Apps for your snaps

These days you do not have to fire up the old Photoshop machine on your laptop to edit your photos. Whether you have an iPhone or an Android phone, there is a myriad of apps, both free and paid, that allow you to enhance your photos to your heart's content.

We are all familiar with Instagram, with all its various filters and enhancement tools where you can control the amount of vignetting, sharpness, saturation, contrast, brightness and so on by merely using a slider until you are happy with the image preview.  The app is easy enough to use so you do not need to be qualified in photo editing to use it, whereas programs like Photoshop require a bit more knowledge and training for more specific adjustments. Here are some free apps available through the iTunes App Store or Google Play that provide a range of tools for you to use to edit your photos:

PIXLR BY AUTODESK INC. 
If you have space constraints on your phone and you are looking for an app that is all-inclusive, Pixlr is it. It's a fantastic editor that gives you a lot of control when it comes to image manipulation. It has basic filters – and there are many available, more than Instagram – and it also allows you to make collages, overlay text and stickers, adjust things like brightness and hue, as well as a whole host of other options. There's a good chance you will not use every tool that Pixlr has to offer but it definitely has everything you could possibly need.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP EXPRESS BY ADOBE 
This is the perfect app for the Photoshop faithful, as it allows you to work with features you will be familiar with from the PC version, with arguably the biggest selling point being that you can use this app to edit RAW files, as well as JPEG and PNG. 

You will find this especially beneficial if you are a photographer who shoots in images as RAW files and need to edit on the road, if you do not have access to a computer. The app does not have as many features as Photoshop itself, which is a drawback, but it offers sharing to Adobe Creative Cloud storage which other apps do not. 

PICSART PHOTO STUDIO BY PICSART INC
PicsArt delivers the Photoshop experience without being related to the brand. The app is highly rated by users, with over 250 million installs through the iTunes App Store. It boasts over 90 filters and tons of tools to allow you to edit your images creatively. 

Similar to Pixlr, PicsArt also offers the option to add stickers and text to your images. There are in-app purchases, of course, but the free version is sure to have everything you could need. Not only can you make collages on it too, but you can also create sketches and drawings with your images, and share them to a number of platforms. 

VSCO BY VISUAL SUPPLY COMPANY 
This app allows you to connect with like-minded photographers without displaying the number of followers like Instagram does. The app has editing tools that will allow you to enhance your images from a more professional angle. You can publish your edited images and discover images that will inspire you. 

It's a great app because it makes the photos the main focus rather than featuring on the social media aspect of things. If your photos were taken with a DSLR, the Android version of the app displays the photo's metadata, such as the ISO, f-stop and so on. This app does not have stickers or frames or text options, as it focuses solely on the photography, so if you are looking for a dedicated photo-editing app without the fuss, this is it.

FLICKR BY YAHOO
If you have a Flickr account on your PC then this app will be a great addition to your list. The app's most notable feature is the huge amount of cloud storage that is available for free – 1TB or 1000 GB to be precise. Although this free version of t he app displays ads, it can be forgiven as the storage space means you can upload approximately a staggering 500,000 photos, depending on your photo size. You have access to the same features you have on the desktop version, with an excellent search tool that allows you to view the uploads that you want to see. It probably will replace apps like Instagram as a social media app, but it's great for backing up your photos – especially since, if you are an iPhone user, iCloud only provides 5 GB storage – and using simple photo editing tools to enhance your images.

So there you have it, the top 5 must-have photo editing apps for your smartphone. Each one provides a slightly different aspect to photo-editing and offers different advantages and benefits. 'Appy snapping!

By Zahrah Haider
Photo: Collected