Nowadays, anyone can make their pics look elegant and eye-catching without having to put in a lot of effort. The reason for this shift is the availability of apps designed to help you create beautiful pictures, especially for your Instagram. Here on Naijaknowhow, we’ll do justice to aesthetic filter apps that can help you achieve this.
In recent times, it seems like there’s a growing expectation that your profile feed should have a certain aesthetic appeal. Social media platforms such as Instagram have evolved. And it’s become somewhat of an unwritten rule that your profile or pics should look visually pleasing. Messy and unattractive profiles aren’t as well-received as they used to be.
So, it’s not just about sharing pictures casually anymore. People want their profiles to be visually appealing. No one really enjoys stumbling upon profiles that are disorganized or unattractive. This has led to a change in what’s considered the norm, hence the need for aesthetic filter apps to create captivating pics.
List of the Top Aesthetic Filter Apps for Android and iOS
You don’t need to be a professional photographer or a graphic designer. These apps are specifically designed to assist you in creating those stunning, aesthetic-looking pictures that can elevate the look of your profile feed.
1. Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Lightroom is one of the most popular aesthetic filter apps used by both professionals and casual users. It’s an advanced app that comes from Adobe Photoshop. Lightroom lets you create your own photo filters and offers interactive guides from other creators.
You can adjust brightness, contrast, colors, and more to turn any photo into a work of art. On the practical side, Lightroom can fix lighting and color issues in photos, so you don’t need to retake them. It also offers cloud storage, making your photos accessible from any device, which is handy when you get a new phone.
You can even use Lightroom in a web browser without installing it on your computer. It’s a powerful tool for enhancing and organizing your photos. Overall, Adobe Lightroom is a versatile app for photo editing and organization, suitable for both beginners and professionals.
Pros:
- Advanced photo editing with customizable filters.
- Comprehensive adjustments for brightness, contrast, and colors.
- Fixes lighting and color issues, eliminating the need for retakes.
- Cloud storage for easy access across devices.
- Web browser compatibility for flexibility.
Cons:
- May have a learning curve for beginners.
- Professional features might be overwhelming for casual users.
2. VSCO
VSCO is a popular mobile photo editor known for making pictures look great on Instagram. It’s closely connected to Instagram, often used for adjusting colors. While the basic app is free, you can buy extra filters for a more professional and aesthetic touch. To use it, you need to sign in with your email.
The app offers many filters that can give your photos a classic or modern film look, and you can adjust how strong these filters are for a personalized picture. Once you’ve downloaded some filter collections, you’ll find a wide range of filters to make your photos look elegant.
You can control the filter’s strength before you start editing further. As one of the best aesthetic filter apps, VSCO provides various tools for fine-tuning your pictures, including adjusting exposure, perspective, contrast, and working with light and dark areas. It’s a handy app for enhancing your photos before sharing them.
Pros:
- Popular for enhancing Instagram photos.
- Offers a variety of classic and modern film-like filters.
- Customizable filter strength for a personalized touch.
- Provides tools for fine-tuning exposure, perspective, and contrast.
- Free basic app with the option to purchase additional filters.
Cons:
- Requires email sign-in.
- Some filters may need to be purchased for a more professional look.
3. Snapseed
Snapseed is a photo editor that’s both powerful and easy to use. It works well even on older devices, thanks to its great optimization. You can apply filters called “styles” to your photos, but you can’t customize them manually. However, you can create your own styles by editing the image and saving the settings.
You can even share your styles using a QR code. The app lets you edit your photos, and you can undo any action at any time. It has all the basics like cropping, rotating, double exposure, adding text, and more. Each tool has its own settings. For instance, the Adjustments tool allows you to change things like brightness, contrast, and highlights.
If you make a mistake, you can go back using the Edit Filter Set button. Many Snapseed tools also have preset filters with auto settings. Aesthetic filter apps should be user-friendly and have all the essential tools for photo editing, and Snapseed has these features.
Pros:
- Powerful and easy-to-use photo editor.
- Excellent optimization for older devices.
- Unique feature: create and share custom styles via QR codes.
- Versatile editing tools, including cropping, rotating, double exposure, and text addition.
- Robust undo functionality for any action.
Cons:
- Limited customization for preset filters (“styles”).
- Editing mistakes can be corrected, but the process may involve additional steps.
- Some tools offer preset filters with auto settings, limiting manual adjustments.
