Hello friend! 👋🏽
I'm so glad that you're here and that you want to check these apps out for yourself! You won't believe the amount of times I have found myself needing to edit on the go. Sometimes, I just can't wait to just *upload* and share content I've just created. These all make it easier!
Please note: I am an iPhone user, so all App Store links will come first. If you are an Android user, I have included the Google Play links, further down. Please note that the Original FaceTune is NOT available for Android Users - a close comparison app would be Airbrush, however I don't see the clone tool included in this.
1. SnapSeed
I still cannot believe that this app is free! It is easily one of the most complex-made-simple editing tools out there, and I use it for editing pretty much every photo taken on my iPhone. The biggest and most helpful tool? It's one of the very few that can handle full sized .RAW files. Yup, straight off the back of that camera! If you're someone who photographs while tethered, this app is a great way to get a couple shots out, and fast!
SnapSeed Photo Text:
Image 1: Just the User Interface as a whole. You can see all the tools listed: Tune Image, Details, Curves, White Balance, Crop, Rotate, Perspective, Expand, Selective, Brush, Healing, HDR Scape, Glamour Glow, Tonal Contrast, Drama, Vintage, Grainy Film, Retrolux, Grunge, Black & White, Noir, Portrait, Head Pose, Lens Blur, Vignette, Double Exposure, Text, and Frames.
Image 2: "Tune Image" - This is where your main editing will happen. Brightness, Contrast, Color Cooling/Warming, etc., can be found there.
Image 3: "Curves" - Similar to Photoshop, you can change the curves (the RGB waves) of the photo. This can also be used to strengthen or soften shadows or the "blacks" in your photo. It can also strengthen or soften light. You can also edit each RGB wave individually.
Image 4: "Glamour Glow" - This is my favorite tool. For those who want the "Painterly" effect that's all the hype right now, this is how you get it on an iPhone. There are 5 different options to choose from. There's one exclusively for cool-toned images, and one exclusively for warm-toned images. But they're all good. Various levels of opacity will depend on the image being edited and personal preference.
Pro Tip: If you are someone who likes simple editing, this is the ONLY app you'll likely need. That's why it's listed first. In many ways, it can do a lot of what Photoshop can, just simplified for the average person who doesn't LIVE in Photoshop. It also allow you to play with images by including tools like Noir, Vintage, and Double Exposure. So there's room for creativity. If you feel like you only need ONE app, I'd recommend this one. Especially since it can handle all the files. RAW, JPEG, PNG and TIFF. Which really, are the main photo ones anyway.
2. FaceTune (The Original)
No, not the new "fancy" paid-for-version called FaceTune 2. No, no. You'll want the original. Why? Because it grants you the ability to LIQUIFY on a phone! Are there wrinkles in your pants along your legs that you want gone? Problem solved. Jacket crinkled up near the shoulder, not creating smooth lines? Problem solved.
It doesn't just have Liquify, either.
You can *clone stamp* in this app too! Don't like the lint on your pants, because you forgot to bring a lint roller? No problem! Just clone that nonsense out. Got some blemishes on your skin, a scar you want to hide or a tattoo you forgot to cover up and don't want your mom to know about? Lol, clone stamp it out!
Between Snapseed and FaceTune, you can also expand the borders of the image and make it *bigger* - expanding walls, floor and sky...provided that your subject is generally away from the borders of the photo and that you're not standing against complex designs on either the wall or the floor. But that clone stamp tool? It can help sort that alllllll out.
FaceTune Photo Text:
Image 1: Just the User Interface as you open an image in the app.
Image 2: "Smooth" Tool (Highlighted in Pink) - This is your skin blur tool. This can *very easily* be overdone, even on the lighter of the two modes. Gentle presses and not *all* over the face, will still result in an airbrushed look.
Next, the "Tones" Tool (Highlighted in Blue) - This is your color selector/color changer. If you want to ease the shadows off of skin/walls, etc., you can do so by adding the color that's in the lighter areas. This is also a good way to fill in eyebrows for makeup shots. (Gentle swipes! A hard finger press will result in harsh colors, causing you to have to close out of the layer and start over).
Image 3: The "Reshape" Tool (Highlighted in Red) - This is your "Liquify" tool. There are two main tools within this. "Reshape" will move the WHOLE image. "Refine" will move the small things like wrinkles in clothing.
