What are the best photo effects and filters for a perfect and professional result? 2022 list

Currently, there are a large number of programs, applications and online tools that allow you to retouch your photos, in an easy, fast and even very professional way. These adjustments are made from various types of effects and filters that give you the possibility of obtaining a better result.

That is how you are apps, tools and software They contain a remarkable number of filters and effects that you can add to your photos, before displaying them on your favorite social networks or sharing them via chat. However, it is necessary to know the most suitable filters to select to obtain a perfectly edited photograph.

For this reason, in this post we will tell you which are the best effects/filters that you can apply to your photos and what each of them are based on. We detail you various applications, softwares and programs that can make it easier for you to edit your photos, through a variety of filters.

What kind of effects or filters can we apply to our photos for a perfect and professional result?

As we have indicated, these effects or filters are provided from the applications, programs and tools on the web that allow you to carry out photographic editions. Which, depending on their characteristics, basically offer you the facility to adjust the intensity level of the filter and use many more tools for a truly professional result.

Although it is true, there are several types of filters that, in addition to adjusting to the tastes or requirements of each user, can be very good with certain photographs. Taking into account that not everyone is the most suitable for a specific photo and therefore, you need to try one and the other in order to achieve the most appropriate result, in order to highlight the best aspects of the image to be shared.

Here are the main filters you can apply to your photos:

HDR Surreal

HDR filters are widely used in photo editing, since they have the ability to give a more professional touch to the image. Basically, they are high range images where there is a proportion of light along with a proportion of dark areas in the same image. You can find this filter in an application known as PhotoDirector.

Vibrant

It is another of the most famous effects for image editing. Since, as you will see, it guarantees excellent results when obtaining a photograph with increased saturation, focus and sharpness. It is indicated for photos suitable for Instagram style. If you want to try “Vibrant”, the application that brings this filter by default is photoshop expresswhich contains more tools of interest.

Solid/Amy

As its name indicates, this image editing filter tries to give a single color effect to the photo. For this reason, it is considered a much more original alternative than the previous two that we have detailed. Also, this filter can give a vintage touch; being so, ideal to use it to share photos on Tumblr. The filter “plain” you can find it in an app called pixlr.

M5

It is a renowned filter that offers the ability to provide greater quality to the photograph that uses it. In the same way, increases naturalness of any image, regardless of whether it was taken outdoors. With this, the result is completely adapted to a professional level. You can find this effect in the famous app vscoavailable for Android and iOS.

black and white

Basically, it consists of one of the most common filters for any social network, since it is a black and white effect (B/W) that provides a better finish and allows you to obtain a photograph with a touch of antiquity, but in a professional way.

Although black and white filters can be found in any app dedicated to photo editing, one of the best filters of this type is obtained through the google photos app.

Classic/Myst

It is one of the most used effects today. This, thanks to green tones have become the protagonists during image editing processes made by many users. In this way, it manages to give a very interesting classic touch to your photography. You can usually use this filter when downloading and installing the Cymera app on your Smartphone or Tablet.

retro lighting

This is another of the most renowned and used effects during image editing processes. Because, the retro style is one of the favorites of many users who love photography and who love to display illustrations on a very professional level.

In this sense, “retro lighting” you can get it and use it within the famous application Snapseedwhich is cross-platform.

Clarendon

If you are a loyal user of Instagram, surely this is one of the filters that you use the most to share images on the social network and, in addition, save them on your mobile to publish them on other social platforms. Thanks to the fact that Clarendon is esteemed as a filter that makes a difference and Gives a razor-sharp result..

In this way, Clarendon You can use them from the Instagram social network or get similar ones in other photo editors.

Drama

It refers to one of the effects that They guarantee a more professional result, compared to others on the list. Since, regardless of the quality of the photograph to be edited, can give it quite intensity and luminosity too. Regardless of whether it is a person, a landscape, an object, etc. You can get this excellent filter in a free mobile application known as picsart.

