Software for quick and easy edits - opinion about Snapseed

I am looking for software for simple and semi automated editing of photos, when I am not interested in getting most details and don't want to loose too much time on every photo.

I use DXO PhotoLab for editing RAWs.

I also tried Paintshop pro and have ACDSee ultimate 2018. ACDSee is nice for its DAM, but don't like much its editing. It is fine, but nothing to write home about. Actually, I still prefer Gimp over it.

I also tried Affinity photo, but same story, nothing great, especially for fast editing.

I also downloaded trial of Photoshop Elements 2019, but its UI is just not to my liking. It is also not specially fast in operation on Macbook Air 2016 i5 with 8GB RAM.

This brings me to Snapseed which I tried on my phone. And I like it quiet a lot. It is fast, simple and does things automatically to certain degree. I tried to run it on PC in virtual Android - Blue Stacks. It works quiet good, but I can not choose all tools with mouse, as I can on phone by touch screen. Editing on phone is not to my liking - phone has smallish display.

So, I started to consider getting ipad 2018 for this task. It has great display and it should run Snapseed fine. Anyone willing to comment how it works? How good are results compared to "real editors"? Any other similar software that would natively run on MacBook or PC?

Thank you in advance!

You might want to give Photolemur a try?. Doesn't give you many options as it's all automatic but the results are pretty good!

Steve

GasmanSteve said:

You might want to give Photolemur a try?. Doesn't give you many options as it's all automatic but the results are pretty good!

Steve

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Thank you very much for your suggestion. I will give it a try, it seems interesting!

steppenwolfer said:

I am looking for software for simple and semi automated editing of photos, when I am not interested in getting most details and don't want to loose too much time on every photo.

I use DXO PhotoLab for editing RAWs.

I also tried Paintshop pro and have ACDSee ultimate 2018. ACDSee is nice for its DAM, but don't like much its editing. It is fine, but nothing to write home about. Actually, I still prefer Gimp over it.

I also tried Affinity photo, but same story, nothing great, especially for fast editing.

I also downloaded trial of Photoshop Elements 2019, but its UI is just not to my liking. It is also not specially fast in operation on Macbook Air 2016 i5 with 8GB RAM.

This brings me to Snapseed which I tried on my phone. And I like it quiet a lot. It is fast, simple and does things automatically to certain degree. I tried to run it on PC in virtual Android - Blue Stacks. It works quiet good, but I can not choose all tools with mouse, as I can on phone by touch screen. Editing on phone is not to my liking - phone has smallish display.

So, I started to consider getting ipad 2018 for this task. It has great display and it should run Snapseed fine. Anyone willing to comment how it works? How good are results compared to "real editors"? Any other similar software that would natively run on MacBook or PC?

Thank you in advance!

Click to expand...

DXO-PL normally gives pretty good results on its default settings. What are you trying to do over and above that with snapseed?

Ian

IanYorke said:

DXO-PL normally gives pretty good results on its default settings. What are you trying to do over and above that with snapseed?

Ian

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Maybe I was not clear enough, sometimes I am lazy and want quickly share nice photos with family or friends. And for those times snapseed is nice, since it does things automatically, for instance enhance face and eyes in portrait by one click, makes dramatic skies or some other edits.

When I want to get most from a photo, sure, I use RAW file and do it in DXO, with help of local adjustments etc.

I've tried Snapseed on android phone and tablets.

Used it together with Nikon 1 V1/V2 cameras with wifi sd card (to fetch image directly from the camera). I like Snapseed, however, it has some limitations, like lack of noise reduction. Never compared its abilities (like highlight/shadows recovery for RAW) with different software, but it works fine to my eye.

steppenwolfer said:

IanYorke said:

DXO-PL normally gives pretty good results on its default settings. What are you trying to do over and above that with snapseed?

Ian

Click to expand...

Maybe I was not clear enough, sometimes I am lazy and want quickly share nice photos with family or friends. And for those times snapseed is nice, since it does things automatically, for instance enhance face and eyes in portrait by one click, makes dramatic skies or some other edits.

