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While smartphone cameras are normally good at judging how bright or dark a photo should be, they’re not perfect. you’re able to use brightness and exposure sliders, but they can be quite time-consuming. So, sometimes, adding a filter is your best option.
1My Smartphone’s Native Filters
Before downloading any third-party app, I always recommend starting with your native filters. You’ll find severalamazing iPhone camera filters, and in addition to changing how your photo’s lighting looks, they’ll also edit the rest of the picture in one go.
The filter I choose depends largely on whether the picture is underexposed or overexposed, as well as the weather conditions. For example,Dramaticis a great option if you want to edit a picture that you took on a rainy day but has been underexposed. This adds more contrast to the image and also desaturates it slightly, resulting in a moody look.
On the other hand, I loveVividif I want to edit sunny day pictures. This filter usually adds some saturation to the picture.Vivid Warmis also nice if I’d like to add a bit of contrast and make the tones warmer.
2Photoshop Express
The Photoshop Express app has several filters that can help you quickly fix bad lighting in your pictures, and they’re calledLooks. There are a good number of options, including filters that edit the white balance.
I quite like theCharmrange, which is great if you’re going for avintage photo look. TheLightfilter range is my go-to for adjusting the lighting in my images, with numerous options for overexposed and underexposed images.
You can—like with your native smartphone filters—adjust the intensity. Depending on how much you need to change, you’ll probably find this slider very useful. For example, in one of my pictures below, the initial contrast was too much. So, I toned everything down a bit.
Download:Photoshop Express foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
Picsart gives you plenty of interesting filters to fix the lighting in your photos. Rather than just fixing an overexposed or underexposed picture, I recommend Picsart if you want to add certain styles to your image as well.
Some of my favorite filters in Picsart areBRL2andStenciler 1, butAPR2andBRN2are also excellent options. Similar to PS Express and your native smartphone filters, you can change the intensity, but it’s referred to asFadein Picsart.
Another advantage is that many of Picsart’s filters are free. you may upgrade for the full suite, but I don’t think that most people need these. Besides offering great filters, Picsart is also one ofthe best AI photo enhancersif you want to make simple improvements to your pictures.
Download:Picsart foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
You can create many cool things in Canva, but the app also has plenty of filters that you can take advantage of, even if you haven’t got a Canva Pro subscription. Like Photoshop Express, you can choose from numerous themes when sifting through the filters.
If I want to add some warm tones to my image, I’ll often pickCapri.Fade, in theVintagesection, is also nice if I want an overexposed effect but don’t like how the original image looked in my camera. I like theFrescofilter for sunny day shots; besides diffusing the light, it also adds some color to the picture.
Canva also has plenty of softer filters, of whichWhimsiis my favorite. It’s a great option regardless of whether the picture is underexposed or overexposed, and it will give your photo a hazy look. You can edit the intensity of each filter with a slider.
Download:Canva foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
5Google Photos
Google Photos is best known for its storage options, but it also lets you add filters to your pictures. Some of the filters are monochrome, whereas others let you edit the colors in your pictures.
I likeModenafor bringing up the brightness of an underexposed image, and it also adds a matted look that I quite like.Ollieis good for adding some personality to an overexposed picture. However, if you’d like to bring down the exposure, considerClay.
If you have an Android phone, you can enhance your photos further bymaking the most of Android’s Google Photos Editor.
Download:Google Photos foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
Even though many of its filters are pay-gated, VSCO is still one of my favorite mobile editing apps. You can easily control the intensity of each filter, which will make your images look more unique. The filter you choose depends less on whether your photo is overexposed or underexposed, and more on the overall style. For example, I use theA4filter on both overexposed and underexposed images.
M3is another excellent filter to try in VSCO. It’s better for overexposed pictures because it’ll bring up the contrast and also reduce the overall exposure. Nonetheless, I think you can use it creatively in some underexposed images.G3,HB2, andM5also add some of my favorite effects.
Download:VSCO foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
One of the easiest ways I fix bad lighting in my smartphone photos is with the Snapseed app; many considerSnapseed better than Lightroom for on-the-go editing.
While thePortraitone is designed for pictures of people and animals, I think it works really well in landscape shots when the lighting could be improved. If your picture is underexposed, theBrightfilter is a good option. It adds a warm tone, making it ideal if your picture has lots of yellows, browns, and reds.Popis another good filter if you need to add a bit of exposure to your photo.
Download:Snapseed foriOS|Android(Free, in-app purchases available)
If you need to quickly fix bad lighting in your photos, there are plenty of filters that’ll do precisely that. Many of these are available for free, and you can often adjust the intensity via sliders. Not only do filters work well on their own, but they’ll also nicely complement any other edits you make.
