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How to Create a Photo Essay in 9 Steps (with Examples)

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What is a photo essay?

• Photo essays vs photo stories
• How photo essays help you
• 9 Steps to create photo essays

How to share your photo essays

Read Time: 11 minutes

Gather up a handful of images that seem to go together, and voila! It’s a photo essay, right? Well… no. Though, this is a common misconception.

In reality, a photo essay is much more thoughtful and structured than that. When you take the time to craft one, you’re using skills from all facets of our craft – from composition to curation.

In this guide, you’ll learn what makes a photo essay an amazing project that stretches your skills. You’ll also learn exactly how to make one step by step.

• Photo essay vs photo story

A photo essay is a collection of images based around a theme, a topic, a creative approach, or an exploration of an idea. Photo essays balance visual variety with a cohesive style and concept.

What’s the difference between a photo essay and a photo story?

The terms photo essay and photo story are often used interchangeably. Even the dictionary definition of “photo essay” includes using images to convey either a theme or a story.

But in my experience, a photo essay and a photo story are two different things. As you delve into the field of visual storytelling, distinguishing between the two helps you to take a purposeful approach to what you’re making .

The differences ultimately lie in the distinctions between theme, topic and story.

Themes are big-picture concepts. Example: Wildness

Topics are more specific than themes, but still overarching. Example : Wild bears of Yellowstone National Park

Stories are specific instances or experiences that happen within, or provide an example for, a topic or theme. Example: A certain wild bear became habituated to tourists and was relocated to maintain its wildness

Unlike a theme or topic, a story has particular elements that make it a story. They include leading characters, a setting, a narrative arc, conflict, and (usually) resolution.

With that in mind, we can distingush between a photo essay and a photo story.

Themes and Topics vs Stories

A photo essay revolves around a topic, theme, idea, or concept. It visually explores a big-picture something .

This allows a good deal of artistic leeway where a photographer can express their vision, philosophies, opinions, or artistic expression as they create their images.

A photo story  is a portfolio of images that illustrate – you guessed it – a story.

Because of this, there are distinct types of images that a photo story uses that add to the understanding, insight, clarity and meaning to the story for viewers. While they can certainly be artistically crafted and visually stunning, photo stories document something happening, and rely on visual variety for capturing the full experience.

A photo essay doesn’t need to have the same level of structured variety that a photo story requires. It can have images that overlap or are similar, as they each explore various aspects of a theme.

Photo essays can be about any topic. If you live in a city, consider using your nature photography to make an essay about the wildlife that lives in your neighborhood . 

The role of text with photos

A photo story typically runs alongside text that narrates the story. We’re a visual species, and the images help us feel like we are there, experiencing what’s happening. So, the images add significant power to the text, but they’re often a partner to it.

This isn’t always the case, of course. Sometimes photo stories don’t need or use text. It’s like reading a graphic novel that doesn’t use text. Moving through the different images that build on each other ultimately unveils the narrative.

Photo essays don’t need to rely on text to illuminate the images’ theme or topic. The photographer may use captions (or even a text essay), or they may let the images speak for themselves.

Definitions are helpful guidelines (not strict rules)

Some people categorize photo essays as either narrative or thematic. That’s essentially just calling photo stories “narrative photo essays” and photo essays “thematic photo essays.”

But, a story is a defined thing, and any writer/editor will tell you themes and topics are not the same as stories. And we use the word “story” in our daily lives as it’s defined. So, it makes far more sense to name the difference between a photo essay and a photo story, and bask in the same clarity writers enjoy .

Photo stories illustrate a particular experience, event, narrative, something that happened or is happening.

Photo essays explore an idea, concept, topic, theme, creative approach, big-picture something .

Both photo essays and photo stories are immensely powerful visual tools. And yes, the differences between them can certainly be blurred, as is always the case with art.

Simply use this distinction as a general guideline, providing extra clarity around what you’re making and why you’re making it.

To dig into specific types of images used to create powerful photo stories, check out this training: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story. 

Meanwhile, let’s dig deeper into photo essays.

Photo essays are a chance to try new styles or techniques that stretch your skills and creativity. This image was part of an essay exploring simplicity and shape, and helped me learn new skills in black and white post-processing.

How photo essays improve your photography

Creating photo essays is an amazing antidote if you’ve ever felt a lack of direction or purpose in your photography. Photo essays help build your photographic skills in at least 3 important ways.

1. You become more strategic in creating a body of work

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of photographing whatever pops up in front of you. And when you do, you end up with a collection of stand-alone shots.

These singles may work fine as a print, a quick Instagram post, or an addition to your gallery of shots on your website. But amassing a bunch of one-off shots limits your opportunities as a photographer for everything from exhibits to getting your work published.

Building photo essays pushes you to think strategically about what you photograph, why, and how. You’re working toward a particular deliverable – a cohesive visual essay – with the images you create.

This elevates your skills in crafting your photo essay, and in how you curate the rest of your work, from galleries on your website to selecting images to sell as prints .

2. You become more purposeful in your composition skills

Composition is so much more than just following the rule of thirds, golden spirals, or thinking about the angle of light in a shot.

Composition is also about thinking ahead in what you’re trying to accomplish with a photograph – from what you’re saying through it to its emotional impact on a viewer – and where it fits within a larger body of work.

Photo essays push you to think critically about each shot – from coming up with fresh compositions for familiar subjects, to devising surprising compositions to fit within a collection, to creating compositions that expand on what’s already in a photo essay.

You’re pushed beyond creating a single pleasing frame, which leads you to shoot more thoughtfully and proactively than ever.

(Here’s a podcast episode on switching from reactive shooting to proactive shooting .)

3. You develop strong editing and curation skills

Selecting which images stay, and which get left behind is one of the hardest jobs on a photographer’s to-do list. Mostly, it’s because of emotional attachment.

You might think it’s an amazing shot because you know the effort that went into capturing it. Or perhaps when you look at it, you get a twinge of the joy or exhilaration you felt the moment you captured it. There’s also the second-guessing that goes into which of two similar images is the best – which will people like more? So you’re tempted to just show both.

Ultimately, great photographers appear all the more skilled because they only show their best work. That in and of itself is a skill they’ve developed through years of ruthlessly editing their own work.

Because the most powerful photo essays only show a handful of extraordinary images, you’re bound to develop the very same critical skill (and look all the more talented because of it).

Photo essays are also a great stepping stone to creating photo stories. If you’re interested in moving beyond stand-alone shots and building stories, shooting photo essays will get your creative brain limbered up and ready for the adventure of photo stories.

A photo essay exploring the natural history of a favorite species is an exciting opportunity for an in-depth study. For me, that was a photo essay on emotive images of the American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) as it hunts in streams. 

9 Simple steps to create your photo essays

1. clarify your theme.

Choose a theme, topic, or concept you want to explore. Spend some time getting crystal clear on what you want to focus on. It helps to write out a few sentences, or even a few paragraphs noting:

• What you want the essay to be about
• What kinds of images you want to create as part of it
• How you’ll photograph the images
• The style, techniques, or gear you might use to create your images
• What “success” looks like when you’re done with your photo essay

You don’t have to stick to what you write down, of course. It can change during the image creation process. But fleshing your idea out on paper goes a long way in clarifying your photo essay theme and how you’ll go about creating it.

2. Create your images

Grab your camera and head outside!

As you’re photographing your essay, allow yourself some freedom to experiment. Try unusual compositions or techniques that are new to you.

Stretch your style a little, or “try on” the style of other photographers you admire who have photographed similar subjects.

Photo essays are wonderful opportunities to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and grow as a photographer.

Remember that a photo essay is a visually cohesive collection of images that make sense together. So, while you might stretch yourself into new terrain as you shoot, try to keep that approach, style, or strategy consistent.

Don’t be afraid to create lots of images. It’s great to have lots to choose from in the editing process, which comes up next.

3. Pull together your wide edit

Once you’ve created your images, pull together all the images that might make the cut. This could be as many as 40-60 images. Include anything you want to consider for the final essay in the wide edit.

From here, start weeding out images that:

• are weaker in composition or subject matter
• stand out like a sore thumb from the rest of the collection
• Are similar to other stronger images in the collection

It’s helpful to review the images at thumbnail size. You make more instinctive decisions and can more easily see the body of work as a whole. If an image is strong even at thumbnail size to stand out from similar frames while also partnering well with other images in the collection, that’s a good sign it’s strong enough for the essay.

4. Post-process your images for a cohesive look

Now it’s time to post-process the images. Use whatever editing software you’re comfortable with to polish your images.

Again, a photo essay has a cohesive visual look. If you use presets, filters, or other tools, use them across all the images.

5. Finalize your selection

It’s time to make the tough decisions. Select only the strongest for your photo essay from your group of images.

Each image should be strong enough to stand on its own and make sense as part of the whole group.

Many photo essays range from 8-12 images. But of course, it varies based on the essay. The number of images you have in your final photo essay is up to you.

Remember, less is more. A photo essay is most powerful when each image deserves to be included.

6. Put your images in a purposeful order

Create a visual flow with your images. Decide which image is first, and build from there. Use compositions, colors, and subject matter to decide which image goes next, then next, then next in the order.

Think of it like music: notes are arranged in a way that builds energy, or slows it down, surprise listeners with a new refrain, or drop into a familiar chorus. How the notes are ordered creates emotional arcs for listeners.

How you order your images is similar.

Think of the experience a viewer will have as they look at one image, then the next, and the next. Order your images so they create the experience you want your audience to have.

7. Get feedback

The best photographers make space for feedback, even when it’s tough to hear. Your work benefits from not just hearing feedback, but listening to it and applying what you learn from it.

Show your photo essay to people who have different sensibilities or tastes. Friends, family members, fellow photographers – anyone you trust to give you honest feedback.

Watch their reactions and hear what they say about what they’re seeing. Use their feedback to guide you in the next step.

8. Refine, revise, and finalize

Let your photo essay marinate for a little while. Take a day or two away from it. Then use your freshened eyes and the feedback you received from the previous step to refine your essay.

Swap out any selects you might want to change and reorder the images if needed.

9. Add captions

Even if you don’t plan on displaying captions with your images, captioning your images is a great practice to get into. It gives context, story, and important information to each image. And, more than likely, you will want to use these captions at some point when you share your photo essay, which we dive into later in this article.

Add captions to the image files using Lightroom, Bridge, or other software programs.

Create a document, such as a Google or Word doc, with captions for each image.

In your captions, share a bit about the story behind the image, or the creation process. Add whatever makes sense to share that provides a greater understanding of the image and its purpose.

Photo essays allow you to explore deliberate style choices, such as a focus on shapes, patterns, textures, and lines. Since each photo is part of a larger essay, it encourages you to be bold with choices you might not otherwise make. 

5 Examples of amazing nature photo essays

1. “how the water shapes us” from the nature conservancy.

This gorgeous essay, crafted with the work of multiple photographers, explores the people and places within the Mississippi River basin. Through the images, we gain a sense of how the water influences life from the headwater all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Notice how each photographer is tasked with the same theme, yet approaches it with their own distinct style and vision. It is a wonderful example of the sheer level of visual variety you can have while maintaining a consistent style or theme.

View it here

2. “A Cyclist on the English Landscape” from New York Times’ The World Through A Lens series

This photo essay is a series of self-portraits by travel photographer Roff Smith while “stuck” at home during the pandemic. As he peddled the roads making portraits, the project evolved into a “celebration of traveling at home”. It’s a great example of how visually consistent you can be inside a theme while making each image completely unique.

3. “Vermont, Dressed In Snow” from New York Times’ The World Through A Lens series

This essay by aerial photographer Caleb Kenna uses a very common photo essay theme: snow. Because all images are aerial photographs, there’s a consistency to them. Yet, the compositions are utterly unique from one another. It’s a great example of keeping viewers surprised as they move from one image to the next while still maintaining a clear focus on the theme.

4. “Starling-Studded Skies” from bioGraphic Magazine

This beautiful essay is by Kathryn Cooper, a physicist trained in bioinformatics, and a talented photographer. She used a 19th century photographic technique, chronophotography, to create images that give us a look at the art and science of starling murmurations. She states: “I’m interested in the transient moments when chaos briefly changes to order, and thousands of individual bodies appear to move as one.” This essay is a great example of deep exploration of a concept using a specific photographic technique.

View it here   (Note: must be viewed on desktop)

5. “These Scrappy Photos Capture the Action-Packed World Beneath a Bird Feeder” from Audubon Magazine

This photo essay from conservation photographer Carla Rhodes explores the wildlife that takes advantage of the bounty of food waiting under bird feeders . Using remote camera photography , Rhodes gives viewers a unique ground-level perspective and captures moments that make us feel like we’re in conversation with friends in the Hundred Acre Woods. This essay is a great example of how perspective, personality, and chance can all come into play as you explore both an idea and a technique.

25 Ideas for creative photo essays you can make

The possibilities for photo essays are truly endless – from the concepts you explore to the techniques you use and styles you apply.

Choose an idea, hone your unique perspective on it, then start applying the 9 simple steps from above. 

• The life of a plant or animal (your favorite species, a species living in your yard, etc)
• The many shapes of a single species (a tree species, a bird species, etc)
• How a place changes over time
• The various moods of a place
• A conservation issue you care about
• Math in nature
• Urban nature
• Seasonal changes
• Your yard as a space for nature
• Shifting climate and its impacts
• Human impacts on environments
• Elements: Water, wind, fire, earth
• Day in the life (of a person, a place, a stream, a tree…)
• Outdoor recreation (birding, kayaking, hiking, naturalist journaling…)
• Wildlife rehabilitation
• Lunar cycles
• Sunlight and shadows
• Your local watershed
• Coexistence

As you zero in on a photo essay theme, consider two things: what most excites you about an idea, and what about it pushes you out of your comfort zone. The heady mix of joy and challenge will ensure you stick with it. 

Your photo essay is ready for the world! Decide how you’d like to make an impact with your work. You might use one or several of the options below.

1. Share it on your website

Create a gallery or a scrollytelling page on your website. This is a great way to drive traffic to your website where people can peruse your photo essay and the rest of the photography you have.

Putting it on your website and optimizing your images for SEO helps you build organic traffic and potentially be discovered by a broader audience, including photo editors.

2. Create a scrollytelling web page

If you enjoy the experience of immersive visual experiences, consider making one using your essay. And no, you don’t have to be a whiz at code to make it happen.

Shorthand helps you build web pages with scrollytelling techniques that make a big impression on viewers. Their free plan allows you to publish 3 essays or stories.

3. Create a Medium post

If you don’t have a website and want to keep things simple, a post on Medium is a great option.

Though it’s known for being a platform for bloggers, it’s also possible to add images to a post for a simple scroll.

And, because readers can discover and share posts, it’s a good place for your photos to get the attention of people who might not otherwise come across it.

4. Share it on Instagram

Instagram has changed a lot over the last couple of years, but it’s still a place for photographers to share their work thoughtfully.

There are at least 3 great ways to share your photo essay on the platform.

– Create a single post for each image. Add a caption. Publish one post per day until the full essay is on your feed. Share each post via Instagram Stories to bring more attention and interaction to your photo essay.

– Create a carousel post. You can add up 10 photos to a carousel post, so you may need to create two of them for your full photo essay. Or you might create a series of carousel posts using 3-4 images in each.

– Create a Reel featuring your images as a video.  The algorithm heavily favors reels, so turning your photo essay into a video experience can get it out to a larger audience.

I ran a “create a reel” challenge in my membership community. One member created a reel with her still images around a serious conservation issue. It gathered a ton of attention and landed her opportunities to share her message through YouTube and podcast interviews and publishing opportunities. Watch it here.

5. Exhibit it locally

Reach out to local galleries, cafes, pubs, or even the public library to see if they’re interested in hanging your photo essay for display. Many local businesses and organizations happily support the work of local artists.

6. Pitch your photo essay to publications

One of the best ways to reach an audience with your work is to get it published. Find publications that are a great fit for the theme and style of your photo essay, then pitch your essay for consideration. You gain a fantastic opportunity to share your work widely and can earn a paycheck at the same time.

Remember that if you want to get your photo essay published, you may want to hold back from sharing it publicly before you pitch it to publications.

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These 6 Apps Will Help You Tell Amazing Stories With Just Your iPhone

Y ou’ve just come back from holiday vacation, and you’re looking for an easy way to share your incredible trip with all your friends. Sure, there’s Facebook and Instagram — but these six iPhone apps, recently highlighted by Apple, are purpose-built for the task and create beautiful-looking photo and video stories to boot.

Essentially, if you want to be able to make a multimedia Facebook album to share with your friends, Replay allows you to assemble photos, videos, music, and a variety of different fonts, and edit it into a single, sharable file. It’s about as nostalgic as you can get while using an iPhone.

Replay is free in the App Store.

A storytelling app that puts a lot of emphasis on the elegance of a final product. Steller allows users to piece together photo essays and make use of various cropping tools as well as a large number of headers and classic fonts. It makes it easy and even fun for someone else to sit through your vacation photos. Steller can make looking through an album feel a lot more like thumbing through a great coffee table book.

Steller is free in the App Store.

If you’re someone who likes to use a variety of photo sharing and editing clients, but prefers ease of use and simplicity, then Storehouse is a great app to download. It takes a page out of Snapchat’s story-telling function by allowing you to put together a timeline or a collage of photos with linearity in mind. Storehouse also allows you to explore content put together by other users.

Storehouse is free in the App Store.

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Heyday Photo Journal

Users play a far less hands-on role with Heydey Photo Journal, and interact with it simply by using their phone as they normally would. Heyday takes the locations you visit and pairs them with the photos taken that day in order to reproduce an editable album. Instead of making you think more about how to keep track of memories, Heyday does most of the work for you.

Heyday Photo Journal is free in the App Store.

1 Second Everyday

If you’re more into the Boyhood-Richard-Linklater style of storytelling, 1 Second Everyday is probably the app you’ll want to use. Instead of having users make involved photo albums or tell stories with video clips and text banners, this app allows users to film one second of their day, which can be revisited by day or edited into a single reel. It’s a sweet way to look back on a year, if not a slightly melancholic one.

1 Second Everyday is $0.99 in the App Store.

Lightt is everything you wish Instagram were and everything Vine and Snapchat will never be. It allows users to edit photos and video clips using a huge number of filters and settings and then share the finished product on social media (Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter) or even email it. There’s something heartwarming about how simple it is to share clips of your life on Lightt.

Lightt is available for free in the App Store.

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Ten examples of immersive photo essays

By Marissa Sapega — Contributing Writer

Photo essays are one of the most powerful forms of storytelling in the last century. From the great depression photographer W. Eugene Smith to the photojournalism of National Geographic or Life Magazine , the best photo essays entertain, educate, and move readers more than words alone ever could. 

But photo essays have changed. Over the last decade, web publishing technologies — including web browsers and file formats — have improved by leaps and bounds. A good photo essays today is more than a collection of images. It’s a truly interactive, immersive, and multimedia experiences.

In this guide, we introduce 10 stunning examples of visually arresting interactive photo essays to fuel your creative juices.

Now, let's set the scene with a short introduction to immersive, interactive photo essays on the web.

What do the BBC, Tripadvisor, and Penguin have in common? They craft stunning, interactive web content with Shorthand. And so can you! Publish your first story for free — no code or web design skills required. Sign up now.

The rise of immersive, interactive photo essays

What is an immersive, interactive photo essay? Let's take these terms one at a time. 

An immersive photo essay uses rich media and story design to capture and keep the reader's attention. Immersive content is typically free of the most distracting elements of the web, such as pop-ups, skyscrapers, and other intrusions on the reading experience.

As a basic rule of thumb, immersive content respects the reader's attention. 

An interactive photo essay is one that allows the reader to control how the content appears. It may include interactive elements, like maps and embedded applications.

More commonly, modern interactive photo stories use a technique known as scrollytelling . Scrollytelling stories allow the reader to trigger animations and other visual effects as they scroll. Many of the examples in this guide use scrollytelling techniques. Read more scrollytelling examples .

Until relatively recently, immersive, interactive photo essays could only be created with the help of a designer or web developer. But with the rise of digital storytelling platforms , anyone can create compelling, dynamic stories without writing a single line of code.

If you're looking to learn more about how to create a photo essay — or are looking for more photo essay ideas  — check out our introduction to photo essays . 

Photo essay topics

If you’re looking for photo essay examples, chances are you’re looking to create a photo essay for yourself. If you’re just getting started, you might want some guidance on exactly what kinds of topics make for great photo essays.

More experienced photographers — feel free to skip this section. But for those who are just starting out, here’s a quick list of classic photo essay subject matter, for all types of photo essays.

