While Apple’s Photos app is great for basic tasks like cropping photos, it offers few advanced editing features. That’s where third-party photo editors come in. Here are some of the apps I rely on for more comprehensive photo editing.
1 Visco
VSCO has been my favorite editing app since I got my iPhone 5s. The free version of VSCO offers 17 free presets. While I use these presets a lot, I prefer to tone down the intensity with the slider rather than using them as is.
For some photos, I prefer to manually adjust exposure, contrast, saturation, and white balance, as well as use the Vignette and Fade effects available in the app. Once you're done editing your photo, you can save all your edits and reuse them by creating recipe.
Unlike many editing apps that only work with photos from your gallery, VSCO also features a built-in camera. So, if you’re tired of figuring out how to stop your iPhone from automatically enhancing your photos, VSCO offers a powerful alternative.
While the app offers a premium subscription, the free version has been enough since I started using it in 2017. For paid subscribers, VSCO offers an AI-powered removal tool to erase unwanted elements from photos. Upgrading also gives you access to over 200 presets and tools like HSL (hue, saturation, brightness) that let you fine-tune individual colors.
download:VSCO (free, subscription available)
2 Snapseed
Finding a completely free editing app that has all the necessary tools is rare these days, but Google’s Snapseed is an exception. It offers 29 different tools and filters, ranging from basic editing features like crop And Roundness To advanced options like Point of view And HDR scene.
Of all the editing apps I've used so far, Snapseed has been the easiest to use. From the moment you open the app, you'll notice how clutter-free the interface is.
As someone who likes to keep a consistent theme on social media, I prefer to upload photos with similar lighting to create a uniform look. Since it’s almost impossible to replicate the same lighting in all of my photos, I use filters to achieve consistency.
This is where Snapseed comes in, it allows you to create custom presets. Once you've edited a photo, all you have to do is head over to Looks like Tab, scroll to the end, and then click Plus (+) icon, then the name of your preset.
While this is similar to creating a recipe on VSCO, Snapseed allows you to create an unlimited number of custom presets. So, instead of relying on the same filter that anyone can use, I prefer to create my own and use it whenever I post on social media.
download:Snapseed (Free)
3 Visiton
Have you ever taken the perfect selfie but couldn’t post it because of a blemish on your cheek? We’ve all been there. Facetune has been my go-to app for these situations. Whether you want to hide the bags under your eyes from a late-night study session or whiten your dirty shoes, Facetune can quickly enhance your photos and make them look flawless.
In addition to removing blemishes from selfies, I frequently use the app to remove distractions from my photos. Facetune is free to use faded away A tool that blends the background to make unwanted objects disappear from your photo.
Like other editing apps on the list, Facetune offers several paid subscription tiers, including a one-time purchase option that gives you unlimited access to the app. Although the paid version gives you access to more advanced editing features, including AI-powered one-tap editing. Improves A feature that automatically retouches your entire photo, and the free version should be enough for most people.
While I agree that apps like Facetune set unrealistic standards for beauty, there are still a lot of creative and useful things you can do with Facetune if you use it correctly.
download:Facetune (free, subscription available)
4 PicsArt
Picsart is one of my favorite photo editing apps on mobile, and for good reason. While I don’t often use basic tools like cropping, rotating, and adjusting lighting and colors, Picsart’s advanced features really stand out. cloning And extend They are two tools I use a lot. cloning The tool helps to fix minor defects, while extend The tool allows me to distort parts of my images.
If you want to create a funny photo of yourself with your favorite celebrity, you don't need Photoshop. chopped off This feature automatically creates a sticker for you (or any object) by removing the background, and you can paste it anywhere. This feature is a great solution if you want to avoid purchasing a Picsart subscription. Remove background a tool.
For those who enjoy adding an artistic touch to their photos, Picsart offers a variety of filters in Effects You can adjust the intensity of these effects using the section. Disappears Move the slider to match the look of your image.
Like most editing apps these days, Picsart also offers more AI features. So, while you can turn to AI art generators, Picsart features, such as Smart background, Text to Image Generator, AI replacementAnd Expanding artificial intelligence It may leave you feeling emotional.
download:Picsart (Free, Subscription Available)
Although I can use one app that meets all my editing needs, unfortunately it comes at a high price. So, to save money and get the extra features, I prefer to use a suite of apps to get the job done.