5 essential apps for improving your mobile photography
Applying layered edits
and robust filters to digital photographs was once limited to desktop devices.
Now, you can not only capture high-resolution (and RAW) photos on your phone,
but also edit them directly on your mobile device, making them ready to be shared
on whatever social networks you rely on to keep your friends and family up to
date.
On both Google’s Play
Store and Apple’s iOS App Store, there is no shortage of photo editing apps to
choose from. While we have specific guides for the best photo apps for
both Android and iOS,
we’ve also wrapped up the best photo editing tools available on both platforms.
So, whether you’re switching from one to the other and want options or simply
want to future-proof your workflow should you switch down the road, we’ve got
you covered.
ADOBE
LIGHTROOM (FREE, $10/MONTH SUBSCRIPTION OPTION)
Adobe Lightroom has
become the gold standard for digital photo management and editing amongst
professionals. Thankfully, due to the simplified interface and wonderful
syncing features, it doesn’t take a pro to either manage or edit photos in the
cloud-based version, Lightroom CC. Available on both Android and iOS, Adobe
Lightroom CC is a full-featured photo manager and editor, complete
with RAW photo support, presets, exposure adjustments, watermarking, and so
much more. It’s free to download and edit photos in, but if you want the
ability to sync your photos across devices and use the premium features, you’ll
need to shell out for Adobe’s Photography
Creative Cloud plan, which costs $10 per month and also gives you access to
Photoshop and Lightroom Classic.
PHOTOSHOP
EXPRESS (FREE)
Speaking of
professional-grade photography tools, there’s perhaps no tool that is more
synonymous with photo editing than Adobe Photoshop. Adobe released an Express
version a while back, which, while not as powerful as its desktop counterpart,
still lets you crop photos, adjust exposures, and carry out a variety of tasks.
You can even create your own presets, which can be a huge time saver when
editing photos on your phone or tablet.
SNAPSEED
(FREE)
Snapseed is a
professional-grade photo editing app designed by Google. It features a massive
amount of editing options to help even the most mundane photos jump to
life. Snapseed gives you control over your images by including a
host of sliders capable of altering a photo’s vignette, blur,
temperature, and other attributes, including grainy overlays, 1960s-style film
reel effects, or its unique Retrolux filter. You can even stack effects on
photos, similar to Layers in Photoshop, making it easy to produce a brand-new
result each time you edit a photo.
VSCO
(FREE WITH OPTIONAL IN-APP PURCHASES)
VSCO — pronounced
viz-co — is a photo editing app designed around the idea of making your
smartphone photos look more like film. In addition to a set of included
filters, VSCO also lets you purchase packs of presets, each of which has their
own aesthetic for particular types of images. VSCO also features a
built-in community that includes both professional and amateur artists and
photographers who share their naturalistic photography with each other. With
professional-grade tools and advanced camera controls, VSCO is a great app for
novices and professionals alike.
LENS
DISTORTIONS (FREE WITH AN OPTIONAL IN-APP SUBSCRIPTION PURCHASE)
Known for its
impressive plugins and apps for desktop devices, Lens Distortions has also
created a mobile app for both Android and iOS that brings its distinct editing
suite to your mobile devices. Whether it’s a color filter you’re looking for or
an overlay effect such as a light leak or flare, Lens Distortion has a slew of
realistic effects you can add to your photos. Lens Distortions is free to
download on both Android and iOS and includes five free filters in each section
with the free version. If you want access to all 250 premium filters, you’ll
have to shell out a dollar per month.
Who knew that you
needed at least six apps to make your photos look good? Well, okay, maybe you
don’t need all of them. But it is a good idea to experiment with different apps
and find the one that works best for your style. With any of these in your holster,
you’ll be on your way to racking up the likes and comments you need in order to
be a champion of Instagram. Go ahead, download them and achieve some social
media immortality — or at least a ‘like’ from your grandmother.
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