• Local events. A great way to start out is photograph local events in your community, such as a high school fundraiser. A bonus is that you’ll have a ready
• Historic sites. Another classic photo essay topic is an exploration of a historic site. This could be a building, a monument, or even just a specific location that has significance.
• Profile of a person. A great way to get to know someone is to profile them in a photo essay. This could be a family member, friend, or even just someone you’ve met.
• Animals in captivity. Another popular subject matter for photo essays is animals in captivity, whether that’s at a zoo or elsewhere.
• A day in the life. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live someone else’s life for a day? Why not find out and document it in a photo essay?
• Street photography. Another great way to practice your photography skills is to head out into the streets and photograph the everyday lives of people around you. The world has plenty of photo essays of cities like New York and London. But what about street photography in your own backyard?
• Still life photography. Still life photography is all about capturing inanimate objects on film. This could be anything from flowers to furniture to food. It’s a great way to practice your photography skills and learn about composition
• Landscapes . Landscape photography is one of the most popular genres, and for good reason. There are endless possibilities when it comes to finding interesting subjects to shoot. So get out there and start exploring!
• Abandoned buildings. There’s something fascinating about abandoned buildings. They offer a glimpse into the past, and can be eerily beautiful. If you have any in your area, they make for great photo essay subjects.
• Lifestyles. Document someone who lives a lifestyle that’s different from your own. This could be a portrayal of an everyday person, or it could be someone with an unusual job or hobby.
• Social issues. Take photos depicting significant social issues in your community, remembering to respect your subjects.

Ten inspiring photo essay examples

Pink lagoon and peculiar galaxies — July’s best science images

In Pink lagoon and peculiar galaxies , Nature present a mesmerising series of images from the natural world. Highlights include:

• a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it photo of rare albino orcas performing feats of synchronized swimming;
• an arresting aerial view of the aftermath of the flash floods in Germany; and,
• a scarlet gawping Venus flytrap sea anemone. 

The best part? Nature publishes similarly powerful photo essays every month, showcasing some of the best and most creative photography of the natural world anywhere on the web.

Vanishing Lands

Vanishing lands — an ominously interesting photo essay from media company Stuff — opens with a bucolic visual featuring meandering sheep flanked by breathtaking mountains that blur into obscurity.

Soon, more awe-inspiring photos of breathtaking New Zealand farmland appear, accompanied by expressive prose whose tone matches the visuals’ stark beauty.

In this unflinchingly honest photographic essay, Stuff takes the viewer behind the scenes with a day in the life of a high country sheep farmer facing an uncertain future. One stunning photo fades into the next as you scroll through, broken only by the occasional noteworthy quote and accompanying narrative.

Olympic photos: Emotion runs high

This emotionally wrought sports story from NBC begins with a close-up of an anxious Simone Biles, her expression exemplifying the tension and frustration echoed on so many of her fellow athletes’ faces.

The subtitle puts it perfectly: “The agony—and thrill—of competition at the Olympics is written all over their faces.”

Devastation, disappointment, and defeat take centre stage in this piece — but not all the subjects of the photos in this compelling photography essay depict misery. Some of the images, like that taken of the gold medal-winning Russian artistic gymnasts, manage to project the athletes’ joy almost beyond the edges of the screen.

The NBC editors who created this visual story chose to display the series of photos using the entire screen width and limit the copy to simple captions, letting the visuals speak for themselves. The result is a riveting montage of photographs that manage to capture the overarching sentiment of the 2020 Olympic Games.

James Epp: A Twist of the Hand

In A Twist of the Hand , the Museum of Classical Archaeology at the University of Cambridge have produced a gorgeous photo essay. This online art show showcases artist James Epp’s installation, combining photographs of the exhibit with images of museum prints and authentic artefacts.

As you scroll down, close-up shots of the installation make you feel like you’re physically wandering among the ancient sculptures, able to examine hairline spider cracks and tiny divots marking the surface of every antiquated figure. In between the photos—and often flanked by museum prints—are James Epp's musings about what inspired him to create the pieces. It’s an absorbing virtual gallery that will no doubt inspire real life visits to the exhibition.

The Café Racer Revolution

Though it’s a cleverly built piece of interactive content marketing , Honda’s “ Café Racer Revolution ” is also a great photo essay. Alongside information about the latest and greatest motorcycles Honda has to offer, it details the history of the bikers who sought to employ motorcycles (specifically “café racers”) as a way to forge an identity for themselves and project a “statement of individuality.”

Scroll down, and nostalgic black-and-white photos give way to contemporary action shots featuring fully decked-out motorcyclists on various Honda models.

Dynamic photos of bikes rotate them 360 degrees when you mouse over them, and text superimposed over flashy shots rolls smoothly down the screen as you scroll. This photo essay will stir a longing to hit the open road for anyone who has ever dreamed of owning one of Honda’s zippy bikes.

Built to keep Black from white

In Built to keep Black from white , NBC News and BridgeDetroit have built a stunning narrative photo essay that encapsulates the history of Detroit’s Birwood Wall — a literal dividing line intended to separate neighborhoods inhabited by people of different races. 

The piece begins with a brief history of the concrete barrier. Between paragraphs of text, it weaves in quotes from residents who grew up as the wall was erected and a short video. Animated maps highlighting the affected neighborhoods unspool across the screen as you scroll down, accompanied by brief explanations of what the maps represent.

In the series of photographs that follow, contemporary images transition into decades-old shots of the wall when it was newly constructed. This is followed by images of original real estate documents, resident portraits, and additional animated maps — each considering the issue from different angles.

The piece ends with an interactive display of how Detroit’s racial makeup has changed over the past several decades, from majority white to black, and how the wall has impacted the lives of its residents who lived (and died) within its borders.

The story of Black Lives Matter in sport

The BBC pairs illustrations and bold imagery in this photo essay on how athletes participated in the Black Lives Matter movement . At the start, a narrow column of text leads into an iconic image of American football players kneeling during the pre-game national anthem in a solemn protest against police brutality. 

The first excerpt, a summary of Trayvon Martin’s death in 2012, draws you in with piercing prose capped off with photographs that bleed into one another. Every account in the photo essay follows this layout.

WaterAid Climate Stories

Climate change affects everyone on the planet, but some people are feeling the effects more than others. WaterAid’s scrollytelling photo essay illuminates the plight of individuals living in areas where extreme weather conditions — caused by climate change — have drastically impacted the water supply and environment, endangering their livelihoods and ability to survive.

This climate change story starts with an engrossing video that provides an up-close and personal look at the devastation that climate change-induced droughts have wreaked on people and the environment. As you scroll down, images of massively depleted bodies of water with superimposed text and quotes unfold before your eyes. It’s an efficient way to drive home the critical message WaterAid wants to convey: climate change is real, and it’s harming real people.

Each extreme weather story focuses on an individual to help viewers empathise and understand that climate change has real, drastic consequences for millions of people worldwide. The piece ends with a call to action to learn more about and financially support WaterAid’s fight to assist people living in the desperate situations depicted in the essay.

28 Days in Afghanistan

In this piece, Australian photo-journalist Andrew Quilty tells the story of the four weeks he spent in Afghanistan . He captures daily events ranging from the mundane—like a casual visit to his barber—to jarring. More than one photo documents blood-spattered victims of violence.

Viewers must scroll through the piece to follow Andrew’s daily musings and the striking photos that accompany them. His photo essay is a powerful example of how scrollytelling is transforming the art of long-form journalism .

La carrera lunática de Musk y Bezos (Musk and Bezos' lunatic careers)

Billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are angling to conquer the final frontier: space.

El Periódico captures their story via a whimsically illustrated photo essay, filled with neon line drawings and bold photos of the massive spaceships, the hangars that house them, and footprints on the moon. La carrera lunática de Musk y Bezos describes the battle between the two titans’ space companies (Blue Origin and SpaceX) for the honor of partially funding NASA’s next mission to the moon.

As you scroll down, white and fluorescent yellow words on a black background roll smoothly over images. The team at El Periódico slips in stylistic animations to break up the text—such as rocket ships with shimmering “vapour trails”—then ups the ante with a series of moon images that transition into portraits of the 12 U.S. astronauts who visited the celestial body.

The photo essay ends with the question: “Who will be the next to leave their footprints on the dusty lunar soil?” At the time of publishing, NASA had not yet decided between the two companies. (Spoiler alert: SpaceX won .)

Marissa Sapega is a seasoned writer, editor, and digital marketer with a background in web and graphic design.

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How to Make a Photo Essay

Last Updated: September 27, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Heather Gallagher . Heather Gallagher is a Photojournalist & Photographer based in Austin, Texas. She runs her own photography studio named "Heather Gallagher Photography" which was voted Austin's Best Family Photographer and top 3 Birth Photographers in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Heather specializes in family Photojournalism and has over 15 years of experience documenting individuals, families, and businesses all over the world. Her clients include Delta Airlines, Oracle, Texas Monthly, and her work has been featured in The Washington Post and The Austin American Statesman. She is a member of the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers (IAPBP). There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 287,929 times.

Photo essays are an increasingly popular medium for journalists, bloggers, and advertisers alike. Whether you’re trying to show the emotional impact of a current news story or share your hobby with friends and family, images can capture your topic in a personal, emotional, and interesting way. Creating a photo essay can be as easy as choosing a topic, getting your images, and organizing the essay.

Things You Should Know

• Reflect long and hard on your topic, considering your audience, current events, and whether to go for a thematic or narrative approach.
• Create an outline, including your focus image, establishing shot, clincher, and other image details.
• When you finally take your photos, remember to take more photos than you think you need and don't be afraid to let the project change as you create it.

Finding Your Topic

• Offer a photo essay of your place of business as a training tool.
• Use a photo essay about your business as a sales or social tool by publishing it on your website or social media page.
• Create a how to photo essay to help others learn about your hobby, so they can take it up as well. [4] X Research source

• Thematic subjects are big ideas including things like local gun laws, at-risk youth, or welcoming home soldiers.
• Narrative essays can include a day in the life, how to tutorials, or progression series that show changes over time such as tracking a building project.
• If you have been given a commission or specific publication to work with, you may need to choose a topic that will fit a thematic or narrative approach as outlined by the publication. Make sure you are aware of any publication guidelines in advance.

Organizing Your Shoot

• Consider how difficult it will be to get permission to photograph your subjects. If you already have relationships established, it will be easier. If not, allow for extra time to get permission and/or waivers.
• Schools, daycares, and other places with kids typically have more regulations on who can be photographed and for what purposes. You’ll usually need to get parental approval, in addition to permission from those in charge. [7] X Research source

• Consider doing interviews with people involved prior to the shoot. Ask things like, “What’s the most interesting thing you do during this event?” or “How long have you been involved with this organization?”
• These interviews are also a great opportunity to ask for permission and get waivers.
• If you’re going to visit a job site, charitable event, or other large group activity, ask the person or persons in charge to explain what you’re doing to everyone before you arrive. [8] X Research source

Capturing Your Images

• Many new photographers stay away from high ISO shots because they allow more light through producing a “busy” image. However, these images are often easier to edit later as there’s more information to work with. [11] X Research source
• If it’s very bright in your location or you’ve set up artificial lighting, a low ISO is likely adequate, For darker areas, you’ll likely need to use a higher ISO.
• If you need one second to capture an image with a base ISO of 100, you’ll need one eighth of a second to capture with an ISO of 800. [13] X Research source

• Even snapping candid shots, which you may need to capture quickly, take a few moments to think about how objects are placed to make the most impact.
• Always think about how the main subject’s surroundings play into the overall image, and try to create different levels and points of interest.
• You can change composition as part of the editing process in some cases, so if you can’t line up the shot just right, don’t let it deter you from capturing the image you want. [14] X Research source

Organizing the Essay

• If you’re doing a day in the life photo essay about a frustrated person working in an office, an image of that person struggling to open the front door against the wind might be an apt focus shot.
• If your essay is about the process of building a home, your focus image may be something like a contractor and architect looking at blue prints with the framed up home in the background.
• If your essay is about a family reunion, the focus image may be a funny shot of the whole family making faces, pretending to be fighting, or a serious photo of the family posed together. Capture whatever seems natural for the family. [18] X Research source

• Regardless of essay type, you’ll need a focus image to grab attention.
• Use an overall shot to give context to your essay. Where is it, when is it happening, who’s involved, what’s going on, and why should someone be interested? The five “W’s” of journalism are a great way to determine what your overall shot should capture.
• Find your final image. This should be something provocative that asks your viewer to think about the topic.
• Between the focus and overall shot and ending image, include a series of images that move the viewer from the lead-in shots to its result. Use images that build in intensity or draw the viewers further into the essay.

• If the images aren’t telling the story, ask your friends to look at your other photos and ask, “I wanted this image to make this point. You got a different idea. Would any of these images make this point to you more clearly?”
• If the others like the images you’ve chosen, you may still want to ask them to look at your other photos and tell you if they think any of the images you didn’t include should be added in. They may see something you missed. [20] X Research source

• If you're commissioned to add photos to an essay, you should make sure images reflect the written word, but also add emotion and context the writing could not capture. For example, an essay on poverty may include an image of a child and parent living on the street could capture more emotional context.
• Captions should only include information the viewer could not derive from the photo itself. For instance, you can include a date, the subject’s name, or a statistic relevant to your subject in the caption.
• If you choose not to have any text or just a title and some introductory and/or closing words, make sure you convey all necessary information succinctly. [21] X Research source

Expert Q&A

• Be creative with your topics. However, something as simple as "things I like" will suffice so long as you stay creative. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Make sure you're familiar with your camera. It will make the photo composition a lot easier. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Don't get discouraged. It may take several tries to get the desired results in your photos. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://digital-photography-school.com/5-photo-essay-tips/
• ↑ Heather Gallagher. Professional Photojournalist & Photographer. Expert Interview. 8 April 2020.
• ↑ http://improvephotography.com/30816/10-ideas-creative-photo-essays/
• ↑ http://www.apogeephoto.com/how-to-create-a-photo-essay/
• ↑ https://petapixel.com/how-to-create-a-photo-essay/
• ↑ http://photo.journalism.cuny.edu/week-5/
• ↑ http://clickitupanotch.com/2010/12/creating-a-photo-essay/
• ↑ https://photographylife.com/what-is-iso-in-photography
• ↑ https://wiredimpact.com/blog/how-to-make-a-photo-essay-nonprofit/
• ↑ http://digital-photography-school.com/5-tips-for-creating-a-photo-essay-with-a-purpose/
• ↑ https://www.format.com/magazine/resources/photography/how-to-make-photo-essay-examples

About This Article

To make a photo essay, start by selecting a subject that is easy to capture and that inspires you, like a friend or a family pet. Then, decide if you want to present your photo essay as thematic, which shows specific examples of a big idea, or narrative, with a beginning, middle, and end. Next, create an outline of your essay to determine which photos you’ll need, like an establishing shot. Finally, take your photos, select which images you want to use in your essay, and organize them according to your theme before adding text to explain the essay. To learn how to capture the best images, keep scrolling! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to create a photo essay

• Author Picfair
• Level Intermediate
• Reading Time 8 minutes

Cover images by James Gourley

Create a meaningful set of images by producing a photo essay or story

A photographic essay is a deeper and more meaningful way to use your photography than a single image tends to be. Typically associated with documentary and news-gathering, a photo essay doesn’t necessarily have to follow those genres, but can be used as a way to tell a longer or more in-depth story about all manner of subjects. Creating a photo essay however is about more than just taking a set of images and presenting them as one package. They require more forethought, planning and editing than many other forms of photography, but the results are often more rewarding, too. Follow our guide below if it’s something you’d like to consider putting together. ‍ ‍

1 Find a story

The first thing you will need to do is to figure out what you want to do your photo essay on.

"Inspiration can come from anywhere, but a good starting to place is to look at news sources to see if something catches your eye."

Inspiration can come from anywhere, but a good starting to place is to look at news sources to see if something catches your eye. If you’re not sure where to begin, you could start by looking at what’s going on in your local area - if nothing else, it’ll make the practicalities easier. Start jotting down ideas that you can explore and figure out exactly why you want to do it. Try to be as active as you can in discovering what’s going on in the world and eventually something will keep your attention for long enough that it will seem like the right idea.

‍ 2 Do your research

‍ Next, try and find out as much as you can about whatever it is you want to create your photo story on.

"If you find that others have done photo essays on the same or similar subject, then that’s something you should be aware of."

Importantly, you’ll need to see what else already exists out there - if anything - on your story. If you find that others have done photo essays on the same or similar subject, then that’s something you should be aware of. That’s not to say that you can’t also do one, but it pays to be prepared so that you can perhaps approach it in a different way. You’ll also need to do some research into the practicalities that will be required to help you along the way. You’ll need to look into people you should be contacting, how you will get to the destination (if it’s not local), any requirements you need for visiting the location, any restrictions on what you can and cannot shoot and so on. Doing as much research ahead of time as possible will make the project run smoothly when it comes to actually shooting it. ‍

3 Make a structured plan  

Once your research is complete, it’s time to make a detailed and structured plan about how you’re going to go about shooting your photo essay. It doesn’t have to be completely rigid so as to disallow flexibility, but sorting out shoot times, shoot dates, shoot locations will give you something to work with, even if things eventually go off plan. Some photo essays can be shot in an afternoon, others might take several months or even years to complete. Having an idea of how long you want to spend on a particular project can help focus your mind and give you an end date for when you might want to publish the essay. It’s also useful to tell subjects and those involved with the shoot a rough timeline of events. You might find it helpful to organise everything together in one easily accessible place - such as online calendars and spreadsheets, so you can quickly refer to anything you need to.

4 Tell a story

Your photo essay needs to be more than just a set of images on a similar theme.

"...including some introductory or contextualising shots before you get into the heart of the subject matter is a good approach."

Think of it exactly like a story, which usually requires a beginning, a middle and an end. That’s a very simplistic way of putting it, but photographically, including some introductory or contextualising shots before you get into the heart of the subject matter is a good approach. There might not necessarily be a neat “resolution” to whatever story you’re trying to tell, and it might not always be a happy ending, but having that at least in your mind as you go along can help to create a neatly-packaged story that has a definite and well-constructed narrative.

5 Stick with a cohesive style

Exactly how you’re going to shoot your photo essay is entirely up to you, but in order for your story to have a cohesive look, it’s usually best if you stick to the same style throughout.

"With a photo essay, you want the images to hang extremely well together as a set, so keeping things consistent will help you do that..."

That could be as simple as not mixing black and white and colour, always using a particular lens, always shooting in a particular way, or even applying the same post-processing techniques to the finished shots. With a photo essay, you want the images to hang extremely well together as a set, so keeping things consistent will help you do that - that is, unless you’re actively trying to use disparate styles as an artistic or storytelling technique. ‍

5 Create a strong edit

The chances are that in the process of creating your photo essay, you will have shot dozens, if not hundreds of images.

"It can help to step away from your essay for at least a few days if you can to give yourself some distance and perspective - don’t be afraid to be brutal and keep your final selection down to only those that are the strongest or the best."

For the final edit of your photo story, you need to make sure that the images selected to appear are the strongest of the set, with each adding something unique to the finished story. Try to avoid “padding out” your story with too many fillers, even if you think they are strong images on their own. It’s a good idea to avoid too much repetition, and here again you should look to include images that create a strong story arc with a defined beginning, middle and end. It can help to step away from your essay for at least a few days if you can to give yourself some distance and perspective - don’t be afraid to be brutal and keep your final selection down to only those that are the strongest or the best. There’s no defined number for how many images should be included in a final story, but as a general rule, you’ll probably want it to be under 20 for the most impact.  ‍

6 Ask for input

It’s very easy to get so close to your subject and your images that you become blind to any flaws in them, or the structure of your story. Asking for advice and input from somebody you trust can help to tighten up your story even further.

"Asking for advice and input from somebody you trust can help to tighten up your story even further."

In certain situations, it can be helpful to ask the subject of the photographs themselves what they think, to make it more of a collaborative process - but you should be able to determine whether that’s appropriate on a case-by-case basis. If you have any contacts who are photographers, editors or publishers, asking them to cast an eye over your finished story is a good idea, too. ‍

7 Add some text  

It can be a good idea to add some text or individual captions for a photo essay, to give some background information and context to whatever is shown in the pictures. If you’re not a writer, try to keep it as basic as possible - including things such as names, locations and dates. A short introduction to the piece to give some background information is useful, too. Ask somebody you trust to check it over for sense, clarity and mistakes.

8 Get the story seen

Once your story is complete and you’re happy with it, the next stage is to get it seen - also known as, the hard part.

"Once your story is complete and you’re happy with it, the next stage is to get it seen - also known as, the hard part."

A sensible first step is to create an album on your Picfair store which is dedicated to your photo essay. That way, anybody who is looking for that particular piece won’t have to wade through all of your other work to find it. ‍ You can then start sending out information about the work to editors and publishers, including a link to the album on your Picfair page as an easy way for them to look at it.

Editor's tip: ‍ If you're not sure where to begin with pitching to publishers, be sure to check our how to pitch guide .

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Just short of perfect, but the glitch is significant

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11 Best Photo Editing Apps for iPhone in 2024

Here are the 11 best photo editing apps for iPhone so far this year. Most of them are free and can be used on Android smartphones too. Check out our top picks.

iPhone Photography | Mobile Apps | Software | By Ana Mireles | Last Updated: March 19, 2024

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With so many options to choose from, what are the best photo editing apps for iPhone this year?

Whether you’re looking for free photo editing apps or you’re willing to pay for advanced features, this guide will help you discover the top options.

The iPhone camera is an amazing tool for photographers, but you’ll need to edit the photo to get the most out of it.

The fastest, simplest and most fun way to improve your smartphone photography skills this year.

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Thankfully, the photo editing tools available for iPhone in 2024 are powerful, easy to learn and a lot of fun to use.

(Many of the apps below are actually top photo editing apps for iPhone, Android, Mac, PC and even iPad and other tablets.)

