What are the best photo editing apps for iPhone for creating mobile pictures? How do you choose the best app? Cell phones can now take amazing pictures with improved optics and depth of field. You might ask “ Why would I need to spend time editing my photo?”
Without using photo editing apps you won’t be able to get the best picture on your phone. This is where this recommended list comes in.
Click here to Learn How to Take the Most Beautiful Landscape Photos With Your Phone
10 Best Photo Editing Apps for iPhone
Pixelmator
Available for IOS | $4.99
Best for: Advanced editing for images with graphic design elements
Pixelmator is one of the best photo editing apps for iPhone. It includes advanced editing features. The layer-based editor allows you to enhance images, sketch, and paint. The editing tools include beautifully designed templates. Instantly remove unwanted objects and duplicate areas with the Clone tool. Sharpen, lighten, or darken any area in the image with this app editing tools. Also, try the full-featured painting app and choose from over 100 brushes.
Enhance your image by using graphic design features. Add styled layers like shadows, outlines, and gradient fills. Adjust your image by cropping, arranging, and rotating objects in this app. Lastly, add text, change the size, style, and design of text to match your picture.
Pixelmator Special Features:
- Painting: Choose from over 100 brushes to create incredible detail on your image.
- Graphic Design: Combine words, shapes, and color to create stunning artwork.
- Compatibility: Save import and save images in JPG, and PNG files
Mextures
Available for IOS | $1.99
Best for: Applying dust, textures, or grain to any image with layers
Mextures is known for its versatility in adding textures to images. In this app you’ll be able to add layers of filters to your image. You can add over 150 textures of light leaks, grunge, and other effects. If the effect is too strong you can adjust the opacity. Simplify your editing with professional editing tools like exposure, contrast, and black and white. Save your workflow and edits for future use, saving you time and money. Share your formulas for your pictures with a simple code on any social network.
Mextures Special Features
- Textures: You’ll find over 150 textures you can try. From light leaks, to vintage gradients
- Save and Share: Create and save formulas for future use. Also, you can share your formula on social media with a simple code.
- Infinite layers- Experiment with layers to add texture
Enlight
Available for IOS | $3.99
Best for: Creating double exposure images with the photo mixer and advanced editing
Enlight is an Apple Design Award Winner and has endless editing possibilities. This app offers image editing with control over editing details. Save presets for editing in the future. Enhance black and white photos with presets designed to create stunning images. Create outstanding double exposure images with the photo mixer to create artistic shots.With advanced photo correction, you can fix the light in under or overexposed images. Adjust the color, size, or shape of the image with the advanced editing tools in this app.
Enlight Special Features
- Advanced Editing Tools: Adjust the color, tone, and curve of your image. Reshape or size specific each object in your photo.
- Black & White Photography: Try signature presets for photo conversion. Use darkroom inspired techniques to create stunning monochromatic photos.
- Photo Mixer: Mix two photos together to create a double exposure effect.
Facetune 2
Available for IOS |Free
Best for: Editing selfies to enhance the beauty
Do you want your selfie to look professional? Facetune 2 is a photo editor that has an amazing collection of the best retouching features. Create a natural make up with the best beauty editing app on the market. You can fix skin tone and add a glowing touch. Try artistic tools to replace backgrounds and to create colorful light effects.
Facetune Special Features
- Smooth skin: Brush over blemishes, smooth skin, and add a glow to your skin
- Artistic tools: Replace backgrounds and add looks to create colorful light effects
- Professional features: Enlarge or minimize features and change the light source for better lighting
Darkroom
Available for IOS | Free- Offers In-App Purchases
Best for: Simple workflow for adding a custom filter and editing features
Darkroom is a powerful editing tool for iPhones. With the well-designed interface, you can upload your images from the library and edit your photos. An advantage to this app is the Raw and Large image support. This allows greater editing capacity. With depth editing, you can edit the foreground and background in Portrait-mode photos. You can also integrate this app with social media by using the hashtag manager.
Darkroom Special Features
- Library: All your images are instantly available in the image library. Your images are synced to your photo library.
- Live Photo Editing: Edit your live photo by adding a filter or edits to the whole clip including the sound.
- Hashtag Manager: Create sets of hashtags you can export with one-tap anywhere. Also, create Siri shortcuts to add your hashtags from any app.
