It might sound silly to learn how to Photoshop with an iPhone. Yes, it is. It’s called Lightroom mobile. Well, it is, and it’s not. It’s a bit complicated. Photoshop is available on iPhone and Android, but it is not a full-fledged Photoshop version for smartphone users.
Three is definitely not two, and I’m guessing the name ‘Photoshop Fix’ might be a giveaway as to what this app is about! Read on to see if you agree, and don’t forget to download the app, too. Photoshop Express is seen as ‘Photoshop Lite’ for the iPhone. It’s got a wide range of editing tools, and covers most of your editing requirements while you’re mobile.
Photoshop Mix allows you to layer images into composites and then take out sections of the shot. You can even add textures to enhance a photo’s artistry. With Photoshop Fix, you’ll learn how to edit photos with the most advanced retouching tools and have plenty of artistic brush styles for tiny edits.
It’s good for any type of photography, and works especially well for portraits. So let’s take a look at what each app does and see which one’s right for your workflow. The added benefit of using one (or all) of these apps is that they are free.
There are several free, downloadable options for creating designs for your blog or website. If you want to use all the amazing features that the iPhone apps offer, you need to know how to use each one, so this book shows you how.
Photoshop Express
Photoshop Express is the closest you’ll get to ‘real’ Photoshop
Specifications
Price: Free (IAPs)
Compatibility: iOS 10.0 and above, Android 4.1 and above, Windows 8 and above
Reasons To Avoid
Don’t match Photoshop CC layout. The Auto Enhance feature in this app can make photos look worse. Photoshop Express is a good all round photo editing app for a mid-level edit. You’ll learn the standard Photoshop tools you know, but this version is strange and unformulaic.
The layout of the app on both platforms was simple, but with the gesture support, the user could easily navigate through the app without a problem. Large thumbnails are live previews of how the tool will affect the image before the actual photo is used.
Selective editing is also possible, and combines the same functions as Photoshop Fix and Photoshop Mix. It is available in one place. Photoshop Express is the closest Photoshop app to the desktop/iPad version on your phone. It’s great for quick edits.
How to add overlays and selective adjustments in Photoshop Express
1. Add Light Leaks
When we created this set of stairs, we wanted them to have a beautiful, romantic feel. Its color combination of warm and cool pink enhances the overall look of the image. The slider was increased to about 60% of full effect.
2. Selectively adjust brightness
We’ve made a few adjustments in the Tone Curve, Contrast and Brightness panel, including increasing highlights and reducing shadows. In this example we’ve selected the parts that we want to copy from the original image.
Photoshop Mix
Quick on-the-go layer processing
Specifications
Price: Free (IAPs)
Compatibility: iOS 9 and above, Android 4 and above
Reasons To Buy
Good cutting out tools
Blending modes give live preview
Simple interface makes edits a breeze
Reasons To Avoid
Lack of Pen tool makes things more difficult
Could do with more preset overlays
No option for drawing shapes, lines or other graphics
Photoshop Mix is a guide to combining imagery and making creative artwork using Photoshop. It is aimed specifically at users who want to use cutting and blending layers and add looks to their images. It includes a selection of basic tools to tweak your photo to make it look even better.
With Photoshop Mix, it’s fast and easy to make basic adjustments to a photo. But for detailed work, users will want to send their image to Photoshop, where they can make more complex adjustments with advanced tools like the Pen tool.
With this tool, you can add and edit text boxes and apply different formatting options, like fonts, colours, alignments, and much more.
If you’re looking to find the best photo editing apps for iPhone, we’ve done a separate list that you’ll find helpful.
How to cut selections and content-aware fill in Photoshop Mix
1. Cut it out
You can quickly select and cut out complex scenes with the Cut Out panel. It provides contrasted edges to select your objects. To refine your selection, use the Refine panel. If you’re careful, you can also edit the size of your selected edges, which will make them appear smaller.
2. Fill blank areas
Select a few points that you want to replace. If there are no points selected, use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (W) or the Magnetic Lasso Tool (M) to select the spots that you want to replace.
With the Basic brush selected, paint over a gap in a blue sky and let the app automatically fill the selection with another part of the image. Here the app has added a pink cloud to the top-right.
Photoshop Fix
Specifications
Price: Free (IAPs)
Compatibility: iOS 9 and above, Android 5 and above
Reasons To Buy
Awesome face detection
Good brush properties
Automatic skin selection
Reasons To Avoid
Specialises in portraiture
Some tools such as Defocus lacking
No Layers
The best portrait retouching tool is Photoshop Fix. It’s great for removing blemishes from portraits, and it has face recognition that makes it perfect for retouching family portraits.
This book has a very easy layout for image manipulation. It includes a good selection of tools for adjusting exposure, contrast, clarity, and saturation. It’s designed for beginners who want to learn how to use tools.
It comes equipped with powerful brush tools that allow for a variety of editing and painting effects. When zoomed in, it’s difficult to get surgical precision. However, zooming in on the subject helps a lot. Automatic skin and face detection helps speed up the workflow, and is less laborious, since it eliminates the need for manual masking.
How to retouch a face in Photoshop Fix
1. Use Liquify to adjust features
With Liquify you can make the hair look like water, liquify an object, add lighting and even adjust shadows! Click on a control point to adjust using either Warp, Swell, or Twirl. Hit “Undo” to undo any changes you’ve made to the text.
2. Smooth the skin
Tap the Size button to change the brush size and make a simple selection of the skin you want to smooth. Use the “pinch to zoom in” feature on your camera to zoom in on the eyes, lips and hair. It’s a great way to edit your photos in post-production, but it’s not limited to just that.