Here’s our list of the best photo editing apps for iPhone that you should install today.

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11 Best iPhone Photo Editing Apps in 2024

If you’re looking for a new photo edit app that works seamlessly on your iPhone, here are my selection of top picks this year.

1. Snapseed | Best Photo Editing App for iPhone (FREE)

Best for: everyday photo editing | Android & iOS | Price: FREE

• Android, iOS
• Wide range of editing tools
• Simple to use
• Free photo editing app
• Selective adjustments
• Double exposure

Snapseed is the best free photo editing app for iPhone. It has multiple adjustment tools that you can use in auto mode or manually.

You can do selective editing as well, thanks to its masking tool and some advanced edits such as Curves and Healing.

There are many one-click solutions too that allow you to easily change the looks of your picture from grunge to black and white and others. It also has some special effects, such as double exposure and HDR.

Finally, you can also add frames and text to your images. Once you’re done, you can export or share your projects.

See our beginner’s guide to using Snapseed >>

2. Adobe Lightroom | Best Editing App for iPhone (Free & Paid)

Best for: photo editing and management | Android & iOS | Price: free version (limited) or full version $9.99

• Advanced editing tools
• Creative cloud
• Apply presets
• Create your own presets
• Supports raw files

Adobe Lightroom mobile is a portable version of the one used on desktop Mac and PC computers – it has all the tools, and you can sync your presets, images, etc. This is only possible if you have a paid Adobe subscription because there isn’t a free Lightroom for desktop – check this guide for how to buy Lightroom.

However, even the free Lightroom mobile version is very powerful – you can use it for capturing, organization, sharing and many of the editing features. It’s an amazing app for improving photo quality .

The Adobe Lightroom photo editing app also features a built-in camera. If you subscribe to one of the photo plans, any photo is saved automatically to the cloud. This online storage makes it super-easy to work across devices, with all your edits kept in sync.

Once you get the full version of the LR photo editing app, you can access selective edits, geometry tools and the healing brush.

This is one of the best photo editing apps for iPhone that allows you to work professionally because it communicates with all the Adobe apps in the Creative Cloud ecosystem.

This iPhone picture editing app also contains many tutorials for improving your skills, and the Discovery section allows you to access the Lightroom community for inspiration.

• What are some aesthetic photo editing apps?

3. Pixelmator Photo

Best for: photo editing and management | iOS | Price: $7.99

• 30+ color adjustments
• Repair tool
• Machine learning
• Photo browser
• ML Enhance feature for auto adjustments
• Nine presets groups
• Batch editing

Pixelmator Photo is a desktop-class photo editor app, and it supports raw formats from over 600 cameras. The included photo browser has a pleasing filmstrip design, and it works in sync with your iPhone’s native Library from the Photos app.

So, not only is it one of the best photo editing apps, but it’s also a great photo manager. You can use the ML Enhance feature for the smart auto-adjustment for quick edits. You can later fine-tune your image, or you can do everything on your own using all the non-destructive photo editing tools.

The app offers a machine-learning denoise tool to reduce noise and image-compression artefacts automatically. You can also choose from more than 30 color adjustments and nine unique preset groups to give your images a creative touch.

Note this is different from Pixelmator Pr o, the Mac app.

4. Adobe Photoshop Express | Best Photoshop App for iPhone

Best for: general photo editing | Android & iOS | Price: FREE

• Creative Cloud
• Multiple editing tools
• Enhanced vignette
• Blend modes
• Eye correction
• Remove unwanted blemishes
• Photo filters

Up until recently, Photoshop Express was only a part of the Photoshop family for iPhone photography together with Adobe Photoshop Fix and Photoshop Mix.

Currently, Adobe decided to merge all three photo editing apps into a more powerful version of Photoshop Express. If you have any of the other two apps, you can continue to use them – but they are not in the app store anymore.

Photoshop Camera is still a separate editing app that allows you to change the looks of your picture before you make it.

If any Android users are reading this article, know that things haven’t changed on the Google Play Store, where you can still download all three apps – at least for now.

Among the many adjustments you can make to edit pictures, you can select multiple objects to apply edits selectively or make cut-outs. You can also add blur or remove noise, make a perspective correction and even do makeup transfer for your beauty pictures.

Adobe Photoshop Express allows you to use professional editing tools and fun features for your social feed. For example, you can retouch facial features for a perfect portrait, but you can also turn your face into a cartoon.

Adobe Photoshop Express is one of the best photo editing apps for iPhone, and you can use it together with other apps from the Creative Cloud.

Free photo editing apps for iPhone users are aplenty, but there are only a small handful that hit the mark – and this one truly does.

• See more Photoshop apps for mobile

Best for: fun photo & video editing | Android & iOS | Price: free with ads or $55.99/year

• photo collage maker
• all-in-one photo editor
• fun filters
• create stickers
• recreate edits
• edit images collaboratively
• video editor

PicsArt is an all-in-one app that makes iPhone picture editing fun and simple.

It has tons of photo editing options, a huge range of creative tools, and it’s also a video editor.

The editing options include exposure and color correction, background removal , blur background with an AI smart selection tool, selfie retouching tools, straighten images, multiple photo filters, etc.

You can also use grids for picture collages and templates and scrapbooking using frames, stickers (60+ included and the possibility to make your own), use the drawing tool and more. Your edited photos can become memes and Instagram stories easily.

The video editor has an intuitive interface that allows you to add music – your own or from the in-app library, trim and crop your videos, use the smart video merger, and apply filters.

The free app version has ads that can become annoying – but you can use all the functions. For a free-ad experience, you need a Gold membership that you can pay weekly, monthly or yearly.

It’s one of the most expensive but also one of the best photo editing apps. You can use the 3-month free trial to decide whether it’s an investment you want to make.

• PicsArt Tutorial

Best for: filters & photo sharing | Android & iOS | Price : free (limited) or full version $19.99

• Photo editing features
• 200+ filters
• Video editing
• Social media
• Media blender

VSCO is one of the best photo editing apps for iPhone, with a social media community. It’s the perfect app for sharing images and getting inspiration without worrying about likes.

It has the same features as other editing apps, plus a huge range of filters developed by influencers and professional photographers.

With VSCO, you can also edit video and give free rein to your creativity by layering images, video, and shapes.

Most of the filters the app offers are paid, but you can still use it as a free photo editor with ten included presets and participate in the community.

If you want to try the paid membership before buying, you can use the 7-day free trial.

• How to Edit Photos on iPhone to Look Professional

Best for: Black & white photos | iOS | Price: free version (limited) or full version $19.99

• 58 B&W filters
• B&W effects
• Grain textures
• Dust textures
• Light leaks
• Bokeh textures
• Grunge textures

Carbon is the best photo editing app if you like black and white photography. You can make beautiful monochrome pictures without any photo editing knowledge, thanks to its minimal design.

Simply tap over any of the 58 black and white filters and choose the one you like best. You can also add textures and borders to your photos.

Once you’re satisfied, you can add hashtags and share your creations right from the app.

8. TouchRetouch

Best for: remove unwanted elements | Android & iOS | Price: $2.00

• Object removal
• Line removal
• Mesh removal
• Blemish removal

TouchRetouch is a photo editing app is dedicated to remove unwanted objects . This isn’t a one-trick pony that you’ll rarely use. Instead, you can use it for portrait photos to remove blemishes and create smooth skin , also for your travel photos removing tourists in the back, etc.

You can do these things with the healing tool of many editing apps. Still, TouchRetouch has a very powerful algorithm because it’s specially developed for this feature – you can even remove the mesh from in front of detailed backgrounds, or remove people from pictrues , such as photobombers!

The results are surprisingly accurate, so for only 2 bucks, it could be an essential photo editing app to add to your tool set.

9. Mextures

Best for: 1-click editing | iOS | Price: $1.99

• Edit in layers
• Grain overlays
• Film presets

If you don’t want to spend a lot of time fine-tuning features to adjust every picture you take manually, Mextures is one of the best photo editing apps you can get.

It comes with over 150 textures you can easily apply to your photos. Each one is added in a separate layer so you can customize the opacity and choose one of the 12 blending modes.

You can add virtually unlimited layers and come back to adjust each of them as many times as you want because it works non-destructively.

Also, you do have some photo editing features if you prefer to take matters into your own hands. You’ll find tools to adjust the exposure, saturation, contrast, and other basic tools.

You can save your workflow, duplicate your edits in other photos, or share them with other users. In the same way, you can import formulas from other users and use them in your photos. All in all, this is a fantastic photo editing app.

10. Superimpose X

Best for: Photo composites | iOS | Price: $4.99

• Up to 24 layers
• Collage tools
• Editing tools
• 16 adjustment layers
• Shadow creation
• Text effects
• Export as PSD

Superimpose X is one of the best photo editing apps to create photo composites and visual art. This app allows you to create amazing works of art composed of multiple images using masks and layers.

You can work with up to 24 layers, combine them using any of the 18 blending modes, and control the opacity—it also has 16 different adjustment layers.

You can use separate masks for each layer and save them on a masking library. Multiple masking tools make your selections more precise, and an automatic AI tool helps you mask people out.

You can use the built-in shadow creation tool to make your compositions more realistic. Of course, it also has all the editing tools you’ll expect from a photo editor app.

To finish your graphic work, you can add text that can be manipulated with zoom, blur, warp, and more. You can export your projects as PSD if you want to keep the layers outside the app.

Best for: perspective correction | Android & iOS | Price: $1.99

• Perspective correction
• Lens correction
• 4-point manual manipulation
• Mirroring tool

SKRWT is the best photo editing app if you’re into architecture photography, real estate or interior photography.

SKRWT is specifically developed to correct horizontal and vertical lines distorted by perspective. It even corrects lens distortion even if you didn’t take the photo with your iPhone – it works with images from DSLRs, drones, GoPro, etc.

SKRWT has two in-app extensions – 4PNTS and MRRW. Using 4PNTS, you can manually adjust your photo by dragging each corner separately. MRRW offers four mirror effects to control the symmetry in your photos.

How do Professionals Edit Photos on iPhones?

Depending on the iPhone photo editing app used, a pro could edit their photos in many ways.

To keep things simple, since every iPhone owner has the Photos app, here are the basic steps when editing an image:

• Update to the latest iOS – with iOS 13, Apple redesigned the photo editor, giving it a wider range of editing tools to touch up your photos and videos. To ensure you have the latest iOS version, go to Settings > General > Software Update.
• Work with raw images – if you work with JPEGs, you’ll have very little room for post-processing, while raw files have much more information. Since the iPhone 12 lineup, there’s a native raw file called ProRaw – if you have a previous iPhone, you’ll need to use a third-party app to photograph in raw.
• Always back up the original image – even if Photos allows you to revert your edits, it’s better to have a copy of the original file before you start editing. This is useful if you want to keep both versions or edit the same photo in different ways.
• Straighten – the first thing you want to do is straighten your photo and adjust the perspective if it needs it.
• Crop – often, when you adjust the perspective, some pixels remain empty, or other parts go out of the frame. With the crop tool, you can reframe your photo to your liking. Both tools are in the same menu – you’ll also find the tool to rotate, flip, etc. You can also crop your images to change the aspect ratio – for example, make it a square 1:1 format to use as a profile picture or upload to Instagram.
• Adjust the light – the next thing you want to do is edit anything related to light and exposure. Here, you can control the highlights and shadows, adjust contrast and brightness, etc.
• Adjust the colors – once you’re happy with the exposure settings, you can move on to edit colors.
• Use depth control and lighting if it’s a photo taken in portrait mode – if your image is not on Portrait mode, you won’t have these editing tools. However, Portrait Mode allows you to control the background blur and lighting effect.
• Add a photo filter (optional) – once you’re done with your manual edits, you can finish your photo editing by adding a filter. This is useful for maintaining a consistent style or adding a creative touch.
• Save – when you finish editing your photo, click Done. This will save your image in the Library, and it will replace the original photo – that’s why I advised you to keep a copy. If you change your mind later, you can always remove the edits because the Photos app works non-destructively.

How Can I Make My iPhone Take Better Photos?

Before you even get to using photo editing tools, there are several steps to take to ensure your iPhone takes better photos.

• Update to the latest iOS – The default iPhone photo editor in iOS 13 includes Photographic Styles, Macro mode, Scene Detection, Mirrored Selfies and more. Depending on your iPhone model, you could take advantage of these new features to take a better photo.
• Clean your iPhone camera lens – a smudged lens is the biggest cause of blurry iPhone photos. Wipe yours on your shirt before each shot to keep it clean.
• Keep it steady – lock your elbows into your body while holding your iPhone to ensure your shot is as steady as possible. This will help keep every photo sharp.
• Use a remote – did you know you can use the volume switch on your iPhone earphones to take a photo? This can help with keeping the phone steady and also help you take a less awkward selfie.
• Shoot in raw – not all iPhone models support ProRaw – the native format for raw images. If this is your case, you can download a camera app to shoot in raw. From the photo editing apps recommended here, you can try Adobe Lightroom Mobile.
• Enable grids to improve your composition – all iPhones have a grid with the rule of thirds to help you improve your composition skills. Also, you can download a camera app with other grids to learn the golden spiral, triangles, etc.
• Lock the focus point – tap and hold on the main subject to lock the focus point. This way, you’ll be sure to have sharp images.
• Adjust the exposure – you can darken or brighten your photo’s exposure before taking it by moving the yellow slider up or down.
• Use the correct shooting mode – inside the camera app; you’ll find different shooting modes. To make the most out of your iPhone, you should take advantage of these tools. For example, if you want a bokeh background use the Portrait mode to get lens blur – if you’re working in low light, use Night mode, and so on.
• Try live photos – using live photos, your iPhone registers a series of images in sequence that can be animated as a GIF or a short 1.5-second video. This feature is helpful to improve your photos because it allows you to choose the best frame and save it as a still image – you’ll never have a portrait with closed eyes again.
• Clean up your storage – having thousands of photos in your iPhone camera roll is the norm, but you can usually improve the performance of your phone overall if you delete some or all of the photos.

Of course, once you’ve nailed the photoshoot, you can move on to improving your post-processing skills. In this article, we selected the best photo editing apps for you to choose from.

iPhone Editing Apps: FAQs

How can I get rid of blemishes on my iPhone photos?

Unfortunately, the native photo editor Photos doesn’t offer blemish removal. So, you’ll have to download a third-party app. Some of the best editing apps to get rid of blemishes are Snapseed, TouchRetouch, Photoshop Express and Lightroom – although many others have this feature.

What is the best filter app for iPhone?

VSCO is also one of the most popular filter editing apps because of its social media feature. However, if you’re not interested in the community part of it – Mexture is one of the best filter-based photo editor.

Does Apple have a photo editor?

Apple’s photo editor is called Photos, and it’s available for Mac computers, iPhones and iPad. It has a Library to organize your photos, on-device machine learning, photo editing tools and some graphic tools to draw or write.

Is there an iPhone photo editor online?

There are lots of free ways to edit your iPhone photos online – Fotor, Pixlr, Canva, Pixelmator, etc. Most of them allow you to upload your iPhone photo and use their editing tools to alter your image.

How to edit car photos on iPhone?

To edit car photos on your iPhone, you’ll need to follow the next steps:

1. Instal one of the apps mentioned above that best suit your needs 2. Make sure you duplicate the original photo so you can have a backup version 3. Head to the apps tools to straighten, crop, and adjust the perspective of the photo 4. After that, modify the contrast and saturation and remove any imperfections 5. Save your edited photo

Does editing photos on iPhone reduce quality?

Sadly, editing photos on iPhone does reduce quality. This is because the images are compressed within the apps to save storage, which means you’ll lose some detail.

What are the best Photoshop apps for the iPhone? Some of the best photoshop apps for iPhone include the following:

1. Adobe Lightroom CC 2. Snapseed 3. VSCO 4. TouchRetouch 5. Enlight Photofox 6. Adobe Photoshop Express (PS Express) 7. Picsart

Final Words

I hope you like our selection of the best photo editing apps for iPhone. You should find that most are actually also available for other mobile devices, such as Android phones, iPads and Android tablets.

As you can see, some of them are multi-purpose photo editing apps, while others are specialized in certain edits. Others are professional photo editing apps, and others are one-click solutions. It’s difficult to pick one out as the absolute best photo editor app – it’s more about which one is the best for your needs and skills.

In the comments, let us know which ones you think are the best photo editing apps for iPhone and what you like about them. Thanks for reading!

You'll Also Like These:

Ana Mireles is a Mexican researcher that specializes in photography and communications for the arts and culture sector.

TouchRetouch is a yearly subscription. In the Uk for IOS is £14.99. Please do a better job with your research.

Thanks for pointing that out James we will make the adjustment.

Hello Ana, Thank you for creating a table of contents! So helpful for me because of the way I read articles. This article is helpful in understanding choosing an editing app. I didn’t realize some apps are basic cleanup editing, others can give more detail editing, while other apps can embellish photos with filters and such.

Jon, PLEASE, please, please go to the App Store and read the current reviews for SnapSeed. Your photos are potentially being ruined permanently. Read the comments and you will discover what has happened to the app. It has changed!! Folks are so disappointed now.

Your article comes up right away when you Google this. You are really doing a disservice to people. Just trying to help here!

Thanks for the suggested apps: Snapseed is my favorite. This app is easy to use, it works well and the price is right.

Thanks for reading my article, let me know if you have any questions.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

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Create beautiful handwritten notes, sketch your ideas, record audio, and organize your notes like never before.

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Drafts opens to a new page with the keyboard ready so you can type immediately. Go hands-free with Dictation. Drafts lets you get things down before you forget without fiddling folders, naming, etc.

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The #1 text to speech solution for personal, commercial, and educational use.

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Super-clean writing space with a lot of configurability that stays out of sight when you don’t need it.

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We’re more than a doc. Or a table. Customize Notion to work the way you do.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Chrome, PC

Best for: Note-taking, Outlining, Journal, Book, Story, Essay, Poetry, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.notion.so/product

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Create documents, make impact. When your work needs to wow, Craft gives you the tools to make it magnificent.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Online, PC

Best for: Note-taking, Drafting, Journal, Essay, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.craft.do/

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Microsoft Word

Elevate your writing, create beautiful documents, and collaborate with others—anywhere, anytime.

Platforms: Online, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Chrome, PC

Best for: Drafting, Essay, Journal, Book, Story, Poetry, and Blog

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Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper is more than a doc — it’s a co-editing tool that brings creation and coordination together in one place.

Platforms: Online, Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Chrome, PC

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Diarly is built for the best journaling experience. With every feature you will need and a beautiful interface, starting a journal has never been so simple.

Best for: Note-taking and Journal

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Apple Notes

Notes is the best place to jot down quick thoughts or to save longer notes filled with checklists, images, web links, scanned documents, handwritten notes, or sketches. And with iCloud, it's easy to keep all your devices in sync, so you’ll always have your notes with you.

Best for: Note-taking, Journal, Book, Story, Essay, Poetry, Blog, and Free

Website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notes/id1110145109

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The 10 Best Photo Editing Apps For iPhone (2022 Edition)

Posted by Kate Wesson Comments 164

What are the best photo editing apps for enhancing your iPhone photos ? With so many apps to choose from, how do you know which ones to use? In this article, you’ll discover the 10 best photo editor apps  for iPhone. And we’ll help you choose the right photo editing apps for your needs.

1. Snapseed

Best For: Everyday photo editing

• Huge range of editing tools, yet very easy to use
• Exposure, color, and sharpening adjustments
• Crop, rotate, straighten, and perspective correction
• Selective adjustments and healing tool
• Black & white, vintage, and texture filters
• Portrait enhancement, lens blur, and vignette
• Double exposure, frames, and text
• Price: FREE

Snapseed  is one of the most popular iPhone photo editing apps.

Because it’s easy to use, even though it offers a powerful collection of editing tools. It’s also completely free to download and use!

This photo editor app is suitable for both beginners and experienced iPhone photographers.

With Snapseed, you can easily improve exposure, color, and sharpness. And you can crop, rotate and straighten images.

Selective tools and brushes allow you to edit just certain parts of your image. And the healing tool is great for removing objects from your photos.

The Portrait tool is perfect for creating flawless portrait photos with smooth skin and sparkling eyes.

Snapseed also has preset filters for creating different moods in your photos.

Filters make it easy to convert your photos to black and white or create a vintage look with textures.

If you’re new to iPhone photography, Snapseed should be the first photo editor app you download. With this app, you’ll be able to create stunning edits that will dramatically improve your images.

Snapseed is available for FREE from the App Store. Unlike many other photo editing apps, there are no extra in-app purchases to pay for.

Learn how to use this amazing app in our Snapseed photo editing tutorial.

Best For: Creating beautiful edits with elegant filters

• Elegant one-tap presets and effects that create the look of classic film
• Adjustable filter strength
• 200+ filters to create different looks in your photos
• Editing tools for tweaking exposure, color, and sharpness
• Filters and editing tools can be used to edit videos
• Price: FREE (subscription fee for the full collection of filters and editing tools)

VSCO  (pronounced  visco ) is another fantastic photo editing app. In fact, it’s one of the best photo filter apps for iPhone .

The vast collection of presets and effects allow you to create the look of classic film in your iPhone photos. They’re perfect for adding a vintage feel to your images.