Next, the "Patch" Tool (Highlighted in Orange) - This is your "Clone Stamp" tool. You can remove unwanted blemishes on the face, markings on the wall (or floor!) wrinkles in clothing and more!
Pro Tip: Whenever you are satisfied with what you have JUST completed in either the Reshape or the Tones tools, click the little blue checkmark in the top right corner of whatever tool you just finished with. This will save your work, regardless if you have to go back into that tool again. I say this, because there is no "undo" button in either of these and if you progress, but mess something up, you will be forced to close out of the whole layer and start again. The only tool that has an "undo" button is the Patch tool. You can also remove layers on the photo itself. But after Liquifying and changing colors, it's best to save before you move on to a new corner of the image.
3. Perfect365
While FaceTune does give you the ability to skin retouch - it is *very easy* to overdo in that app. And that is where Perfect365 comes in. You can download the app for free, but there are in-app purchases that you can make, if you really desire them. I have never needed them, so I haven't paid for them, but that's just me.
Why do I love this one? This is where skin retouching magic really happens. You can remove small blemishes in one go, you can add digital makeup (including eyelashes and lipstick), you can hide those dark circles that you got accidentally staying up until 5am again, and you can whiten and brighten eye highlights, eye whites, and your teeth.
The best part? All of these features have opacity sliders, so you can choose the opacity level that best fits you. Some of your editing can look overdone, especially if you turn up the skin "smoother" too high. But keeping things between 10-32% generally gives you that retouched, but I-am-not-trying-to-be-Barbie look. It's great. Almost every selfie of me has been put through this app. Almost every one. Lol.
Perfect365 Photo Text:
Right side: In the "Eyes" tab is where you'll find a tool that erases dark circles. Do not set the opacity to 100%, you won't look right. Somewhere between 15-32% opacity is usually good!
Pro Tip: It is very, VERY, easy to over do it in this app. Especially if you're adding in digital makeup like lipstick and false lashes. There are ways to change the mouth and eye markers, but sometimes even the app doesn't get it 100%. And if certain opacities are set to the full effect, everyone and their mother will be able to tell you how over done that is. It is VERY easy to look incredibly fake with this app. I'm putting that disclaimer out right here and now. It's not *as bad* as some other apps that automate things for you, but you *can* get carried away. If you are someone who struggles with body dysmorphia or EDs, I strongly recommend caution or avoiding this app altogether.
4. Canva
This app almost makes it look like graphic design was born on a phone screen, not a computer. This is the most advanced editing app when it comes to making power-point slides (yes, you can do that), Instagram Stories, full blown advertisements, flyers, Facebook headers, and soooooo much more all from your phone.
In fact, my entire Retouching May-hem advertisement carousel that you see on Instagram was made through Canva. I didn't touch my computer, once. Which was great, because I really didn't want to get out bed that day, either. Ha! You can add in or pull any color you will ever need, there are countless backdrops, frames, stamps, stickers, and fonts that you can use for free, and of course, you get to add in all your own personal photos if you want to. But if you want to get REALLY fancy, there are in-app purchases you can make too. Though honestly, you may never need to.
Canva Photo Text
Left Image #1: The main screen when you open the app.
Left Image #2: The "Elements" screen is where you'll add some of the really cool stuff. Frames for your photos, stickers, brush effects, and stamps (like stars of paint splatters) and more, can all be done here!
Left Image #3: The "Text" Screen. This is where you'd add in all your text. You can choose "Heading" for the biggest sizes, or "Subheading" for more standard [advertisement] sizing. Font combinations show what you can do [and you can preselect in this screen]. But the app comes equipped with HUNDREDS of fonts to choose from (many of which can be chosen as you edit the actual text).
Right Image: An example of the Story Ads I made for my Retouching Month of May-Hem.
Pro Tip: It can take awhile to get used to Canva. Particularly if you are someone who wants things done *very quickly*. It is certainly possible to move fast in the app, but as it's not Photoshop and you're moving things around with your finger, and working through layers, you *can* click on something you didn't want to, and mess it up. Thankfully, there's an "undo" button. But too many times of doing that can result in frustration. So best to spend some time learning this one.
5. Lightroom
I am not the biggest fan of Lightroom (desktop version) because I don't generally use it in my workflow. It is not often that I find myself needing to edit things in bulk. However, Lightroom for your phone? Definitely helpful.
