Photo editing is going online. I’ve been a big fan of Instagram for a long time, but I’ve waited a while to see if they could compete with what desktop photo editors have been offering. It seems like they have come very close in doing so, which is why I decided to write this article on the Best Free Online Photo Editors. They are still fun to use when you want to add some interesting effects or simply when you have no time in front of the computer.
If you love filters and other special effects on your photos, you are at the right place. Here are the best effect editors.
Afterlight
$0.99 | iOS | Android | Windows
There was a time when I was a bit more old-school in my photo editing. I counted on Instagram tools alone, sometimes combining them with the “enhance” feature on my phone’s Photos app. Then, I learned about Afterlight — a somewhat rudimentary tool, but one that has all the features you need to do a basic photo edit.
From controlling the color tones, to adjusting exposure and brightness, to rotating and straightening a photo, it has everything you need for lighting or color fixes. It also contains 74 filters, including a Fusion feature that lets you mix tools, filters, and textures to create your own personal look. Into frames? Afterlight has a whopping 128 to choose from, boasting a perfect pairing with Instagram.
My favorite tools, though, have to be the ones for Brightness and Shadows. Some pictures do well with a decrease in shadows and increase in brightness for cleaner, fresher look. But flipping those around can also create a more mysterious, nighttime feel — That’s what I did with this photo of tree ornaments.
VSCO Cam
Free | iOS | Android
Over the past few years, VSCO Cam has become a highly popular photo editing app for mobile. While it does boast a wider set of editing tools than most other editing apps, its main claim to fame is its filters.
These filters have a softer, more authentic look that resembles real film, compared to the over-saturated looks of many Instagram filters. Plus, it’s great for when you need to edit a photo on the fly. Simply upload the photo to VSCO Cam, slap on one of the great filters — I used C1 below — and call it a day. (There are more filters available for purchase, too.)
Photoshop Express
Free | iOS | Android
Believe it or not, Adobe Photoshop isn’t just for your computer. Adobe Photoshop Express puts most of what people love about Adobe’s popular photo editing program in their pockets — lighting, color, and sharpness options included.
Photoshop Express is especially useful for making photo collages — something the app’s developers likely highlighted for mobile users who want to share many photos at once on Facebook or Instagram. The app’s “Decorate” setting even allows you to annotate your photo with digital stickers before saving and posting directly on social media.
Although this photo editor makes Photoshop’s best features easily accessible, keep in mind it does carry the natural limitations of a mobile app. Specifically, you can only upload JPG files smaller than 16 megapixels (MP).
Nonetheless, what it does on a smaller platform is still super impressive. You should also try similar Adobe photo editing apps such as Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Capture.
Here’s how Photoshop Express helps you choose different collage orientations for multiple photos:
SKRWT
$0.99 | iOS | Android
Ever taken a picture of something straight-on — a doorway, a building, your food — and found the perspective was just a little bit askew or tilted? The SKRWT app lets you adjust the perspective of your photos to make the lines look clean and square.
Have a look at what I was able to do with a simple window shot.
Before:
After:
At first, the “before” image doesn’t look that skewed, but seeing the “after” version really shows what a difference symmetry can make. If it bugs you to see a photo that’s slightly at an angle, then this app is well worth the dollar.
Live Collage
Free | iOS | Android
Collages made on Photoshop Express can be great, whether it’s to show a comparison (like a before-and-after series), or to highlight multiple photos from the same event or theme. But our favorite photo collage app is Live Collage, mostly because of its wide variety of layouts. It contains several options for photo organization, both classic and fun, with interesting and colorful backgrounds. Plus, you can add customized text in different fonts, colors, and sizes.
If you’re strapped for time, there are basic photo editing options within the app, too, making it a handy one-stop shop.
7. Instasize
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.
Why?
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.
VSCO
Best For: Creating beautiful edits with elegant filters
- Subtle one-tap preset filters 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 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 VSCO preset filters allow you to create the look of classic film in your iPhone photos. These filters are 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 subscribing to VSCO X membership ($19.99 a year).
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
TouchRetouch
Best For: Removing unwanted objects from your photos
- Quickly remove unwanted objects for a cleaner composition
- Brush and lasso tools for accurate object selection
- Remove dust spots, wires, people, and other objects
- Remove blemishes and smooth out wrinkles in portrait photos
- Duplicate objects using the clone tool
- Price: $1.99
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 $1.99 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!
Fotor
Best free online photo editor for one-click editing.
Fotor is a browser-based free online photo editor. Its simple to use controls and clean interface make it ideal for people unfamiliar with image editing. Free online photo editors like Fotor have helpful wizards that guide you through its main tools, meaning you can get up to speed quickly.
You can adjust colours, apply effects, and use portrait touch-up tools to improve your images with one click. Then you can add additional elements, like icons, shapes, and patterns.
Fotor provides cloud storage to keep your images safe. If you register for the paid version, you gain access to 1,000,000 stock images licensed for commercial use.
Features include:
- Over 100 photo effects.
- Custom stickers and photo frames.
- Resize images and convert file formats.
- Create collages and stitch photos together.
- Work with RAW images.
- Short video tutorials that demonstrate the main features.
Link: Fotor
Conclusion
Nowadays everyone needs a photo editor. It’s a Trend, because mobile phone cameras has become an integral part of our lives. Now we can take a picture of something and make a digital image in no time. Well, if you want to learn the basics step by step, this article by Bulletproof will help you understand how to use Android phone camera professionally.