Urbex

This effect is also a quality option to obtain very well edited photos, completely easily and quickly. In this sense, Urbex stands out for generating greater brightness in the photo, along with a luminosity with a good finish. If you want to use Urbex for your creations, you can do it with the help of the polar app.

Gordon

If what you want is for your photo to look with a totally old look, the Gordon filter is one of the most perfect for it. This, especially, because it manages to give it a very professional photographic retouching, being more indicated to use it in photos with people or buildings. If you are interested in using Gordon, you can do it from the Pixlr app, looking in the category “too old”.

lofi

This filter is one of the most appropriate to display and share photos on social networks of the moment. Since, it manages to get more life out of the original photo, since brings out the colors completelycontributes greater sharpness and with this, it truly looks like a creation made by a professional. Luckily, you can find this effect directly in Instagram.

Cinematic

It is another of the most striking effects to edit any photograph and one of its greatest advantages is that manages to enhance the quality of all types of photos. In this way, it can offer excellent lighting in the final result.

To make use of this filter, download the Photoshop Express app and although the effect is only available in the paid version, you can access it with just Sign in to your free Creative Cloud account.

Modena

If you like to get photos with a certain degree of opacity attached to a good photographic quality, this effect is one of the best for it. Which does not focus on accentuating contrasts so much but simply takes care of leaving a well-composed photo. To make use of Modenajust download Google Photos on your mobile or tablet and start editing.

charcoal

In order to highlight the contrasts and dark parts of any photo very well, this type of filter takes care of cooling the scene. Therefore, it is estimated as an ideal effect for create Tumblr-style photos, for instance. This is an effect that you can find in the mobile application Cymera.

Tokyo

It’s another effect that allows for perfect results after a quick and easy editing process. In this way, Tokyo stands out, basically, for give a remarkable luminosity in the photo and from this, it offers an interesting visual effect.

If you are interested in using Tokyoyou can get it in the Polarr app which, although not one of the most recognized editing apps, does contain several good quality filters.

Red wine

Surely, it is the most original filter of the entire list that we have presented to you. Since it basically overlays a reddish tint on whatever photo you want and so it can look like a very artistic and unusual creation. It is considered an ideal effect for buildings, objects and portraits. However, you need to test it in detail to determine if it fits or not. You get this filter in the application PhotoDirectorwhen entering the section “effects” and later in “Artistic”.

Ancient

Just as its name indicates, it stands out for being an effect that provides a completely old-fashioned touch and, in addition to that, allows you to obtain results such as those of a photograph taken with an analog camera; That is why this effect is so interesting. To make use of Antigua, simply enter the Picsart application and access its category “fx”.

F2

Although it seems like a very common filter, it is not. Since, with F2 you can give a greater touch-up to your photograph and through it, obtain a result with absolute quality. That is to say, it is at a professional level. To optimize an image making use of F2you simply have to download the VSCO application and there you will locate this effect.

BW4

If what you want is to have another alternative to display great black and white photos, BW4 is one of the best filters for this. Since, in addition to that, it ensures a contrast with great quality. You can locate this effect within the famous photography social network known as Eye Em.

Now if you’d like compare the result of each effect from the original imagesNext, we show you each one of them. So that you can show the remarkable change that these filters/effects ensure:

List of the best tools and apps to apply professional filters and effects to our photos to upload to Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat on Android and iOS

In addition to knowing the main and best effects that can be used to obtain photographs with professional touches and finishes, that look ideal and worthy of uploading content to any social network, it is also necessary to have at hand the most optimal applications, programs and tools that exist, today, to carry out fast and effective photo editing processes. To get started, here are the best apps for Android and iPhone.

In view of the fact that mobile phones are the most used devices today to manage any type of matter on the network and especially to access the main social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Let’s start by detailing a total of 10 applications with excellent features to use a variety of filters and employ powerful editing tools:

vsco

As you can see, some of the filters that we recommend in the previous list belong to this mobile application and, therefore, it is considered one of the best mechanisms for edit photos from wherever you want and with simple steps. Taking into account that, for greater advantage, it is a completely free application and available in the Play Store and the App Store.

