PHOTO EDITING

FOUNDATION, TOUCH-UPS

Snapseed

• Cost | Free
• Use | Correcting
• Status | Popular
• Alternatives | VSCO

• Pros | Detailed editing, doesn't distort quality
• Cons | Overwhelming at first

A go-to for correcting white balance in photos. I hate having yellow-tinted walls or when my cats' white fur "glows". It's a little difficult to use at first because the tutorial gives you a lot to take in, but you can adjust after a while. I use this to correct most, if not all, of my indoor photography because unlike VSCO, you can pinpoint exactly where in the photo you want your white balance to adjust instead of correcting the entire photo.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Facetune

• Cost | $3.99
• Use | Correcting
• Status | Popular
• Alternatives | Picsart

• Pros | Easy to use, smooth functioning
• Cons | Paid, Specific

I was skeptical about Facetune at first, but now I always run my selfies by this app before posting. This app is big with makeup artists since you can detail your eyeshadow, make your highlight brighter, & smooth your skin. I try not to do too much with my selfies, but the brightener & smoothers made me more confident taking photos without makeup on.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Superimpose

• Cost | 99¢
• Use | Overlay, color change, masking
• Status | Popular
• Alternatives | Picsart, Erase

• Pros | Easy to use, smooth functioning
• Cons | Paid

This is my personal must-have! It's a base to almost all my fan edits & I also use it with my personal. I mostly use it to mask celebrities into backgrounds or add artistic overlays.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Picsart (Desktop & Mobile)

• Cost | Free, in app purchases, premium subscription
• Use | Basic editing
• Status | Popular
• Alternatives | Depends on the need

• Pros | basic editing tools, easy maneuvering, doubles as social network
• Cons | limited filters, fonts, etc. & a lot of in app purchases

Okay, this was my beginner app, but isn't my favorite. I only use it for shape cutting profile photos, cropping edits, & collages now. It's a great app for beginners or editors that don't mind spending a lot of money on in app purchases because now they have a subscription. It is the most common app to replace masking though so I would download if you can't get Superimpose!

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Moldiv

• Cost | Free, in app purchases ($6-$12)
• Use | Collage, magazine covers & articles
• Status | Average
• Alternatives | Pic collage, picsart

• Pros | Tons of collage options, user friendly
• Cons | Expensive in app purchases, limited dimensions

I started using this a lot recently! Not just for editing, but laying out my feed. I love using the multi-layered collages to mask later in Superimpose. I bought a lot of magazine cover templates on sale & they're pretty fun to mess around with. I wouldn't recommend the purchase unless it's for a theme though because it is costly!

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

freephototool.com

• Cost | Free
• Use | Editing
• Status | Rare
• Alternative | Depends on the need

• Pros | Photoshop rip
• Cons | Slow

So this is called Pixlr Editor (on desktop) & I found it a few months ago. It's basically a free version of PS & even has the exact layout. It can't do everything PS does, but it is simpler to use. It's frustratingly slow at times, but I think that can be tolerated if you absolutely need something done.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

picmonkey.com

• Cost | Free, in web purchases, premium subscription
• Use | Touch ups, collages, basic editing
• Status | Average
• Alternatives | Depends on the need

• Pros | Simple
• Cons | A lot of in web purchases, basic

I don't personally use this site, but I know YouTubers used to use premium for their thumbnails if they didn't have photoshop (ex. Joe Sugg). I don't care for it because I like to go "cheap & advanced" with my editors, but it might cover your basic needs so there's not harm in trying. Combined with the above site, it might be worth it!