12 Best iPhone Photo Editing Apps in 2020
The iPhone has great cameras, but you can go further: with these photo editing apps, you can turn your productions into high-quality images.
The iPhone has been known since the launch for its photographic ability, being the object of desire by photographers and a number of other artists. The current set of cameras that equip the iPhone 11 has lenses and sensors capable of recording photos with the quality of professional cameras, in addition to its impressive ability to record videos in 4K – the smartphone was chosen to record the music video for the song “Stupid Love”, by singer Lady Gaga.
The photos produced by the device are very good, but they can get even better with the use of editing applications. From small adjustments, such as brightness and color correction, to major interventions, such as perspective correction and application of filters, it is possible to give your photos a more artistic and authorial touch. In this list, we gather some of the best iPhone 11 or iPhone photo editing apps to customize and edit photos on-the-go and professionally.
With that in mind, we have separated a list of applications to edit photos on the iPhone in a simple, objective, and very high quality, being recommended for ordinary users and also professionals.
1. Adobe Lightroom
The Adobe Lightroom is a powerful and complete application for editing photos, has several functions that can be used at no cost, and for sure will leave your photos with a professional look. One of its features, since its desktop version, is the possibility of batch editing of the photos.
The app is recommended for the general public, with tools to retouch photos and filter profiles ready to be applied with just one touch. These predefined filters make adjustments in colors and other aspects of the photos, leaving them with a professional and minimalist aspect.
The Adobe Lightroom has essential tools to edit photos on the iPhone with great practicality and quality: there are settings to change the curves contrast, color, exposure, and tone of your photos. Adjustments in clarity, texture, and defogging are also available to enhance every detail of your images. The application has the ability to make the most of the iPhone’s camera and this is possible due to the unique exposure and aperture controls, using wide or telephoto lens, and advanced capture modes like RAW, professional and HDR.
Within the application, there is available the premium version of the photo editor with many tools, such as:
Recovery Brush: Tool to remove any unwanted objects from the photo;
Selective Adjustments: It has the purpose of editing photos with greater precision;
Geometry: Produce photographs very clearly, correcting the perspective of the image with the help of various control tools;
RAW editing: With the tool it is possible to edit photos imported directly from your DSLR (professional) or mirrorless camera;
Batch editing: To optimize users’ lives, this function applies the same profile to other chosen photos as used in an already edited photo.
Adobe Sensei: Enjoy Artificial Intelligence to organize and locate all your photos, based on objects and people. For example, when searching for “mountains” the tool will display all images that have this element.
Adobe Creative Cloud storage: Back up your photos and access your photos from other devices or the web.
Download Adobe Lightroom to edit photos for free. If you are interested in using the premium version tools, just access the application and subscribe. You will be able to try the premium subscription for free for 7 days and after that period you will be charged $4.99/ month.
2. Afterlight
Recommended for editing photos using a variety of high-quality filters, Afterlight is one of the best applications in this segment, in addition to having other tools such as film textures and precise editing functions. Despite being a free application, the standard tools for editing photos are paid for and only some functions are free, such as brightness, contrast, and vibration. It is also possible to change the light settings and color shift, being able to choose the intensity of each effect.
The app offers filters with interesting effects for your photos, however, about 10 filters are available in the free version. If you want to use the premium version of the application, the user will have access to over 130 filters created by photographers that will make your photos perfect, as well as access to advanced tools, use of more than 60 textures and overlays with vintage effects, 35mm films, techniques of film emulation, Chrome shift tool. etc.
Afterlight allows a free 7-day trial for the Premium subscription, enough to test all the possibilities it offers for your photos. The application has subscriptions for a lifetime at $35.99 and can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
3. Canva
The Canva is considered one of the best applications for graphic design, with it you can create stunning designs using your photos and videos and very easily.
Recommended for ordinary and professional users. the photo editor allows you to create different types of designs, such as an Instagram story, logo, or even invitations. All your creations are saved in your account and you can edit photos on your iPhone, iPad, or computer.
