Today I’m going to share a secret with you. Actually, 5 secrets. 5 free tools that help me in my work as a marketer, for my blog and for the personal use of my images as well.

I’ve been asked so many times, both online and offline, what programs do I use to edit photos or videos. It seems like it’s a trend to do so, even if you’re not blogging or having a social media page for a business, just for fun. And I like it. I do want to see more creative imagery into my private feed as well. Why not sharing beauty, creative messages and artistic landscapes? Even though Instagram’s filters are awesome, sometimes you just need more than that.

I must admit that lately I’ve been using the Adobe creative cloud, Photoshop & InDesign (as in the featured image of this post), because, oh well, it’s cool and easy, but when I wanna save time or I don’t have much inspiration or creativity, I’m using shortcuts like iPhone or iPad apps as well.

However, if you’re into blogging, you shouldn’t use these apps to create featured images for your website, since you need high-resolution images, and apps just cut off the quality. For that, you should use/learn Photoshop. You can create a free trial account for 30 days in Adobe’s Creative Cloud and get the chance to learn any of their programs. And trust me, you don’t need a school to teach you those, there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube.

[bs_icon name=”glyphicon glyphicon-phone”] The Good Stuff

So if you want to create beautiful, creative imagery for your social media and not only, here are my top choices:

1. Over App

For adding beautiful texts and art works over your images or backgrounds

That’s my latest crush in creating images with texts for my Instagram. It’s so easy to use, fast and you’ll have 3 free art works (designed texts) every day. Here are some works I made with it, in different formats:

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2. Snapseed

App with different filters, changing coloring and textures

Many, many things can be made with this smartphone app, but the coolest is the HDR filter. Try the Glamour filter nr. 3 and definitely the Drama ones. Some pictures I made with this app:

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3. Moldiv

For collages and cool layouts

Use Moldiv to create your own “magazine” on the phone. It gives you beautiful ready-made layouts also, so you don’t need to think about design if you’re in a hurry to post something on your blog, let’s say. I did this with it:

 

4. Polyvore

Headlines, mix & matches, collages and even logos

Confession: my blog started with Polyvore. And if you go back in time, you’ll see many fashion collages I made in 2014 on Lorellay.

With Polyvore, you can use your creativity to make all kind of things, from mixing clothes, accessories and beauty products into one image, to headlines, magazine layers and logos. The fun part is that you don’t even need to come with the materials. Polyvore works as a search engine for design products. Once you found the products, you add them, organize, add textures or other layers, and save the image. You will need to create a social profile there and you will also be able to find/show the destination of the products in your image. Cool, right?

This is how I use it:

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5. Canva

iPad & desktop only

And finally my favorite one! CANVA IS GOLD! With Canva you can design almost everything you need. Social media posts, covers, magazines, email headers, resumes, any marketing material, you just name it! They have some free ready templates that you can use, and any element that isn’t free will cost 1$. But you don’t need to buy anything, if you want to create simple stuff. You should only keep in mind that it doesn’t give you the quality Photoshop gives you for large high-resolution images and you can’t optimise them for the web. Made with Canva:

What else are you using to edit photos or design when in hurry? 

Hope this helps. If it does, spread the word! 

L