Snapseed
Its easier than you think.
Snapseed is a very powerful, yet very intuitive, photo-editing app. Best of all, its free! If you export images correctly, its also nondestructive, keeping your original photo and saving your edited image separately.
Google acquired Snapseed in 2012 after Snapseed was awarded the 2011 iOS App of the year. Nik Software (the company that initially made Snapseed) developed a wide range of photo filters and plug-in products, specializing in high dynamic range (HDR) filters. The HDR filters are still incredibly good today.
This image (below) was taken in Queenstown Tasmania and was created with the HDR scape tool. You can see the before and after.
Now it's a Google app and many user will agree, it has evolved very well under the Google name. It has some powerful photo-editing filters you can use on your smartphone or your tablet.
Where to Find Snapseed
Snapseed is a free app available for both Android and iOS mobile devices. Take pictures on your mobile device, apply Snapseed's filters and very creative tools and share them on social media platforms.
Snapseed is an artist's tool with advanced features and recommended for serious photographers. For the pros, its the app you use when you want to take a while to make an advanced image. If you think of it like Adobe Photoshop with the layers, you will soon work out you can do all sorts of advanced editing.
For the happy snapper, its easy-to-use controls make it suitable for everyone. You can simply use some of the “Looks” tools t apply filters similar (but better) than the ones on Instagram.
What You Can Do With Snapseed?
Select a photo from your photo library or take a new photo. Use the “Looks” tab and select a thumbnail at the bottom of the screen to make the initial adjustment to the saturation of the image.
Most of the editing work is done in the Tools section of the app where there are around 25 different tools to use. There you find a healing brush, vignette, and glamor glow filters. There are also creative photo frames, textures, and grunge and lighting effects. You can rotate and crop images, fix skewed lines with the Perspective filter, and adjust the white balance of your images. Use the Curves filter to exercise precise control over brightness and shadow levels. There are so many tools to use independently, or with each other, the sky is the limit.
When you are happy with the changes you've made to your photo, tap Export. From the export screen, you can share the edited image, save it separately from the individual photo or create a copy with permanent changes. Its always best to save a copy, that way your original is preserved for a later date if you want to “re-work” it at a later date. You could even try a simple B&W / Colour comparison.
The entire process is simple and intuitive. You can wander from tool to tool making adjustments, knowing that nothing is permanent until you make it permanent.
Snapseed isn't a desktop app. It's designed for mobiles and tablets and it fits that market segment very well.
It’s free, so head over to where you get your apps and download it today. You won’t regret it.
