How to Edit Photos Using Only Apps
Photo editing is a valuable skill whether you’re an influencer or an Instagram addict! Programs like Photoshop and LightRoom are great for professional bloggers and photographers, but not everyone has the time to pull out their laptop and overcome the learning curve that comes with sophisticated programs like those. That is where photo editing apps come into play. When I’m in a hurry or have to edit on the fly, I will often use iPhone apps to edit my photos. All of the editing apps mentioned below are readily available for both Android and iOS systems.
VSCO for Photo Editing
VSCO, or VSCO Cam, is a photo editing application as well as a social media network. Its interface allows users to edit photos and share them to VSCO’s network of fellow photography enthusiasts. Since its launch in 2012, it has claimed a spot on the hearts of recreational and professional editors for its wide range of filters and adjustment settings for fully customizable exposure, contrast, saturation, and more.
How to Use
Open VSCO and click on the third icon at the bottom. From there, you can choose to either import your existing photos by tapping the blue plus button or take a photo by tapping the black camera icon.
Once that is done, select the photo you have imported or taken and tap the icon showing two horizontal lines with circles inside of them. This will take you to the editing interface, where you can add filters, make adjustments, and save presets.
Once the edit has been completed, tap the “save” button to save it your phone or the “publish” button to share it with VSCO’s community.
Facetune for Selfies
Facetune is a powerful but dangerous weapon! I’ve seen so many people go WAY too far with this editing app. My personal opinion is that if you look like a cartoon character and have no contours or pores, you’ve gone overboard. I like to use it to smooth out my skin a bit, whiten my eyes and teeth, get rid of blemishes and blur out a few wrinkles under my eyes. Facetune can also be used to add makeup/highlights, eye colors, and emphasis to the cheeks and jawline with a few taps, but I’d say that those are more advanced features, and I haven’t really explored them.
How to Use
Upon opening Facetune, you’ll notice that there are stock photos to practice on. Choose one and click “Select Photo” to get started. If you would like to skip that instead, click the camera icon at the top of the interface to load your own photos and begin experimenting with the features at the bottom of the app. There are plenty of tutorials that go into extensive detail on how to create specific effects that you can follow.
You can enhance your selfies easily with the Retouch/Auto feature. I usually move the Smooth slider to less than half so my skin still looks real. I turn the Glow slider all the way off. And I may tweak others depending on the image. I feel I should mention that I do this mainly for selfies, and I never change the colors of makeup products and things like that. If I’m doing a before/after type of image (like this one), I don’t retouch at all because I want to show you the true results.
Adobe Photoshop Express
Adobe Photoshop Express is Photoshop’s mobile sibling. It allows you to not only have the advanced capabilities of Photoshop available in your pocket but also allows you to use these capabilities for FREE. Some features you may love are cropping, text overlay, a plethora of brushes to experiment with, and the ability to edit photos in raw formats.
How to Use
Start by launching the app and selecting a photo. The first screen will show photos available on the phone. Once you have chosen your photo, experiment with the icons at the bottom of the app. These allow you to add filters or “looks”, crop and resize, make adjustments, and use many other features. When the photo has been edited, simply click the share button at the top right and export it by selecting “Save to Gallery.”
As cell phones have become more advanced, so have the capabilities of their accompanying apps. The key to creating beautiful photos is to figure out which apps work for YOU, and then using them often, so you can do it in your sleep!
