choice has been for some time Nisus Writer Pro, though there are some very nice things I like about Mellel. Nisus Writer Pro is a pretty direct Word substitute, and it has many features and performance that Word lacks.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
FirefoxSoftware Mozilla
As for browsers, I use Firefox instead of the supplied Safari, but there are plenty of browser choices.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
MacBook ProHardware Apple
the bottom line is still the same: these are great machines when configured correctly. Perhaps exceptionally great if you stuff them with tech ( disclosure: for travel I use a 14” M1 Max, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD MacBook Pro).
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Hardware” page on his own site, where he says which Macs photographers should consider. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
Leica D-Lux8Hardware Leica
Thus, I have a new recommendation category: Recommended (2024 to present, if you can justify the price)
Hogan's Leica D-Lux8 review on bythom.com. He recommends it only with a price caveat and tells readers they must acquiesce to the Leica interface; verdict line timestamped Oct 26, 2024.
bythom.com ↗·2024-10-26
PagesSoftware Apple
Pages, unfortunately, is a mess. While it can serve as a word processor, it was designed more as an unfriendly page layout program.
Hogan's “Recommended Mac Software” page on his own site, a list of the utilities and applications he uses and advises photographers to use. The page shows no publication date; the date used is the server's Last-Modified header (2026-08-30).
Every entry is a verbatim quote and a link to the public post it came from. Nothing is paraphrased. If it is not on record somewhere public, it is not here.
The verdict is what they actually said: loved and liked are explicit; recommended means they told others to get it; uses means they only say they use it; read is a book on their public shelf with no verdict; mixed and disliked are kept too.
A dashed affiliate link, sponsored or their own label means the post disclosed a relationship. It is shown, never hidden.
The small bar beside a date shows how dated a recommendation is for its kind of thing.
The bar shows how dated a recommendation is, for its kind of thing. Full and green is recent. It drains, and turns amber and then grey, as the post gets older.
What counts as old depends on the thing. A laptop praised four years ago has been replaced twice; a book loved twenty years ago is probably still loved. The bar is empty after about:
A striped bar means the post carries no date and the date shown is an estimate. No date at all, no bar.