Small handbook about photography while cycletouring. #2 - Apps and tools

in our first installment of this very little vademecum we saw how to reduce our pics to a fair amount, as soon as we get back home (or to the tent, if we’re lucky!)

Step one: from "too many pics" to "I can work with that!"

Today’s topic is the second step – choosing the tools. There are several apps out there, so it’s not easy to choose. Learning from my own first lesson, I cut things down to three:

one paying app,
one free app,
and a not-even-app.

Snapseed: easy and free

Overview

Snapseed, the totally free option for a quick editing

Snapseed has been my choice just after Polarr went paying, and before I definitively switched to LR. Over time, it has changed a lot, and mostly in a good way. Since a few years, it’s owned and developed directly by Google.

It’s simple enough, and complete enough to satisfy all your needs. Sometimes it’s even too much, I’d say.

Snapseed supports both jpeg and RAW, which is cool.

However, its main feature is probably the looks stuff. (“effetti” in the Italian version): these are presets/filters that can change your picture with one touch, often dramatically.

But it’s not over. What makes looks versatile and easy are two other features. First, the QRcode sharing. When you see a look you like, you can scan the QR code and it will upload to the app. Easy and quick.

Second, you can edit looks as much as you like, even those you downloaded. “Nothing locked here” as the app reads. Indeed, if you open the information box, it tells you every parameter you need to achieve that look.

Watch out: Snapseed can work with RAWs, but maybe your phone cannot: in this case, you will see blank previews when you'll try to upload from your library.

The looks ("effetti" in Italian)

There are five entries but most af all three tabs once you upload a photo: on the left, the looks (“effetti”) option we introduced. These complete sets of tweaks and edits radically change the mood of a picture. More often than not, they are really heavy-handed, so it’s better to tone then down afterwards. In the sub-menu you can choose between your effects – the ones you created by yourself, or downloaded somewhere – and what the community offers. You can also browse on the internet to find interesting new looks. The good news, as we said, is that even other people’s presets can be tweaked to your own taste: “nothing locked here”. Indeed, if you open the information box, it tells you every parameter you need to achieve that look.

And if you want to explore more looks, you can follow Snapseed_giles on Instagram.

If you choose to use a style, be sure to tweak the exposition first, since it dramatically changes how these editings affect the picture.

The tools tab: step-by-step editing, not always clear

The second tab, tools (“strumenti”), is about the thourough editing. Every parameter can be changed individually, so it takes time, but it’s much more detailed than the overall looks.

When you go to tools, everal tags show up. They are a bit mixed, so it can be confusing at first, especially if you stay on the “all” tab: a few parameters are about bringing the image back to life with basic editing (color HSL, contrast, light, and white balance. However, under the same name “perfeziona” you also find some cosmetic tool, such as vignette.

First of all, you have general editings such as exposure, saturation, contrast, texture, lights and shadows: all the do-it-first modifications before you get deeper. Once you’re done, you can valid and go to the next step.

Geometry allows you to straighten up the picture or, well, to play with geometry (no surprises here).

The correction window is about perspective or object removal, and it’s the only one that is really clear. Indeed, the last one, “styles”, includes all the aesthetic stuff (such as grain), which means another set of presets organised by keywords: vintage, noir, grunge, retrolux, and so on. Plus the “frame” menu, the text tool, and a few other stuff. Overall, the organisation of all the entries is not totally clear. It’s not a problem once you get to know the app, it’s just makes the learning curve a bit harder.

Then there are the masking and level menus, with the possibility to create local editings such as the background or the subject. you can also use your finger to create specific masks. This part is a bit less intuitive, as the management of the layers is not straightforward. However, you can play with these if you fancy. Honestly, I don’t think they are very clear nor effective (at least compared to Lightroom).

Last step – export menu. here you can share or download your image. There are not many options, just quality and size: quick and easy. Done.

Then there are the masking and level menus, with the possibility to create local editings such as the background or the subject. You can also use your finger to create specific masks.

This part is a bit less intuitive, as the management of the layers is not straightforward. I don’t think they are very clear nor effective (at least compared to Lightroom).

Honestly, I’ve never used this section, but of course if you fancy you can play with it.

Last step – export menu. here you can share or download your image. There are not many options here, just quality and size: quick and easy. Done.

Snapseed – so what?

I like:

You have free styles to play with your image, and they are quite a lot. Plus, you can create your own and save them.
Still about styles/looks: it’s playful to scan new looks from the web, and the process is supereasy.
Price: it’s totally free! with a bit of patience, you can do a pretty thorough editing without having to pay anything, a very rare and appreciated feature.

I don’t like:

Most pre-built looks are heavy-handed, and require some adjustment to make them a bit less aggressive.
Entries in the editing menus are confusing and a bit redundant. Things like retrolux and emphasis are more like entire looks than specific parameters, so it’s not clear why they chose to put them under this part of the app.

Adobe Lightroom mobile. Advanced, clear, and not free

Overview: the most complete tool?

Adobe’s mobile app is probably the most advanced solution, although there are others around like Luminar. Lightroom mobile costs a bit (6 euros/months right now, october 2026), but it’s included with the desktop version if you have one of the many subscriptions.

Think about it as a much more complete and much more clear version of Snapseed. Of course, that’s what you get when you have all the expertise, experience, and firepower of Adobe’s history.

Also, it’s part of a cloud environment, so it means that it will sync with LR on your desktop (not the LRClassic, which is the old-school, offline version).

