11 Free Photo Editing Apps To Instantly Improve Your Travel Photos

There’s a reason why everyone else’s Instagram accounts look better than yours – editing. You’d be hard pushed to find a well-followed account that doesn’t contain tweaked and perfected photos. There’s no need to go out and spend huge amounts of money on editing software, however, these free apps will do the job just fine, and turn your travel photos into likes in no time.

Snapseed

For those serious about their photo editing, Snapseed is a great app to have. Besides being completely free, it’s a comprehensive editing tool to turn your photos from interesting to amazing. The app, which is made by Google, features some great filters and expert tools to tweak your photos to perfection.

VSCO

VSCO offers a large range of preset filters to make your photos look beautiful with a simple touch of a button. The filters can then be adjusted to make for an exaggerated or more subtle effect, and the app also features a photo platform to show off your best shots.

Lens Distortions

This software is available for desktop software like Photoshop, but there’s a free app for iOS which is well worth checking out. Described as “the best kept secret among Instagram’s elite photographers,” by the company itself, Lens Distortions provides huge numbers of filter packs for you to play with.

Priime

Priime’s major selling point is that it automatically suggests style recommendations for any photo you edit, meaning you don’t have to spend large amounts of time looking through filters before you find the perfect look. The app is only available on iOS right now, but it is free.

Pixlr

Pixlr lets you crop, rotate, and fine-tune your photos with incredible simplicity. The app is available on both iOS and Android and it allows you to make collages and social media-friendly images as well.

Darkroom

Darkroom is also just available for iOS but its features include adjusting colors, adding filters, and even making filters yourself to use again.

Litely

The Litely app does have great basic photo editing tools, but although the app is free, you have to pay for the filter packs, which vary from the basic starter pack at $9, to the complete pack at $148.

Photo Editor by Aviary

Photo Editor by Aviary is an Adobe product, so comes from a team that knows how to make a photo editing tool. The app, which is available on both iOS and Android, lets you enhance and accessorize your photos easily, and instantly share them with friends.

The streets of Paris are giving us all the inspiration this week: https://t.co/CtuBTM32in pic.twitter.com/TPR87Ex7FE
— Aviary (@Aviary) April 21, 2017

PicsArt

PicsArt is best used for collage making, but can also help with editing and adding in clipart and stickers into your photos. As you can imagine, it’s handy for memes.

FaceTune 2

If selfies are your thing, then FaceTune 2 is a must-have. This app lets you make cosmetic changes with a touch or swipe of the screen. You can whiten teeth, remove blemishes, slim faces, and more.

Layout

This app is made by Instagram itself, so it’s finely tuned to work with the social media platform. Layout lets you breathe new life into photos with original layouts, allowing you to mirror, flip, or replaces images, and put them into neat Instagram-friendly collages.

About the author

Peter Ward

Tech Editor

Peter was born in Birmingham, England and was raised in North Wales. He studied journalism at the University of Sheffield before moving to Dubai, where he worked for several business magazines. After three years in the Middle East, Peter moved to New York to earn his master's degree in business journalism from Columbia University Journalism School. He has since written for international publications such as Bloomberg, The Economist and Newsweek. In his spare time Peter loves to play and watch soccer, go to the movies, read, and play video games.