Why I use Snapseed (Blog #51)

Hello! Welcome to my latest blog, which today is about why I love using the Snapseed photo editing app. This is about why I use it in preference to any other, and not how to use it (there is already so much excellent material online that there's no point in me trying to reinvent the wheel!). 

A bit of background first. I discovered photography during lockdown in 2020: up until then photography had never really interested me; yes, I had owned a few cameras, like the Polaroid I got for Christmas when I was in my teens, and later various point and shoots for those dreadful holiday snaps. But by 2020 I was using a smartphone camera (weren't we all?) but still not managing to take decent photos. Four years later, well read and with numerous photography courses under my belt, photography has become my number one passion, alongside writing.

I think it was inevitable that having mastered the exposure triangle, got a handle on the principals of composition, sort of grasped f stops, I would then want to explore editing. Where to start? By this point I had already made a conscious decision to stick with my smartphone camera, at least for now, purely because I had seen the cost of photography once you buy a 'proper' camera, but we won't get into that debate if you don't mind. I needed the ability to edit my photos on my phone. There are many photo editing app around, but probably the most well known ones are Adobe Lightroom and Snapseed. I decided to give them both a try, so I installed them on my smartphone, paying the small monthly fee for Lightroom.

I certainly tested Lightroom, believing it to be the 'photographer's choice', I mean everywhere I looked, photographers were talking about Lightroom. But alas, I just somehow never got on with it. Was I missing something, some essential step that would open up a whole Aladdin's cave of editing possibilities? No. Believe me I persevered, but the two of us just couldn't get along. 

When it came to testing Snapseed it was like we'd known each other for years. I did buy a book* about Snapseed editing, and watched several videos, which no doubt help to cement my understanding. I never felt the same about Lightroom.

I guess the main reasons I use Snapseed is because, like other editing apps, it gives me a comprehensive range of editing tools, which I find extremely easy to use. I can work my way through the Tools, scrolling vertically through each one to access the sub-menus, and horizontally to adjust the strength of my desired changes. 

One thing I really like is that Snapseed builds up your edits in a stack, which you can then go back into to carry out further edits or delete a previous edit altogether. I find this very useful for experimentation with various edits, the ones you thought you'd never ever use. 

Over time I have built up and refined my own editing workflow, and to be honest, I don't use all of Snapseed's editing tools and I very rarely use the presets in Style. I occasionally hitting the auto adjust button if I very quickly want to edit an image, but most of the time I prefer to edit in manual mode, as it were. One small gripe I have is that I wish Snapseed allowed me to move the Tool icons around and re-order them to suit my personal workflow. 

At the end of the day, we all have our favourite, no matter what it is. For me, it's Snapseed when it comes to editing my photos on my smartphone (occasionally on my tablet) and more often than not, on the fly while I am out and about. It's not unknown for me to take a photo, head off for a coffee, edit, and post on social media, all within 10-15 minutes. To me, this epitomises the fast-moving technological age in which we live, giving us instant, sharable results.

There are plenty of really good YouTube videos that will show you how to edit using Snapseed. One guy I particularly like and who you should check out is NavEdits. He's a Snapseed magician. Here's the link to one of his great tutorials.

https://youtu.be/UzZ1zEdSSdc?si=AK2W45qgXjXh5-V2

* Jo Bradford's books about smartphone photography and about Snapseed are both excellent if you want to take your photography and Snapseed editing to the next level.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I hope I have interested you enough in Snapseed to make you want to try it for yourself. One of its merits is that it is totally free, unlike other apps which give you a limited functionality unless you subscribe and pay a fee. 

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I run a boutique copywriting, proofreading and editing consultancy, so don't forget to visit my website, or you can email me directly at cpeconsulting53@gmail.com if you need my help with any of your written material.

© Mike Young 2024.