Image editing tools Enhance your cell phone photos with these apps
Smartphone cameras are becoming more and more powerful - no wonder, they have long since replaced normal compact cameras. And yet you can still get something out of your photos in retrospect. All you need are the right apps.
Few app categories are as extensive and confusing as that of image editing tools. There are new applications to discover here almost every week - but not all of them are must-haves. On the contrary: many apps offer immature features, are slow, cumbersome to use, are not developed further or attract attention due to opaque pricing. In some cases, it all comes together. An unfortunately unavoidable trend, even with photo apps: some of them are only free for a limited time - after that, subscription models come into play, which can cost a lot of money. The second variant - and now standard for many apps (including some we have mentioned): the basic applications are permanently free of charge - but you have to pay an additional charge for extended functions within the app ("in-app purchases").
Our selection shows apps that have already proven themselves hundreds of thousands of times - and which we can therefore recommend to you with a clear conscience. However, it is of course possible that we have not included one or two good apps - either because we do not know or use them, or because they are (too) similar to an app from our list, i.e. they offer fundamentally similar functions. We therefore make no claim to completeness in our list. So, here we go:
Snapseed - For purists
Price: free of charge
Snapseed offers you a variety of tools for editing photos, including basic editing tools such as exposure, color, sharpness and contrast. It also offers more advanced features such as selective adjustments, filters and effects, as well as a variety of tools for fine-tuning. Many of Snapseed's functions can also be found in the settings options directly on your smartphone - however, those in the app are more extensive and creative.
Adobe Lightroom - For the discerning
Price: free basic functions, in-app purchases for advanced features
Lightroom offers all the usual, powerful tools for editing photos. It also has special functions such as selective adjustments, curve editing and presets. It also offers seamless integration with the desktop version of Lightroom, which is very handy when working on a PC or laptop.
VSCO - For filter lovers
Price: free basics, in-app purchases for advanced filters and tools
VSCO is known for its high-quality filters that give your images a first-class aesthetic. In addition to the variety of filters, it also offers extensive editing tools, including exposure, contrast, hue and saturation. One of VSCO's special features is that users can also create their own filters and save them in the app. So if you come up with a look that you particularly like, you can also apply it to other images in your library. A blessing - for example for image series that should all have the same individual look and feel.
Afterlight - For communicative people
Price: for a fee
In addition to a nice range of editing tools and filters, Afterlight offers some particularly practical and user-friendly features such as texture overlays to creatively enhance photos and give them a statement. Want to create your own meme? With Afterlight you can do it in no time at all.
Photoshop Express - For connoisseurs
Price: for a fee
Photoshop Express is the "light version" of what is probably the best-known desktop image editing software - and offers you the most extensive options for editing, optimizing, changing and creating new images on your smartphone. An outstanding feature of Photoshop Express is its integration with the Adobe Creative Cloud, which allows you as a user to work seamlessly between different devices and always synchronize your creations or edits. However, this strength also comes with a disadvantage: Adobe charges handsomely for the use of the Creative Cloud and its extensive tools. If you're a thrifty person, it might be better to steer clear of the Adobe universe and switch to one of the alternatives.
Pixlr - For beginners
Price: free of charge (in-app purchases possible)
Pixlr offers a variety of great filters, effects and editing options for your images. The app has also managed to build up a sizeable social media community (@pixlr) where people share their pictures. There are also regular photography competitions in which you can take part with your uploads. The Pxlr blog also provides you with cool tips and tricks on image editing to help you improve your skills.
You might be asking yourself: Where is the artificial intelligence? Well, it's true that AI-based image editing apps have been springing up like mushrooms for some time now. They would definitely go beyond the scope of this article. That's why we'll be presenting this special category of photo apps to you separately soon - and will be happy to reveal our favorites there too.
By the way: The best pictures - whether edited afterwards or not - are worth nothing if they are lost. So make sure you regularly back up your smartphone photo library. Swisscom myCloud is ideal for this - here you can easily synchronize your pictures wirelessly via the cloud, share individual shots or albums with your loved ones or even marvel at them in XXL format on your TV or projector thanks to blue TV. And best of all: our tried-and-tested cloud service is permanently free for you up to 10 GB - regardless of whether you are a Swisscom customer or not. And all our servers are located in Switzerland. Safe is safe.