Unlike other apps where the filters can be overpowering, VSCO filters are subtle. Many of them have a soft, faded look for beautifully understated edits.

You can adjust the strength of the filters to suit your taste. And you can fine-tune color and exposure using the editing tools.

You can also use the same filters and editing tools to edit videos on your iPhone.

VSCO is FREE to download from the App Store. It comes with 10 free filters and a set of photo editing tools.

You can access the full range of over 200 filters, as well as additional editing tools, by paying for the VSCO X membership.

Learn how to use VSCO with our in-depth tutorials: VSCO App Tutorial: How To Shoot & Edit Beautiful iPhone Photos How To Use VSCO Filters To Create Beautiful iPhone Photos

3. TouchRetouch

Best For: Removing unwanted objects from your photos

• Quickly remove unwanted objects for a cleaner composition
• Remove dust spots, wires, people, and other objects
• Remove blemishes and smooth out wrinkles in portrait photos
• Duplicate objects using the clone tool
• Price: $3.99

Many photoshop apps have tools for removing objects from a photo. But this is the sole purpose of TouchRetouch . And it’s still one of the easiest and most effective apps for removing unwanted elements from your photos.

Simply use your finger to highlight the object you want to remove… then watch the object disappear! The app automatically replaces the selected object with pixels from the surrounding area.

The Blemish Remover tool is perfect for creating flawless portrait photos.

And the Line Removal tool makes it easy to remove electricity cables from your image.

It might take a few attempts to remove complex elements. But TouchRetouch makes it easy to start over if you’re not happy with the results.

TouchRetouch is available for $3.99 on the App Store.

Click here for the ultimate guide to removing objects from your photos with TouchRetouch.

Or click here to discover more of the best photo retouch apps!

Best For: Creating stunning black & white photos

• 58 one-tap black & white filters
• Textures for creating vintage-style photos
• Light leaks and bokeh effects
• Subtle and artistic color effects
• Editing tools for adjusting light and color
• Price: FREE (in-app purchases for additional filters and tools)

Do you want to create beautiful black and white iPhone photos ? Then Carbon is the perfect app for you.

With a single tap, you can turn a color photo into a stunning black and white image.

Carbon has 58 preset filters with different black and white effects. So you can always find a style to suit your photo.

The app has filters for creating unique vintage effects, such as grungy textures, grain, light leaks, and bokeh. You can also add different colors to your image – from subtle sepia tones to vibrant color effects.

In addition to the one-tap presets, Carbon has a set of editing tools for fine-tuning color and exposure. You can even create a painterly effect with the “Kuwahara” tool.

If you want to create gorgeous black and white photos, you can’t go wrong with Carbon. The tools are easy to use, and the results always look great.

Carbon is FREE to download from the App Store. But you’ll need to pay to access the full range of filters and effects.

5. Adobe Lightroom

Best For: Precise fine-tuning of color and exposure

• Powerful set of editing tools within a simple user interface
• One-tap presets for quick edits
• Selective adjustment tools for advanced editing
• Healing tool for removing unwanted objects
• Price: FREE (subscription fee for premium features)

Adobe Lightroom gives you a powerful, yet simple solution for editing your photos. It’s suitable for both beginners and advanced users.

The one-tap filter presets offer a quick and easy way to enhance your images. And the simple adjustment sliders let you tweak exposure, color, and detail.

But Lightroom offers much more than this. The advanced editing tools, including selective adjustments, give you ultimate control over your edits.

If you’re familiar with editing your photos on a computer using Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, you’ll feel right at home with this app.

Adobe Lightroom is FREE to download from the App Store. But you’ll need to pay to access the premium features, such as selective adjustments, perspective correction, and the healing tool.

6. Afterlight

Best For: All-purpose photo editing with additional creative options

• Advanced tools such as curves, selective color, gradients, and blend modes
• Dust and light leak overlays
• Preset filters by well-known mobile photographers
• Double-exposure tool for blending images
• Layers tool for adding text and artwork

Afterlight is easy to use despite its comprehensive set of editing tools.

The app offers typical editing tools such as color, exposure, sharpness, and crop tools.

But it also has advanced tools, such as curves and selective color. These allow you to fine-tune the colors and tones in your photos to get the very best out of your images.

The filters and overlays in Afterlight are great for enhancing or changing the mood in your photos. The app has over 130 filters created by well-known mobile photographers.

The customizable text and artwork offer a fun way to add graphics to your images. And the double-exposure tool lets you create unique combinations of blended images.

If you want to get more creative with photo editing, Afterlight is an excellent place to start.

Afterlight is FREE to download from the App Store. But you’ll need to pay a subscription fee to access the full range of editing tools and filters.

Click here to learn how to create unique iPhone photo edits with Afterlight .

7. Mextures

Best For: Adding vintage textures and light leaks to photos

• Grit, grain, grunge, and vintage film textures
• Analog light leaks and beautiful gradients
• Stack and blend effects using layers
• Fine-tune images with editing tools and filters
• Use and create preset “formulas”
• Price: $1.99 (in-app purchases for additional effects)

Mextures is a fantastic app for applying textures to your iPhone photos. It also has a range of other effects including grain, light leaks, and gradients.

You can add wonderful mood and visual interest to your iPhone photos in Mextures. It’s easy to create unique edits by combining and blending different effects.

The app also has filters and editing tools for fine-tuning your image.

If you’re new to Mextures, you can start by using the wide range of preset “formulas” created by other photographers. You can even create and share your own formulas.

Mextures is available for $1.99 on the App Store. It comes with a wide range of effects, but you can purchase even more for a small fee.

Learn how to use Mextures to add wonderful textures to your iPhone photos .

8. Lens Distortions

Best For: Adding sunlight, lens flares, rain, snow, and fog effects

• Add beauty and drama to your shots with natural sunlight and lens flares
• Create atmosphere and drama with rain, snow, or fog
• Frame your subject or blur the edges with elegant glass textures
• Layer several different overlays for unique effects
• Adjust opacity, brightness, and color of each overlay
• Price: FREE (in-app purchases for additional effects)

There are many apps that add light and weather effects to your photos. But Lens Distortions  is one of the best.

Its high-quality overlays include sunlight, lens flares, rain, snow, and fog. There are also shimmer effects and glass elements to add sparkle or blur to your image.

For a unique look, you can layer up different effects on your image.

Sliders let you adjust the opacity, brightness, contrast, and color of each overlay. You can make the elements stand out for a bold look, or tone them down so they blend in.

Lens Distortions is available for FREE from the App Store. The app comes with a basic collection of overlays. More effects are available as in-app purchases… and they’re definitely worth it!

9. Superimpose X

Best For: Creating unique digital art by combining and blending images

• Combine two or more photos to create a composite image
• Replace the background of a photo
• Create stunning double-exposure and fantasy-style images
• Blend textures onto an image for an arty look
• Add filters, blur, shadows, and other creative effects
• Variety of masking tools for selecting parts of an image
• Price: $4.99

Superimpose X is the perfect app for combining several photos into a single composite image.

It has a good choice of masking tools for selecting different kinds of subject. You just use your finger to select the area you want to remove.

You can adjust the blend mode and opacity of each layer to control how the images blend together.

Superimpose X has a wide range of tools for editing each layer. You can use filters, shadows, gradients, light effects, and more.

With Superimpose X, the creative possibilities are endless. Your imagination is the only limit!

Superimpose X is available for $4.99 on the App Store.

Click here to discover how to use Superimpose X to blend multiple iPhone photos.

10. Instagram

Best For: Enhancing your images right before you share them

• Good selection of color and black & white filters
• Vignette and tilt-shift effects
• Give your photos a final polish before sharing them on Instagram

Do you share your photos on Instagram ? If so, you definitely shouldn’t overlook the editing tools in this app.

Instagram doesn’t have the same range of editing tools as apps like Snapseed. But if you only want to make basic adjustments, it may be all you need.

It has a good range of color and black and white filters for changing the look and feel of your image.

There’s also a handy set of editing tools. You can adjust exposure, color, and sharpness. There are options to crop, rotate, straighten, and correct perspective. And you can add a vignette or tilt-shift effect.

If you prefer to edit your photos in a different app, you can still apply an Instagram filter just before sharing.

Instagram is available for FREE from the App Store.

Check out our in-depth tutorial on Instagram Photo Editing.

Best Photo Editing Apps: How To Choose The Right Apps For You

You’ve discovered the 10 best photo editing apps… but how do you choose the right apps for you?

Read on and let us help you decide…

If you’re new to photo editing, the best photo editor app is Snapseed . That said, it has a wide range of editing tools, so it’s suitable for more advanced users too.

If you like the idea of using one-tap filters to create classic, understated edits, VSCO is a great choice.

And Carbon is perfect for creating beautiful black and white photos.

For more advanced editing tools, such as selective color and exposure adjustments, try Adobe Lightroom or Afterlight .

TouchRetouch is a great app to have in your collection. Use it whenever you want to remove unwanted objects from your iPhone photos.

Lens Distortions is fantastic for adding realistic sunlight, lens flares, rain, snow, and fog. These effects are great for adding beauty and drama to your landscape photos .

Do you enjoy getting creative with your edits? If so, Afterlight has a good selection of creative tools.

And Mextures is the best photo editing app for adding textures and light leaks.

If you want to create truly unique artwork, including fantasy-style images and double-exposures, try Superimpose X .

Do you share your photos on Instagram ? Then why not use its filters and editing tools to give your images a final polish before sharing.

March 4, 2016 at 8:17 am

Awesome post, Kate! I love using Snapseed and VSCO (thanks to your list last year). I think I’m going to try AfterFocus next. These lists are awesome!

March 4, 2016 at 8:47 am

Glad to hear you find these lists helpful Mat! Have fun with AfterFocus, and do let us know how you get on with it 🙂

November 30, 2017 at 10:31 pm

Hello Kate, this is Fotor, another photo editor. You can try it. We want to cooperate with you. Could you please send me email: [email protected]

September 28, 2017 at 7:15 am

March 4, 2016 at 8:20 am

Am I the only one who pronounces SKRWT as “screw it” or is that the actual way it’s meant to be said? 🙂 I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lens Distortions before. I’m going to certainly try it out. Thanks for this list!

March 4, 2016 at 8:48 am

I do believe that is how you pronounce SKRWT! Lens Distortions is a really great app. We’d love to hear how you get on with it. Happy editing 🙂

March 4, 2016 at 11:06 am

Is there an app that would let me take a image, copy it and place it side by side?

On my PC, I use Photoshop or Fireworks to do this.

March 6, 2016 at 2:55 pm

You could use Leonardo, which has good layer functionality. Once you have the image as a layer, you can just duplicate it, move it, and repeat. In fact, I think Leonardo is the one app that I think should be on this list, but isn’t.

March 9, 2016 at 12:17 am

If you mean put a copy of an entire image next to itself (rather than overlaying an element within the same image) then something like Diptic should do the trick.

April 2, 2016 at 3:18 pm

Each of the old ladies is one image. I put an image on a canvas, in Adobe Fireworks on my computer, and then copy and paste it until I get five.

March 12, 2016 at 10:11 am

Looking for an app that allows two images side by side, but juxtaposed. Like this:

March 23, 2016 at 9:13 am

March 24, 2016 at 2:30 am

“pixilmaker ” is favorite if mine(I use an iPad mini though) as well as “you doodle pro”(which is more of an drawing app and the simplicity of it is what draws me to it) there is an app called toolwiz photos for android is there a similar app for iOS?

March 24, 2016 at 7:32 am

I like this list, thank you. I am looking for an app to handle noise in pictures, i hate take pictures at night or even with out enough ligth becose the noise. I m pretty sure that there is some app that can help me.

March 24, 2016 at 8:28 am

Hi Mario. Cortex Cam is a great camera app for shooting in low light: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cortex-camera/id517488939?mt=8

March 24, 2016 at 10:56 am

I will give it a try. Thanks Kate.

March 26, 2016 at 7:16 pm

Touchretouch was incredibly easy and took only 30 seconds of effort to remove the elements I wanted to remove. I highly recommend it!

March 29, 2016 at 8:17 am

TouchRetouch is great isn’t it! Such a useful app 🙂

August 30, 2016 at 7:35 am

Is TouchRetouch the same technology that is in HandyPhoto?

August 30, 2016 at 9:51 am

Yes, I believe it does the same thing – although Handy Photo also offers other photo editing tools.

April 13, 2016 at 1:49 pm

Do any of these allow you to add text to the pic?

April 14, 2016 at 4:42 pm

Yes, Enlight offers a function to be able to add text with multiple font options. It also has a collection of preset “artistically done” phrases that you can throw into your photo for an additional effect.

April 15, 2016 at 2:10 am

This would require applying textures using, for example, iColorama app. Also you’d have to remove the background and Superimpose app is the best for that. 🙂

April 16, 2016 at 1:09 pm

What do you think of Polarr? I’ve tried it and found it very efficient…

April 19, 2016 at 5:35 am

This app is pretty good. If you’re used to its interface and find its features suitable for your editing style, I’d suggest to stick with it. 🙂

April 17, 2016 at 2:07 am

Does anyone know the name of this app? Thanks!!

April 19, 2016 at 5:45 am

It seems that the photo was created using Jittergram app.

April 17, 2016 at 12:24 pm

does anyone know what app or filter is this? thanks.

April 19, 2016 at 5:46 am

This could be created using Mextures or VSCO cam app.

April 20, 2016 at 12:33 am

Thank you for this list. I find most of my own favorite mobile photo tools included. Mostly, I am using Snapseed, SKRWT, Enlight, Camera+ and sometimes Pixelmator. I’ve tried VSCOcam and Mextures and really liked them, but found it a bit hard to retrieve filters I was looking for. I’ll give them another try now after having read your article.

April 21, 2016 at 12:22 am

Glad you enjoyed the article! VSCO cam has a lot of extra filters that you can buy within the app. Maybe you can find some good ones there! 🙂

April 20, 2016 at 3:12 pm

Does anyone know the name of this two app’s? =)

April 21, 2016 at 12:27 am

Duplication effect can be achieved with Enlight app. As for the second photo, it seems that there is a filter applied. This can be achieved in apps like VSCO cam or Mextures. Hope this helps! 🙂

April 22, 2016 at 4:37 am

Hi there! Will there be an in depth tutorial or review of Filterstorm Neue made at some point? Rob DePaolo often mentions this app as his favourite for editing but I’d like to know more about it before purchasing and it will be helpful for when I do. Thanks heaps!!

April 26, 2016 at 1:26 am

Thanks for your suggestion, Georgia! We’ll definitely keep it in mind. 🙂 For now we don’t have any in depth tutorials, but you can check out this article which covers creating depth of field using Filterstorm Neue and other apps – http://iphonephotographyschool.com/depth-of-field/

April 22, 2016 at 9:39 am

Anybody know what app this is ?

April 26, 2016 at 1:31 am

This looks like very strong HDR effect. Similar look can be created using Drama Filter in Snapseed app. Hope this helps! 🙂

June 4, 2016 at 8:12 am

April 25, 2016 at 8:27 pm

Surprised that Facetune didn’t make the list.

April 26, 2016 at 1:47 am

Facetune is great for portrait editing, but we find these 10 apps the most powerful on the market. 🙂

April 26, 2016 at 6:50 pm

Pixelmator and Lightroom Mobile are the best ones I’ve found and I’ve used pretty much all of these so you might want to consider taking a look at those two – 1) Adobe Lightroom Mobile – free on the App Store 2)Pixelmator – 5.99 (I think?) on the App Store

Hope this helps!?

April 28, 2016 at 1:18 am

Thanks for suggesting your favorite apps, Paul! 🙂

May 4, 2016 at 5:25 pm

I’m new to photography and was wondering, which app out of these, lets me stack photos and still do photoshop techniques? So far the best I can do with the regular camera app are these two.

May 6, 2016 at 12:30 am

I’d suggest to go for Enlight app. It has a lot of powerful features and you can combine several photos as well. 🙂

May 6, 2016 at 6:58 am

Great, thanks 🙂

May 6, 2016 at 12:31 am

Thanks for sharing, Michal. 🙂 This one is for Android though.

May 13, 2016 at 2:24 pm

hello I really like your tips, it would help me if you tell me which app are these photos made of

May 16, 2016 at 4:29 am

The B&W conversion can be done in almost any kind of app, for example, Snapseed. Also, you can add fade in multiple apps, even in the iPhone’s native editing tool by adjusting the “Black point” under the “Light” section. Hope this helps! 🙂

May 14, 2016 at 8:46 pm

I’m looking for a photo editing app that doesn’t down sample the original image. I have been using PicsArt and really like it, although now that I’m using a DSLR it’s down sampling my photos to about the size my iphone photos are.

May 16, 2016 at 4:32 am

To avoid resizing or resolution loss, I’d suggest to use apps like Snapseed that allows you to save full resolution photos. 🙂

May 18, 2016 at 5:08 am

hey guys can someone please tell me which app can be used to create a similar photo with these geometric shapes? Thank you!

May 20, 2016 at 3:18 am

It seems that this image was created using 2 different photos. You can mix images together using apps like Superimpose or Enlight. Hope this helps! 🙂

May 20, 2016 at 2:47 pm

thanks Laine! I found out that they used Pixlr. Just thought the second photo on the parliament building was like a geometric filter on something!

May 23, 2016 at 4:10 am

Thanks for the note! Yes, it could be that the other photo is a filter. Hope you’ll achieve a similar effect with the Pixlr app. 🙂

June 20, 2016 at 5:44 am

You can also create this effect using Image Blender, which is a great app for superimposing 2 photos.

June 13, 2017 at 2:12 pm

September 28, 2017 at 7:14 am

October 19, 2017 at 2:22 pm

Pixlr would work. That app is not on the list, but it is very good.

March 23, 2018 at 10:37 am

I agree with this! Pixlr and the Picsay

December 18, 2017 at 2:31 pm

That looks like it was made with Tangent app by Pixite. It’s a great app.( I created the image below with the app and the developer used it in the App Store) https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/982833e0d682f77d88527c943900c2b124472d13f28bf15962059b6e5b8d6525.jpg

May 19, 2016 at 7:37 pm

Hi. Starting to experiment with iphone photos. Is there an app that will allow me to edit a portion of a photo while keeping the rest of the photo unedited? For example, increasing exposure makes parts of a photo look better and other parts worse, so I want to edit certain areas of pictures.

May 20, 2016 at 3:22 am

Sure, you can apply selective edits using apps like Snapseed, which is a free app on the app store! 🙂

May 24, 2016 at 6:54 pm

Any idea where i can find a filter like these two!? thanks

May 25, 2016 at 8:08 am

You may create your own filter that can look like this using Filterstorm Neue. Enlight may also have some presets that looks similar to that.

June 14, 2016 at 2:19 pm

In vsco, you could choose a black and white filter and then change the highlights color to pink, purple, or any other color option.

May 27, 2016 at 12:53 pm

Does anyone know how to make images like these? 🙂 (the background of the second one, not the technology images added in.)

June 3, 2016 at 2:01 am

It seems that these could be created with vector drawing apps like Inkpad or iDesign. 🙂

November 2, 2017 at 11:25 pm

Should be easy with a CAD drawing program like AutoCAD… but maybe an overkill ..

June 7, 2016 at 7:44 pm

Can someone tell me what app I can use to make my photos look like these? Thank you!

June 9, 2016 at 2:37 am

Looks like filters from VSCO app. 🙂

June 9, 2016 at 8:25 pm

June 14, 2016 at 2:16 pm

If using VSCO, “E” class will get you closest to this look. May add some cream highlights.

June 14, 2016 at 2:14 pm

looks like Retica’s “680 Cool” filter

June 15, 2016 at 9:01 am

Found an interesting new app ‘Picazzy’ on App Store. Its effects are quite new and different. A bit slow, but I found the outcome worth it

June 15, 2016 at 10:40 am

Hey guys can someone please tell me which app is this filter from? Thanks a lot!

June 17, 2016 at 6:46 am

This could be VSCO app or Mextures app. 🙂

June 16, 2016 at 2:59 am

From which app can we get this kind of effect plz? Thnk u !! 🙂

June 18, 2016 at 10:25 pm

Is Pixelmator not THE app to have any more?

June 20, 2016 at 5:43 am

You can do the same thing TouchRetouch does using Snapseed, which is FREE. Just go to TOOLS > Healing. It’s easy to use.

August 23, 2016 at 8:46 am

TouchRetouch is very intuitive and usually does a better job.

June 20, 2016 at 5:47 am

I would add Hipstamatic and Mextures to this list, if you are into adding filters to your images. Also, I find Squareready the best app for keeping my photos’ original proportions for Instagram.

August 23, 2016 at 8:45 am

Mextures IS in the list.

June 22, 2016 at 7:36 am

What about Leonardo. How can Leonardo be excluded from a list like this?

June 23, 2016 at 11:04 am

it’s always tough to select the “top ten,” and Leonardo is a lot of fun!

July 3, 2016 at 7:24 am

Can anyone tell me an app that’ll allow me to make my photos like this? ?

July 12, 2016 at 11:49 am

This looks like double exposure – which can be done using an app like Superimpose. You’d take one image and then superimpose it over the other — you can also adjust the amount of opacity, so the effect can be subtle or intense.

