Photoshop Express

Adobe's free app for mobile devices offers a selection of photo editing tools allowing you to quickly edit pictures.  We evaluated it on a tablet and found it easy to use. The smaller format of a phone might make some of the adjustments harder to manipulate.


Here is our guide for using the app:


When you first open Photoshop Express you will be presented with a series of pages outlining what the app can do. Either quickly skim through these or ignore them. You will next need to log in. You can choose between using Adobe ID, Facebook or another app. You can create an Adobe ID which can be useful if you use other Adobe services in future. Otherwise just follow the Facebook log in.


Adobe Express will access the photo album on your device. Click on the photo that you wish to work on and you will be take to the editing page. Below your picture you will see a range of dozens of thumbnail images which give a choice of different tones and lens filters. These range from Normal to Duo Tone. Just tap on the thumbnail to see different effects.


Right at the top of the screen is a little curved, left pointing arrow. If you click on this at any time, it will take you back to your original image. The right pointing, curved arrow will resume your editing. The square icon, divided down the middle lets you switch between the two choices and make comparisons.


At the bottom of the screen is a choice of five icons.

The 3 linked circles will take you to the tone selector described above.

Click on the 2 interlinked circles and you have a different choice of thumbnails from Light-Leaks through to Water-Color. These are different overlays and can produce interesting results.

The button which is like an extended square, is the Crop Tool which enables you to cut the picture down to size. Under all of the pre-set options, you can drag the edge of the picture to the size required. You may also rotate the image with the Rotate button or the Auto slider.

The next button with 2 parallel lines has a number of colour corrections; use the slider to adjust. Under the Split Tone option, drag the two little white circles into the colour selector pane and adjust with the slider. Blur has 2 options: Radial has an adjusting wheel which can be moved around the screen or dragged to increase or reduce the size. The slider sets the amount of blur and the square button switches the blur from inside to outside of the circle. The Full button is to blur the whole image. Vignette give a choice of blurred edges to the picture; again adjusted with the slider.
 The fifth button removes blemishes. The slider sets the size of the tool and you can click on the image to replace a blemish with a sample from an adjacent part of the picture. A lot of trial and error is needed.
  The Eye icon is the red-eye remover and should be self explanatory.
  The T button adds text to the image. The thumbnails give a choice of styles. The default text will appear in a box that may be re-positioned. Click on the box to type and to choose from a range of fonts which will appear below. You may also select the text colour and the alighnment within the box.
  The heart within a circle is a choice of clip art overlays. Tap on the thumbnails to review them.
  The final button is a choice of borders and frames.

   When you have finished editing, click on the export button to save the image or to attach it to a message or email etc.