101 mobile photo editing options using apps
Mobile photo editing apps make it easy and convenient to create amazing images
Normally, I pride myself on explaining smartphone photography techniques and mobile photo editing WITHOUT the jargon. However, presenting at a number of camera clubs recently, I wanted to to share just how much mobile photo editing can be done on your Android or iPhone!
If you still enjoy the creative process of editing and enhancing images on your desktop - you can start experimenting and identifying the potential in your photos, while you are still out there on location capturing the photos. Mobile photo editing is becoming more and more powerful and convenient.
Here is the list - 100 mobile photo ediitng techniques
- Adjust shadow tint
- Adjust highlight tint
- Advanced and selective photo sharpening options
- Expand the cropping aspect ratio options
- Crop using different compositional overlays
- Crop to a specific optimal image size of a social media post
- Image rotation without cropping the corners
- Content Aware fill to expand a landscape photo into a square photo
- Change the image perspective
- Selective area adjustment – based on the colour and tone of the pixel you select
Snapseed
- Dodge and burn
- Masking - adjustments specific to where you want to apply them
- Masking – levels, colour, shape, RGB, Gradients, Smart brush, etc
- Object removal – healing and cloning
- Never ending options of filter presets
- Control the strength of filters
- Apply multiple filters at a time
- Add a vignette (darken edges)
- Add text
- Import your own text fonts
Retouch
- Add graphics
- Add stickers
- Animate your photo
- Convert photos into a collage
- Convert photos into a video
- Add or remove noise (grainy night time photos)
- Add elliptical or linear blur
- Add a radial or motion blur
- Adjust Tonal contrast in shadows, mid tones and highlights separately
- Black and white presets
Noiseware (iOS)
- Add a frame/borders
- Face specific adjustments (teeth whitening, sharpen hair, etc)
- HDR processing a single image
- HDR processing combining multiple bracketed images
- Histogram – basic
- Histogram - colour channels
- Histogram - luminance
- Export to various image format, sizing and settings
- Apply enhancements to other photos
- Export direct to many more social media platforms
SKRWT
- Options to export photos into other photo editing apps
- Select and move objects within the photo
- Add a texture
- Synchronise your photo edits to your Adobe account
- Content Aware Fill
- Patch tool
- Layers – allows you to go back and adjust a previous enhancement
- Transform – stretch parts of the photo
- Lens distortion correction
- Design and add a watermark
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- Blend photos using various blending modes
- Photo composites of multiple images
- Double exposure with a controlled opacity and masking
- Various gradients – Bi linear, gradient, levels, colour range
- Selective colour – colour splash
- Smoothing
- Defocus
- Paint using a colour picker
- Vibrancy and clarity adjustment
- Pixelate
Picsart
- Liquify – warp, swirl and swell
- Photo editing automations
- Channel Mixer
- Curves
- Luminance
- Add lighting effects
- Shine removal
- Blemish removal
- Face contouring
- Capture a still image from a video and increase the image size
Pixlr
- Convert dpi from 72 to 300 to prepare for printing
- Add a reflection and control water displacement effect
- Mirror an image
- Syncronise edits with desktop software
- Edit RAW photos
- Change meta data
- Add copyright information
- Add geolocation after the photo was taken
- Add a text bubble
- Skin tone adjustment
Lucid
- More advanced white balance correction
- Erase the background
- Add a transparent background
- Save photos to app hosted clouds instead of your camera roll/gallery
- Zoom to incredible pixel level
- Split toning
- Chromatic aberration reduction
- Save adjustment preset
- Adjustment history
- Save a selection to add to another photo
Photoshop Fix
- Image resizing
- Freehand selection brush
- Quick selection brush and magic wand
- Brush adjustments – opacity, edge aware
- Haze removal
- App community for sharing your edits
- Composition grid overlays
- Create and save your own filters
- Different options to draw on your photo
- Cut up your photo into squares for Instagram
- Save a photo with adjustments embedded to adjust later
Facetune
Mike James hosts regular group workshops, workplace training and is a sought after speaker at photography clubs and social media training events. Get in touch with Mike here.
These articles are a great resource to learn a mobile photography specific technique or tip. Your fastest transition to becoming the confident and creative smartphone photographer you want and deserve to be is a strategically designed course.
An impactful and engaging WOW image consists of a strong subject, composition and lighting. The real power and fun transforming the image is then photo editing. Recreate that story, feeling and intention lost in the photo capture by strategically applying visual literacy and mobile apps to enhance your results and passion for photography.
Click/tap here to learn more about the individual modules and reduced bundled courses.
Hi Mike
Loving what I’m reading. Please Help! My question is. Do you have any tips for taking handmade glass bead jewellery on a white background? They have shine and reflections. Would I use your 6 tips using Snapseed editing or are there other editing tools to use instead. I am a novice and have been practicing using a camera too hard and now gone to the pro/ auto on my smartphone. I also finished my photo area under my window with the picture frame and baking paper. Better idea than mine. I’m getting closer to putting my products online as my photography has improved.
Thank you
Carolyn
Hi Carolyn. I always have lots of ideas! There are two options, placing the jewellery on a mirror in front of the a white board or simply on a white board in front of a white board. Natural light is always best To get in close – this lens attachment is amazing. Editing the image – the 6-step Snapseed editing process is always my starting point. For a white background, I would concentrate on editing the jewellery and not pay any attention to the white background or shadows. Next, in Curves, drag the centre dot up into the top left corner – making the whole image white. Then, the advanced step of masking (selectively applying) the white to just the area around the jewellery.
This would be a great post idea. Thanks so much for asking.
Snapseed and pixrl are the best photo editing apps with great features and filters. Very easy to use and edit a photo.