Photo editing is a skill that most people think of too difficult to master. The trick is to have the right tools for the job to make it as easy as possible to understand.
Here are the best apps to make the photo editing experience as smooth as possible.
Moldiv (iOS, Android)
Moldiv is a very simple and easy to use photo editor that can be used to change all of the elements within your photo and quickly and easily crop images. Where this particular apps stands out is the option to pick from different collages and magazine designs to add to your own photos. With Moldiv, you can easily create a stunning magazine covering featuring your latest holiday shots, all from just one app.
Prisma (iOS, Android)
Prisma is a really interesting photo editor as it does not have all of the normal features of a normal photo editor. Changing the brightness and adding text over your pictures is pretty standard but, instead with Prisma you choose from different art styles and watch while you image is transformed into that style. Styles take inspiration from artists such as Picasso, as well as more general themes such as electric. This is a great app to add something a little different to your Instagram feed to make it stand out.
PicMonkey (iOS, Android)
PicMonkey is an easy to use app that lets you customise your photos in almost every way you can imagine, from adding a filter to your image all the way to using the teeth whitening feature for that perfect smile. You can also add stickers to your photos and draw over the top of images using the drawing tools. Another nice feature is that PicMonkey also has a desktop site so you can easily switch between editing photos on your phone and on your computer which is unusual for a photo editing app.
Photo Lab (iOS, Android)
Photo Lab includes all of the basic photo editing tools but has a little bit extra to offer in the form of its wide variety of effects that can be used to make your photo unique. Unique features include photorealistic effects, allowing you to add your photo to the covers of books, a phone screen and even dollar bills. You can also add wigs, hats and other headgear to your portrait photos, as well as create photo montages adding your face to tiger, astronauts and famous actors.
Facetune 2 (iOS)
Following on from the success of Facetune 1, this app allows you to edit portrait photos right down to the fine details. Features include flawless skin tools so that you can reduce pores and remove blemishes, the ability to change eye color and even widen eyes as well as teeth whitening. When you’re done creating the perfect model look you can add a wide array of filters and magically replace the background to make your image that little bit more eye catching.
Filterstorm Neue (iOS)
Filterstorm Neue offers much editing control of more powerful desktop applications such as Lightroom and Photoshop, but in a mobile-friendly format. In addition to all of the typical photo editing tools for adjusting color, exposure, and cropping, Filterstorm Neue includes one of the best mobile implementations of a powerful Curves control for fine-tuning brightness and contrast. Another feature that differentiates Filterstorm Neue from competing photo editors is the ability to selectively apply adjustments through a number of tools including a powerful masking brush as well as radial and linear gradient filters. For users looking to move beyond basic image editing abilities with the iPhone, Filterstorm Neue is one the most accessible photo editing apps available on the App Store.
Mextures (iOS)
For those who are more experienced with photography and photo editing, advanced experimentation with textures and other creative effects requires more firepower than stock photo editors. While there are many apps for doing this, the one that is often mentioned by mobile artists is Mextures. Beyond offering a wide range of textures, grains, and light leaks, the app allows for each of these to be fully adjustable and users can combine as many as they want through an easy-to-use layering feature. While grasping the usage of the app can be more difficult in order to take full advantage of Mextures’ features, users can quickly get started by using the convenient preset “formulas” to enhance their images. The creative options available in Mextures are endless, making it an extremely applicable photo editing apps for those who are more experienced in the photo editing realm.
Snapseed (iOS, Android)
Combining simplicity with a powerful suite of tools, Snapseed is one of the most popular photo editing apps for the iPhone for good reason. While it is made to be incredibly easy to use, the app also offers a powerful collection of photo editing features that excel in all basic photo processing techniques including exposure, colour, sharpening, cropping, and straightening. Snapseed offers further advanced editing features such as selective adjustments and a healing tool for removing unwanted objects. Snapseed even lets you edit RAW files rather than just JPEGs. In addition, there is a selection of creative filters that enable users to convert photos to black and white, apply textures, add blur effects, and enhance the mood of their images. Perfect for aspiring photographers, Snapseed provides a strong foundation for more difficult photo editing apps. If you’re looking for the best app to let you edit whatever you like, Snapseed is certainly one of the best options available.
AfterFocus (iOS, Android)
AfterFocus is a specialty app designed to imitate the shallow depth of field effect that can typically only be achieved with a DSLR or close-up photography. Shallow depth of field is extremely popular and is when only the main subject is in focus while the background appears blurred. AfterFocus provides a very user-friendly way of achieving this without the costs of a professional camera or years of photography experience. Users simply use their fingers to mark the foreground and background areas for the app to automatically blur the background. Users can further add other effects such as having the background highlights rendered as soft circles or hexagons. AfterFocus is particularly useful for drawing the viewer’s attention to a main subject if the background is busy and even has a motion blur option to create the appearance of movement, making it ideal for adding focus to certain objects in a photo.
Lens Distortions (iOS)
While there are many apps that allow users to add lighting effects and textures to their photos, Lens Distortions is one of the best in adding authentic effects. What differentiates Lens Distortions from other similar apps is that all of the filters/overlays are created from actual photos of those same elements including actual sunlight (Light Hits collection), haze (Fog collection), fragments of glass (Legacy collection), as well as a unique “Shimmer” collection. Despite these complex features, the app is very intuitive in adding these elements to photographs. With its wide range of effects, users can frame shots with beautiful shards of glass, draw attention with organic light hits, or create atmospheric depth with glistening particles of light and fog. Available for free on the App Store, Lens Distortions comes with a basic collection of effects and additional effects are available as in-app purchases for even more ways to enhance photographs.
Adobe Photoshop Express (iOS, Android)
Adobe Photoshop Express is not Photoshop on your iPhone. You’re not going to be able to use those amazing computer-based features to spruce your photos. But the app brings several useful effects and can make nifty edits to the photos you take with your iPhone. It also syncs registered Photoshop users to their online account. The app’s opening screen lets you select a photo from your camera roll or take a new one. Once the photograph is open, you can crop, rotate or flip it; correct exposure and saturation with a slide of your finger across the screen, apply tinting, or change the photo to black-and-white. You can apply a cool sketch effect or soften the focus, and adjust the effect with a swipe. Other effects include “vibrant,” “pop” (turns your photo into a Warhol painting), “vignette blur,” “warm vintage” and “rainbow.” You can also apply a white border around the photograph. If you’re a Photoshop user, you’ll likely find Adobe Photoshop Express invaluable. If you don’t, you’ll still find great tools to use with this free app.
With the countless photography apps available on the market, the photo editing apps listed in this article offer features that are ideal for those new to iPhone photography or professionals simply looking for a new app to add to their “camera bag”. Successful post-processing often requires the use of several photo editing apps which makes our list the ideal combination of simple and complex processes to optimize photographs. With the power of desktop photo editing tools available right on the mobile device, the ability to enhance photographs at a professional level for a fraction of traditional prices makes these apps essential for mobile photographers.
