While capturing special moments with a camera is exciting, we’ve all experienced the disappointment of seeing our photos fall short of expectations. Many default camera apps lack the capabilities that help you take better photos and even more so in editing tools that would make them stand out.
You don’t need to open a laptop or switch to a desktop computer to edit your photos. In addition to the top Android apps found in the Play Store, there are plenty of capable apps available for your Android device that can do the job just as well, if not better, in some instances.
1. Pixtica: Camera and Editor
As a new Pixtica user, you have a free account with limited features. While the app is ad-free, even in its trial mode, you’ll need to upgrade to unlock its features. The upgrade prices are affordable. There’s a one-time purchase for $4.99 or an annual subscription for $2.99. This removes watermarks and unlocks more than 350 stickers, over 250 textures and backgrounds, over 70 filters, over 80 overlay effects, and more.
When in trial mode, you don’t have access to everything, and sometimes the max resolution depends on your device. This app features a Magic Hours feature, which uses your location to display the blue and golden hours for the day, perfect for finding the best outdoor lighting. Also, you can enable the Shake Indicator to ensure steady videos.
In the gallery, you can use creative tools to apply filters and effects, decorate with stickers, create memes, make size adjustments, and enhance portraits. The portrait enhancing mode primarily focuses on image backgrounds and does a commendable job of blurring and applying designs. Pixtica does a little bit of everything.
2. PhotoScan by Google Photos
If you’re interested in digitizing your printed photos, this app will be your new best friend. This standalone app by Google Photos scans and saves physical photos using your mobile device’s camera. It uses advanced image processing algorithms to find the edges of the photo and makes corrections to improve the look of your photos by fixing perspective distortion and removing glares and shadows.
The app is easy to use. It’s like other camera apps where you point and shoot. There are also options to disable the flash and glare removal features. Once a photo is scanned, it’s saved to your Google Photos library, where you can edit and adjust it as needed. The PhotoScan app allows you to rotate, adjust corners, delete, and share your images. However, photos that are deleted directly from the PhotoScan app still show in the Google Photos app, so be sure to delete them from there as well.
3. Open Camera
This ad-supported app can replace your default camera app. Although it may take a little digging to find things, it gives you many features you’ll find in the best Android phones without paying flagship prices. Not all features may not be available on your device. They’re dependent on the device’s hardware.
You can adjust the camera mode (standard, DRO, HDR, panorama), camera resolution, exposure, white balance, and color effect. In addition, you can enable 11 types of grids and multiple types of each, including 3×3, 4×2, crosshair, golden, triangle, and diagonals. The auto-level feature automatically rotates your photos, so they’re always level, but this mode slightly decreases the image resolution.
Don’t skip the app’s settings, where you’ll find many features that can be enabled and customized to make Open Camera even more functional. From audio control options to image quality and format options to numerous on-screen GUI controls, you’ll want to take some time to review them all.
4. PhotoRoom
Don’t like the background in your photos? This app does an exceptional job of removing and replacing them with templates. A few honorable mentions are magazine covers, marketplaces (eBay, Etsy, Mercari, Amazon, and others), 70s portraits, podcast covers, modern art, Van Gogh, and social media (feed posts, stories, banners, cover images, and profile pictures).
Once you find a template you like, you can do some fine-tuning. For instance, if you don’t like how your image is positioned, resize it and move it around. PhotoRoom also has a selection of images you can insert. However, many require a Pro subscription.
As you move things around, placement guides pop up to help, but you can turn these off in the settings. You can customize each graphic on a template by adding effects, adjusting the look and feel, changing the color, and more. Resizing and batch editing are only for Pro members. The monthly and yearly Pro subscriptions come with a seven-day free trial, so you can test the waters before diving in.
5. Snapseed
Created by Google, this app has a simple layout, is free of ads, and is user-friendly. After opening a JPG or RAW image, you can choose a filter or manually adjust almost every aspect of your photo. There are 28 tools available, each with numerous options for fine-tuning and tweaking your photos. You can undo mistakes, view your edit history, and adjust or remove changes individually.
The tutorials within the app explain advanced techniques and help you create stunning looks using a combination of filters and tools in just a few minutes. In Snapseed’s settings, you can switch to the dark theme, choose the maximum image size for export and sharing, and select your preferred image format and quality.
When you’re finished editing your photo, share it using the native Android share menu. You can also create a QR look code, and anyone who scans your code in the app can apply your Look to their photo. Plus, with the View Edits feature, they can see what was applied and adjust the photo. You can even save these Looks for reuse in the app.
Footej is steep at $29.99 per month after a three-day free trial, but you get an adjustable time-lapse, numerous advanced configuration options, and ad removal. Alternatively, you can use the free limited version with full-page ads, which allows you to use the HD camera features and burst mode.
Camera modes include time-lapse, slow motion, video, photo, burst, HDR, raw, and panorama. You can use six color effects, including incandescent, daylight, auto, and manual. If you enable the grid, there are five options: horizon, diagonal left/right, square, phi, and normal.
In Footej’s settings, you’ll find general, photo, video, and fingerprint gesture settings for more customization. A few options like high GIF quality, stabilization, and audio source options for videos are unavailable with the limited app version. Overall, Footej’s modern’s design and unique options make it a great choice if you’re willing to pay.
