Back when I got my first iPhone in 2012, I downloaded A LOT of photo editing apps.  I mean … nearly 125.  I tried them all out — some of them only once (quickly learning that they were really badly designed or had awful filters and features), some I used a handful of times, and others became my go-to photo editing apps.  These days I use one app — PicTapGo — for my primary editor, and use others sparingly.  Why the change?  Well, I think my style has changed — it has become cleaner, simpler.  I no longer want the manipulated, surreal look that I often aspired to when I used textures and aggressive filters.

I still admire the way other people use photo editing apps to create amazing works of art.  And I admit that I sometimes miss the process of experimenting with photo editing until I reach just the right result I had in mind.  So on a rainy Saturday I decided that I would revisit some of those old apps, and see what I could create.  I decided to choose one photo that was taken in an old warehouse in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  It’s a simple, stark image with strong light, wonky focus, and straight-on composition, and I thought it would be a good choice to see what would happen when I sat down to play.

Here’s my original image, taken with my iPhone X and edited ever-so-slightly with PicTapGo.

Here it is edited with TinType, and I removed the frame option.

This one was edited with Camera+.

And here’s a SnapSeed edit, using the drama and vintage filters.

This one is edited using Mextures, and overlaying a grunge filter.

Here’s one with a VSCO B&W preset.

This one has a preset from A Color Story.

And last but not least, a Plastic Bullet filter.

Each edit sets its own mood, and tells a slightly different story.  I like the Mextures and Plastic Bullet filters for their dark mystery, and A Color Story for its sense of airiness.

Do you play with your old (and new) photo apps?  Share your favorites in the comments.

See you soon.

—lucy