April 8, 2017 at 7:59 am

This also appears to be shot through one of those light crystal baubles people hang in windows (I play around with this often).

July 17, 2016 at 11:58 am

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4b646be68e388f4b306ab581f00dcf94aa87c707ef5c0f05746b340cba617c88.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6a91db62009799dd773638cbaa96715f35741446b2e309870211efba4363bd10.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cb420b733de335c81faac79b6b2508563cad9b70080fddd9841698a90f5f29fd.jpg which app is used please?

July 27, 2016 at 5:35 pm

I just love this girls photos. Can anyone tell me what filter makes it appear like this. Always has a pinkish tint to it…

January 6, 2017 at 10:48 am

Not all effects can be achieved via mobile editing apps…If this was edit on smartphone it can be VSCOcam…

August 14, 2016 at 6:20 pm

How do you create this effect?

August 15, 2016 at 12:48 am

You can get this using Painterly apps. You can learn more about it here: http://iphonephotographyschool.com/painterly-apps/

August 29, 2016 at 9:36 pm

you have to take about 200 μg and you are good to go

September 1, 2016 at 2:41 pm

Great article but I’m asking you guys why don’t you use procam3? It’s one of the best ?

September 2, 2016 at 2:29 am

It is definitely a great app – but while it does contain some photo editing features, we would consider this to be more of a camera app rather than an editing app – which is one reason we didn’t include it in the list of best editing apps. Glad you enjoy using it though 🙂

September 10, 2016 at 2:41 pm

Hope it will be useful for those who are looking for iOS app that can crop/resize photos to specific dimensions with accuracy of 1 pixel. It also works in batch mode.

Crop-Size – 4.99 on the App Store

September 25, 2016 at 5:22 am

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8e8498a4cc5c55d991be827bf0cf8b4704e77caa231a7f8508b0e8e39debf548.png

Does anyone know with which app this was added on to a photo? (I cencured the text with a white part)

September 28, 2016 at 12:49 am

and Pixelmator ? how can you forget it in a serious review ?

December 20, 2016 at 5:35 am

Hi, can someone tell me what app(s) can I use for below effects? Can’t find it anywhere……. Thank you!

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/991a1a04699e3ead3f8c7a2183407cff0af0f211eca6066a053ff43d8fb46bf3.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f84d3e0d016dd217ec5ac7b8b4138e8ebad71a7405c0fce518d4b123bcf797e6.jpg

January 6, 2017 at 12:33 pm

VSCO cam is now subscription based to use any of the filters, which for the entire subscription, are free.

January 9, 2017 at 11:13 pm

So SnapSeed has retained it’s position in 2017 as well. And the truth is, its really a great app for editing the photos, very basic and easy to operate.

January 10, 2017 at 10:46 am

It certainly is a great app! Perfect for both beginners and advanced iPhone photographers 🙂

January 10, 2017 at 6:53 pm

I like Handy Photo

January 16, 2017 at 10:41 pm

You have shared great resource here i am using VSCO its working great to me.

January 17, 2017 at 1:50 pm

Thank you Justin – glad you found this article useful.

January 18, 2017 at 2:43 am

There is no info on the output resolution of all the apps in this article – which is a key aspect in photography publishing may it be print or web. The best app for me would be the one which provides essential tools with hi res filters and most importantly a hi-res output file. As per my knowledge, snapseed gives the max resolution output on the market. I print many photographs taken/made on my iPhone (4×6, 6×8). I would recommend every smartphone photographer to start printing your photos and your photos will have a completely different meaning.

January 24, 2017 at 5:32 am

Hii i wanted to edit the chest hair covering pecs and abs what is the best app?? Thsnkss

March 3, 2017 at 10:39 pm

Razor or Wax are pretty good lol

March 2, 2017 at 10:37 pm

Hi. Why ProCamera isn’t on the list?

March 7, 2017 at 1:24 pm

Hi Fadi. This article concentrates on photo editing apps, and while you can edit photos in ProCamera it’s better known for it’s camera/shooting features. You’ll find ProCamera listed in this article comparing the 5 best camera apps: http://iphonephotographyschool.com/best-camera-app-for-iphone/

March 9, 2017 at 3:55 am

Yes I understand just want to know your opinion about editing in ProCamera. Thank you!!

March 21, 2017 at 5:07 am

Amazing article it really help me to improve the use of the app, I was pretty basic with it. I used it a lot VSCO and Snapseed for my Ig pictures, I’m more fan of Snapseed to be honest but you made me discover how freaking nice is VSCO camera Omg I won’t use my iPhone camera anymore cause it sucks LoL. Amazing, thank you for your dedication on helping not so expert camera, app, phone, name it, users. Awesome

May 5, 2017 at 6:28 am

Deep Art Effects is missing, too! Great app for giving your photos a nice artistic touch.

May 8, 2017 at 10:38 pm

Hyy guys, can someone please tell me which apps I can use for these pictrs? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5a4968b94d885013c99806e691e14c6919f046a8dc4cbffb533e4c7f5f725a0c.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/168eddc97c882d6e3b7d826e615b504c03bdf6a6f0acb2aaf8506560e4e481de.jpg

June 18, 2017 at 8:21 pm

I see the App Store price for Superimpose is $1.99, and not $.99 as shown here. Is there a way to get it for $.99?

July 13, 2017 at 8:39 pm

Is a buck a deal breaker for an app?

July 19, 2017 at 4:55 pm

Sorry about that Sludge, the price of the app has changed since we wrote this article. I’ve now updated the article to reflect the correct price.

July 19, 2017 at 5:06 pm

June 24, 2017 at 12:42 pm

I think Photogene⁴ is by far the best serious photo editor on the market!

September 30, 2017 at 10:59 am

I really like Photogene⁴ but they haven’t updated it in years and it won’t work in iOS 11 ;-(

September 30, 2017 at 1:12 pm

I feel your pain, I love this program. After I upgraded to IOS 11, I saw it no longer worked on my ipad pro. Went out and bought an Ipad Mini with the IOS 10 so I could still use Photogene. Can’t find any other program that even cmes close!

October 1, 2017 at 1:45 pm

It really is a great app. Looks like I will have to try out Snapseed…

July 2, 2017 at 10:30 pm

Hello Could anyone please tell me which app has this effect… and what the effect is called?? Thanks 🙂 https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/536de4cf7e37463e6cbc83b253d8dc5d82ac27cbfce1cf6d7420af8ed4fe836f.jpg

July 13, 2017 at 1:58 am

Great to see that I used most of them. Thanks for sharing the helpful review. It will be beneficially for the newbies.

July 21, 2017 at 4:34 am

VSCO offers few fantastic features for photo editing. I will definitely try this one for editing photos.

August 8, 2017 at 2:22 pm

Can someone tell me app would allow you to photo to be black & white but one focus point be colored? I saw a pic of a guys cowboy boots. The photo was a bit out of focus but what was cool was the cowboy boots were colored in a teal. Help?

August 8, 2017 at 7:02 pm

I really think this article should be updated to include Plotagraph… its new but a definite must if you want to make your photos pop https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2c786f2ed050b68fd706410c093d1a152be524c92418c90e4861fdb6121cabcd.gif

August 12, 2017 at 5:22 am

I found this application, PhotoViewerPro. Its super easy to use, great for editing videos and photos. It’s user-friendly and very powerful.

August 20, 2017 at 3:36 pm

Anyone knows what app I can use to create similar edits? (Paint effect, etc) https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/073e0528084a1cafffcdcb0d59e20969fdd9cd81c9f09de4cabc7ea6d11188d6.jpg

September 16, 2017 at 12:08 am

I have been searching for posts that can help me decide what photo editing app should I have for my iPhone and your post got the answers I’ve been looking for! Since I want only the best photo editing app, you have enlighten my confusion because of the great number of apps to choose from. You are quite a life-saver (well an iPhone saver too, I guess – haha) Thanks again!

September 22, 2017 at 1:53 am

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/48b5cb0a83a8d63a41c7df69738fc116206924de2408b1dfea6cd64e1f8011ff.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cbb684fac1bbabc979d708ce22c0214d8c0a249da6ec6b49725c201c3699933a.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3f349296db292e02e560bdb772808d03c0656ce50647e77ba47ec5b3899cfef7.png

With Snaptric you can create the perfect group photo or selfie within seconds by choosing the best face from each photo.

September 22, 2017 at 1:55 am

May 12, 2018 at 3:25 pm

Thank you so much for this information. I do over edit most of the time. I will pin this to my Pintrest board for photography. Right now, I am trying to do better with the sun. Cannot get the exposure right. Frankly, the cloudy, gray days are my best chances for a good shot.

September 30, 2017 at 11:51 am

Hi, I’m trying to find the app that does this to a regular photo.

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/11c0886db235a747d2e4797c848ec2d1ff6928317c784e9a5a1ae31bb48364aa.jpg

January 10, 2018 at 5:18 pm

October 19, 2017 at 2:17 pm

Mextures is actually $1.99 on the app store. Just a heads up for all of you wanting to buy this app.

October 19, 2017 at 2:21 pm

Another great app is Pixlr. I very highly suggest that app. It has a wide variety of different tools, its FREE, and you can over lap it with other pictures. WARNING this is not the best app to use if you are trying to edit something out of a picture.

October 26, 2017 at 11:27 pm

Just loved it, with to knew it before leaving my iphone 7.

November 8, 2017 at 5:11 am

November 27, 2017 at 6:41 pm

What editing app is that? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/eb3b543e4b3bb62aba00c847baf9de184f2cda30f3c71df5aba88e107db71992.png

November 28, 2017 at 7:53 pm

What app is that? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/eb3b543e4b3bb62aba00c847baf9de184f2cda30f3c71df5aba88e107db71992.png

December 25, 2017 at 10:04 pm

I’ve tried 2 from this list but I would love to explore other left app and thanks for such good list

January 17, 2018 at 7:54 pm

What’s the best app to remove a simple background such as the black background in this pic.? Thanks! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/85e1de14c3ab4fb464021a776e4d4f2c6eaa13cfeec9b8cf552ce0af0d99d366.jpg

January 25, 2018 at 9:07 pm

I have been looking for a long time like as this idea. thanks for this great idea

January 27, 2018 at 7:49 pm

Does anyone know the best app to make German Expressionism photos?

February 2, 2018 at 8:41 pm

Very good article. Thank you. The nice thing about this article is that it provides links to tutorials for many apps. That is valuable for beginners.

February 19, 2018 at 2:18 am

Good article. I notice that PhotoshopExpress does not get a mention, is it considered too old school?

February 27, 2018 at 4:07 am

Polarr is the best!

March 14, 2018 at 1:49 am

March 18, 2018 at 1:07 pm

Amazing post, Kate! I adore utilizing Snap seed and VS CO (on account of your rundown a year ago). I believe I will attempt After Focus next. These rundowns are magnificent!

April 14, 2018 at 7:58 pm

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4a3e543a3c224bbad86de32262d444675aeeef25f79bf343664cb26f81fd6695.jpg

SOMEONE KNOW WHAT APP IS THAT?????????????????

April 18, 2018 at 10:37 pm

snapseed is all time best app for photo editing..

May 5, 2018 at 3:55 pm

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f405d5f0e663d841ef69574d5a15822dc2200faabaaff8b5b8a9117aa279ff1d.jpg

does anyone know this type of filter? I’ve been looking for it everywhere but i couldn’t find it

May 7, 2018 at 1:58 am

Huji Cam Developer: Jus like the year 1998

May 14, 2018 at 7:35 am

Was wondering will these programs work on pics shot with a real camera that Bluetooths into my phone. Just curious

May 16, 2018 at 9:43 am

I think Mextures is a good apps for photo editing

May 31, 2018 at 11:00 pm

Hi kate, I think you have researched very well on this topic. I have tried some apps from your list. All were beautiful. But Superimpose X, Mextures, Touch Retouch are new to me. Hope these will work also fine.

June 12, 2018 at 12:16 am

These are some nice recommended app for iPhone. Thanks a lot for it. This will be a great help for iPhone users. I loved your article very much. Your article is really nice and elaborate. Thanks for suggesting both paid and free apps. You have also described each and every app broadly. Thanks for the effort you have put behind it.

June 14, 2018 at 7:13 am

THANK YOU so much Kate! I am delighted to see my “go to” app, SuperimposeX on the list finally! now if only you could do a full blog post on it, thousands of iphone editing fans and prospective IPA members can also become more familiar with it.

July 5, 2018 at 7:15 am

which filter is it?? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/346cf6e485146ec6ba686177744cd77db530bb512b9af73d192c3a51958f84c8.png

July 16, 2018 at 11:24 am

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fb355451e710fafa18289282afe7f6580be618381866a05639965547aa7de1ac.jpg Does anyone know which photo editor is it?

July 31, 2018 at 5:45 am

Photo editor the 2018 edition: Carbon, Filmborn and Darkr. I still use the “old horses” Pixlr and Hipstamatic as well.

August 5, 2018 at 1:59 am

I discovered that they utilized Pixlr. Just idea the second photograph on the parliament building resembled a geometric channel on something!

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16 Best Photography Apps in 2024 (iPhone & Android)

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If you’re looking for the best apps for photography, you’ve come to the right place. Our post lists 16 of the best apps available and explains why they’re so popular.

Whether you’re a professional photographer or someone who loves taking pictures, these apps will surely help. They’ll take your photography skills to the next level!

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16 Top Photography Apps

We’ll take you through our top picks of must-have photography apps. And to help you find what you need, we’ve broken it down into categories:

• Camera apps for taking photos
• Photo editing apps
• Photography assistant apps
• Photo-sharing apps

Best Camera Apps for Photographers

1. photoshop camera.

Download : iPhone or Android

When you see the name Adobe Photoshop , expectations will be high. And with this mobile app for iOS and Android, Adobe doesn’t disappoint.

Adobe’s Photoshop Camera is made for social media users. All the presets and filters are designed to boost your online content. Influencer-inspired portrait and selfie options give smooth bokeh effects or remove unwanted shadows.

But it’s not just about selfies. There are options for landscapes and street photography, too. The sophisticated AI system helps you achieve the shots you want.

It’s a free app that’s available for iOS and Android. But there are some in-app purchases if you want to upgrade.

2. Pro Camera by Moment

Download : iPhone

Pro Camera is another camera app for iPhone users. It offers manual controls for high-quality mobile photography. This app lets you control exposure elements like ISO and shutter speed. It has the functions of a DSLR but with an easy-to-use smartphone interface.

Burst, time-lapse , and cinematic video modes make this a well-rounded app for all kinds of photographers. RAW file support is another feature that will please them.

It’s not a free app, but it costs only $8.99. And for iPhone users, it’s one of the best camera apps available.

3. Photon Camera

For iOS users, Photon Camera is the hottest camera app for mobile photography. As with Photoshop Camera, you have excellent manual control of the camera. You can adjust ISO, shutter speed, and white balance.

There is a wide range of preset options for different types of photography. With your iPhone, you can master everything from portrait to macro photography .

Photon Camera lets you shoot in RAW format, which is great for editing your photos. You can also edit photos in-app. The editing options are solid but a bit basic. It is more of a camera app than a photo editor.

4. Camera Zoom FX Premium

Download : Android

The stock camera app on Android phones can produce great photos. But the Camera Zoom FX Premium Android app puts the creative power in your hands . It’s another photo app that operates like a DSLR or mirrorless camera.

You control the basic camera settings, like ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. The app has a straightforward interface that’s easy to navigate, making it easy for beginners to get started.

There’s a 50 fps burst for action shots and sports photography with your phone . And you get RAW file support for better editing options. You can edit in-app, adding tilt-shift effects and color transformations.

It isn’t free, and the app is only available for Android. But many photographers will consider the small price ($3.99) worth paying.

Photo Editing Apps for Photographers

1. adobe lightroom for mobile.

Adobe Lightroom is one of the biggest names in photo editing and is one of the leading programs for professional photographers. Lightroom for mobile is the best option for editing on your phone.

The app is part of the Lightroom software suite , their Photography Plan , or Adobe’s Creative Cloud . Its range of features makes Lightroom one of the best photo editing apps.

Lightroom Mobile is a stripped-down version of the computer program. The photo editing app has presets that give your photos a solid and consistent look.

The preset options are great for quick editing, but you can also use the sophisticated curve modes for advanced photo editing. These modes let you adjust contrast, midtones, and color.

Adobe Lightroom Mobile is free to download for iOS and Android users. And there are in-app purchases for more features at a reasonable price. Read our tutorial on how to use Lightroom Mobile or how to install presets .

VSCO is a photo editing app all serious smartphone photographers need to consider. It has fantastic functions and features that produce wonderful results.

Enhancing your photographs with the VSCO preset filters  is a fast and easy way to improve them. The creative tools include contrast and saturation adjustments, and you can add grain and fade to mimic analog photos.

If you upgrade to the advanced level, you’ll have film imitation settings. With these, you can transform your smartphone pictures into Kodak Colorplus 200 prints.

VSCO is available for iOS and Android. The free version is fine for getting started. But if you’re serious about photo editing, you’ll have to pay for the advanced membership to access all its features.

3. Afterlight Photo Editor

For professional and enthusiast photographers, Afterlight is worth a look. The interface is minimalist and stripped-back. They’re not trying to over-compensate with flashy gimmicks. Afterlight lets their tools speak for themselves.

There is an excellent array of presets for fast editing. Smartphone photographers new to editing will love these when they first start. But the handy tools are where Afterlight shines.

Besides the cropping and rotating tools, you can apply 15 adjustment tools and 66 textures to your photos . They give you precise control over the editing process.

Afterlight is free for iOS with on-app purchases. Read our Afterlight tutorial for more !

4. Snapseed

Snapseed goes far beyond your basic photo editing app. It has features you would only otherwise find on a computer software suite. Professional photographers will love this app. And it’s not too complicated for beginners.

The interface is intuitive and easy to understand. You can find the tool you need without getting lost in a maze of menus. And there are many editing tools to choose from.

You don’t need a fancy camera app to use this editor, as Snapseed works well with your native camera app. You can change the white balance, brightness, and exposure during editing.

Snapseed offers a superb selection of brushes for healing and disguising imperfections. It also has a great selection of preset filters.

It’s free for iOS and Android smartphones. You can read our Snapseed tutorial to learn more .

Pixlr is one of the most versatile photo editing apps available. It appeals to serious photographers who want to enhance their images carefully. And it has plenty of features for people who want to have fun with photo editing apps .

You can add text, labels, or paint directly onto your photos. You can also remove sections or pixelate areas of your images, and you get the usual crop and rotate editing tools.

Removing blemishes and red-eye is simple. Using overlays, you can change the tone and feel of your photos. Their double exposure feature is also great fun.

The app is free to download for Android and iOS users.

Mexture is a photo-editing app that offers a range  of filters and overlays. It lets users transform their photographs.

There are film grain, dust textures, and light-leak effects for that retro photo look. Over 150 textures are available. The editing tools are excellent, letting you change the white balance and contrast with a few clicks.

It isn’t the most advanced photo editing app on the list. It’s not an app for professional touch-ups. But the catalog of textures is excellent, and it’s sure to spice up your social media content.

Mexture is only available on iOS. It costs money to download, and there are also in-app purchases for extra features.

Best Photography Assistant Apps

1. photopills.

PhotoPills works similarly to The Photographer’s Ephemeris (below). It is available for iPhones and Android phones.

It calculates the positions of the sun, moon, and stars so you can plan your photoshoots for the best shots. It’s especially useful for landscapes and sunset photography.

There’s a one-time payment to buy the app, and in-app purchases are available. Read our full review on PhotoPills .

2. The Photographer’s Ephemeris

Are you a photographer who does many outdoor photoshoots? If so, the Photographer’s Ephemeris is a must-have photography app. It lets you know how light will fall on an area of land at any given time and date.

It’s a calculator that uses information about the position of the sun, moon, and stars. It tells you which days and times are best for shooting and prepares you for the conditions.

It’s available for iOS systems. There’s a one-time payment of $9.99 and other in-app purchases. There’s also the Photographer’s Ephemeris web app you can access.

3. Pocket Light Meter

Pocket Light Meter doesn’t need much explaining. It’s a light meter app you can download to your iPhone for $10.99.

It’s a must-have app for film photographers, especially those using medium or large formats. Pocket Light Meter is simple, easy to use, and vital for any photoshoot.

Photo Sharing Apps for Photographers

Flickr has existed for a long time and remains one of the most popular photo-sharing platforms. This is especially true for professional and enthusiast photographers.

If you specialize in a specific area of photography or if you want to get started in that area, you can join the Flickr community. For example, you can share your work with other landscape photographers if you like shooting landscapes.

Flickr is for everyone, whether you’re a beginner or a professional photographer. You can create a free account to post up to 1,000 photos. If that’s not enough, you can pay for an unlimited account.

500xp is a social network designed for practicing photographers. There are thousands of users worldwide, and they’re all encouraged to publish their best photography work.

There are quests and photo contests you can enter. They’ll help challenge your skills and give you more exposure on the platform.

It’s free to sign up, and the app is available on iOS and Android.

3. Instagram

In case you haven’t heard of Instagram, it’s a social media app designed to share images. Much of the content is memes and influencers, so it’s not exactly a photography app. But many photographers find great exposure by using the app.