Using the app is simple: choose a free template, use an image of your choice, add text with a variety of font options, and apply effects to edit photos with quality. With Canva the user can create Instagram stories, posts, and covers for Facebook, banners for Twitter and video thumbnails for YouTube, cards, invitations, and montages for general use. Creations can be made for both digital and print use.
To have unlimited access to all functions – which includes 60 million images, more than 1,000 fonts for text, animations, and other resources, just subscribe to the Pro version for $12.99 Before subscribing, you can try the Pro version for free for 14 days. Download the app for free from the App Store.
4. Instagram
Instagram is the social network’s most famous image in the world, and its application has an image editor that lets you not only adjust photos of their publications, as well as save to use in other applications.
Recommended for simple and quick photo editing, Instagram has 24 filters with presets and Lux mode that adjusts the photo’s brightness. In the edit tab, it is possible to adjust the perspective, brightness, contrast, structure (sharpness), invert the photo, color temperature, saturation, change colors, among other easy-to-apply adjustment tools.
To use the app, just download it from the App Store, and create a free account on the social network. Then just have fun looking at the IGTV publications, stories, lives, and videos.
5. Photoshop Express
Photoshop Express is the mobile version of the best – known image editing program, and this version allows you to edit photos quickly, easily, and creatively.
Recommended for ordinary and professional users, the photo application aims to transform your images, applying a professional style with its perspective correctors, color and tonal corrector, removal of noise, or stains.
The Adobe app has several filters and effects, such as black and white, portrait, nature, and dual tones. It is also possible to expand the range with blending effects, to increase the color temperature and vibration of your photographs. In addition, you can create collages, add borders and text, make quick corrections to your photos, how to remove red-eye, apply blur, remove noise, blemishes, among other tools.
Photoshop Express is available for free on the App Store. If you want, you can buy the Premium version and access all features for $4.99/month. You can try the Premium version of the app for free for 3 days and use all the tools to edit photos.
6. PicsArt
With PicsArt the user will have in his hands a photo and video editor complete with effects, drawing tools, image editor, collage maker, photographic filters, video editor, among other diverse functions.
Recommended for ordinary users, the app is one of the best to create stickers and make various edits (cut, stretch, clone). In addition, the video editor has tools to apply filters and other effects.
Another interesting tool for editing photos is the Replay function, which will record all the steps you applied to your photos and apply to future images with just one click, very useful when you want to maintain a style. In addition, the Sketch tool turns your selfie into a hand drawing, automatically detecting the outline of your face and creating a beautiful drawing.
The Gold version removes ads, grants access to thousands of stickers, fonts, frames, collages, and premium masks, and can be purchased within the app for $55.99 year, and can be tested for 7 days for free. Download it for free at App Store.
7. SKRWT
The SKRWT is an application that features extremely useful tools to fix the lens of your iPhone, giving an amazing symmetry to your photos. The application is a powerful tool in terms of symmetry and quality, which promises practicality and professionalism when editing photos on the iPhone.
The SKRWT corrects horizontal and vertical lines and adjusts lens distortion, very helpful in photos taken with a GoPro. This tool also performs automatic cropping on your photos with the help of Artificial Intelligence, choosing the best angle, and giving the real feeling of perfect symmetry.
Another essential function is the “ 4PNTS ” that corrects the perspective of the photographs. With it you can adjust the corner points of your image in an intuitive, simple, and totally professional tone. The “ MRRW ” tool integrated with the photo application, has four mirror effects with high precision, which will bring your photos a totally creative style with a lot of quality.
The SKWRT application does not have a free version and is available for purchase on the App Store for $.99.
8. Snapseed
A completely free photo editor from Google, Snapseed is a complete and professional application with 29 tools and filters, including correction, brush, structure, HDR, and perspective. The app also has tips and suggestions to improve your experience using its tools, and you can check out the tutorial that Showmetech prepared to make adjustments using Snapseed.
Recommended for both professional and fast and objective edits, the editor supports RAW photos, tool with brushes, removing objects from the photo, increasing the brightness of the photos, adding text to your photos, pre-defined filters, HDR effects, vintage, among others.
