6 essential apps for iPhone photographers

You don’t need us to tell you that iPhones have grown ubiquitous over the last 15 years. And the quality of iPhone cameras has improved to rival high-end Canon and Nikon cameras. So it’s no surprise that people are more interested in taking pics that look professional. Add do that the number of apps that help you edit photos like a pro. and it’s even less of a wonder. So we understand why you want the best photo apps to help you showcase your skills. And the App Store has hundreds of photography apps to choose from. But which ones are worth the price, and which free apps aren’t a waste of your time? We did the research and came up with the best photography apps to help you edit and share your photos.

Snapseed

Snapseed is a photo editing app suitable for both beginner and advanced users. The best part about Snapseed is that it is free to download. For beginners, Snapseed offers tutorial cards that include tips and tricks to use the app and take better photos. A few of the tools available on Snapseed are portrait tools to smoothen skin and brighten eyes, a healing tool to remove objects from your photos, as well as various filters and frames. When editing your photos on Snapseed, if you like how you edited it, you can save that style in the “last edits” section. With a simple click, you can apply that editing style to any other photos.

Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom will help you take your photos to the next level. This photo editing app not only gives you the editing basics with quick preset options, but it also offers advanced editing tools to give you control over the color and exposure in your pictures. The download is free, but we recommend upgrading to the premium features is if you want the best options and plan to do a lot of photo editing. The cost of the premium features is $9.99 a month and includes tools to help you apply an edit to a particular section and remove objects from photos. The subscription service will also allow you to access and edit your photo library through the Adobe Creative Cloud on all your devices.

VSCO

Pronounced ‘Visco,’ this app has a library of filter presets that you can choose from to apply to your photos and  share on your social media accounts. VSCO is straightforward to use, and you can find the filters in categories such as Vibrant, Black & White, or the genre of your photos such as Nature or Portrait. The preset filters are easy to apply, but you can adjust the strength of the filter and adjust the exposure, color, and sharpness of your photos.  VSCO is free, but you may want to subscribe for access to extra filters and tools. Unfortunately, the free version of the app only gives you access to 10 filters, while subscribing to a yearly membership of $19.99 offers access to over 200 filters.

Camera+ 2

The Camera+ 2 app is an app for taking photos and editing them in one place. This app has manual shooting controls like shutter speed, ISO, and white balance to help you take quality photos with its camera option. If you want to capture an image exactly as it appears and get the most flexibility in the editing process, enable the RAW capture feature. Camera+ 2 also has features to help you sharpen your focusing skills, capture fast-moving objects, and avoid your photos being under or overexposed. The editing options include preset filters and effects that you can layer to make your photos unique. You can polish every detail of your photos by correcting the exposure, white balance, or sharpness. You can but the Camera+ 2 app for $7.99.

Unfold

Unfold is an app geared towards helping you share your story on social media. This app has over 400 templates that you can choose from to match your aesthetic. You can also edit your photos in the Unfold app in the studio. Here it has all the standard editing tools, from applying filters and effects to adjusting the saturation, shadows, and color. Unfold also has an option to help you develop a Bio Site on your social media accounts, so all your links can be in one central location. Unfold is free to download, but if you want more template options, you can buy them for less than $2 apiece. Or you can sign up for Unfold+, which is either an annual membership of $19.99 or a monthly membership of $2.99; both membership options would allow you full access to the template library.

Mematic

If you are obsessed with memes, then check out Mematic. This app is one of the most popular apps for the iPhone for creating memes. It’s super easy to use and allows you to share your memes via text or social media accounts. When creating memes using the Mematic app, you can choose from your photo library or Mematic’s collection of premium photos and gifs. You can customize the meme by selecting a layout and adding text. Mematic is free to download, but if you want unlimited access to the Pro features, you can pay $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year.