It’s free to download, and there are no post limits. You can increase your social media exposure by posting Instagram stories.

Conclusion: The Best Photography Apps

Smartphone photography is no longer the joke it once was. It’s a serious business, and there are many mobile apps for photographers of all levels and genres, like travel photography .

There are photography apps for taking pictures or editing photos. You have apps to help you with your photoshoots and to share your best work. We hope you’ve found what you need in our list of the best apps for photographers available. 

Check out our Social Success Strategies ebook to build your online platform and show your best work to the masses!

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Apple’s iPhone has one of the strongest performing point-and-shoot cameras around. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to get a great shot from an iPhone, you just have to be able to press the shutter button and most of the hard work will be done for you. 

That’s not to say the native camera app on iPhone offers everything, however. There’s no Magic Editor like Google offers on its Pixel 8 Pro , for example. Don’t worry though: whether you’re looking for extra functionality or you want to make the great pictures you’ve taken even better, these are the best iPhone photography apps out there to download.

There are a number of editing capabilities within iPhone's native camera app, but Darkroom: Photo & Video Editor takes things to the next level, delivering excellent control over your images and videos. From real-time video playback and 4K video color grading to AI-enhanced depth editing and precise object detection, Darkroom will help transform your images and videos into something rather special.

There's full resolution editing with more than 650 RAW formats supported, 16-bit color depth available and you can create your own presets too, whilst performing simpler editing tasks like cropping and adjusting background blur. There's also the ability to batch process a selection of images and an integrated hashtag manager for super easy photo organisation too.

The Darkroom: Photo & Video Editor app will take your photos to the next level with excellent editing features.

YouCam Perfect: Beauty Cam

If you're looking for a photo editing app that will do everything from whitening up your gnashers to nipping in your waist in your swimming trunks or bikini shots, YouCam Perfect will have your back. It will make a not-so-great selfie fabulous (even if a little fake), whilst also offering up avatars, filters and frames to add a slice of fun to your images too. 

If slimming down your thighs or smoothing out your wrinkles isn't for you, there's also object removal, enabling you to remove a bin or another person from your otherwise Instagram-perfect shot, for example. And if that wasn't enough, you can add animated effects to your selfies, and remove backgrounds.

If you're looking for the perfect selfie, YouCam Perfect is the app that has it all. 

Pro Camera 

Some photography apps are for editing, others give you more control at the capturing stage. The Pro Camera app falls into the latter, offering pro-level camera controls such as the ability to adjust shutter speed, ISO, exposure, focus and white balance. It will give you the power to split focus and exposure for the trickier shots, choose between thirds, square and golden ratio for the viewfinder grid and you can capture in uncompressed RAW, JPEG or HEIF formats. 

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There are a number of features for filmmakers too, including choosing between several color spaces and shooting in several codecs, along with a waveform monitor and RGB histogram. For those wanting to shoot serious shots with plenty of control, this is the app you'll want to download

If a replacement camera app with pro-level controls is what you're looking for, the Pro Camera app won't let you down. 

Adobe Lightroom

Adobe's Lightroom is arguably one of the most famous photo editing apps and for good reason. There are a huge range of features built into it, and it's catered to multiple levels of ability too, from seasoned professionals to those just wanting to enhance their photos and videos easily. There are AI-powered features from a one-tap Auto option and recommended filter presets, to precise editing through masking.

When you move past the AI features, there are controls for retouching and removing objects, editing hue, saturation, luminance and color grading and adjusting exposure, highlights, shadows, contrast, color and curves with precision sliders. In case that wasn't sufficient though, there's also a built-in camera delivering full manual controls, as well as RAW capture and you can apply presets in real time.

Abobe Lightroom is easy to use and packed with features from AI-powered options to retouching and removing objects.

Snapseed is owned by Google and while it brings a whole host of features for iPhone, there is no Pixel Magic Editor sadly. That said, it offers plenty to make up for that with everything from healing for removing that irritating person that stepped in your shot, to Lens Blur for adding a bokeh effect to images.

As you might expect from a photo editing app, you can adjust exposure and color automatically or manually, as well as crop, enhance details, adjust curves and change the perspective of your images. This app is a photo and video editor only rather than a replacement camera app, but it will offer up tutorial cards with tips and tricks for the app itself, as well as photography in general. You never know, you might learn something.

Snapseed is a great photo editing app that will do everything from removing an unwanted object to adjusting curves and the perspective of an image.

VSCO is both a photo and video editor, as well as a potential replacement for the built-in camera app. It prides itself on being all about creativity, offering a number of free specialised presets for filtered effects, whilst also offering tools like Contrast and Saturation, Grain and Fade for various textures and results, and Crop and Skew for a different perspective.

There's also the capacity to create video montages, as well as GIFs, while the premium subscription of VSCO introduces access to over 200 presets, along with advanced photo editing tools like HSL and Split Tone. 

The VSCO app is designed for enhancing creativity. It's both a photo and video editor, as well as a replacement camera app.

TouchRetouch

If you constantly find yourself taking incredible images but there's a car in the shot, a tree in the wrong place, an extra person you didn't want or a wire fence in front of an animal, then TouchRetouch is the app you'll want on your iPhone. Rather than being about adjusting exposure and color levels, TouchRetouch is about making imperfections disappear. 

It can remove a stain from a top, a street sign or person from a background or a mesh from the foreground. If you have a blemish on your face ruining that otherwise perfect selfie, it will have you covered and it can even remove text from Instagram and Snapchat posts. For the times when it goes overboard, there's a clone tool for manual retouching.

For the ultimate imperfection removal app, it's TouchRetouch that you'll want to have to hand.

Halide Mark II

Similar to Pro Camera mentioned above, Halide Mark II is a professional camera app for iPhone that is designed to be used in place of the native camera app. It's designed for when you're in the mood for capturing more serious photographs rather than a quick picture to send around the family WhatsApp group. 

You can switch between automatic and manual shooting, depending on your mood and how creative you're feeling, and there's a huge number of features, including a gesture-based interface and the ability to use it one-handed. Whether you're after histograms, waveforms or zebra stripes, this app will sort you out and if you have an Apple Watch, there is a companion app for remote shooting too.

Designed to replace the native iPhone camera app, Halide Mark II gives you the flexibility to take some incredible photographs.

If the perfect selfie is what you're after, the Lensa app is one of the best out there. It's a photo editing app rather than a replacement camera app, but snap that shot, import it into Lensa and you can smooth out your skin, blur the background, highlight your face and get rid of any other imperfections you don't like.

If you really want to go to town on your poor face, you can get rid of eye bags with a single swipe, emphasize and add contrast to your eyes and thicken your eyebrows. Sounding like a lot of hard work? Don't worry, there's an Auto Adjust option to do everything or you. Just remember though, to someone you already look perfect .

An editing app instead of a replacement camera app, Lensa will smooth out any imperfection and turn your average selfies into great ones.

This feature is part of iPhone Photography Week 2024. Expect new posts to appear daily, focused on making your photos shot with iPhone better than ever before.

Share your photos with iMore on X (Twitter) using #iMorePhotographyWeek

Britta is a freelance technology journalist who has been writing about Apple and tech for over a decade. She's covered everything from phones, tablets and wearables to smart home and beauty tech, with everything in between, and she's reviewed every Apple product to launch in the last few years. She has a fashion journalism degree from London College of Fashion and was previously deputy editor of Pocket-lint. You'll never find her without her Apple Watch on, aiming to complete her rings so she can justify the extra bar of chocolate and she loves a good iPhone trick.

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• visualsparrow Grateful for the helpful recommendations on iPhone photography apps. Excited to explore and elevate my photography journey! Reply

visualsparrow said: Grateful for the helpful recommendations on iPhone photography apps. Excited to explore and elevate my photography journey!

Lee_Bo said: Practice. Set up a shot and take identical pictures while playing with the manual settings. See how different setting changes affect the outcome. Stay away from apps or AI that “do it for you”. The only way to learn in to do.

• View All 3 Comments

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Best essay writing apps for iPhone & Mac

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Composing with a pen and paper is rapidly becoming outdated, which is reasonable. Why put yourself through such stress when using your device to compose better quicker? 

Tons of writing apps make writing a more stress-free experience. Ideally, excellent essay writing apps should help you with grammar, proofreading, and more. For example, you can write a profile essay about   any topic expertly using good writing apps which can help you understand the definition and outline of an essay. A good writing app will help you execute your task effectively and give you a great writing experience. If you use an iPhone or Mac, or use both, here are the top apps to choose from. 

This brilliant writing application has been named the best essay writing app for Apple devices such as Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It doesn’t work with some other OS like Android or Windows. What makes Ulysses unique is that it can back up your documents to the iCloud so that regardless of whether you lose the first record, your work is still securely put away in the cloud.

Ulysses uses markdown language to help you apply styles to your writing without worrying about using a formatting menu. This app also features a “focus mode” that helps streamline your writing to a single line and minimize on-screen distractions. Ulysses lets you export your files in various formats to make it easier to finalize your work. 

Focus Writer

Focus Writer is a simple-to-use free word processor, and it is accessible across all major working operating systems, including your iOS and Mac gadgets. With Focus Writer, you can make text and save it in RTF design. It features live document statistics to assist you and eliminates the need to run word counts and character counts. It features:

• Hide-away interface
• Live statistics
• Spells checking
• Document tabs

Evernote is another spectacular writing application that helps with essay writing. The program is a cross-platform note-taking application.  It would work with iOS gadgets and other working frameworks like Android and Windows. Evernote is great for handling written by hand notes. It additionally assists with making the outline of an exposition or article, which can be helpful for an essay write-up. Evernote can store anything you want to remember for your papers, be it a straightforward composing note or an article you viewed on the net. Like that, you can have all your paper thoughts organized and compact.

Grammarly is one of the most well-known article writing tools available on the market today. Grammarly is notable for aiding the adjustment of spelling issues, grammatical errors, and styling mistakes.

Grammarly is open in both a free and a paid version. It has a web-based editor that really looks at your sentence structure, spelling, grammar, word choice, readability, and style mistakes. Grammarly can detect plagiarism by contrasting your paper with billions of other web pages on the net. It’s an awesome program for composing impeccable papers, theses, research papers, and different sorts of compositions.

Pro Writing Aid

ProWritingAid is a cloud-based editing tool for article writing, copywriting, and blogs. This program is planned to help you recognize editing issues, eliminate mistakes, and correct grammatical problems in your essays.

It has a brilliant and valuable free version, while its premium version contains amazing features like upgrading word choice, wiping out cliches, and amending sentence length issues. ProWritingAid further develops your readability and style while additionally recognizing grammatical mistakes.

Hemingway is best known as a tool that can help you improve the readability of your writing,  but it is also an effective, comprehensive proofreading tool.

Hemingway detects sentences that are too complex for readers, helping you simplify your thoughts.  Its top-notch proofreading features can help make your sentences clear, concise, and bold.

As you keep writing your essay, the editor will mark too complex sentences. Hemingway helps you hold the reader’s attention by keeping your sentences short, simple, and sound.

Manuscripts

The Manuscripts is a terrific program for creating short stories, essays, and novels that are pleasant and powerful. This software discovers items like digits in the middle of phrases, layout, compound words, and abbreviations that exist in many formats and detects faults in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Overall, it is free to download and use, with no restrictions on what you may do with it. 

It makes no difference how difficult or frustrating writing may appear. However, using the Manuscripts, you can effortlessly kick-start your career in the writing domain. Use it as a starting point for self-editing before submitting to clients. 

Scrivener is a full-featured writing tool. Are you writing a novel? A script? An essay? A research paper about fashion * ? *Brazilian Portuguese website linked

Scrivener can handle them all! The “binder” view in Scrivener allows you to divide your book into chapters and parts and reorder it using a drag-and-drop interface to understand how your work fits together.

Scrivener provides too many customization options to count, and each feature of the program may be changed to your preference to help you create the ideal writing environment. 

With the Binder, you may keep your work divided for easy organizing and editing while maintaining its structure. Scrivener is one of the best book writing apps for writers; writers created it for writers. 

After writing down your ideas, Scrivener lets you combine your project into a single document and export it in formats including DOC, rich text, PDF, ePub, and Kindle. Scrivener works on popular operating systems.  So whether you’re on your computer, laptop, tablet, or phone, you can write awesome essays anytime and anywhere with Scrivener.

Byword is straightforward and powerful writing software. A Byword is an uncomplicated software with a user-friendly interface and only a few settings to fiddle with; it just wants you to get to writing.

You’ll get a blank document in this Markdown-focused writing tool and write. Byword lets the iCloud Drive sync your papers between your Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and you can also save them to Dropbox.

Byword supports Markdown, which is a distraction-free writing language. Markdown is a means to format text without using menus or options, which keeps the user experience simple and clutter and distraction-free. 

Pages, Apple’s very own writing program, allows you to create many different documents. Pages have over 60 templates that include almost every type of writing, from short essays to research papers, novels, and theses. Pages app also includes templates for business cards and flyers to give you more variety. 

You can insert photos, text boxes, and shapes, and you can change the layout of your documents and do much more. If your computer is one of Apple’s 2016 MacBook Pros with Touch Bar, you can also use Touch ID to keep your documents safe. 

You can easily collaborate with other writers that are using Pages. Multiple individuals can work on a document simultaneously, whether they’re using macOS, iOS, or even Windows, thanks to iCloud.com. You can also share collaborative documents with the entire community or with select individuals, and you can see who is in the group.

You can share collaborative papers with particular users publicly, see who is working on the document at any one time, and track their cursors as they update the page. It’s fascinating writing software that gives you the variety you seek.

Google Docs

Google Docs is one exciting piece of writing software. It’s free, straightforward to use, and requires no backups since everything is in the cloud.  Best of all is its collaboration features, which allow you to invite your editor to the document and then watch as they make changes, which you can view in the comment mode. 

Freedom lets you temporarily disable applications, websites, and social media on all of your devices so you can concentrate on writing. This is great for those seeking an immersive writing experience with no distractions. Not to worry, in case of emergencies, you can still be contacted. You can even set the program to function automatically when you need it the most. 

The freedom from online diversions is beneficial; sometimes, “just a few seconds” may stretch into hours of wasted time. Freedom might assist you in concentrating and increasing your productivity. It works on any device. 

Our takeaway

Whether you are in high school, college, or working on your Ph.D., there are essay writing apps that can help you along the way. If you sift through the benefits of each tool and consider their peculiarities, you can find the proper application to help you with your essays and research papers. Any of these apps will transform your writing experience from frustrating hard work to a pleasant experience.

News content on AppleMagazine.com is produced by our editorial team and complements more in-depth editorials which you’ll find as part of our weekly publication. AppleMagazine.com provides a comprehensive daily reading experience, offering a wide view of the consumer technology landscape to ensure you're always in the know. Check back every weekday for more.

