Now that more people than ever before have access to smartphones with high-end cameras, it makes sense that there’s an even greater demand for photo editing apps that transform ordinary imagery into something worth sharing with the world. The good news is that there are dozens of options out there — but the bad news is that they aren’t all worth their weight in gold. Which stand out from the pack and which can you afford to leave behind? Here are the best apps to help give your photos that professional finishing touch.
Afterlight 2
If you pretty much dream in color, then you know the value of a photo editing app that makes your photographs look brighter, richer, and more enigmatic. Afterlight 2 is poised to do just that. Although it’s definitely more of a well-rounded app that handles everything from text overlays to blending, you can really count on it to bring out the color in your pictures like nothing else out there. It takes a little bit of time to get the hang of Afterlight 2, but once you grow familiar with the functionalities of this hard-working app, you’ll wonder how you ever did without it. Use the “selective hue” feature to bring out the depth of shades in dark images and transform something simple into a photo you’ll treasure forever. Bring out the sharpness of the moon on a dark night, for example, or the crisp white foam as it tickles the shoreline at sunset on the beach. If you love nature photography, this one is a genius option.
Price: $2.99
Photoshop Express
Why not go back to where it all began — you know, before we even really knew what smartphones were capable of doing? With the Adobe Photoshop Express app, you can easily make swift edits to your photographs, design collages, and improve color saturation and depth with just a few quick maneuvers. The best part of this app is that it doesn’t require a great deal of in-depth knowledge to get the hang of using it. Sure, it helps to understand what you need to do to improve the image, but even playing around with it for a bit will get you where you want to be eventually. Additionally, it’s completely free on iOS, Android, and Windows mobile devices, making it a more accessible product that people can quickly warm up to using.
Price: FREE
Snapseed
You took a photograph of an object or scenery that you really loved. Then you saw the final outcome and were less than impressed by the results. To the rescue comes Snapseed, a reliable photo editing app that makes it easy to breathe some fresh air onto photographs that are in desperate need of a little rescuing. It’s made by Nik Software, whose parent company is Google, and although it can do everything, it seems to handle making so-so images look superb the best. That’s not to say that you can’t use Snapseed to, say, add a fun photo frame or a quirky lighting effect to your picture. But it’s the exceptional range of high-dynamic-range filters that makes it such an effective tool. Although seasoned photographers swear by it, it’s also a fun option for novices who want to get acquainted with advanced imagery techniques. The app is free for both iOS and Android users.
Price: FREE
TouchRetouch
We’ve all had the unfortunate experience of snapping a great picture, only to discover there’s something unwanted in the image. Maybe it’s a Hawaii sunset marred by the distracting presence of a towel on the sand. With TouchRetouch in your arsenal, you can efficiently select the object in question using the lasso or brush tool, then hit “go” and watch it disappear from sight. You can even use it to eliminate the smallest imperfections that take away from your otherwise flawless work of art. Forget about the strands of hair that are in your eyes or the weird spot distracting you from the crisp blue river. A couple of taps and your photo will look just as you intended it to appear. The app is free to use for iOS users.
Price: FREE
Why You Need a Photo Editing App
In simplest terms, few photographs are likely to come out so absolutely perfect that they require no touchups whatsoever. You can use your photo editing apps to brighten, resize, shape and master your pictures so that they appear as flawless as possible.
Please share with us your favorite photo editing app in the comments below!
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I wanted to add my vote for Snapseed. What a great app! I have been using it since 2012 and it just gets better. One of my hobbies is extreme photo editing and a specialty I have developed using this app is creating digital tintype photos that instantly look 100 years old. It is so much fun and I get really great results from Snapseed that do not look like they came from a smartphone app. Now I am off to try a few of the others you mentioned!
First of all, thanks for the classic photo editing apps.
These apps add extra magic in photography. I think the lightroom app is also a good fit in the post.
I personally like Snapseed and Lightroom for creativity in photos.
Otherwise, the post is simply fantastic.
Ribbet.com! They have an app and a downloadable version for you computer. I’ve used them for years. Super easy to use.
I used to use Snapseed but have kinda forgotten about it. My main one is PicMonkey which I have been using since 2012 when it was only available via computer and they just keep getting better and better and even have a mobile app now.