Back again with another TIPS blog post.  This time I’m spilling the beans on all my go-to photo editing apps I use on my phone.  Having these apps and knowing how to use them in your back pocket will save you time and frustration.  Play around, experiment and have fun until you find what works best for you! I keep it generally the same but like to change things up now and again to keep it interesting.

Lets dive in…

Lightroom

This is my first stop – always! I’ve been using Lightroom on my desktop since I started doing photography so was thrilled when they finally launched a phone version of the app.  It’s quick, easy and you can even save your own presets!  There are lots of bloggers and influencers selling their own presets these days which is another easy and quick way to use this app.

I love the HSL controls here which basically allows you to change specific colours in the image.  If the Greens are too saturated you can tone them down or brighten and make the blues and pinks “pop” like I usually do.

I also love the gradient tool – I use this one all the time on both my desktop and the app.  This is perfect for brightening one side of the image or bringing down the hi lights on one side.  Another way I like to use this is to darken the sky or brighten the bottom of an image.

Settings for the above three images are as follows – I’ll usually have to adjust it slightly but as you can see these work pretty good as a starting point!

Exposure: +.069 | Contrast: +7 | Hilights: -14 | White: +7 | Black: -15 | Vibrance: +15 | Sharpness: +15

A Color Story

This one has quickly become a favourite of mine for the last year or so.  I’ve purchased a bunch of their colour filters and really love playing around with them.  I don’t have a set of ones I use all the time, there are so many to choose from I usually pick whatever I feel best suits the image I’m editing.  I also love the colour gradients you can use to enhance the sky or add a pop of sun-flare. Sometimes you want to add an extra oomph to your photos and this app does just that.  They are also constantly updating it with more and better filters and basic photo editing tools.

Snapseed

I still love this app and use it especially one specific way – it’s selective editing tools.  I haven’t found something that works as good as this one does yet.  I like to make my pinks and blues to pop – this is so precise and I’m able to brighten, darken, add contrast or boost the saturation of a specific portion of the photo.  I also use this app to desaturate unwanted colours or brighten shadows.  This is a useful app to keep handy when you just can’t get an image right and need to go in and fine tune the details.

VSCO

I don’t use this one very often but whenever I feel like mixing up the final edit of an image I’ll bring it up in VSCO to play around with it.  I love it’s deep hues and the contrast in these filters.  If I have more time to play around I like using this.  My favourites: 05, 06 & HB1. HB2 – I also LOVE the black and white filters in this app.

Instagram App

Before I post any photo to Instagram I will always go in and add a touch of sharpness to the image inside the editing app itself.  Again, this specific took in instagram works perfectly and always makes my images appear extra sharp.

Pic Tap Go

An oldie but a goodie – though I barely use this app anymore I used it for so many years and it served me well! I still think it sone of the easiest apps to use so if you’re just starting out and feel confused / overwhelmed and want something quick and easy I would recommend you start with this app! Lights On, bright side and Skinny Jeans were a few of my favourite filters in the app!

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