7. Lightroom Photo & Video Editor
If you’re an Adobe Photoshop user, you’ll love using this ad-free app when on the go. You can edit photos, and there’s a built-in camera with automatic and professional modes (HDR capture mode is only available on supported devices). Plus, with a monthly or yearly upgrade (after a seven-day free trial), you can unlock premium features like the healing brush, RAW editing, masking, 150+ high-quality presets, video editing, cloud storage, and batch editing.
To get started, you’ll need an Adobe account. You can add photos from your device or via the camera and organize them into albums. With a free account, you get a few basic features, like adjusting the exposure and applying filters and limited sharing options. There are only a few options in preferences, such as the ability to add images from a specific folder on your device to the app and adjust the RAW photo import options (such as adding a copyright).
With a free account, you can apply a small selection of basic presets and use most of the tools. You can’t use masking, healing, geometry, and recommended presets, similar to Snapseed’s QR Look codes. You can also explore the Lightroom community, find presets from other users to use and save, remix community photos, and share your own. Take a look. You’ll be happy you did!
8. Photoshop Camera Photo Filters
Since Photoshop Camera is another Adobe-created app, you’ll need to sign in with your account. Then, it takes you to the built-in camera, where the magic happens. Here, you can browse and test multiple free effects and filters (or lenses) in real time to see how they’ll look before taking a picture. If you don’t see one you like, the app features the Lens Library, where you can search for something that suits you. There are over a hundred to choose from, and new lenses are added weekly.
Once you take a picture with the camera, you can edit it in real time. You can switch to a different lens and automatically or manually adjust it by changing the clarity, vibrancy, exposure, contrast, saturation, and more. In addition, you can resize, rotate, flip, and crop.
You can even work with images you have. If the app recognizes what’s in the photo, it recommends the best lens based on the objects in your photo. Similarly, when using the camera, you can adjust the image before saving or sharing it. If fun and creativity are what you’re looking for, you’re sure to find that in the Photoshop Camera app.
500px is a popular community for photographers and shutterbugs who love browsing and sharing photos. Once you create an account, you’ll start a non-renewing 14-day trial membership that lets you enjoy the full app experience. You can see statistics about your work, upload as many photos as you want, access liked photos, view photos offline, and more. After the trial period, you’re downgraded to the free version unless you pay for one of the app’s two plans.
You can view what’s popular, browse community uploads, explore curated galleries, and access a ton of free and premium resources like articles, videos, workshops, and webinars. You can also participate in photography challenges where you compete to win trips, gear, and cash prizes.
You can take a picture from your camera or add files that are on your device. Photos can be licensed, allowing you to earn passive income from them if you want to go that route. An offline viewing feature lets you view photos without using your data. However, when 500px reaches 25% of your device’s capacity, it deletes older photos to make space for new ones. If a community is what you want, this app is for you.
10. Sun Surveyor (Sun & Moon)
This app requires a one-time fee of $7.99. However, it’s useful for photographers looking for the ideal lighting and ambiance for their outdoor photos. Sun Surveyor (Sun & Moon) provides information about the sun and moon, such as their location in the sky, the times of sunrise and sunset, and the phases of the moon. The app is useful for planning photography sessions, as this allows you to get the most out of your shots by ensuring the lighting is just right. It can also determine the best time to view a solar eclipse and help you learn about celestial bodies.
Sun Surveyor (Sun & Moon) uses your device’s GPS and other sensors to provide accurate and location-specific information, and you have some control over how frequently these are used. Some handy features in the app for accessing augmented reality views of the sky include a 3D compass, local map, live view, ephemeris, and street view. You can also set alerts for important events.
The app has a slight learning curve because of the extensive features and the large amount of information provided. However, once you’ve discovered everything it offers, you’ll wonder how you got by without it.
11. TouchRetouch
This ad-free app costs a one-time fee of $3.99, but it’s worth it if you’re looking for a convenient way to remove unwanted objects and backgrounds from your photos. With TouchRetouch, removing a blemish or minor imperfection on portraits and selfies can be done with a single tap. For outdoor photos, you can remove power lines of all sizes automatically or manually. The app detects meshes (like fences) and erases them in minutes. The clone stamp is excellent if you want to replicate an object in your photo pixel-to-pixel. You can even choose a few mirroring options to customize the clone’s position.
Large object removals can take extra time to get right and are best done using manual mode, but TouchRetouch’s auto mode is excellent for smaller objects. The brush tool lets you highlight unwanted objects with your finger, while the lasso enables you to draw around objects to select them. Plus, you can enable the tutorial to display helpful tooltips. TouchRetouch doesn’t offer much for beautifying photos, but it does a fantastic job of cleaning them up!
Amazing photos are within reach
Who’d have guessed that one day we’d have smartphones with incredible cameras and the ability to use advanced photography apps to simplify the most difficult processes? With these apps, anyone can take stunning photos, regardless of their experience level or skill. Adding creative backgrounds and effects, improving the lighting, learning new techniques, making sure you have the perfect lighting, or getting rid of flaws can often be done with little work. It’s just a matter of selecting the right apps, which we’ve done for you!
And if you need a little extra help to make your pictures look their best, we have a few tips for editing your photos.
