my favorite photo editing app. | THE KLACKNERS

6.12.2014

my favorite photo editing app.

i've been asked by some of you readers what i use to take my photos and also what i use to edit them. everyone has their own preference for both of these, but i would love to share with you what works best for me and what is my favorite.



i love my iPhone. there, i said it. it's true. i use it for a lot of the photos you see on my blog. the camera on the iPhone these days is pretty advanced and gives me quality photos. for example, all of these photos were taking with my iPhone. i also have a Canon Rebel XS that i use. i love it, and there's something to be said for using an actual camera where you control all of the settings. i would  use my DSLR a whole lot more if it were easier to tote around on a daily basis. if i'm going on vacation, to an event, or doing a photoshoot, i definitely take my DSLR and use it for my photos during that time. all in all, i'd say my iphone vs. DSLR usage is about 50/50.



VSCO | y'all, i LOVE this app. it is truly my favorite of them all, and i use it to edit all of my iPhone photos. the app itself is well designed, free to download, has free preset filters available, and also has presets for purchase, which are not very expensive. the app allows you to adjust exposure, contrast, saturation, highlights, shadows, etc. it's basically all i could ask for out of a photo editing app.

VSCO is incredibly user friendly and easy to figure out, but i thought i'd run through the steps with you just for fun!


step one | open up the app! (i thought we'd start with something really easy.)



step two | select and open up your library. this will bring up photos you have already loaded into VSCO.



step three | you can find the little plus sign by swiping down on the screen. select the plus sign to import photos from your phone's camera roll or photo stream.



step four | once loaded into your library, double tap on the photo you would like to edit. the settings options will appear at the bottom of the screen. select the middle option..the paintbrush image. this will bring up all of your preset filter options.


step five | experiment with the various presets VSCO offers and see what you like best! i tend to use the S/Clean series the most. usually S1 or S3. i'll use other options now and then depending on what i feel like but the S series is my go-to. you can manage the intensity of the filter by double tapping on it. adjust as needed and select the check mark to save.



step six | to access your other editing options, tap the up arrow as seen in the photo above. then select the wrench image as seen below. this is also a good time to point out the "undo" options. the back arrow will undo actions one at a time. the one that looks like a u-turn will undo all actions and take you back to the original image.



step seven | select any of the editing options (exposure, temperature, contrast, rotate, crop, fade, tint, saturation, highlight/shadow, etc.) and adjust the scale as needed. tap the check sign once you are finished with each option.


step eight | once you are done making all of your wonderful changes, you can export your photo to your camera roll, instagram, facebook, twitter, etc.  it's as easy as that! give it a try and let me know what you think!



WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PHOTO EDITING APP?

p.s. this afternoon i will be on a plane and on my way to colorado to see my best friend and a few of my other favorite people. i am SO ready for a mini vacation!! if you like, you can keep up with my colorado adventures on instagram!
Caroline said...

I LOVE VSCO. It's definitely my go to editing app these days. Great tutorial!

Allison Renner said...

This is definitely one of my go to editing apps as well. I also love Afterlight!

Rachel Cox said...

FAVORITE APP EVER! but really I use it every single day!

Morgan said...

I am so excited to learn about this app! I have been looking for one and you sold me on this one, thanks for sharing!

Paige Williams said...

My favorite is Afterlight! I use it for pretty much all of my picture. But too be honest I have never tried VSCO. I will have to try it out.

Amy said...

i love vsco as well - my favorite is afterlight. i use that 99% of the time, but vsco is a close second!

Christina Main said...

I luuuurrrrrve the VSCO app to death!

Elizabeth Mayberry said...

I love VSCO!!! It is on Android now and I use it all the timesssss!

Gina Alyse said...

Wait, I have VSCO but I didn't realize that there are so many editing options! Whoops! I have to go check that out!! xo, gina

Little Brave said...

love vsco, but I actually find myself using afterlight pretty consistently. Also! I just downloaded this app called "Studio Design". ... I haven't got to play on it much- but I think it's going to be a winner.

Jenna Guizar said...

I love VSCO too :) Afterlight is one of my favs too. Thanks for sharing your favorite filter! I'm always curious who loves what! ~Jenna

Chantel -A Harvest of Blessing said...

I love VSCO! S1 is my favorite! :)

Jenna Secrist said...

I really like vsco, but i've really come to love snapseed, too! Afterlight is my favorite if I'm adding filters or adding borders.

Jenny Fish said...

VSCO is the best! I use it for all my blog photos, too.

Megan McIlvaine said...

yay!! it's so great!

Megan McIlvaine said...

i have never heard of snapseed! i'm going to check it out!

Megan McIlvaine said...

LOVE S1 :)

Megan McIlvaine said...

i used afterlight all the time before i discovered VSCO! it's a good one too :)

Megan McIlvaine said...

oooh! love hearing about other apps! i'm gonna check that one out.

Megan McIlvaine said...

yeah girl! it does so much!!

Megan McIlvaine said...

hooray!!! it's the best :)

Megan McIlvaine said...

lurve it. yes.

Megan McIlvaine said...

i used to use afterlight before VSCO came on my radar!

Megan McIlvaine said...

give it a try! you may love it :)

Megan McIlvaine said...

yes!! i hope you love it!

Megan McIlvaine said...

ah! me too!

Megan McIlvaine said...

oh yay!! glad i could help :)

Megan McIlvaine said...

afterlight seems to be the other favorite!! both great apps!

Megan McIlvaine said...

thanks girl! it's such a fun app...super great and easy to use!

Natalie said...

VSCO picked one of my photos for their grid! I love that app so so so so much! It makes your photos so pretty!

Meg McIlvaine said...

That is amazing!!

Rachel Walker said...

Oh my gracious. So I've had VSCO for a while now but haven't been able to really figure it out enough to appreciate it! Thanks for this, girl. Needed this big time!

Natalie said...

I'm hoping they pick more!