Snapseed

I am not someone who frequently searches for apps of any kind in the app store. I have very limited apps on my phone and when I do download one it is usually very practical or recommended by someone.

When I edit my pictures I usually just throw them in Instagram and play around with the settings there, or if I have bigger changes I need to make I bring the photos into photoshop.

But, Oh. My. Gosh.

I read a post by Farirai on her blog Gophari and I think my life is forever changed.

In this post Farirai talks about the app Snapseed and some of it’s features. I was a little skeptical at first because usually photo apps that I’ve tried in the past have a free version with very limited features, which is why I haven’t really used many photo editing apps in the past other than Instagram itself. This one is so different.

Snapseed takes photo editing a step further than just allowing its users to adjust the basics such as the saturation, contrast, brightness, etc. They allow you to sharpen, blur and select a specific part of the photo to edit. So, for example, say that you want to brighten up someone’s face, but you don’t want the editing to affect the background. You can select just the face of your subject and apply different edits to it. Snapseed also has a variety of filters that give you the potential to make your photos appear to be of higher quality.

This app seems like a really great tool for photographers who may just be experimenting and don’t have professional quality equipment. The app gives you the ability to achieve the effect of shallow depth of field and really clear focus,  even if using an iPhone camera.

One thing that I really liked about Farirai’s post on her blog ,Gophari, was that she posted before and after images where she displayed some of the features that the app offers. I recommend checking out her post to see the huge difference that the app can make. She also gave an example of how it’s possible to over-edit your photos and the undesired effect that comes along with it.

I am so glad that I found this app, especially just in time for the weekend! I definitely plan to take some pictures and experiment with it, so I will have to post an update soon with what I learn!