Apps to Edit Your Pictures Like a Pro

Editing pictures has become a major part of today's society. Whether you're a photographer and editing your photos to make them all cohesive or just trying to make your Instagram feed look put together, making sure you use the right editing tools is extremely important. Here are three free apps that you can use to really improve your editing game.

• Adobe Lightroom- Almost every photographer uses this service to edit their pictures. This is a program you can use on your computer or you can use the app version on your phone. Lightroom allows people to edit their photos in depth by changing the brightness, contrast, saturation, the hues and intensity of certain colors, and many more. On this program, you can also create and save your own filters, known as presets, to use on multiple pictures. This allows a set of photos to all look very similar without spending a lot of time on each photo. You can also sell your own or buy other people's presets as well. Lightroom does have some paid features, but I have not found them necessary or crucial to the picture editing process. Lightroom can be overwhelming at first but it is a great app to use if you're into photography, and you get familiar with it super fast.

• PicsArt- This is a more fun editing app where you can add stickers, text, fun filters, draw on pictures, etc. This would be a great app for people who run a business as there are many royalty free stickers and artwork you can use to help create designs or advertisements. This also has a "beauty" option where you can whiten your teeth, tan your body, change your hair color, smooth your face, etc. The app has many great things to offer, and you can also publish your work if you would like, or view other's artwork as well. If anything, PicsArt is just fun to mess around with, but can definitely come in handy.

• VSCO- This is an app used to edit photos typically for Instagram. This app has so many free filters, but filters to purchase as well. The filters are grouped by a certain "aesthetic." This meaning that all the brown filters are together, all of the highly saturated filters are together, the cool-toned filters together, etc. You can also go in and change the brightness, contrast, saturation, white balance, and more. Just like on Lightroom, you can save your filters and edits you make to apply to other photos. There is also a social feature of this app where people tend to post pictures that are very "pinterest-esque." You can follow and repost other's photos and follow your friends as well. There is a paid version of the app that allows you to access hundreds of filters, and a video feature as well. This is a great app if Lightroom is a little too advanced or complicated for you, or if your picture just needs a quick fix.

I hope these tips are helpful in your picture editing process! Good luck and happy editing!