When I want to get most from a photo, sure, I use RAW file and do it in DXO, with help of local adjustments etc.

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Sounds like Perfectly Clear is what you need. Available as stand alone or LR plugin.


Ian

Using LR7 or now LR8. After import I can export a good file in about 20 - 30 seconds. That includes the completed Jpeg at the location I want it at.

LR offers Default Develop settings. You can have adjustments auto apply at import. For example lens corrections are applied at import. I also have Clarity set to my preferred value. You can add anything you want to.

The new Auto Tone or Sensei for the Basic adjustments is very usable now. It auto adjusts exposure, blacks, whites, highlights, etc. It does have a bug which Adobe is aware of and will correct. It lowers contrast too much. An easy fix is creating a preset to put all the files back to zero or your preferred settings. Sensei is new and evolving so it will keep getting better.

I don't have to reset Contrast after import. I use a few of Jeffrey Fried's plugins. The first is Personalized Auto Tone where you can control Sensei. I have it set so it does not adjust Contrast.

The other plugin is Bulk Develop. You enter your ISO and NR ranges and it applies NR to each file based in the ISO it was shot at using a logarithmic formula. I created keyboard shortcuts for both.

I also discovered something. Sensei sometimes doesn't play nice with non Adobe profiles. I like Canon profiles but sometimes it is over-protects highlights and will underexpose. It makes sense because Adobe built Sensei using Adobe profiles.

My work around. I used to import with Canon profiles. I now let it import using it's default - Adobe Colour. I apply Auto Tone and then I change it to Canon Standard. Works great and you can use any profile.

So after import.

1. Apply Auto Tone using Plug-in. You can select one, a group or all files.

2. Switch to Canon Standard - I have a preset which I can apply to all the file in seconds.

3. Apply Bull develop. You can select one, a group or all files.

4. Export.

If you don't want to use the plugins there are a few options. You can include NR adjustments in the Default Develop settings so they are automatically applied at import. Tales a bit to set up. I'll only get into the details if anyone is interested.

After import. For one file only

1. Apply Auto Tone.

2. Switch to your preferred Colour profile.

3. Set Contrast to zero.

4. Export

For multiple files

1. In the Library module select all and Apply Auto Tone.

2. Back in the Develop module switch to your preferred Colour profile. Use a preset.

3. Set Contrast to zero. Use a preset.

4. Export.

In conclusion this may seem a little complicated but I've done all the groundwork. It is quick and easy to set up. You should always verify exposure so that was included in the 20-30 seconds for the one file example. For multiple files you should always do a quick check to make sure things are right. It is AI making a decision.

Why not use Lightroom with some presets? You can buy presets and there are some free ones too.

About snapseed I personally don't like it while editing the photo loses quality, I always feel that my photos are better straight out of cam then after I edit on snapseed. I personally use Lightroom and sometimes Photoshop normally I take my time with each photo I take

I use SnapSeed exclusively, when doing a quick convenient edit on my smartphone.

Having tried several other smartphone-based image editing apps over the years, I am confident that SnapSeed is the app for me.

When it comes to editing on the computer, then my choice is Affinity Photo.

Chaplain Mark said:

I use SnapSeed exclusively, when doing a quick convenient edit on my smartphone.

Having tried several other smartphone-based image editing apps over the years, I am confident that SnapSeed is the app for me.

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Same. Snapseed really is a great app for when we resort to using our phones to take Photos (others are fun too, check out Cameringo).

The problem with Snapseed I find is copying and pasting edits (formulas, recipes). You can do it, but it's very long-winded, and only allows the previous Preset Save (although even when you close the app and reopen it, even days later you can still 'Insert' said saved state). It'd be a clear-cut winner if it provided us to be able to save (and label) multiple Presets that we can call on at our leisure.

All edited with Snapseed...







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Bringing to light, Exposing what is
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