The Snapseed is considered the best totally free application to edit photos, and to use it simply download the App Store.
9. TouchRetouch
The TouchRetouch is a powerful photo editor that can remove most unwanted objects in your picture, offering all the tools to remove unwanted content efficiently to your iPhone.
Recommended for all audiences, TouchRetouch is the best app of 2020 to remove unwanted objects from photos, such as cables, poles, and power lines, remove scratches and breaks on surfaces, remove people, remove pimples and spots on the skin and remove objects in general, such as street signs and traffic lights. Editing photos with this application will be very easy due to its practicality.
The Stain Removal tool works very simply, just touch the desired area and the imperfections will be removed permanently. Another tool of the application to edit photos is the Removal of lines, with a simple touch the application will locate the object in a practical way. If you want to delete part of a line, just choose the option to mark the segment and the photo editor will delete only the selected part.
The third essential tool in the photo editor is Remove Objects, which removes content in a simple way. It is also possible to remove defects or duplicate objects with the Clone Stamp, and it is possible to adjust the opacity and radius of the stamp. If you have any doubts about using the available tools, TouchRetouch also has several tutorials with videos incorporated with instructions for using each function.
To use the TouchRetouch, just buy the app on the App Store for $1.99.
10. Typorama
With this application you can create cards with incredible visuals, automatically transforming your text and photos into beautiful typographic designs.
Recommended for ordinary and professional users, Typorama saves a lot of time by automatically creating text layouts with various fonts and effects. Just choose a background, type your words, write on top of the photo and your artwork will start to appear.
With various tools, it is possible to produce various layouts of typographic text, posts on social networks, brochures, and posters, among others. The application contains more than 100 fonts and letters, and other elements that enhance the design. It is also possible to distort parts of the text and overlay it over other elements, great features for creating watermarks and logos.
In the Pro version, the user will have access to new text styles, and unlimited access to all the resources available within the application. It is also possible to try the Pro version for free for 3 days.
11. Unfold
An application created to produce stories on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, with minimalist and elegant models. Recommended for digital influencers, Unfold will make your life much easier with its features.
The video editor has 25 templates to choose from, 5 fonts and tools to edit your text, export art created with the highest quality to other platforms and social networks, is possible to apply colors and textures after assembling your story.
If you want to edit photos with more than 100 layout templates, early access to new collections and launches, and exclusive designs, just subscribe to Unfold + for $2.99 / month or $19.99 / year, and you can test your subscription free for 7 days.
12. VSCO
The VSCO is one of the most complete tools to edit photos, with this application you can edit photos and videos creatively.
Recommended both for professionals and for ordinary users who want to use different filters, VSCO can work miracles on your photos and videos, being considered the best-paid application in terms of features and filters. When testing it is possible to access the tools of this photo application, such as color and tint filters that have a lot of quality in their effects, in addition to 10 free presets to be applied to your photographs.
The VSCO has essential settings to edit photos with mastery, such as contrast, sharpness, cut, highlight, temperature, grain, fade, among others. But, here is a highlight for the adjustment of shadows that allows the lightening of only the dark regions of the photo, keeping the brightness of the parts that are already light, which does not cause the negative effect of “burst” in the photo.
Another tool is Fading, also known as fade, which removes the contrast of shadows in the photo, generating a washed effect in your photo. This photo editor also has correction filters in the shade of shadows if the photo is too cold, thus applying purple or orange tones to balance the colors.
If it is in the user’s interest to subscribe to the premium version of the application, it will be possible to access the advanced photo editing tools, having access to 200 predefined editing profiles, in addition to retro visuals of films from Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, among others. Also in the premium version, a video editor with several filters and advanced tools for image processing is available.
VSCO is a complete tool, but there are still more features and presets available in the application subscription, which can be purchased for $19.99 / year and can be tested for 7 days for free. The application can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
We hope we helped with your choice of the best app for you to enhance your photos on your iPhone! Leave your thoughts on photo editors in the comments!