Favorite Photo Editing Apps + Tips to Use Them

Today I’m sharing my favorite photo editing apps and tips for using each one. I love taking photos. I rarely tote around my big girl camera as it’s just kind of a pain. I ALWAYS have my phone so I’ve gotten pretty good at taking photos with it and then using various apps for editing. My photography skills have come such a long way over the years. I’m definitely not a pro though! 😉 Here are some of my favorite photo editing apps and some tips on how I use them to edit my photos. A few of these are some recent new favorites and they are quickly becoming my new go-tos!!

ONE. AfterLight (Available for iOS and Android)

TIPS FOR USING AFTERLIGHT:
\\This is how I edit my photos in Afterlight:
1. Open the photo
2. Click the slider button (2nd one from the left)
3. Scroll to the Highlight option (look for the H icon)
4. Increase the Highlights a bit
5. Scroll to Exposure (+/- icon)
6. Increase the Exposure a bit
7. Scroll to Saturation (teardrop icon)
8. Increase Saturation just a hair
9. Scroll to Contrast (half moon icon)
10. Increase Contrast just a bit
11. Scroll to Brightness (sun icon)
12. Increase Brightness to my liking
13. Scroll to Clarify (magic wand icon)
14. Let it Clarify 50% and then see if I need to adjust from there.
15. Click the Done button & then save to wherever you want to save your newly edited photo.
\\I know there are a lot of filters in this app. I think I’ve used some of the black and whites, but that’s about it. I mainly use this app to do my quick edits.

TWO. A Color Story (available for iOS; get notified for Android release)

TIPS FOR USING A PHOTO STORY:
\\This is how I edit my photos in A Color Story:
1. Open the photo
2. Click the Tools Button (wrench)
3. Click the Adjust Button
4. Scroll to the Exposure Button
5. Increase the Exposure a bit
6. Scroll to Saturation Button (Sat.)
7. Increase the Saturation just a hair
8. Scroll to the Contrast Button
9. Increase the Contrast a bit
10. Scroll to the Brightness Button (Bright)
11. Increase the Brightness to my liking
12. Scroll to the Clarity Button
13. Increase the Clarity to at least 50% and see if I need to adjust from there.
14. Scroll to the Back Button and Click
15. Click the Done Button in the top right corner.
16. Click the Save and Finish Button
\\This app also has a lot of fun filters to choose from. To really make your pictures pop!

THREE. SnapSeed (Available for iOS and Android)

TIPS FOR USING SNAP SEED:
\\This is how I edit my photos in SnapSeed:
1. Open the photo
2. Click on Tune Image
3. With your finger, scroll up on the photo (starting in the middle of the photo) to get to Highlights
4. Once Highlights is selected, scroll your finger to the right to increase (or scroll to the left to decrease)
5. Scroll up on the photo to select Saturation
6. Scroll your finger to the right to increase just a hair
7. Scroll up on the photo to select Contrast
8. Scroll your finger to the right to increase just a bit
9. Scroll up on the photo to select Ambiance
10. Scroll your finger to the right to increase just a bit
11. Scroll up on the photo to select Brightness
12. Scroll your finger to the right to increase just a bit
13. Once all your edits are made, click the check mark icon in the lower right corner to accept all the changes.
14. Click the Save Button once completely finished.
\\One other function that I absolutely LOVE in SnapSeed is the ability to adjust the brightness in the picture exactly where I want to adjusted. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Open the photo
2. Click on Brush
3. Choose the option you want (I am usually increasing the light in a photo, so I choose Exposure)
4. Use your finger like a paintbrush and brush the area of the image you want to change.
5. You can also adjust how much of something you want to change in the lower center section.
6. Click the check mark icon to accept the new changes.

What are your favorite photo editing apps?

(Where I Party)