People and travelers I meet along the way often ask me what mobile applications I use to edit photos on the go. Here are my favorite apps with links, reasons why I use them, and example images:
Instagram by Burbn, Inc.
Instagram is my primary means of updating my travel blog on the go. I LOVE this application primarily for its ease of use. It is a quick and easy way to edit and share photos. Instagram easily integrates with Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter. I can “geo-tag” my photos as well as caption the photos in detail with travel information that might be useful to others.
RAW Image taken with iPhone
Instagram Photo using the “brightness correction” and the “Hefe” filter
Photo Power by Xing Bi
This mobile application is incredible! It is basically “Photoshop” for your iPhone. The menu and functionality is exactly like Photoshop with some extras like Lomo filters. This is my favorite mobile photo editor. This is the most dynamic photo editor I have come across for the iPhone and I feel it is the best value out there.
RAW Image taken with iPhone
Image edited with Photo Power (color, brightness, and contrast enhancement)
Adobe Photoshop Express by Adobe Systems Incorporated
This free mobile app is a must have for the iPhone or iPad. It isn’t my favorite “user experience” and the interface is touchy, but I still like the features especially the framing options that the application offers.
RAW Image take with iPhone
Photo edited with PS Express by adjusting brightness, contrast, vibrance, saturation, correcting the horizon through image rotation, adding a vignette border, and adding a rectangle border
RAW Image taken with iPhone
Photo edited with Photo Power to correct shadows/highlights, contrast/brightness, and color balance and then edited with PS Express to add vignette border and rectangle border
HDR FX by JellyBus Inc.
This is a fun mobile app that is also quite dynamic. I only use the “free, dumbed-down” version because it does everything I need it to. I primarily use this app to adjust “shadows and highlights” to create the HDR effect and also add “sky filters”. You can also add textures, vignettes, and borders. I have a lot of fun with this app!
RAW Image taken with iPhone
Photo edited with HDR FX by adjusting HDR, changing to greyscale, adding sky and ground filters, adding texture, and a rounded-black border
RAW Image taken with iPhone
Photo edited with HDR FX by adjusting HDR effects, changing to greyscale, adding sky and ground filters, and cropping to square. The image was later shared via Instagram
RAW image taken with iPhone from a moving taxi
Photo edited with HDR FX using sky and ground filters and cropping. This photo was later shared via Instagram
Photo Collage Free by Privacy & Picture Browser Lab
Sometimes you need to combine a number of photos into one and the best app I have come across (free app) for this purpose is Photo Collage Free. It has all the layouts and functionality I need with its free version.
Fish Market Collage
Busan Cinema Center Collage
Color Splash by Pocket Pixels Inc.
Some apps are just fun to have in your pocket and Color Splash is one of those apps for me.
iPhone image taken with an app called “Photo Bag” (not covered by this article)
Photo edited with Color Splash
Marble Cam by Daisuke Suzuki
Another fun, free app to have in your pocket Marble Cam makes a photo like you took it through a clear marble… I especially like editing “flower” photos with this fun app!
RAW Image taken with iPhone
Photo edited with Marble Cam
Sometimes I like to combine the photo editing apps:
RAW Image taken with iPhone
Photo edited with Photo Power to adjust brightness/contrast and color then edited in Photo Splash to create black & white effect, then combined with the other image in Collage and lastly shared with Instagram
RAW Image taken with iPhone
Photo edited with HDR FX by adjusting HDR effects, adding a sky and ground filter, adjusting contrast and color balance, and adding a vignette with black border
Photo edited in Instagram that was previously edited in HDR FX by cropping image and using “X-pro II” filter in IG
These are the apps I like to use when I’m traveling and examples of all my secrets that eventually end up on this travel blog, Facebook, and my Instagram feed. I will admit that it is extremely rare for me to share an unedited photograph. All of my fine art work is done using a 35mm camera, but I really enjoy taking “point and shoot” photographs with the iPhone and the flexibility of sharing images of places while actually on my travels!
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Rey Shaun Madolora is a professional photographer, avid traveler, competitive cyclist, yogi, foodie, and entrepreneur who is based in Austin, Texas when he is not exploring the world.