The Best Photo Editing Apps for Your Phone

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In my years spent as a wedding photographer and lover of photos in general, I’ve tried out quite a few photo editing apps on my phone. I’m sure there are a million great ones out there, but these are my tried-and-true favorites, and I use each of them frequently. Each of these are free to download and can be found in your phone’s app store!

best photo editing apps

Lightroom

This is definitely the app that I use most frequently for photo editing! In my opinion, it’s the most powerful photo editing software that is available for mobile photos. There’s a slight learning curve, but I promise, it’s worth it!

You can use the software for general editing, but you can also buy and download presets to give your photos an extra pop. I recommend searching etsy for lightroom mobile presets. There are MANY to choose from, and they are super affordable… so you can try out a few and find the look you want! Whatever preset pack you purchase will have step-by-step instructions for importing them into Lightroom and applying them on your photos.

After applying my preferred preset, the only things that I usually adjust are exposure, temperature/white balance, clarity, and tint (to make the photo less green or less purple).

I’m including a few before and afters below so you can see just how powerful this app is!

best photo editing apps
best photo editing apps

VSCO

I’ve been using VSCO for a loonngggg time. When I want a moodier edit, this is my go-to. This one is super easy to use and they have a LOT of great presets already built in. You can also purchase preset packs within the app if you want a look that is outside of the free ones that they offer.

The left photo was edited with S3, the photo on the right was edited with A6 (my most commonly used filter in this app).

best photo editing apps

Snapseed

This is also a powerful editing tool and completely free! It’s simple and easy for clean and quick edits. If you like photos to look non-filtered and bright, this is a GREAT option. No downloading or importing of preset packs.

And here’s my little secret tip (lol)… I will often edit a photo in Lightroom or VSCO and then edit the EDITED version in Snapseed. There’s a feature under “Tune Image” called AMBIANCE that I love to apply.

Photos are edited with the filter POP.

best photo editing apps

Afterlight

When I’m feeling artsy or want to play around a lot with an edit, Afterlight is where I go. This one is really fun if you want to add in a little extra pizzaz, like a light leak or “dust” filters. It also breaks down almost everything you could want to edit or change in the editing tools, so it gives you a lot of control over the finished product.

Both images edited in Mojave. Left photo also has a dust filter applied!

best photo editing apps

Unfold

This isn’t actually photo editing, but it’s a way to showcase the pretty, edited photos! I like to use this app for when I need or would like to show multiple photos in my Instagram story, and don’t want to post a ton and overwhelm my insta friends! The app has the templates all set up for you, so all you have to do is click and add your photos in.


This is the extent of what I use to edit my mobile photos of our home and life 🙂 Again, they can all be found in your phone’s app store and are free to download and use!

Happy editing!
– Courtney

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