6 Best Free Tools for Photographers
E aí, guys! My name is Priscila Elias and today I will share what, in my point of view, are the 6 best free tools for photographers that help me either with my editing process or with my workflow and productivity.
The first tool on my list is an app and it is not one I use on a daily basis — as I tend to be very careful when taking my photos — but it is also one of the most interesting ones I came across lately.
I was amazed by it and I think it could be interesting to many of you!
This app allows you to recover blurry or very pixelated photos. It does an amazing job in sharpening and recovering images in a way I consider almost unbelievable.
Now, please beware that when you use this app, depending on how bad your photo is, you might end up looking a little different than you really are. The reason for that is: in order for it to fix the image, the app pretty much reconstructs the photo using a huge database to combine each part of the image in a way that it will look as much like the original as possible.
But still, since it is using a database from the internet, it is using someone else’s nose, someone else’s eyes, it is substituting compromised parts of the photo for high-quality ones that are most similar to them that can be found in that database.
Usually, it is perfect but sometimes it is not absolutely the same.
Other people might not notice the difference, but in many cases, you will, especially if you use more recent photos of yourself or of people you know well.
Still, pretty amazing, is it not?
The second app I want to talk about is one that I use quite often to give a special touch to some of my photos, mainly to the ones I post on my social media, since I do not have the paid version of this and therefore I cannot save them in raw or in HD JPEG.
But as you will see, even on its free version, this is a pretty amazing app that I consider worth having on my phone.
The LD app will allow you to add flares, snow, rain, lights, fog and other different types of overlays to your photo. It is an awesome tool to make some of your photos stand out.
The free version will not give you access to all of the different overlays there are, but still, it will give you enough to add up some amazing effects to your photos.
The third app I consider being an awesome free tool for photographers is called Mojo. It creates amazing animated stories, in minutes.
I use this app for most of my Instagram stories.
If you follow me on Instagram, you certainly have seen some of them, because every week when I release new videos, I post a story with a layout done in Mojo.
I also use it when I have special offers or any other news related to my work. It makes my stories look very professional and I absolutely love it.
If you use the free version of it, you will not have access to all of the layouts available on the app and you will have the Mojo logo at the bottom of your layout.
I chose to buy this one because I use it a lot and to me, it was totally worth it, but you can do a lot with the free version also.
The fourth app on this list is not a tool exclusive for photographers. Actually, it can be used by anyone interested in organizing daily tasks for their businesses or life. It’s the Microsoft To Do.
Maybe you have already heard about this app before and the name itself says what it is all about.
It will allow you to make to-do lists. You can add time, date, reminders, details and photos to each one of the tasks created and it is one of the apps I use the most to organize my routine.
Another good thing about this app is I have it both on my computer and on my phone and once I update the list in one of them, it automatically updates the other one.
It’s amazing!
5. Pixabay
The fifth amazing free tool every photographer should know is the Pixabay website. It is nothing more than a stock images website. The difference from most of the other ones is that the images are free.
I use it a lot when I need to find specific images to do overlays in Photoshop to some of my photos. It does not have nearly as many options as you will find in a paid stock image website, but it is still very good and might be enough for you just as it has been enough for me so far.
6. Canva
The next free tool I use quite some and that, if you do not know yet, you should, is Canva. Canva is a website and app where you can design anything quickly and easily.
They have very good templates for pretty much anything you could think of: Instagram stories and feed posts, Facebook banners, brochures, business cards, flyers, posters, websites, really…! Almost anything! It’s very intuitive and easy to use and there is also a mobile version for it, in case you prefer to work on your phone.
The free version will not give you full possibilities but trust me, it will give you enough! You can do a lot with it.
All of the templates I have for my portrait sessions, portrait photo tours and wedding packages have been done with the free version of Canva and I totally recommend it.
It is amazing not only for photographers and videographers but for pretty much anybody who needs some design for their business.
You have to try it!
So? How many of these tools did you already know and how many of them are new to you?
If you try some of them out or if you already knew them, please let me know how you like them and if there are other apps you love to use for photography. I would love to catch up with some new stuff also!
That is all for today, guys!
stThank you so much for reading me and… I will see you in the next post! Tchau!