Editorial Team | Masthead – AppleMagazine Digital Publication

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iPhone User Guide

• iPhone models compatible with iOS 17
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• Setup basics
• Make your iPhone your own
• Take great photos and videos
• Keep in touch with friends and family
• Share features with your family
• Use iPhone for your daily routines
• Expert advice from Apple Support
• What’s new in iOS 17
• Turn on and set up iPhone
• Wake, unlock, and lock
• Set up cellular service
• Use Dual SIM
• Connect to the internet
• Sign in with Apple ID
• Subscribe to iCloud+
• Find settings
• Set up mail, contacts, and calendar accounts
• Learn the meaning of the status icons
• Charge the battery
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• Show the battery percentage
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• Use Low Power Mode
• Read and bookmark the user guide
• Learn basic gestures
• Learn gestures for iPhone models with Face ID
• Adjust the volume
• Silence iPhone
• Find your apps in App Library
• Switch between open apps
• Quit and reopen an app
• Multitask with Picture in Picture
• Access features from the Lock Screen
• Use the Dynamic Island
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• Search on iPhone
• Get information about your iPhone
• View or change cellular data settings
• Travel with iPhone
• Change sounds and vibrations
• Use the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
• Create a custom Lock Screen
• Change the wallpaper
• Adjust the screen brightness and color balance
• Keep the iPhone display on longer
• Use StandBy
• Customize the text size and zoom setting
• Change the name of your iPhone
• Change the date and time
• Change the language and region
• Organize your apps in folders
• Add, edit, and remove widgets
• Move apps and widgets on the Home Screen
• Remove or delete apps
• Use and customize Control Center
• Change or lock the screen orientation
• View and respond to notifications
• Change notification settings
• Set up a Focus
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• Turn a Focus on or off
• Stay focused while driving
• Customize sharing options
• Type with the onscreen keyboard
• Dictate text
• Select and edit text
• Use predictive text
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• Add or change keyboards
• Add emoji and stickers
• Take a screenshot
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• Draw in documents
• Add text, shapes, signatures, and more
• Fill out forms and sign documents
• Use Live Text to interact with content in a photo or video
• Use Visual Look Up to identify objects in your photos and videos
• Lift a subject from the photo background
• Subscribe to Apple Arcade
• Play with friends in Game Center
• Connect a game controller
• Use App Clips
• Update apps
• View or cancel subscriptions
• Manage purchases, settings, and restrictions
• Install and manage fonts
• Buy books and audiobooks
• Annotate books
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• Listen to audiobooks
• Set reading goals
• Organize books
• Create and edit events in Calendar
• Send invitations
• Reply to invitations
• Change how you view events
• Search for events
• Change calendar and event settings
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• Keep track of events
• Use multiple calendars
• Use the Holidays calendar
• Share iCloud calendars
• Camera basics
• Set up your shot
• Apply Photographic Styles
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• Take Burst mode shots
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• Take portraits
• Take Night mode photos
• Take Apple ProRAW photos
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• Record videos
• Record spatial videos for Apple Vision Pro
• Record ProRes videos
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• Change video recording settings
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• View, share, and print photos
• Use Live Text
• Scan a QR code
• See the world clock
• Set an alarm
• Change the next wake up alarm
• Use the stopwatch
• Use multiple timers
• Add and use contact information
• Edit contacts
• Add your contact info
• Use NameDrop on iPhone to share your contact info
• Use other contact accounts
• Use Contacts from the Phone app
• Merge or hide duplicate contacts
• Export contacts
• Get started with FaceTime
• Make FaceTime calls
• Receive FaceTime calls
• Create a FaceTime link
• Take a Live Photo
• Turn on Live Captions in a FaceTime call
• Use other apps during a call
• Make a Group FaceTime call
• View participants in a grid
• Use SharePlay to watch, listen, and play together
• Share your screen in a FaceTime call
• Collaborate on a document in FaceTime
• Use video conferencing features
• Hand off a FaceTime call to another Apple device
• Change the FaceTime video settings
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• Change your appearance
• Leave a call or switch to Messages
• Block unwanted callers
• Report a call as spam
• Connect external devices or servers
• Modify files, folders, and downloads
• Search for files and folders
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• Set up iCloud Drive
• Share files and folders in iCloud Drive
• Use an external storage device, a file server, or a cloud storage service
• Share your location
• Meet up with a friend
• Send your location via satellite
• Add or remove a friend
• Locate a friend
• Get notified when friends change their location
• Notify a friend when your location changes
• Turn off Find My
• Add your iPhone
• Add your iPhone Wallet with MagSafe
• Get notified if you leave a device behind
• Locate a device
• Mark a device as lost
• Erase a device
• Remove a device
• Add an AirTag
• Share an AirTag or other item in Find My on iPhone
• Add a third-party item
• Get notified if you leave an item behind
• Locate an item
• Mark an item as lost
• Remove an item
• Adjust map settings
• Get started with Fitness
• Track daily activity and change your move goal
• See your activity summary
• Sync a third-party workout app
• Change fitness notifications
• Share your activity
• Subscribe to Apple Fitness+
• Find Apple Fitness+ workouts and meditations
• Start an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
• Create a Custom Plan in Apple Fitness+
• Work out together using SharePlay
• Change what’s on the screen during an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
• Download an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
• Get started with Freeform
• Create a Freeform board
• Draw or handwrite
• Apply consistent styles
• Position items on a board
• Search Freeform boards
• Share and collaborate
• Delete and recover boards
• Get started with Health
• Fill out your Health Details
• Intro to Health data
• View your health data
• Share your health data
• View health data shared by others
• Download health records
• View health records
• Monitor your walking steadiness
• Log menstrual cycle information
• View menstrual cycle predictions and history
• Track your medications
• Learn more about your medications
• Log your state of mind
• Take a mental health assessment
• Set up a schedule for a Sleep Focus
• Turn off alarms and delete sleep schedules
• Add or change sleep schedules
• Turn Sleep Focus on or off
• Change your wind down period, sleep goal, and more
• View your sleep history
• Check your headphone levels
• Use audiogram data
• Register as an organ donor
• Back up your Health data
• Intro to Home
• Upgrade to the new Home architecture
• Set up accessories
• Control accessories
• Control your home using Siri
• Use Grid Forecast to plan your energy usage
• Set up HomePod
• Control your home remotely
• Create and use scenes
• Use automations
• Set up security cameras
• Use Face Recognition
• Unlock your door with a home key
• Configure a router
• Invite others to control accessories
• Add more homes
• Get music, movies, and TV shows
• Get ringtones
• Manage purchases and settings
• Get started with Journal
• Write in your journal
• Review your past journal entries
• Change Journal settings
• Magnify nearby objects
• Change settings
• Detect people around you
• Detect doors around you
• Receive image descriptions of your surroundings
• Read aloud text and labels around you
• Set up shortcuts for Detection Mode
• Add and remove email accounts
• Set up a custom email domain
• Check your email
• Unsend email with Undo Send
• Reply to and forward emails
• Save an email draft
• Add email attachments
• Download email attachments
• Annotate email attachments
• Set email notifications
• Search for email
• Organize email in mailboxes
• Flag or block emails
• Filter emails
• Use Hide My Email
• Use Mail Privacy Protection
• Change email settings
• Delete and recover emails
• Add a Mail widget to your Home Screen
• Print emails
• Get travel directions
• Select other route options
• Find stops along your route
• View a route overview or a list of turns
• Change settings for spoken directions
• Get driving directions
• Get directions to your parked car
• Set up electric vehicle routing
• Report traffic incidents
• Get cycling directions
• Get walking directions
• Get transit directions
• Delete recent directions
• Get traffic and weather info
• Estimate travel time and ETA
• Download offline maps
• Search for places
• Find nearby attractions, restaurants, and services
• Get information about places
• Mark places
• Share places
• Rate places
• Save favorite places
• Explore new places with Guides
• Organize places in My Guides
• Clear location history
• Look around places
• Take Flyover tours
• Find your Maps settings
• Measure dimensions
• View and save measurements
• Measure a person’s height
• Use the level
• Set up Messages
• About iMessage
• Send and reply to messages
• Unsend and edit messages
• Keep track of messages
• Forward and share messages
• Group conversations
• Watch, listen, or play together using SharePlay
• Collaborate on projects
• Use iMessage apps
• Take and edit photos or videos
• Share photos, links, and more
• Send stickers
• Request, send, and receive payments
• Send and receive audio messages
• Animate messages
• Send and save GIFs
• Turn read receipts on or off
• Change notifications
• Block, filter, and report messages
• Delete messages and attachments
• Recover deleted messages
• View albums, playlists, and more
• Show song credits and lyrics
• Queue up your music
• Listen to broadcast radio
• Subscribe to Apple Music
• Play music together in the car with iPhone
• Listen to lossless music
• Listen to Dolby Atmos music
• Apple Music Sing
• Find new music
• Add music and listen offline
• Get personalized recommendations
• Listen to radio
• Search for music
• Create playlists
• See what your friends are listening to
• Use Siri to play music
• Change the way music sounds
• Get started with News
• Use News widgets
• See news stories chosen just for you
• Read stories
• Follow your favorite teams with My Sports
• Listen to Apple News Today
• Subscribe to Apple News+
• Browse and read Apple News+ stories and issues
• Use Offline Mode to read downloaded News content
• Manually download Apple News+ issues
• Listen to audio stories
• Solve puzzles in Apple News
• Solve crossword and crossword mini puzzles
• Solve Quartiles puzzles
• Search for news stories
• Save stories in News for later
• Subscribe to individual news channels
• Get started with Notes
• Add or remove accounts
• Create and format notes
• Draw or write
• Add photos, videos, and more
• Scan text and documents
• Work with PDFs
• Create Quick Notes
• Search notes
• Organize in folders
• Organize with tags
• Use Smart Folders
• Export or print notes
• Change Notes settings
• Make a call
• View and delete the call history
• Answer or decline incoming calls
• While on a call
• Have a conference or three-way call on iPhone
• Set up voicemail
• Check voicemail
• Change voicemail greeting and settings
• Select ringtones and vibrations
• Make calls using Wi-Fi
• Set up call forwarding
• Set up call waiting
• Block or avoid unwanted calls
• View photos and videos
• Play videos and slideshows
• Delete or hide photos and videos
• Edit photos and videos
• Trim video length and adjust slow motion
• Edit Cinematic mode videos
• Edit Live Photos
• Edit portraits
• Use photo albums
• Edit, share, and organize albums
• Filter and sort photos and videos in albums
• Make stickers from your photos
• Duplicate and copy photos and videos
• Merge duplicate photos and videos
• Search for photos
• Identify people and pets
• Browse photos by location
• Share photos and videos
• Share long videos
• View photos and videos shared with you
• Watch memories
• Personalize your memories
• Manage memories and featured photos
• Use iCloud Photos
• Create shared albums
• Add and remove people in a shared album
• Add and delete photos and videos in a shared album
• Set up or join an iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Add content to an iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Use iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Import and export photos and videos
• Print photos
• Find podcasts
• Listen to podcasts
• Follow your favorite podcasts
• Use the Podcasts widget
• Organize your podcast library
• Download, save, or share podcasts
• Subscribe to podcasts
• Listen to subscriber-only content
• Change download settings
• Make a grocery list
• Add items to a list
• Edit and manage a list
• Search and organize lists
• Work with templates
• Use Smart Lists
• Print reminders
• Use the Reminders widget
• Change Reminders settings
• Browse the web
• Search for websites
• Customize your Safari settings
• Change the layout
• Use Safari profiles
• Open and close tabs
• Organize your tabs
• View your Safari tabs from another Apple device
• Share Tab Groups
• Use Siri to listen to a webpage
• Bookmark favorite webpages
• Save pages to a Reading List
• Find links shared with you
• Annotate and save a webpage as a PDF
• Automatically fill in forms
• Get extensions
• Hide ads and distractions
• Clear your cache and cookies
• Browse the web privately
• Use passkeys in Safari
• Check stocks
• Manage multiple watchlists
• Read business news
• Add earnings reports to your calendar
• Use a Stocks widget
• Translate text, voice, and conversations
• Translate text in apps
• Translate with the camera view
• Subscribe to Apple TV+, MLS Season Pass, or an Apple TV channel
• Add your TV provider
• Get shows, movies, and more
• Watch sports
• Watch Major League Soccer with MLS Season Pass
• Control playback
• Manage your library
• Change the settings
• Make a recording
• Play it back
• Edit or delete a recording
• Keep recordings up to date
• Organize recordings
• Search for or rename a recording
• Share a recording
• Duplicate a recording
• Keep cards and passes in Wallet
• Set up Apple Pay
• Use Apple Pay for contactless payments
• Use Apple Pay in apps and on the web
• Track your orders
• Use Apple Cash
• Use Apple Card
• Use Savings
• Pay for transit
• Access your home, hotel room, and vehicle
• Add identity cards
• Use COVID-19 vaccination cards
• Check your Apple Account balance
• Use Express Mode
• Organize your Wallet
• Remove cards or passes
• Check the weather
• Check the weather in other locations
• View weather maps
• Manage weather notifications
• Use Weather widgets
• Learn the weather icons
• Find out what Siri can do
• Tell Siri about yourself
• Have Siri announce calls and notifications
• Add Siri Shortcuts
• About Siri Suggestions
• Use Siri in your car
• Change Siri settings
• Contact emergency services
• Use Emergency SOS via satellite
• Request Roadside Assistance via satellite
• Set up and view your Medical ID
• Use Check In
• Manage Crash Detection
• Reset privacy and security settings in an emergency
• Set up Family Sharing
• Add Family Sharing members
• Remove Family Sharing members
• Share subscriptions
• Share purchases
• Share locations with family and locate lost devices
• Set up Apple Cash Family and Apple Card Family
• Set up parental controls
• Set up a child’s device
• Get started with Screen Time
• Protect your vision health with Screen Distance
• Set up Screen Time
• Set communication and safety limits and block inappropriate content
• Set up Screen Time for a family member
• Charging cable
• Power adapters
• MagSafe chargers and battery packs
• MagSafe cases and sleeves
• Qi-certified wireless chargers
• Use AirPods
• Use EarPods
• Apple Watch
• Wirelessly stream videos and photos to Apple TV or a smart TV
• Connect to a display with a cable
• HomePod and other wireless speakers
• Pair Magic Keyboard
• Enter characters with diacritical marks
• Switch between keyboards
• Use shortcuts
• Choose an alternative keyboard layout
• Change typing assistance options
• External storage devices
• Bluetooth accessories
• Share your internet connection
• Allow phone calls on your iPad and Mac
• Use iPhone as a webcam
• Hand off tasks between devices
• Cut, copy, and paste between iPhone and other devices
• Stream video or mirror the screen of your iPhone
• Start SharePlay instantly
• Use AirDrop to send items
• Connect iPhone and your computer with a cable
• Transfer files between devices
• Transfer files with email, messages, or AirDrop
• Transfer files or sync content with the Finder or iTunes
• Automatically keep files up to date with iCloud
• Intro to CarPlay
• Connect to CarPlay
• Use your vehicle’s built-in controls
• Get turn-by-turn directions
• Change the map view
• Make phone calls
• View your calendar
• Send and receive text messages
• Announce incoming text messages
• Play podcasts
• Play audiobooks
• Listen to news stories
• Control your home
• Use other apps with CarPlay
• Rearrange icons on CarPlay Home
• Change settings in CarPlay
• Get started with accessibility features
• Turn on accessibility features for setup
• Change Siri accessibility settings
• Open features with Accessibility Shortcut
• Change color and brightness
• Make text easier to read
• Reduce onscreen motion
• Customize per-app visual settings
• Hear what’s on the screen or typed
• Hear audio descriptions
• Turn on and practice VoiceOver
• Change your VoiceOver settings
• Use VoiceOver gestures
• Operate iPhone when VoiceOver is on
• Control VoiceOver using the rotor
• Use the onscreen keyboard
• Write with your finger
• Keep the screen off
• Use VoiceOver with an Apple external keyboard
• Use a braille display
• Type braille on the screen
• Customize gestures and keyboard shortcuts
• Use VoiceOver with a pointer device
• Use VoiceOver for images and videos
• Use VoiceOver in apps
• Use AssistiveTouch
• Adjust how iPhone responds to your touch
• Use Reachability
• Auto-answer calls
• Turn off vibration
• Change Face ID and attention settings
• Use Voice Control
• Adjust the side or Home button
• Use Apple TV Remote buttons
• Adjust pointer settings
• Adjust keyboard settings
• Control iPhone with an external keyboard
• Adjust AirPods settings
• Turn on Apple Watch Mirroring
• Control a nearby Apple device
• Intro to Switch Control
• Set up and turn on Switch Control
• Select items, perform actions, and more
• Control several devices with one switch
• Use hearing devices
• Use Live Listen
• Use sound recognition
• Set up and use RTT and TTY
• Flash the indicator light for notifications
• Adjust audio settings
• Play background sounds
• Display subtitles and captions
• Show transcriptions for Intercom messages
• Get live captions of spoken audio
• Type to speak
• Record a Personal Voice
• Lock iPhone to one app with Guided Access
• Use built-in privacy and security protections
• Set a passcode
• Set up Face ID
• Set up Touch ID
• Control access to information on the Lock Screen
• Keep your Apple ID secure
• Use passkeys to sign in to apps and websites
• Sign in with Apple
• Share passwords
• Automatically fill in strong passwords
• Change weak or compromised passwords
• View your passwords and related information
• Share passkeys and passwords securely with AirDrop
• Make your passkeys and passwords available on all your devices
• Automatically fill in verification codes
• Automatically fill in SMS passcodes
• Sign in with fewer CAPTCHA challenges
• Use two-factor authentication
• Use security keys
• Manage information sharing with Safety Check
• Control app tracking permissions
• Control the location information you share
• Control access to information in apps
• Control how Apple delivers advertising to you
• Control access to hardware features
• Create and manage Hide My Email addresses
• Protect your web browsing with iCloud Private Relay
• Use a private network address
• Use Advanced Data Protection
• Use Lockdown Mode
• Use Stolen Device Protection
• Receive warnings about sensitive content
• Use Contact Key Verification
• Turn iPhone on or off
• Force restart iPhone
• Back up iPhone
• Reset iPhone settings
• Restore all content from a backup
• Restore purchased and deleted items
• Sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone
• Erase iPhone
• Install or remove configuration profiles
• Important safety information
• Important handling information
• Find more resources for software and service
• FCC compliance statement
• ISED Canada compliance statement
• Ultra Wideband information
• Class 1 Laser information
• Apple and the environment
• Disposal and recycling information
• Unauthorized modification of iOS

Translate text with the camera view in the Translate app on iPhone

On iPhone, you can use the camera view in the Translate app to translate text around you—for example, a restaurant menu or street signs. You can also translate text in photos from your photo library.

Note: Translation is available for supported languages. See the iOS and iPadOS Feature Availability website .

Translate text using the camera view

Choose the language you want to translate your selected text into.

Position iPhone so the rear camera can translate text around you.

Note: As you move the rear camera, text is translated in real time.

You can zoom in to get a closer look at the overlaid translations.

Tap an overlaid translation to show the translation card, then do any of the following:

Copy Translation: Copy the translated text.

Add to Favorites: Add the translation to a list of favorites.

Translate text in photos from your photo library

Share and save translated text

Share the translation: Choose a share option.

Save the translation as an image: Tap Save Image.

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9 Features of the iPhone's Photos App You May Not Know

Apple's Photos app has some hidden features that make your life easier. You can learn all about them here.

We all love taking photos on our iPhones, but are you making full use of the Photos app, where all those pictures are stored?

Over the years of iOS updates, Apple has incorporated new features into the Photos app. However, unless you read the update details, you might not be aware of these features because they serve as additions to the Photos app rather than massive changes.

So, let's look at some simple yet useful features of the Photos app you may not know!

1. Pinch for a Better Overview of All Your Photos

It's best to organize your iPhone photos with albums and folders , but more often than not, many pictures are likely left unorganized.

Instead of swiping upwards furiously on your iPhone screen to show your friend some vacation pictures from two years ago, the Photos app lets you pinch to zoom out to have a better, more convenient overview of all your photos.

When you pinch to zoom out an album, all your photos will shrink into smaller squares, making it easier to locate the set of pictures you want.

2. Use the Search Feature in the Photos App

Besides manually locating a photo from your massive library, you can use the Search tab in the Photos app to find a picture. Your iPhone automatically recognizes faces, subjects, and backgrounds in your photos, then sorts them into categories.

For example, it can identify and create categories for Cats, Food, and Motorcycles. Your iPhone also groups selfies and wefies based on the people in them.

In the Search tab, you can tap on an image category your iPhone has created. Even if a category does not exist, just type in a keyword in the empty search bar at the top for your iPhone to return relevant pictures.

3. Navigate Through Your Photos by Image Type

Let's say you want to locate a couple of screenshots amidst your whole library of pet pictures, memes, and selfies. The Photos app enables you to do so easily because all your photos are organized by media type.

Go to the Albums tab and scroll down for Media Types . Here you can see the Photos app has categorized your images into Live Photos , Bursts , Screenshots , and more.

4. Review Curated Photo Slideshows In For You

The Photos app has an algorithm that automatically picks out nice photos and videos, then turns them into a lovely Memories slideshow in the For You tab.

There are several types of slideshows. For example, if you went to the beach a month ago and took lots of pictures on that particular day, Photos will automatically create a slideshow of photos from that trip.

The second type of slideshow is Portraits, which is a consolidation of selfies. The third type is Year in Review, which enables you to reflect on moments you have captured over the past 12 months.

5. Hide Photos to Maintain Your Privacy

At one time or another, you probably had a nosy family member or friend looking over your shoulder while scrolling through your photos. Even though there are third-party apps that claim to be a secure place to store your personal photos, it's better to practice caution and use built-in methods when hiding personal content on your iPhone .

In the Photos app, head to any album and tap the Select button. Select your photos, tap the ellipsis icon, and choose Hide . The hidden photos will be in the Hidden album, located in the Utilities section in the Albums tab.

6. Remove Duplicate Pictures

Most of us are guilty of taking dozens of similar photos to avoid missing out on the perfect angle. But over time, this habit results in immense clutter in your Photos app.

In the Albums tab, there is a folder called Duplicates under the Utilities section. This is where the Photos app has consolidated highly similar images, which you can then choose to merge.

It's a convenient way to quickly delete pictures that are essentially the same. However, the app's detection feature still falls short compared to other iPhone photo-deleting apps out there. So, if you intend to have a thorough photo cleanup, it might be better to use a third-party app.

7. Batch Edit Your Photos

To apply the same aesthetic to a set of pictures, you can batch edit your photos right in the Photos app . The feature essentially copies all the edits you applied to a picture to another one, so you don't need to adjust contrasts or exposure to each photo over and over.

However, we recommend using an iPhone shortcut to bulk rotate your photos if you want to correct a photography mistake, such as taking your pictures in the wrong orientation.

8. Remove an Image's Background

When you want to overlay different images for an aesthetic effect or showcase your products on an e-commerce platform like Shopify, removing the background of an image is essential.

In the past, you'd have to download a third-party app to get the job done, but you can now easily remove an image's background on your iPhone by long-pressing on the photo subject, thanks to the Visual Look Up feature. Once the subject is extracted and copied, you can paste it into another app to proceed with further editing.

9. Scan and Copy Text in Images

If you come across an interesting poster or a memo on your workplace's notice board, taking a picture is an easy way to reference it later. But when you want to relay some key information to someone else or copy the main points to another app, it's tedious to retype the words and numbers yourself.

So, instead, just use the Scan Text icon, highlight and copy the detected text, and paste it to another messaging or note-taking app. This is just one of the handy ways to use the text scanner on your iPhone !

Getting the Most Out of the iPhone's Photos App

With how convenient it is to capture moments in our everyday lives today, it's not entirely surprising for people to have thousands of photos on their iPhones. We hope the features explored in this article will enable you to organize and find your pictures better.

Additionally, making use of features such as image background removal and batch photo editing will also help improve productivity and save some storage space, as you can get everything done in the Photos app without having to search for a third-party alternative.

Give your photos the influencer treatment with this iPhone app

I f you've ever wondered how some of the best lifestyle, travel and fashion influencers give their photos a retro aesthetic, a dreamy glow or a grainy, desaturated vibe without going too OTT, then the answer is often that they're using good filters, but sparingly. 

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of photo editing apps that bring you basic editing tools and a selection of filters to choose from. But not all of them are created equal. Because not only do you need a quality filter, you need enough customization options to control its intensity once you've applied it.

Because it's iPhone Photography Week here at iMore, I wanted to share one of my all-time favorite photo editing apps for making general tweaks and filters that look good, but not obvious: Tezza: Aesthetic Photo Editor for the iPhone.

This app brings you everything you need to make your photos look stunning. There's a selection of gorgeous filters (Suede and Goldie are my current faves) that you can customize. There are also textures and special effects to give your photos a retro look and like it's been taken on a specific camera (Polaroid and Lomo look achingly cool). You'll also find the photo editing basics here too, like simple editing tools, including brightness, contrast and exposure, as well as options to add frames and text, too.

To get started with Tezza you can sign up for a 7-day free trial, then pay $4.99/£4.99 a month. This isn't cheap, but Tezza has quickly become my go-to for photo editing and I think it's well worth the subscription. As I always say, if you're not sure you'll get enough use out of it, try the free trial but be sure to set a reminder to cancel it, just in case.

Why should you download Tezza?

Why get Tezza when there are so many other photo editing apps out there? 

Well, it's not just a photo editing app but an all-in-one solution for creating great social media content. That's because you can add text, work from a range of templates to create Instagram stories and even use Tezza's features to see how your posts will look on your Instagram grid – that way you're curating the perfect aesthetic.

Of course, if dreamy photos, carefully-selected filters and consideration for your personal aesthetic isn't a priority for you, look elsewhere at a more functional option, like Snapseed. 

Tezza reminds me a little of VSCO, especially its range of filters. But rather than pack this app full of filters, I feel like each one here has been carefully selected. I also think it's much easier to use than similar photo editing apps, and it's super minimal interface with nice typography and tiny icons really makes the whole editing process feel like a high-end experience.

I personally use the app the most for photo editing, but there's a whole suite of video features too, which Tezza calls 'Studio'. Here you can not only make basic edits to your videos, but you can also apply the same gorgeous filters and effects. This is good news if you have an Instagram account – or you're running one for someone else – and you're experimenting with Reels just as much as static photos. 

Tips & Tricks

Troubleshooting, 3 great photo app tips for iphone, ipad, & mac that you may have overlooked.

The Photos app is a major part of the Apple ecosystem, providing a ton of powerful capabilities for managing and editing photos whether you’re using Photos on iPhone, Mac, or iPad. While you may already be familiar with some great tips like editing photos for color, cropping, applying filters, and creating folders for your photos, there are a variety of lesser known features that are super useful in the Photos app.

We’re covering three of the most useful overlooked features that are available for Photos app for iPhone, Mac, and iPad.

1: Copy & Paste Edits for Bulk Image Editing Made Easy

Making edits to your photos is a one of the most useful functions built into the Photos app for iPhone, Mac, and iPad, but did you know you don’t have to individually edit each photo you take? Instead, you can use a copy and paste edits feature to make edits to one image, and then carry over those edits to as many other photos as you’d like to apply them to.

This feature is the same on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, though how it works is slightly different for iOS & iPadOS compared to MacOS. Basically after you make edits to your picture in Photos app, do the following:

• On iPhone and iPad , select the (…) button and choose “Copy Edits”, then select other photos you want to apply the edits to, select (…) again and choose “Paste Edits”
• On Mac , right-click (or got to the Edit menu) and choose “Copy Edits”, and then select other photos you want to apply the edits to, right-click again and choose “Paste Edits” (or go to the Edit menu and select Paste Edits there)

It’s that easy to apply edits to many photos, making bulk image editing an absolute breeze with Photos app whatever the platform is you’re accessing the app from.