Particularly if you are going for a "signature color" theme for your Instagram Feed. Or you want to keep the same edited energy through an entire carousel post (10 images) on Instagram, in general. This tool also offers full .DNG support, meaning that you can download any number of customizable filters that you bought from your favorite artist, found on Etsy, or just the random ones you may have already downloaded but didn't quite know what to do with. You can rename them too, for organization, if digital cleanliness is your vibe. This app also allows you to add film-grain to your images in a more precise way than Snapseed, so if you're someone who's after the "old fashioned" feel, there's that option too.
Lightroom Photo Text:
Image 1: Main screen when image is loaded into the app.
Image 2: Under "Effects" is where you'll find tools like "Clarity" which can help a hazier image stand out a little more, "Vignette" which gives your image a darker/lighter edge, and if you scroll down, "Grain," which will give you the old-fashioned feel of a photo.
Image 3: "Color" is a great window to go into if you're looking to intensify/bring out specific colors. Intensifying the whole image can be done through the "Vibrance" slider, while individual colors can be edited through "Mix" [at the top right of the Color menu).
Pro Tip: Ideally, you'll have wanted to edit your image in simple forms, before you come into this app, especially if you're going to be adding pre-made filters/presets. If you already have a dark image, and you apply a dark preset, it will effect the clarity of the image, because you're already looking at a small image on a small screen. There is a bit of a difference between the App's presentation and the Computer Program's presentation. Adjust your brightness, contrast, and other general edits, before applying the preset. Once the preset is applied you can continue to edit (or just save it!) to fit your style.
✨ BONUS APP ✨
You are probably wondering wtf this is. This is an image enlarger/photo size scaler which is really good for people who take screenshots in games.
If you are someone who games regularly, particularly on smaller screens like with the Nintendo Switch, when you transfer those screenshots to your phone, you can almost *instantly* see how small they are. This makes it hard to edit those images, keeping the color or enhancing the color, and crop the photo to fit in Instagram grids, either in the square or portrait sizing.
So, if you open this app, you can scale those screenshots up 2-3x their original size. (2x is plenty for Instagram and Twitter purposes). This will allow you then to take the new file, open it in your regular photo editing app, and start altering it to make it look how you prefer (this is particularly big in the Animal Crossing Community, though it works well with MapleStory and other phone device games). It can also do this for digital illustrations and photos of hand-drawn artwork. You're welcome.
waifu2x Photo Text:
Image 1: Just the main screen you see when you open the app. Click the + on the bottom left to get started.
Image 2: After selecting and loading your image click "next". I put that in there, because sometimes the app moves like it already did something right after you put an image in. It didn't. It was just making sure it had your image.
Image 3/Pro Tips: This is the most complex. Once you get a hang of this though, it's a breeze. For screenshots you want "Mode" to be to "Illustration" and the version that says "fast". Don't ask why it works better than "Photo", it just does. Next Noise Reduction - this will help keep the darker lines smooth as you scale up. Generally if you're only going up 2x, you can keep Noise Reduction on 1. But it comes down to personal preference. Next, choose your "Upscale" Level. 2x is big enough for Instagram and Twitter, but if you want to go hard in Photoshop and make it computer edit 4x might be more ideal. Next, select your "Output Format". Since Instagram has a habit of compressing photos, especially if you upload something connected to DATA and not WIFI, JPEG is probably the easiest save. But like I mentioned if this screenshot is going on a bigger website (yours, Flickr, something of that kind), then you might want to save it as a PNG file. Again, comes down to personal preference and what you want to do with the image.
Image 4: Enjoy your newly enlarged screenshot file! (You can see on my example image that it's over 10,000 pixels - no *reasonable* photo needs to be that big. But it was the only screen shot I had on my phone for demonstration purposes, and it had already been scaled up, prior. Haha!
If you don't have an iPhone, you can get the GooglePlay versions with these links: Snapseed, Perfect365, Canva, Lightroom, and waifu2x.
As mentioned in the beginning, Facetune (the original version) is not listed in the Google Play store. A close app to it would be Airbrush. Alternatively, if you're not someone who needs to clone-stamp or liquify, and you just need a good skin editor, Perfect365, has you covered!
If you'd like to access this elsewhere, here's a direct download copy, PDF version.
I hope you find these helpful and that you learned something new, or maybe even found your new favorite editing app! I'd love to see some of the work you create, so if you feel so inclined, you'd can send it via DM on Instagram ( @ josefina _ photo). (Just remember to delete the spaces if you copy/paste!)
Happy editing!
Josefina