Are you looking for a good Photoshop app for your smartphone? There are so many options these days. It isn’t easy to make a quick decision. To help you get started, here are the best Photoshop apps for smartphone photography.
Note: “Photoshop apps” refers to a spectrum of smartphone image-editing tools.
Should You Use a Photoshop App?
In short, yes, you should! It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced or beginner photographer. Editing your photos is a must. You can develop your photography style, and it helps you clean up photos if needed.
There are dozens of photo editing programs for desktop computers and laptops. But there are just as many Photoshop apps for your smartphone.
Which one to download depends on which tools you’d like and your skill level. Having at least one Photoshop app to make your photos stand out is always good.
7 Best Photoshop Apps for Smartphones
You can pick a simple photo editing app with only filters or a more advanced one. Here’s a list of the best Photoshop apps for smartphone photography.
1. Adobe Lightroom for Mobile
Download: iPhone or Android
Like Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom is a preferred desktop program for professional photographers. You can download the Adobe Lightroom for Mobile app for free. It is a great choice for smartphone photography.
This free version lets you use Lightroom presets and make image adjustments. The app has a variety of features. One of our favorites is the Curves tool.
On top of that, it’s user-friendly and a great option for both amateurs and professionals. The possibilities are comparable with the Lightroom desktop version. The best way to use Lightroom Mobile is to combine it with the desktop version.
Pros:
- Advanced tools for professional editing
- Supports RAW images
- Import presets
- Syncs with Adobe Creative Cloud (editing between devices)
Cons:
- It is free, but you need a Creative Cloud subscription if you want to access all tools and functions
2. Adobe Photoshop Express
Download: iPhone or Android
Adobe is well known for its excellent photo editing software and has a great reputation. Photoshop is probably the best and most complete photo editing program for desktops. But they also have a mobile version called Adobe Photoshop Express.
While desktop Photoshop is not for beginners, Photoshop Express is much easier to use. It’s well-designed and structured. Even if you’ve never used a Photoshop app, you won’t have any problems getting used to this one.
Pros:
- Easy to navigate
- A good set of tools for basic photo editing
- Adobe Creative Cloud integration
- One-click social media sharing directly to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and WhatsApp
- RAW and TIFF file support
Cons:
- It’s free, but some tools and functions require a Creative Cloud membership
- Don’t expect the same possibilities as the desktop version
3. Afterlight Photo
Download: iPhone
Afterlight Photo is a great photo editing app for beginners with an iPhone. It includes a ton of features. You can spend hours exploring the app and experimenting with your images.
The app’s simple layout has clear icons that make it easy to navigate. It offers the perfect balance between simple and advanced photo editing apps.
It’s a great mid-level editing program that does what it should. You can read our full review of Afterlight Photo.
Pros:
- User-friendly
- Text overlays
- Selective hue and lightness adjustment
Cons:
- Only for iPhone
- No frame options
- Too many unnecessary features
4. Snapseed
Snapseed is probably the best app to start with if you want to get a mobile editing app. You need some editing experience, but for the most part, it’s very user-friendly. That’s because many of its preset filters are comparable to well-known Instagram filters.
Once you know the options of Snapseed, you can develop your own presets that suit your style.
“Expand” is one of Snapseed’s most interesting tools. It calculates what the area surrounding the subject looks like. Then it uses this data to make the canvas larger. You can read our full Snapseed tutorial to learn more.
Pros:
- Several great one-click presets and editing tools
- It supports RAW files and gives you full control
- Suited for amateur and professional photographers
- No advertisements
Cons:
- Not for complete beginners because there is a slight learning curve
- Saving your work is not very intuitive
- Options to integrate with social media sites can be clearer
5. VSCO
This photo and video editing app provides a massive collection of VSCO filters and high-quality editing tools. You can adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation. But it also has advanced controls such as perspective.
On top of all that, VSCO has a community of photographers to show off your work! It is perfect if you like the look of film photography.
Pros:
- Designed for editing mobile images
- Best film look filters out there
- Can share with the VSCO community
Cons:
- Free, but with a subscription fee for extra filters and tools
6. TouchRetouch
TouchRetouch is all about removing objects from a photo. It lets you remove street signs, people, power lines, and more. It’s the app to choose if you want to do just that. Read our tutorial on how to use TouchRetouch.
Pros:
• Best choice for removing objects
Cons:
- Very specific purpose
7. Darkroom
Download: iPhone
Darkroom is a multi-app workflow solution. It’s a decent alternative to Lightroom but offers a different workflow take.
The Library is what it’s all about. Instead of importing photos, Darkroom uses your existing photo library. The advantage is that you won’t end up with a duplicate library.
Darkroom offers similar editing tools that work well for RAW and JPEG images. It also features a unique take on depth-enabled Portrait Mode. This means you can apply different edits to different parts of the picture, depending on how far away they are.
Pros:
- User-friendly design
- Access your entire photo library without importing each one individually
- Supports RAW files
- Track, undo, and redo edits
- Create and save custom filters
- Batch edit any number of photos
- Share images directly to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
Cons:
- Only for iPhone
Conclusion: Best Photoshop App
If you want to improve your smartphone photography, learning how to edit images is important. And with mobile photography being so popular, it’s a good idea to also have a Photoshop app on your smartphone. Pick one that suits your needs and make your photos stand out before you share with your audience.
Why not check out our post on the iPhone Photo Academy course review or our Gurushots review? The latter is a fun photography game to get your images seen!
