Of course, we have our tried and true desktop photo and editing software (cough cough all Adobe) but like everyone else, we edit on our phones, too! We have tried almost every single photo and video editing app. And now, you don’t have to. We’re about to share the ones we couldn’t live without.
LIGHTROOM MOBILE
What, you didn’t think we were gonna totally ditch our Adobe suite right? Lightroom Mobile is our go-to app for editing – mostly because we can do it with our own presets using the interface that we are already familiar with on desktop. It can do all of the basic editing you need inside the free version.
Yes, the app is free but has a pro version that unlocks more features. You didn’t hear it from us but if you’re thinking about upgrading your Lightroom Mobile, hold off for our second favorite mobile editing app! (It does a bunch of the stuff that you can only get in the paid version of Lightroom. So if you’re okay with using multiple apps on occasion, you can do it without forking over any cash.)
SNAPSEED
We love this app because it’s basically the free version of paid Lightroom Mobile. If you have both of these apps for your photo editing, you’re totally solid! You can’t import your own presets, so you’ll still need lightroom for that. But some of the other features make it a great supporting actress!
We especially love the cloning tool and perspective tools in Snapseed. If you’re unfamiliar with those terms, “cloning” refers to removing unwanted parts of an image by replacing them with information from surrounding areas or background in the image. (You’ve seen all the videos removing people on the beach right?) The “perspective” tool is used to straighten horizons and vertical lines on buildings. It makes your lens distortion (especially when you’re shooting on your phone and makes nice and straight.) You can also change the perspective slightly so that it appears that you took the photo more below/above, or to the left/right of where it really way. It’s kinda magical. Try it!
VLOGNOW (VN)
VN is a super easy and free video editing app. We absolutely love this app for mobile video editing. This app allows you to extract layers of video and audio. We have used it countless times to extract sound from TikToks and use it for Reels (shhh… don’t tell!)
We’re always blown away by the number of features VN has considering how flipping user-friendly it is. It’s pretty great that you can edit video in layers which is usually reserved for desktop programs only. Nichole said once that the VN app is “the closest thing to editing on (adobe) premiere!” For Nichole, that is a massive compliment.
We promise we aren’t sponsored by ANY of these companies. They’re just our ride or die apps for editing. Like we said, we tried them all so you don’t have to! If you have a favorite you think we’re overlooking, send us a DM!