Snapseed is one of the best free photo editing apps going, powerful enough for serious work and simple enough that I can use it one-handed between shoots. I’ve been using it as part of my regular workflow, film and digital both, so here’s an honest account of what it does well and where it falls short.
How I got here
Twenty-two years ago I got fired from the job that had brought me from Paris out to the French countryside, where I still live now. Looking back, it’s one of the best things that ever happened to me. Sometimes you need a shove you didn’t ask for.
At the time I’d got into this new thing called the internet, back when it was only just becoming mainstream, and I wanted to learn everything I could before my kids started teaching me instead. So I learned. I trained as an “infographiste,” which back then meant something like a webmaster, what you’d now call a web developer.
An Englishman in Vendée
I picked up QuarkXpress, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator. I also learned not to be scared of cracking open a computer with a screwdriver and poking about inside. Somewhere in there I had the bright idea of building a website called “An Englishman in Vendée,” showing off outings around the area with my young son. I shot it all on a webcam about the size of a GoPro, though calling it “pro” next to what we have now would be generous. Even then I dreamed of having portable internet, portable editing, and a way to get those pictures online without dragging a laptop everywhere.
I had a wait ahead of me. These days I’ve got a Samsung S20 FE in my pocket and everything I dreamed of back then, on the go. I can pull photos off my proper digital camera onto the phone, edit them there, and publish straight to the website (no longer hosted on Geocities, thankfully) or to social media.
So what is Snapseed?
These days it’s Snapseed for editing and WordPress for writing. Both fit in the same pocket as the phone.
Snapseed is the app I recommend to anyone who needs to edit pictures on the move. It’s on Android and Apple, so nobody’s left out. Why this one over the dozen other apps out there? It’s free, it’s simple, and it has every tool I actually reach for. I keep coming back to the Tune Image section, which covers most of what I do for basic edits in Lightroom on the PC. The Rotate tool is handy for checking horizons, and the black and white conversion gives you proper control rather than just a flat filter.
It’s non-destructive too, working from your original file whether that’s RAW or JPEG, so you can edit to your heart’s content without wrecking anything. Can it do everything Lightroom does? No. Is it trying to? Also no. It throws in some “style filters” for fun, and the more serious editor among you will probably ignore those and stick to the basic tools, which is exactly what still gets the job done on the go. I use it during shoots to give sitters a rough idea of how their shots will look. Those first draft images are perfect for a quick share on social media, nothing more.
Keep it simple
I’ve banged on about KISS before and I’ll do it again here. Keep It Simple, Stupid. Snapseed looks deceptively basic when you open it, but there’s a proper range of tools hiding behind that plain interface.
It gives you three starting options: Styles (basically presets), Tools (where you fine-tune everything), and Export.
Styles
Styles are presets by another name, and Snapseed gives you a decent spread of them:
In my next article, I’ll walk you through the tools Snapseed offers for editing on the go, including which ones I actually use and how. Remember the 80/20 rule: 80% of your editing comes from 20% of the available tools. Be patient and it pays off. See you in the next one.
Also in this series: Smartphone Photography · Snapseed Review · Optimizing Images On-the-Go