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Motherhood + Style + Wellness

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5 Favorite Photo Editing Apps

It’s no surprise that I’m in love with taking photos of my sweet girl. I like capturing the little things and taking pictures of the everyday snapshots that make up our life. I also am a sucker for pretty pictures. Majority of the time, I take pictures with my iPhone. Last November, I upgraded to the 6, but before then, I was still rocking the iPhone 4. What has helped me create bright, colorful, crisp pictures are my favorite photo editing apps. Editing each picture to be those three things is so important to me before posting and sharing. Here are my favorite apps to get there. 
1. PicTapGo
This is probably my favorite photo editing app. It’s what I go to 95% of the time before posting any of my pictures to social media. It has a ton of filters to choose from, but what I like best about it is that you can layer your filters, the intensity of each layer, and then you can save your “recipe.” My favorite recipe is the Auto Color filter layered with Lights On. I’ve saved that in my “recipes” tab under Best Color. You can name your recipes whatever your want, too. Once I see how a picture looks with my Best Color recipe, sometimes I’ll add another filter, like Lights On, if the picture was really dark to begin with. That’s what I did with the picture below. Another favorite filter in PicTapGo is Air. It gives a nice moody feel to the picture. I added Air to this picture as well.

2. Camera+
Camera+ is an old favorite and one of my original go-tos. I used to use this app all the time before finding PicTapGo, but I will still use this one occasionally if the picture doesn’t need much enhancing. I don’t really use any of the many filters this app offers, because it boasts many, but I do use the different “scenes.” You can only use one Scene at a time, but you can edit in The Lab to adjust basic editing functions like saturation and brightness. I also like that this app will allow you to crop your pictures, which I did below.

3. AfterLight
This app is a new favorite, although using this one takes a little more work for me. Its filters are nice and artsy, but I prefer bright and colorful. One thing I do like about AfterLight is that you can create your own filter by using the Fusion feature. By turning fusion on, you can create whatever recipe you want, but it takes some time and finesse. You can adjust brightness, color, saturation, etc. And you can also adjust the intensity of the filter, which is a huge plus for an editing app. I go to this one if I have a second to fiddle with pictures.

4. VSCOcam
I like this app when none of my other apps are giving me what I want. I can usually find something I like using one of its filters called S1, S2, or S3. Those filters are just my preference to get my desired results: bright and colorful. I have a few friends who use this app all the time, and each of them have their own favorite filter. This app is another artsy photo editing app, and it really has some great built-in filters. Each one can only be used one at a time, but you can adjust the intensity. You can also adjust brightness, saturation, highlights, etc. For the picture below, I ended up going with S2.

5. Instagram
Last but not least, when I still want to get a picture just right after using one of the apps mentioned above or if I don’t think a picture needs much adjusting I use the Instagram editing functions. (I rarely use a classic Instagram filter, because to me, they look too “filter-ish.”) My favorite editing functions are Lux and Brightness. The little sun function (or exposure button) in the center of the first screen picture below will adjust for you to 50. I usually tone it down to 20 or less as you can see. This would be what Instagram calls Lux feature. I also adjust the Brightness if needed. You can find the brightness function as well as other standard editing gadgets by pressing on the tool icon as seen in the first picture on the left. I generally will bump up the brightness to 20. Another thing I do frequently in Instagram is crop my photos to make sure that my focus is on the subject of my picture. It’s usually a subtle change, but it still gives me exactly what I’m wanting to create. 
By using all of these photo editing apps, I’ve been able to create a streamlined Instagram feed to look a certain way. Bright and cheery is what I’m all about, so I definitely want my Instagram pictures to represent that as well. With so many apps to choose from, you can create whatever look your heart desires. These apps are just my personal faves and what I use daily. One last app worth mentioning is Squareready. When I create a collage for the blog and want to share it on Instagram or if I want to use a vertical picture or full landscape picture, I’ll open the picture up in Squareready to create an Instagram-ready picture. You just pick your picture and adjust it to fit on a white canvas. Easy peasy. 
I definitely have become more intentional when sharing pictures to social media ever since I started blogging. I also took the Hilary Rushford “Instagram with Intention” course and found it to be very insightful. My best advice when it comes to creating your own “look” is to play around with each app and get to know how it works. It’s taken me a lot of trial and error to find my favorite “recipes.” When I can’t edit a DSLR photo on my computer or when I want to share a picture from my camera roll from my phone, these apps make it happen. 
Do you have any favorite editing apps for your pictures? Maybe one of these apps I mentioned above used in a different way? Pass on the info, sister! We’d all love to hear about it. 
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Comments

  1. Love it! Such great apps! Your photos always look so good! I’m an Android girl so I don’t have access to PicTapGo, but I downloaded a few other ones you mentioned. :)

    • Thanks, girlfriend! That is a bummer that Android doesn’t offer PicTapGo. But you’ll definitely love the others. :) VSCO is my next go-to.

  3. So I watched the intro to Hillary Rushford’s Instagram class, but ended up deciding not to take the whole thing. I seriously think my favorite editing app is the actual Instagram app! Not their built in filters, but their brighting and saturation and lux options. I wish I could just use all those editing features for all my photos! And I cringe when I look at some of my first Insta posts when I would use their built in filters, I agree they look way too “filtered” lol!

    • I do find myself using those options, too. :) And I still haven’t found just one filter or “formula recipe” that I just love. I go back and forth. I was just going through my Instagram feed earlier, and before I started blogging, I had the worst filters…even when I first started. Geez. I guess I’ve learned a lot! Lol.

  4. I actually just downloaded afterlight and am loving it so far! I always am looking for new editing apps! Thanks for the recommendations and for linking up for the Let’s be friends blog hop!

