I have never understood the importance of Apps for Editing Photos. Its one of those things you need to use first to appreciate. However, if the App make its easy to dramatically alter your photos with a well thought of interface, its an added bonus. For ease of use and features, Snapseed has always been [...]
I have never understood the importance of Apps for Editing Photos. Its one of those things you need to use first to appreciate. However, if the App make its easy to dramatically alter your photos with a well thought of interface, its an added bonus. For ease of use and features, Snapseed has always been on the top of the list for me.
Simplicity at your Fingertips
Most editing Apps have a bunch of features, more so on the PC versions. One of the main reasons behind Snapseed’s success is its simple to use interface that relies mostly on gestures. Yes, gestures. Snapseed’s creator – Nik Software – has created an interface designed to be gestural. This makes Snapseed easier to use than any other iPad image editing application.
A quick help screen greets you when you fire up the App. You can then use their sample images or load any other image you wish from your Album. You have a selection of features to select:
- Automatic
- Selective Adjust
- Tune Image
- Straighten & Rotate
- Crop
- Black & White
- Vintage Films
- Drama, Grunge
- Center Focus
- Organic Frames
Tap whichever feature you wish to use on the image and you are led to a help screen on how to use the particular feature. I have taken the liberty to summarize how to use them:
(1) Tap on screen
(2) Swipe up and down to select additional feature
(3) Swipe left and right to vary the effect
(4) Stretch or Pinch for Area of effect (on certain features)
Its that Simple! There are other options on the status bar, you can choose to apply the edit, or hit the Back button to discard it.
Selective Adjust Mode
Most of the controls (Swiping) seem pretty simple and a refreshing concept was the Control Point (Point 4). Control Point is an ingenious way to creating complex selective adjustments
- In Selective Adjust mode, add a Control Point.
- Tap with two fingers (stretch or pinch) to change the area of the intended effect, then swipe up or down within the area to select the feature you wish to adjust adjust (Brightness, Contrast, or Saturation)
- Then slide left or right to change that parameter
The Control Point will sample the color or effect at the point where it was placed allowing you to pinpoint your effect on various parts of the Image.
Summary
Snapseed is a wonderfully crafted App. The controls are so simple and yet a pleasure to use. Nik Software has set the benchmark for other editing software with Snapseed. I must add that it was quite an experience using Snapseed. The kick was in seeing how simple gestures were able to create effects which usually took multiple taps and slides using other software. I would recommend Snapseed to tidy your images and have a great time doing it too.
Snapseed is available on App Store for $4.99.
To learn more about the app, check out the video demo:
This article, Snapseed: My Favorite Image Editing App for iPhone and iPad, was originally published at simonblog.com.
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