Carbon
Available for IOS | Free
Best for: Black and white editing
Carbon is the best black and white photo editing app for iPhone with stunning filters and effects. You can edit raw photos with enhanced editing features. Try excellent monochrome filters to create stunning pictures. Add filters, texture or adjust the brightness, contrast, and other editing features.
Carbon Special Features:
- Black and white enhanced filters: Choose from different black and white filters
- Add Texture: Add texture to enhance your black and white photography
- Hashtag Suggestions: Choose from specific hashtag categories to be found on social media
Hipstamatic
Available for IOS | $2.99
Best for: Taking classic looking shots with your mobile phone
Hipstamatic was Apple’s very first App of the year but has many updates recently. This app creates a classic shooting experience with lenses, flashes, and films. Try the pro cam to manually control focus, white balance, shutter speed, and ISO. Edit your image using over 20 adjustment tools and 12 signature presets.
Hipstamatic Special Features
- Classic Lenses: Adjust the color and filter with lenses for photography types
- Classic Pro Camera: Add a retro feel to your camera with the camera. Also, adjust the focus and shutter speed and ISO of your image
- Film: Create images that look old school with different film filters to enhance your shot.
Snapseed
Available for IOS | Free
Best for: Complete and professional with over 30+ tools for photo editing
Snapseed is one of the best editing apps for mobile users. With many professional editing features, it quickly became a hit. It was originally produced by Nik Software but was sold to Google in 2012. The tools create outstanding edits comparable to professional image editing software.
Try Snapseed when you want to edit and save any image. Opt for quick editing by choosing filter settings or adjust any aspect of your photo with tools. With 29 tools, you can adjust color, white balance, lens blur and much more.
Snapseed Special Features:
Healing brushes to remove unwanted objects like signs from a landscape
Perspective- Fix slanted lines and adjust the geometry of horizons or buildings
Save custom looks and apply them to new photos for faster editing
Selectively choose specifics areas to edit brightness, contrast, and saturation in the image
Adobe Photoshop Express
Available for IOS | Free | Optional: Creative Cloud Subscription
Best for: Adding text with a variety of fonts, colors, and transparency
Photoshop Express is known for it’s fast and seamless editing options. The #1 user requested feature is to play with text. This app gives you flexibility and control over text and much more. You can quickly add a border, color, and zoom. Try the ready-to-use options like background, gradients, and layouts for faster editing.
Photoshop Special Features
Artistic collages: Choose from aesthetically pleasing layouts with a single tap
Color Pop Tool: Select a color to pop out on all your images to create cohesiveness and connection.
Perspective Correction: Fixed skewed photos with a simple tap
Lightroom
Available for IOS | Free | Optional: Monthly Subscription $9.99
Best for: Editing images to refine and tweak colors to make the photo pop
The Lightroom software is one of the best editing apps for professional photographers. Lightroom enables you to create stunning photos and edits seamlessly. Although, the desktop is very robust there are many advances edits you can do for free on your phone. If you like the app you can always choose to upgrade to the pro version with additional features.
Lightroom Special Features:
- Color Mixer: Adjust the individual color by hue, saturation, and luminance
- Presets: Adjust and create presets to make changes with a single touch and use on later edits
- Pro-Level camera: Shoot in raw and adjust manual mode with unique camera controls
TouchRetouch
Available for IOS | $1.99 |
Best for: Getting rid of unwanted telephone wires or poles, pimples or skin blemishes
Eliminate signs, lines, or people from your image with Touch Retouch. This app is the best app in the industry for removing objects from photos. Choose from a brush or lasso, or use the single-touch line removal. Quickly remove small imperfections by tapping on them to take them away.
TouchRetouch Special Features
- One-Touch Fix- remove the unwanted objects by touching them to remove the blemish.
- Line Remover- Remove a large segment by choosing the thin, medium or thick segment remover.
- Retouching- Try the clone stamp tool to duplicate areas and fix problems on your image.
Final Tips: Choosing the Best Photo Editing Apps for iPhone
Now, you have learned about the 10 best photo editing apps for iPhone and their uses. Included in the description is what the app can be best used for. The uses for each of these apps vary and have many uses. With if you want one app that is very versatile the all-around best photo editing app and is free try Snapseed. If you want to adjust the color with very fine edits use Adobe Lightroom CC. To add lens flares and natural elements to your photo try Mextures. When objects are in your landscape try TouchRetouch to remove objects. If you enjoy taking selfies try Facetune. These editing apps will help you create the best photos on your iPhone. Try these apps and let us know in the comments what is your favorite and why.
Thank you for a wealth of information