You may still be confined at home, but that doesn't mean you can't be creative with the photos you've already taken.
Looking for something to do while you're confined at home to prevent the spread of coronavirus? This is exactly what you need - it's simple, satisfying, and doesn't have to cost you a dime. Your phone gallery is filled with photos you've taken over the years and could receive a nice change of look. Well, the app stores on iOS and Android are full of creative applications that can give your existing photos a completely new look, all from the comfort of your sofa.
I have gathered below a selection of my favorite apps and I explain them below. There are some that even let you turn your favorite photos into a photo album while you're quarantined.
Adobe photoshop express
Photoshop Express has many of the same features you'll find in Lightroom, including exposure, contrast, and color editing options, but it removes some of the professional tools and cloud sync, and more importantly, it eliminates the subscription. It is a great tool to adjust your images to get the best out of yourself, but you will also find a good selection of filters and overlapping textures, as well as tools to create collages from your images.
It's not as open to wild creativity as other options on this list, but it's a solid editing app at a price that's hard to argue with.
Snapseed
Snapseed, owned by Google, offers a wide range of exposure and color tools to make adjustments to your images, but it also has many filter options, from vintage styles to modern and striking HDR designs. You can overlay the effects to create some interesting edits on your image. And best of all, it's totally free.
Lightroom
Available for iOS and Android. Some features are free, but full access costs $ 4.99 a month.
Adobe Lightroom remains an industry standard for professional photographers, and the mobile version is very similar. You won't find stickers, animations, or emoji here, but you'll get fine-grained control over your image and the same set of tools you'll find in Lightroom for desktop. It is the application that I use the most to edit my own images on my iPhone and iPad, especially since the images are synchronized in the cloud, allowing me to start on one device and continue on another.
PicsArt
iOS and Android, free limited features, or $ 48 a year for the entire suite.
PicsArt has a wide variety of editing tools available, from basic settings like exposure and contrast to cinematic color gradations and dramatic filters that transform your images into artwork similar to that of a painting. There are many options for the tone and shape of your face in selfies: I'm not going to get into the ethics of using these tools for "beauty" purposes, but I had fun using the tools to intentionally transform my features into weird proportions.
There's also an Instagram-style social sharing element for PicsArt if you're interested in that. Personally, I was mainly interested in editing options.
Prism
iOS and Android, $7.99 a month or $30 a year.
Prism does not deal with subtle filters and basic image corrections. Instead, their cool filters will transform your images into often bizarre artistic creations. The results have a pictorial effect and, in fact, many filters are inspired by artists such as Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso. Filters are strong, and although you can adjust them, not all filters will work with every image. I found that some were more suitable for portraits, while other filters worked better with landscapes.
But it's a lot of fun to experiment with and when you find a photo that works, it really works.
Bazaart
iOS only, $7.99 a month, or $48 a year.
Bazaart's collage and montage tools let you combine multiple different elements, from photos to text and graphics, and overlay them to create a finished work of art. It has tools that let you instantly erase the background behind a portrait subject (I was surprised at how well it worked!) To put on a new background or superimpose multiple effects. It also has a variety of templates to create great collages for your Instagram stories.
There are so many different ways to test and compose different images together that the only limit will come down to how creative you feel.
Photofox
Like Bazaart, Photofox has powerful background removal tools that allow you to compose new backgrounds or apply amazing effects. I particularly like Photofox's scattering effect, which makes it seem like your subject explodes into a thousand particles (trust me, it's cool!), As well as the glitch effects and double exposure that superimposes two images on top of each other.
As with Bazaart, there are endless possibilities of what you can do by superimposing and composing different types of images and applying different effects to each one.
VSCO
iOS and Android, free limited features, or $ 19.99 a year with a seven-day free trial.
VSCO started life by making color grading presets for Lightroom and its roots are clear in the app today. Instead of offering animated stickers or GIFs for Snapchat enthusiasts, VSCO is more about more ingenious filmic color filters. The app has a wide variety of presets available, including layouts designed to emulate classic Fujifilm, Kodak, and Ilford film reels.
It also has a large selection of black and white filters, making it a great option to experiment with if you like changing monochrome shots.