  5. Love it! Such great apps! Your photos always look so good! I'm an Android girl so I don't have access to PicTapGo, but I downloaded a few other ones you mentioned. :)

  7. So I watched the intro to Hillary Rushford's Instagram class, but ended up deciding not to take the whole thing. I seriously think my favorite editing app is the actual Instagram app! Not their built in filters, but their brighting and saturation and lux options. I wish I could just use all those editing features for all my photos! And I cringe when I look at some of my first Insta posts when I would use their built in filters, I agree they look way too "filtered" lol!

  8. I use afterlight the most, but I should check out PicTapGo! Sounds like a great app! And your photos are always beautiful!!

  9. Definitely going to check out the Pic Tap Go!! I’ve been using Snapseed for a while now. It does a pretty good job and is user friendly. I did try Afterlight but it didn’t give me the control I was after (although it’s been a while – it may be different now) and seemed a little more about the filters. I could spend hours editing photos. It’s really sad. :)

    • Yay! You’ll love it, Rebecca. :) I have not hear of Snapseed. I’ll have to check that one out too. I know. I always spend way too much time on filters/editing. You could definitely spend hours on it.

  10. I actually just downloaded afterlight and am loving it so far! I always am looking for new editing apps! Thanks for the recommendations and for linking up for the Let's be friends blog hop!

  11. Oooh, I love this. I love how you share the before and after pictures too so we can really get a sense of how these work! I only use Instagram and Camera +. I can’t wait to try the other ones out.

    Thanks for sharing!
    xoxo

    • Thanks, Jennifer! I hope you’ve liked what I recommended. Sorry it took so long for me to reply. Somehow these comments escaped me! Eeek! Hope you had a great weekend!

  13. I use afterlight the most, but I should check out PicTapGo! Sounds like a great app! And your photos are always beautiful!!

  14. Definitely going to check out the Pic Tap Go!! I've been using Snapseed for a while now. It does a pretty good job and is user friendly. I did try Afterlight but it didn't give me the control I was after (although it's been a while – it may be different now) and seemed a little more about the filters. I could spend hours editing photos. It's really sad. :)

  15. Oooh, I love this. I love how you share the before and after pictures too so we can really get a sense of how these work! I only use Instagram and Camera +. I can't wait to try the other ones out.

    Thanks for sharing!
    xoxo

  21. Afterlight has been my go-to for about a year now. I do have pic-tap-go, and I always forget to use it. It is a really good app!

    • Thanks, Meg! I need to figure out my official Afterlight recipe. I could be stuck on that app for hours if I let myself. Hope you had a great weekend away!

  22. Afterlight is the only one I use for about the past year now. I kind of want to check out these other apps though now ;) Thanks for the tips!

    • You are welcome! :) Is there some secret to Afterlight? Everyone loves it, but to me, it’s the most technical of them all. I can get some good results but it takes me forever. Oh, picture editing. ;)

  23. I always love your photos and the look you create! Great post, thanks for sharing:)!

  25. Afterlight is the only one I use for about the past year now. I kind of want to check out these other apps though now ;) Thanks for the tips!

  26. Definitely going to check out square ready…..I’ve been using instafit for pictures that do not fit the square so I’m excited to see another option. I must have missed something the first time trying pic-tap-go… friend also loves this one and I downloaded but didn’t really “get it” right evidently. Hope you had a super Easter!

    • Thanks, Shelly! Sorry for the late reply. You’ll love Squareready. It’s my favorite for getting photos to fit. Once you play around with PicTapGo and figure out how to use it (it took me about a week), it is the easiest of all the apps. Love its results. Hope you had a great weekend!

  27. Definitely going to check out square ready…..I've been using instafit for pictures that do not fit the square so I'm excited to see another option. I must have missed something the first time trying pic-tap-go… friend also loves this one and I downloaded but didn't really "get it" right evidently. Hope you had a super Easter!

    • Thanks so much, Jennifer! Glad you could get a better idea of whats out there. I love these apps. :) Hope you had a great weekend!

  38. Thanks, girlfriend! That is a bummer that Android doesn't offer PicTapGo. But you'll definitely love the others. :) VSCO is my next go-to.

  40. I do find myself using those options, too. :) And I still haven't found just one filter or "formula recipe" that I just love. I go back and forth. I was just going through my Instagram feed earlier, and before I started blogging, I had the worst filters…even when I first started. Geez. I guess I've learned a lot! Lol.

  42. Yay! You'll love it, Rebecca. :) I have not hear of Snapped. I'll have to check that one out too. I know. I always spend way too much time on filters/editing. You could definitely spend hours on it.

  43. Thanks, Jennifer! I hope you've liked what I recommended. Sorry it took so long for me to reply. Somehow these comments escaped me! Eeek! Hope you had a great weekend!

  46. Thanks, Meg! I need to figure out my official Afterlight recipe. I could be stuck on that app for hours if I let myself. Hope you had a great weekend away!

  47. You are welcome! :) Is there some secret to Afterlight? Everyone loves it, but to me, it's the most technical of them all. I can get some good results but it takes me forever. Oh, picture editing. ;)

  48. Thanks, Shelly! Sorry for the late reply. You'll love Squareready. It's my favorite for getting photos to fit. Once you play around with PicTapGo and figure out how to use it (it took me about a week), it is the easiest of all the apps. Love its results. Hope you had a great weekend!

  52. What great tips! Thanks so much for sharing! I was uncertain which was the “real” AfterLight app on Google Play, so I appreciate the link to the one you use. Love your pics!!

  53. From your favorite photo editing apps, I am currently using only two, AfterLight and Instagram. I would download other three too on my iPhone. I am also using a Gif app named Gifxapp. This app is quite interesting app. Use it for giving your picture interesting Gif effects. This app is really cool. You can make your Facebook and Instagram interesting through this app.

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