I Tried 12 Free Photo Editors So You Don't Have To — Here's What Actually Works

Apply a professional-looking color grade without touching any sliders.

1. 1
   Download Lightroom Mobile and sign up (free tier) — You don't need a Creative Cloud subscription. Use your Google or Apple ID to create a free account.
2. 2
   Import your photo — Tap the blue icon at the bottom right, then select 'Add Photos' from your camera roll.
3. 3
   Tap the Presets button at the bottom — It looks like a half-filled circle. Lightroom's free presets include 'Portrait', 'Landscape', 'Cinematic', and 'Vintage'.
4. 4
   Scroll through presets and tap one to apply — Don't just tap once — scroll through the list and preview each one. The preview updates live on your photo.
5. 5
   Adjust intensity with the slider that appears — After selecting a preset, a slider appears. Drag it left to reduce the effect (I usually go to 60-80% — full presets are often too strong).

Erase power lines, pimples, or photobombers from your photos.

1. 1
   Open Snapseed and load your photo — Same as before — tap the plus button and select your image.
2. 2
   Tap Tools, then Healing — The icon looks like a band-aid. This is Snapseed's version of Photoshop's Spot Healing Brush.
3. 3
   Zoom in on the object you want to remove — Use two fingers to pinch-zoom. The object should fill about a quarter of the screen.
4. 4
   Tap on the object — don't swipe — Each tap removes a small area. For a power line, tap every few pixels along the line. For a pimple, one tap is usually enough.
5. 5
   Use the undo button (curved arrow) if it looks wrong — Snapseed's healing is good but not perfect. If the result looks smudgy, tap undo and try tapping with a smaller brush (use the two-finger pinch to change brush size).

Create a fake shallow depth-of-field effect that looks like a portrait lens.

1. 1
   Open Lightroom Mobile and import your photo — Make sure your subject is in focus — this technique works best when the subject is sharp.
2. 2
   Tap the Radial Gradient tool (circle icon) — It's in the toolbar at the bottom, between 'Crop' and 'Brush'.
3. 3
   Draw an oval around your subject — Place your finger on the screen and drag to create an oval. The area inside the oval will be sharp; everything outside will be blurred.
4. 4
   Invert the mask by tapping the arrow icon — This ensures the blur is applied to the background, not the subject.
5. 5
   Reduce the Clarity and Sharpness sliders outside the oval — Drag Clarity to about -30 and Sharpness to -20. This creates a soft blur without looking fake.

Darken a blown-out sky without affecting the foreground.

1. 1
   Open Snapseed and load your photo — Works best on landscapes or portraits with a bright sky.
2. 2
   Tap Tools, then Graduated Filter — The icon looks like a half-black/half-white circle. This is a linear gradient tool.
3. 3
   Tap the blue circle to reset, then place a gradient line — Tap once on the screen to drop a blue circle. A line appears with a dot at the top. Drag the dot to where the sky meets the ground.
4. 4
   Swipe down on the screen to darken — Keep your finger on the photo and swipe down. The Exposure slider shows a negative number. Aim for -0.7 to -1.0 for a natural sky.
5. 5
   Adjust the gradient's angle by rotating two fingers — If your horizon is tilted, rotate the gradient line to match it. The effect will follow the angle.

Smooth skin, whiten teeth, and remove blemishes without looking plastic.

1. 1
   Download PicsArt and open a selfie or portrait — PicsArt has a lot of clutter, but the portrait tools are hidden gems.
2. 2
   Tap Tools, then Enhance, then Portrait — This opens a dedicated portrait editing mode. You'll see options like 'Skin', 'Face', and 'Eyes'.
3. 3
   Use the Skin slider to smooth — keep it under 30 — Slide to the right to smooth skin. Anything above 30 starts to look like a filter. I keep it at 20.
4. 4
   Tap the Face option and adjust the Face Slim slider slightly — A value of 5-10 is barely noticeable but can subtly refine jawlines. Don't overdo it.
5. 5
   Save and export as JPEG — Tap the checkmark, then the download icon. Choose 'Save to Gallery'.

Apply the same edits to a whole set of photos in seconds.

1. 1
   Edit one photo to your liking in Snapseed — Use any combination of tools — exposure, color, healing, etc. Don't save yet.
2. 2
   Tap Export, then Save — this saves the edit history — Snapseed automatically saves your edit as a 'Stack' (the list of tools you used).
3. 3
   Open the next photo in the series — Tap the plus button and select another photo from the same shoot.
4. 4
   Tap the Stack icon (three horizontal lines) — It's at the top right, next to the undo button. This shows your edit history from the previous photo.
5. 5
   Tap the three dots next to each tool and select 'Copy to Stack' — This copies the exact settings from the previous edit to the new photo. Repeat for all tools in the stack.