Snapseed Review

Nik Software's take on mobile photography.

by Pu on September 23, 2011

I’ve been knowing Nik Software mainly because of their Silver Efex, an excellent Photoshop plugin for achieving professional black and white effects and conversion. Snapseed is Nik’s contribution to the world of mobile photography.

Main Features

  • Full resolution available;
  • Auto correction;
  • Selective adjustment;
  • Straighten and rotate;
  • Crop;
  • Brightness, contrast, saturation and white balance adjustment;
  • Grain adjustment;
  • 20+ creative effects;
  • Blur;
  • Revert to original;
  • Undo;
  • 8 borders;
  • In-app guide;
  • AirPrint support;
  • Send photos via email or share on Facebook and Flickr.

Appotography Opinion

Snapseed works great both on iPhone — and iPod Touch — and iPad and it allows editing of photos taken in-app or loaded from the device. The app’s interface is minimal and uncluttered and it relies mainly on menus that can be brought on by onscreen tapping and holding; you can then scroll vertically to select the desired settings. To increase and decrease the setting values, swiping or pinching with fingers over the image is all you need to do and it’s also all you require to master the app. At the bottom of the work area, you will find additional controls to choose specific commands, undo, apply effects and compare with the original image.

Automatic is the quickest way to apply basic enhancement to your photo. This mode allows to apply color and contrast correction in seconds, without having to go through more intensive processing. On the other hand, Selective Adjust serves the purpose of applying correction over specific areas of the chosen photo. Selective Adjust is a sort of simplified masking feature, allowing to make adjustments only where you really need it.
Snapseed iPhone/iPadTune Effect, Straighten and Crop are designed for more thorough editing, as they come with a set of more comprehensive tools for fine-tuning photos. Tune Effect includes brightness, contrast, ambiance and white balance controls; straighten and crop will help in improving framing by fixing crooked images and by removing unnecessary elements.
Snapseed iPhone/iPadSnapseed comes also with a focus editor and four sets of different filters and effects, divided into four themed categories: Black and White, Vintage Films, Grunge and Drama. For final touches, a small collection of photographic borders is also included. All filters are top quality and highly customizable.
Snapseed iPhone/iPadAfter editing, it’s possible not only to save the image, but also to print it and share it via email or on Facebook and Flickr. You can always revert to the starting shot and a button in the work area allows you to compare the processed result with the original.

Snapseed iPhone/iPadNik’s Snapseed provides the user with quick and to-the-point instruments for easy enhancement. One of the most notable features of the app is the swiping motion, which allows for quick and accurate visualization of edits. If you imagined from previous experiences that image editing must necessarily be a painful process, then you should try Snapseed to change your mind. Snapseed doesn’t come cheap, but if you are looking for all-around quality editing, you definitely won’t regret getting it.

Overall

Name: Photo Effect Studio
Developer: Everimaging Ltd
Compatibility: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad. iOS 4.0 or later.
Price: £2.99||$4.99||€3.99
Vote: 5/5

Snapseed - Nik Software, Inc.

Miege September 25, 2011 at 4:11 am

Snapseed sure doesn’t do a lot, but when it does something, it does it …
Well, I can’t really say it because I’m not sure. -__-

But I’m sure Pu and the others think of it as well. 😉

Lou September 25, 2011 at 6:02 am

Lots of apps just do few things. It’s not important how many things they do, but if they do them well. Snapseed does. It was a bit pricey, but I like using it.

Harrisburg Wedding Photographer April 6, 2012 at 1:34 pm

I just got an ipad, I am going to check this out

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