2: Identify Objects, Plants, Flowers, & More

Did you know the Photos app is able to identify objects by using built-in machine learning and AI capabilities? Many people miss this feature, but it’s incredibly useful. You can identify everything from animals, to objects, plants, flowers, and more, just select to open the photo you wish to identify, and then choose the little sparkly leaf button.

This feature pairs really well with the iPhone in particular since you can use it while you’re on the go, out and about in the world. Surely you’ve come across a situation where you see something, perhaps a particular plant or flower, and you wonder “what on earth is that?” With iPhone, just take a photo of the thing you wish to identify, and then open it in Photos app and tap on that little sparkly leaf icon to identify what it is .

3: Select & Copy Text from Photos

Modern versions of Photos app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, support a super useful feature called Live Text which allows you to select and copy text from within a photo.

For example, perhaps you took a picture of a sign, or a menu, or a document, you can open that picture in Photos app, and then select the text to copy it, and paste it elsewhere.

This feature works the same on Photos app for every Apple device, simply just open the photo, then tap and select the text, and choose to Copy.

You can then paste the copied text where ever you’d like; into Notes app, Pages, Messages, Mail, anywhere you can paste text.

If you’ve been using iPhone, iPad, and Mac for a while, you may already be familiar with this feature , but many people are unaware this capability exists. Give it a try, it works really well, and you

If you enjoyed these tips, don’t miss out on our large archives with tons of Photos app tips and tricks here .

Do you have a favorite lesser known tip or trick for the Photos app? Share it with us in the comments!

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Related articles:

• How to Import Pictures into Photos App in Mac OS X
• iCloud Photos Not Downloading on iPhone or iPad? Here’s How to Fix & Troubleshoot
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I can’t find the “sparkly leaf” to identify items in Photos on Mac (Photos version 9, MacOS 14.4.1, MacBook Pro 2022)

iPhone SE2, iOS 17.4.1. No leaf icon. I even hit the “I” icon (which you didn’t mention) and still no luck. Is this not available for the SE2?

If iOS can’t identify the object in the photo, the leaf icon will not appear.

An easy way to test this is to take a photo of something fairly obvious/common, like a rose, and then tap on the sparkly leaf icon to look it up.

It’s a neat feature when it works, but it’s not perfect!

I have an iPhone SE2 on iOS 17.4.1 and the “sparkly leaf” has worked on it for quite a while now. I can’t think why it doesn’t on yours unless it’s regional.

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The Five Best Photo Scanner Apps for iPhones

Reading Time: 5 minutes read

How to scan photos on an iPhone

When you think about scanning documents, do you picture a bulky piece of equipment in the corner gathering dust? Well, you might be surprised to learn that you can now use your iPhone to scan important documents or old photos, instead.

Using a photo scanner app, you can automatically remove glare and distortion from your images, leaving you with a high-quality image in the correct proportion. With apps offering helpful features such as automatic edge-detection, color restoration and cropping, digitizing your treasured photographs has never been simpler.

Whether you need to scan photographs, bank statements, or receipts, here are five of the best photo scanner apps for iPhone – with both free and paid options.

Free apps: the best photo scanner apps for iPhone

If you need to scan images infrequently or as a one-off, there are some great apps out there that won’t cost you a penny. Here are three of the best free photo scanning tools.

Cam Scanner

With Cam Scanner, you can crop and edit your scanned images, then convert them into easily-shareable PDFs or JPEGs. The app’s tagging option lets you easily organize your photos into topics, so you can find and share them hassle-free. What’s more, the app works with various third-party tools – such as OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive – so it’s easy to sync up with tools you’re already using.

While there’s a premium version of Cam Scanner, the free software offers enough functionality to get high-quality, easy-to-share scans. It can be downloaded from the App Store.

Best features:

• Smart cropping and auto-enhancement of your images
• Add watermarks or annotations
• Create a passcode for viewing private documents

Google PhotoScan

Developed by Google, PhotoScan is available on both iOS and Android. Simply take three photographs of your scanned item from different angles, then let PhotoScan automatically combine them into a glare-free, digital image. While editing options are limited, being able to add your images directly to Google Photos is a helpful feature if you’re already using Google tools.

PhotoScan can be downloaded from the App Store.

• Get glare-free scans in seconds
• Automatic cropping based on edge detection
• Smart rotation ensures your photos are always the correct way up

Photomyne lets you scan multiple photographs in a single shot. It auto-detects photo boundaries, then auto-rotates, crops and saves your scans to a digital album that’s easy to share with family and friends. What’s more, Photomyne provides helpful tools to get the best out of your photos, such as colorizing black and white images or creating collages.

You can create an account to access restricted features, but the free version offers great functionality for scanning images. Photomyne can be downloaded from the App Store.

• Scan multiple images in a single shot
• Apply photo filters and colorize your images
• Create photo collages, slideshows and more

Paid apps: the best photo scanner apps for iPhone

If you scan items regularly and need the best functionality and editing tools, you might like to purchase a premium app. Here are two of the best paid-for photo scanning options.

Photo Scanner Plus

Photo Scanner Plus automatically detects picture boundaries and rotates your image to create an undistorted, high-quality scan. What’s more, Photo Scanner Plus auto-enhances your scanned photos – sharpening, contrasting and restoring color to create digital images that are easy to share with friends and family.

Photo Scanner Plus requires a one-off payment of $5.99, but it does have limitations. If you want photo backup and online access with no constraints, you’ll need to subscribe to a monthly or yearly plan. Photo Scanner Plus can be downloaded from the App Store.

• Scan multiple photographs in a single shot
• Share scanned photographs easily on social media

Pic Scanner

Available on iOS only, Pic Scanner lets you scan multiple photos at the same time, making digitizing your images quick and simple. Within the app, you can rotate your photographs, enhance colors with filters and add detailed information about each image for your own reference.

While there’s a free version of Pic Scanner available, it limits you to just 12 images. However, at a cost of just $3.99, the full version lets you scan and share as often as you wish. Pic Scanner can be downloaded from the App Store.

• Photo editing tools and filters
• Unlimited photo editing, albums and slideshows

Create stunning gifts from your scanned photos and pictures

Now your favorite photographs are scanned to your phone, why not bring them to life with a personalized photo gift from Motif?

Create high-quality photocards , photobooks or calendars in minutes with our easy-to-use app. Whether it’s a book of childhood memories for Mother’s Day or a thoughtful card for a friend featuring scanned polaroids, create something unique and thoughtful with Motif. Download the app today.

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Apple's new Photos app will utilize generative AI for image editing

The new Clean Up feature will make removing objects significantly easier

The logo promoting Tuesday's event on Apple's website suddenly turned interactive earlier on Monday, allowing users to erase some or all of the logo with their mouse. While this was initially believed to be a nod towards an improved Apple Pencil , it could also be in reference to an improved editing feature Apple plans to unleash later this year.

People familiar with Apple's next-gen operating systems have told AppleInsider that the iPad maker is internally testing an enhanced feature for its built-in Photos application that would make use of generative AI for photo editing. The feature is dubbed "Clean Up" in pre-release versions of Apple's macOS 15, and is located inside the edit menu of a new version of the Photos application alongside existing options for adjustments, filters, and cropping.

The feature appears to replace Apple's Retouch tool available on macOS versions of the Photos app. Unlike the Retouch tool, however, the Clean Up feature is expected to offer improved editing capabilities and the option to remove larger objects within a photo.

With Clean Up, users will be able to select an area of a photo via a brush tool and remove specific objects from an image. In internal versions of the app, testers can also adjust the brush size to allow for easier removal of smaller or larger objects.

While the feature itself is being tested on Apple's next-generation operating systems, the company could also decide to preview or announce it early, as a way of marketing its new iPad models.

During the "Let Loose" iPad-centric event, Apple is expected to unveil two new models of the iPad Air and iPad Pro , the latter of which is rumored to feature the company's next-generation M4 chip. The M4 could introduce greater AI capabilities via an enhanced Neural Engine, with at the least, an increase in cores.

An earlier rumor claimed that there was a strong possibility of Apple's new iPad Pro receiving the M4 system-on-chip. Apple is also expected to market the new tablet an AI-enhanced device, after branding the M3 MacBook Air the best portable for AI.

While Apple has been working on its in-house large language model (LLM) for quite some time, it is unlikely that we will see any text-related AI features make their debut during the "Let Loose" event. The Clean Up feature, however, would provide a way of showcasing new iPad-related AI capabilities.

Should it choose to leverage the new Clean Up feature ahead of its annual developers conference in June, Apple would have the opportunity to promote its new iPads as AI-equipped devices. Giving users the option to remove an object from a photo with their Apple Pencil would be a good way of showcasing the practical benefits of artificial intelligence.

By demonstrating the real-world use cases for AI, the company likely aims to gain a leg up on existing third-party AI solutions, many of which only utilize artificial intelligence to offer short-term entertainment value in the form of chatbots.

Although the feature provides some insight into what an AI-powered iPad might look like, it remains to be seen exactly when Apple will announce the Clean Up feature. Apple could instead opt to preview the feature at its Worldwide Developer's Conference ( WWDC ) in June.

Users of Adobe's Photoshop for iPad have had access to a similar feature called " Content-Aware Fill " since 2022. It allows users to remove objects from an image by leveraging generative AI, making it as though the objects were never there to begin with.

The "Content-Aware Fill" feature gradually evolved into " Generative Fill ," which offers additional functionality and is available across various Adobe products. In addition to Photoshop, the feature can be found in Adobe Express and Adobe Firefly.

With Generative Fill, users of Adobe's applications simply brush an area of a photo to remove objects of their choosing. Adobe's apps even offer the option to adjust brush size. Apple's new Clean Up feature bears some resemblance to Adobe's.

Clean Up is expected to make its debut alongside Apple's new operating systems in June, though there is always the possibility a mention could slip into Tuesday's iPad media event. Apple also has plans to upgrade Notes , Calculator , Calendar , and Spotlight with iOS 18.

27 Comments

Android has had this feature already.  Interesting to see if this Apple one will be superior.

Access the website on the iPad, and use a finger to erase the logo.

paisleydisco said: Android has had this feature already.  Interesting to see if this Apple one will be superior. To be clear, iPhone has this ability too. It's not an operating system level thing. Apps can provide the feature and even Apple's Photos app for Mac has a basic repair tool already. The Clean Up feature will be a more advanced model based on generative image processing -- which I believe is only available via apps like Adobe's and is not a part of Android's photo editing tools.

Wesley Hilliard said: paisleydisco said: Android has had this feature already.  Interesting to see if this Apple one will be superior.

 Seems like Apple is finally getting off its keister and adding basic functions that should have been there for years.  At least all this AI activity in tech  is making Apple responsive again. 

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This Is the Next Smartphone Evolution

OpenAI just killed Siri.

Earlier today, OpenAI announced its newest product: GPT-4o, a faster, cheaper, more powerful version of its most advanced large language model, and one that the company has deliberately positioned as the next step in “natural human-computer interaction.” Running on an iPhone in what was purportedly a live demo , the program appeared able to tell a bedtime story with dramatic intonation, understand what it was “seeing” through the device’s camera, and interpret a conversation between Italian and English speakers. The model—which was powering an updated version of the ChatGPT app—even exhibited something like emotion: Shown the sentence I ♥️ ChatGPT handwritten on a page, it responded, “That’s so sweet of you!”

Although such features are not exactly new to generative AI, seeing them bundled into a single app on an iPhone was striking. Watching the presentation, I felt that I was witnessing the murder of Siri, along with that entire generation of smartphone voice assistants, at the hands of a company most people had not heard of just two years ago.

Apple markets its maligned iPhone voice assistant as a way to “do it all even when your hands are full.” But Siri functions, at its best, like a directory for the rest of your phone: It doesn’t respond to questions so much as offer to search the web for answers; it doesn’t translate so much as offer to open the Translate app. And much of the time, Siri can’t even pick up what you’re saying properly, let alone watch someone solve a math problem through the phone camera and provide real-time assistance, as ChatGPT did earlier today.

Just as chatbots have promised to condense the internet into a single program, generative AI now promises to condense all of a smartphone’s functions into a single app, and to add a whole host of new ones: Text friends, draft emails, learn what the name of that beautiful flower is, call an Uber and talk to the driver in their native language, without touching a screen. Whether that future comes to pass is far from certain. Demos happen in controlled environments and are not immediately verifiable. OpenAI’s was certainly not without its stumbles, including choppy audio and small miscues. We don’t know yet to what extent familiar generative-AI problems, such as the confident presentation of false information and difficulty in understanding accented speech, may emerge once the app is rolled out to the public over the coming weeks. But at the very least, to call Siri or Google Assistant “assistants” is, by comparison, insulting.

The major smartphone makers seem to recognize this. Apple, notoriously late to the AI rush, is reportedly deep in talks with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT features into an upcoming iPhone software update. The company has also reportedly held talks with Google to consider licensing Gemini, the search giant’s flagship AI product, to the iPhone. Samsung has already brought Gemini to its newest devices , and Google tailored its latest smartphone, the Pixel 8 Pro, specifically to run Gemini. Chinese smartphone makers, meanwhile, are racing their American counterparts to put generative AI on their devices.

Today’s demo was a likely death blow not only to Siri but also to a wave of AI start-ups promising a less phone-centric vision of the future. A company named Humane produces an AI pin that is worn on a user’s clothing and responds to spoken questions; it has been pummeled by reviewers for offering an inconsistent and glitchy experience. Rabbit’s R1 is a small handheld box that my colleague Caroline Mimbs Nyce likened to a broken toy .

Read: I witnessed the future of AI, and it’s a broken toy

These gadgets, and others that may be on the horizon, face inevitable hurdles: compressing a decent camera, a good microphone, and a powerful microprocessor into a tiny box, making sure that box is light and stylish, and persuading people to carry yet another device on their body. Apple and Android devices, by comparison, are efficient and beautiful pieces of hardware already ubiquitous in contemporary life. I can’t think of anybody who, forced to choose between their iPhone and a new AI pin, wouldn’t jettison the pin—especially when smartphones are already perfectly positioned to run generative-AI programs.

Each year, Apple, Samsung, Google, and others roll out a handful of new phones offering better cameras and more powerful computer chips in thinner bodies. This cycle isn’t ending anytime soon—even if it’s gotten boring —but now the most exciting upgrades clearly aren’t happening in physical space. What really matters is software.

The iPhone was revolutionary not just because it combined a screen, a microphone, and a camera. Allowing people to take photos, listen to music, browse the web, text family members, play games—and now edit videos, write essays, make digital art, translate signs in foreign languages, and more—was the result of a software package that puts its screen, microphone, and camera to the best use. And the American tech industry is in the midst of a centi-billion-dollar bet that generative AI will soon be the only software worth having.

Easily digitize old, physical photos: Here's how to scan on iPhone and Androids

There’s something about a physical photograph. It’s a moment frozen in time, sometimes dating back generations. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll find a description of when and where it was snapped scribbled on the back. 

Most of the pictures we take now live on our smartphones and never transform into physical form. This makes finding and sharing photos a breeze. Plus, our smartphones take up significantly less space than multiple photo albums collecting dust on a bookshelf. 

Once upon a time, using a scanner would have been the only option to create digital copies, but advances in technology have made it easier than ever to digitize your precious memories and access them anywhere, anytime. 

Watch this video to see how apps can help digitize old photos.  

Digitizing photos

We found two free, easy-to-use apps to make the transition from physical photos to digital a snap. Consider storing the newly digitized images in the cloud or on an external hard drive so they aren’t taking up space on your device.

Both apps require you to take pictures of the pictures, which can be time-consuming. But thanks to cropping, you don't have to try to get the corners just right until after you've captured the image. Both apps help you easily crop images with the help of a zoomed-in bubble that makes properly aligning the edges a breeze. 

• PhotoScan by Google Photos 

PhotoScan by Google Photos will automatically rotate and crop your photos. This can be a huge help and time-saver if you have a lot of photos to digitize.

The app also has a way to capture the picture while preventing the glare that often happens when taking a picture of a photograph on a smartphone. 

• Microsoft Lens

The Microsoft Lens app scans more than just photos, it also works for whiteboards, business cards and other forms of written text. 

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Reviewed helps you find the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of tech experts test everything from video games and laptops to speakers and TVs so you can shop for the best of the best. 

• The best game console: Nintendo Switch OLED  
• Top Nintendo Switch charger: Anker PowerCore Essential 20000  
• Our favorite wireless keyboard: Logitech Master Series MX Keys  
• Best Xbox gaming controller: Microsoft Bluetooth Elite Series 2 Controller  
• Editors’ Choice laptop: Apple 2023 MacBook Pro 14 M2 Pro  
• Most powerful VR headset: Meta Quest 2  
• The best OLED TV: Sony 4K Ultra HD TV A95K Series  
• Top streaming device: Roku Ultra 2022  
• Best gaming headset: SteelSeries Arctis Pro High Fidelity Gaming Headset  
• Top-rated gaming monitor: Acer Predator XB253Q Monitor  

Here’s How Ivy League Schools Evaluate Student GPAs

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One of the main gates on the Brown University campus, decorated with the University crest. (Photo by ... [+] Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images)

A stellar GPA is one of the building blocks of a successful Ivy League application, and as the school year winds down, many students are anxiously seeking to give theirs a final boost. While most students and families understand the importance of a 4.0, few are aware of how top colleges evaluate student GPAs or what they look for when reviewing student transcripts. Though your GPA may seem to be a simple metric, nothing could be further from the case—colleges consider more than just the number, accounting for complexities such as diverse grading systems across schools, trends in grade inflation, and level of course rigor.

Here are three important facts to keep in mind about your GPA as you choose your courses:

1. Your GPA doesn’t directly compare to that of students at other schools.

One common misconception among college applicants is that they can compare their GPAs with those of students attending different schools. However, the GPA is not a universal metric but rather a reflection of an individual's academic performance within their specific educational environment. As a result, comparing GPAs from different schools is like comparing apples and oranges. For instance, some schools offer a plethora of AP, IB, and honors courses, while others may have limited options or offer none at all. Additionally, the weight assigned to AP versus honors versus regular classes varies from school to school. So, your GPA may not hold the same weight as those of your peers at different schools, even if you all have 4.0s.

Admissions officers understand that schools vary in their rigor, curriculum, and grading policies. Therefore, they evaluate your GPA in the context of your high school, considering the courses offered and the academic challenges presented. Instead of fixating on how your GPA compares to your friends’ from other schools, focus on challenging yourself and taking advantage of all the opportunities available to you at your school.

2. GPAs across the country are inflated—and colleges know it.

The last few years have seen surges in high school student GPAs nationwide. While GPA inflation has been on the rise over the last decade, average ACT composite scores are steadily declining. “For the 1.4 million ACT test-takers in the high school class of 2023, the average composite score on the exam was 19.5 out of 36, the lowest score since 1991,” according to The New York Times . The parallel differences, coupled with academic differences across schools, suggest that GPA must be considered in tandem with multiple other factors. Simply put, an A no longer means what it used to on a transcript.

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Ivy League and other top colleges are well aware of this trend and evaluate student GPAs alongside other metrics such as standardized test scores and AP exam scores in order to better understand a student’s academic skill sets. While some Ivy League and other top schools remain test-optional , they still place emphasis on course rigor and the context offered by your high school profile in order to understand the grades on your transcript.

3. Colleges will recalculate your GPA.

Given the abundance of variables in GPA calculations, colleges often recalculate the metric to create a standardized baseline for comparison between students across different schools. The recalibration may involve adjusting for variations in grading scales or the weighting of honors, International Baccalaureate (IB) or Advanced Placement (AP) courses. The University of California system, for example, calculates students’ UC GPAs by converting grades to grade points (an A is equivalent to 4 points, a B to three points, etc.) for classes taken between summer after 9th and summer after 11th grade, and adding one point for each honors class, and dividing by total classes taken to yield final GPA.*

Other colleges also take additional factors that impact academic performance into consideration, and envelop GPA into a broader, holistic consideration. For instance, the Harvard University lawsuit over affirmative action revealed that Harvard rates students on a scale of 1–6 (with one being the most desirable) in academic, extracurricular, athletic and personal categories. A student’s GPA and test scores are folded together into an academic score which “summarizes the applicant’s academic achievement and potential based on grades, testing results, letters of recommendation, academic prizes, and any submitted academic work.”

This process aims to provide a fair and equitable evaluation of students from different educational backgrounds. Keep in mind that Harvard considers not only your grades, test scores, and academic rigor in this score, but also “evidence of substantial scholarship” and “academic creativity,” which can make the difference between a 1 and a 2 in the scoring system. These systems underscore the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity, showcasing your unique personality and creativity, and seeking to maximize opportunities to improve your performance within the academic landscape of your institution.

By understanding the complex way by which colleges evaluate students’ GPAs, you are better equipped to present a comprehensive and competitive picture of your academic achievements on your transcript and stand out in the competitive Ivy League admissions landscape.

*Variations exist for in-state versus out-of-state students and by high school. Be sure to calculate your GPA following the UC issued guidelines.

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