Speaking of desktop Lightroom, it’s worth saying that the mobile version has 95% of the features you will find in the big brother: same preset management, almost same editing depth, same library management, almost same exporting options. It’s a proper tool to work.

Honestly, I don’t like working with it, but simply because smartphone screens are small and not as good as a proper laptop. So, for a very thorough editing, it won’t be perfect. But for on-the-go situations, there’s nothing better in my opinion.

Watch out: Snapseed can work with RAWs, but maybe your phone cannot: in this case, you will see blank previews when you'll try to upload from your library.

Library and editor

This apps is made of two main parts: the library and the editor.

In the library (the “lightroom” tab in the lower middle) you can create albums, import pictures from your device (called “gallery, left tab) or from Drive, and search with AI or with traditional filters. Of course, this library is cloud based, so it syncs with your desktop Lightroom (not with Lightroom Classic though). You can choose single pictures or drag your finger to have a multiple selection.

The real editor opens up when you click on a picture in the lightroom library.

From here, you can work your magic. “Actions” does some automatic stuff, but I never used it, so I can’t say much. The second icon with the two circles opens the presets menu, which is also synced with your LR presets: you can import and export them as you please. And when you apply a preset, you can still edit whatever, of course.

The third icon is about geometry: here you can crop, change the ratio (you also have some pre-formatted Instagram and Tiktok proportions), and even expand the pictures (a new AI feature). But you can also level the horizon or improve the overall geometry, either manually or automatically. You halso have some default proportions like Instagram or Tiktok formats.

In-depth editor overview

Then, the real editing tools on the “edit” tab. This is the main section. It includes all the general parameters (those concerning the whole picture and the menus are pretty clear:

light is about general exposure, contrast, curves, and the traditional four areas of light: whites, highlights, shadows, and blacks. To edit, you just have to play with the sliders. One remark: the curve button (upper right) opens also the RGB curves, not only the BW one.
Color is about, guess what, colors – with a wide meaning. Besides saturation and vividness, you’ll find the two white balance sliders.Not only: the two upper buttons are about the grading and the accurate HSL of every color. And of course the BW button converts the photo, and in this case the HLS sliders modify the brightness of each color.
Blur is the artificial bokeh effect. Never used it.
Effects and details are quite similar, and you can find aesthetic parameters like grain, noise, and vignetting, all with their own specific sliders.
optics is about the automatic (or not) lens correction.
Profiles, the last one, opens up a big topic, too big to be explored here. Just keep it by defauld and play with presets instead.

Local edits and output options

The last two tabs on the right are about local modification. With masks you can isolate subjects, the sky, or custom things; and then apply specific parameters. Masking requires a bit of exploring and testing, because you can achieve great effects if you learn to manage the advanced features, like applying masks to a specific luminance/color, or intersect/substract them.

On the other hand, the remove tool allows you to remove people or, more generally, objects. The AI does a pretty good job, but of course, it implies ethical issues about editing.

Finally, you can export or share your pic. You can save on the device (the quickest option) or “share”, which allows you to choose all the editing parameters such as resolution, quality, and even the frame. In the three-dots menu, you can also organise your pics in albums, or evaluate them. If you evaluated them on your camera, as we saw previously, you’ll find here your own ratings.

The end.

Lightroom – so what?

I like:

It’s a crucial piece of a complete workflow, paired to the desktop cloud version and the Classic (offline) Lightroom. Plus, if you use other Adobe software like Photoshop, it’s all the same family.
It’s very, very, very complete, and clearer than Snapseed despite the amount of options.
The AI search in the library is a powerful tool. It will surprise you!

I don’t like:

Since I have it in my Adobe subscription, it’s a no-brainer. If you need to pay for it alone, maybe you can think a bit more whether you need it or you can rely on Snapseed.

Your own phone: free, no app required

Because why not

I am writing about Android, and more specifically Google Pixel. But I reckon that every smartphone has some in-house editor, and by now, it seems to work pretty well. The advantage, of course, is that you already have it there, without needing to install anything (or pay anything).

Within this editor you will find basically the same sliders as in Lightroom and Snapseed, but in a more general fashion. Lights and shadows, contrast, white balance, overall saturation, vignette, and also texture and other stuff.

It’s not as accurate as the two other options, so, if editing is something fun to you, it won’t be as satisfying. But it’s quick.

Adding signs, and other apps and tools

One good thing that the defauld editor has, and it’s not on Lightroom and Snapseed, is the possibility to add text, handsigns, underscore, and other stuff, which could be a gamechanger if you’re used to this kind of style.

Which brings us to our last subject: these options are not all of them, and there are plenty of way to edit pictures out there.

For example, Canva itself has a dedicated editing section. It’s very general, very similar to the Android editor. But if you regularly work with it, it’s nice to have everything in the same place.
Luminar is a powerful tool, and a very advanced one: it’s in the same league as Lightroom. However, it has its own identity: it pushes a lot on the AI features. There is one more cool thing about Luminar: you can either choose a subscription price (when I’m writing, it’s 24 euros/year) or a perpetual licence (40 euros). Nice touch.

Conclusion: easy solutions for an editing on-the-road

Between these three options – free and accurate, free and easy, paying and jam-packed, I hope you can find the right tool for your workflow.

However, I didn’t try much else, so, feel free to add your point of view if you have suggestions about apps that improve your exploration of the cyclo-photography world!