4. Canva
Canva is a popular tool for making attractive postcards, gift cards, CVs, and more. It has an easy-to-use image editor to help you create eye-catching photos. Canva is not just for images; it can also create covers, videos, and presentations. You can even hire a designer to maintain a consistent brand style, but this is a paid feature.
The Canva editor supports drawing, layout design, portfolio creation, and photo editing. It’s great for simple image editing and creating illustrations for social media. Templates adjust images to fit popular social media formats, saving you from manual cropping.
Canva’s online designer is handy for making presentations with pre-made layouts. These layouts are categorized by the presentation’s goals and topics, like business, education, and marketing. You can easily add graphics, charts, and graphs to your presentations.
Pros:
- User-friendly image editor for creating attractive postcards, gift cards, CVs, and more.
- Versatile tool supporting covers, videos, presentations, drawing, layout design, and photo editing.
- Templates automatically adjust images for popular social media formats, saving time on manual cropping.
- Online designer with pre-made layouts categorized for various presentation goals and topics.
- Option to hire a designer for consistent brand style.
Cons:
- Hiring a designer for brand consistency is a paid feature.
- While great for simple image editing, it may lack advanced features for professional designers.
5. Adobe Photoshop Express
This is a well-established app for enhancing photos. Its user-friendly interface guides you through editing step by step. You can always check your original photo, apply auto-enhancements, undo changes, or redo them. It’s important to note that many features require a subscription, including certain styles, profiles, and specific tools.
The app’s bottom menu offers nine sections with various image editing tools. The first section focuses on color correction, letting you adjust the intensity of effects. Premium effects are marked with a white star on a blue circle. The second section allows you to overlay stylish elements with transparency control, offering over 50 options.
One standout feature is that Photoshop Express provides pre-configured formats for popular social networks, ensuring your photos look great when posted without unwanted black stripes. You can also customize the resolution to your liking. Additionally, you can add text, titles, and captions to your images with a variety of fonts, sizes, and colors.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface with step-by-step editing guidance.
- Check original photo, apply auto-enhancements, undo, and redo changes.
- Pre-configured formats for popular social networks.
- Customizable resolution for posted photos.
- Offers a variety of fonts, sizes, and colors for text elements.
Cons:
- Many features include certain styles, profiles, and tools require a subscription.
- Premium effects are not available for free.
- Some stylish elements have transparency control but may be restricted for free users.
6. Picsart
Picsart is a versatile image editing and creative tool. It offers a wide range of features, from editing photos to creating digital drawings. It has everything you need for editing, such as cutting and pasting objects, adding stickers, and applying filters and effects. While it has a lot to offer, the abundance of features can sometimes be overwhelming.
It also provides a platform for a global community of creatives. Registering with the system unlocks social features. In addition to standard photo editing tools like shadows, highlights, and contrast adjustments, Picsart also offers advanced features commonly used by professional photographers.
The program supports drawing with various brushes and layers, similar to Photoshop, and allows you to save projects for later editing. It even enables slow-motion recording of the drawing process. Moreover, Picsart offers creative filters that can give your photos a unique style.
Pros:
- Versatile image editing with a wide range of features.
- Global community for creative collaboration.
- Advanced photo editing tools for professionals.
- Supports drawing with various brushes and layers.
- Allows saving projects for later editing.
- Creative filters for unique photo styles.
Cons:
- Abundance of features may be overwhelming for some users.
7. Paintation
Pros:
- Diverse range of styles for transforming photos.
- Simple four-step process for creating Instagram-worthy images.
- User-friendly interface suitable for both beginners and experienced users.
Cons:
- Limited availability of advanced editing capabilities.
8. Unfold
Pros:
- Simplifies content design for social media managers.
- Offers unique frames and stylish templates for enhancing photos and videos.
- Enables the creation of unconventional collages and unique placements.
Cons:
- Some effects require in-app purchases.
- The full version, including 100 additional templates, is available through a subscription.
9. Afterlight Photo Editor
Pros:
- Robust editing tools for exposure, colors, and sharpness.
- Advanced features like curves, selective color, gradients, and blending modes.
- Unique effects such as dust and light leakage, filters, and overlays.
- User-friendly for basic edits.
Cons:
- May have a learning curve for users accustomed to basic editing.
Conclusion
Making your pics aesthetically pleasing is no longer a complex task, thanks to the plethora of user-friendly apps available for creating visually appealing content. So, if you’re looking to step up your game, these aesthetic filter apps above are there to help you do just that.