In this sense, the app allows you to create photos and edit them with the presets it contains, which are inspired by highly renowned movies. In addition to that, it has advanced controls for use various basic editing tools.

Google Photos

Also available for both operating systems, this application is another ideal alternative to obtain photos with a professional touch. In the first place, because it contains several types of effects that adapt to the tastes of all its users and among other characteristics, it contains essential functions such as automatic creations and shared albumsas well as making copies of your photos and videos in high quality.

In this way, Google Photos It also offers you the facility to make collages, animations, panoramas and automatically created content with your photos. Added to that, you can receive a new album with your best photos automaticallythanks to this intelligent function and you can also apply filters according to the content, adjust the lighting, etc.

Snapseed

It is an application developed by Google that contains more than 29 filters and tools, among which it adds Structure, Brush, Concealer, Perspective, HDR, etc. It also includes RAW development, exposure and color adjustments automatically or manually through detailed and precise control. It has functions to magically highlight surface structures in images.

Among other features, the application has white balance and color adjustments in order to make the image appear more natural, it has a corrector, cropping and rotation functions, options to add a subtle darkness to the edges (vignette), tonal contrast, HDR escape, focus effectetc.

Adobe Photoshop Express

Another of the best apps to edit photos is this application and thanks to the fact that it contains a remarkable variety of filters and effects, it was mentioned in the previous section. In this sense, has great features, from the most basic (crop, straighten, rotate, correct red eye, etc.), to the most advanced. One of them refers to remove blemishes such as smudges, dirt, and dust, as well as correct contrast, white balance, and exposure with a single touch.

In addition to this, it has personalization functions so that users create and save your own looksIn addition to this, it supports watermark images to add custom text or graphics. In short, you can change the size of the photo before storing it and also share it on social networks.

Cymera

With over 330 million downloads on both Android and iOS, this app is another one of the best for editing your photos and using a variety of effects. Be it glowing effects and analog filters to light up your photos or also perfect filters for your selfies and beauty effects in real time that ensure magnificent results.

In addition to this, it contains a built-in camera that offers beauty features such as slimming and smoothing your skin. Among other details, you can save filters in your favorites to speed up the next editing processes, download complete filter packs, make use of its silent camera function to take photos without disturbing other people, and also create collages.

PhotoDirector

It is a very easy to use photo editor, which allows you to add effects to your images as you like. One of its greatest advantages is that even though it is such a simple alternative, it has truly powerful tools to ensure magnificent results. Among these, stand out RGB color channel settings and HSL sliders to colorize your photos. In addition to that, you can make white balance corrections and improve color accuracy.

For its part, it allows adjust brightness, contrast, exposure and shadows; It has an option to retouch the saturation of your photo with great precision and you can apply effects to your entire photo or even to specific parts of it to make it much more professional. It also allows you to intelligently remove people and objects from your photos, add HDR and editing by ablemake collages, etc.

picsart

Basically, it is a photo editor and collage maker with over 500 million downloads globally. In this sense, it has incredible tools to improve any photograph using various filters and effects that allow you to obtain a professional level result and also create works of art and even memes that look very original.

Additional to this, picsart It is also notable for having more than 5 million stickers created by the same users of the application. Among other features, it allows you to use various beauty functions to perfect your selfies, it contains backgrounds and borders, as well as the classic editing tools such as cropping, adding text, cloning, among others.

Eye Em

More than an editing app, it refers to a community of emerging and established photographers around the world. Thus, a platform that brings together about 18 million photographers that can be close to you so you can learn new things about photography and be more creative, as well as receive tips and tricks to ensure professional-level results.

In reference to its functions, the application has 24 adjustable image filters that suit all styles, whether black and white, vintage, cool, etc. In addition, it adds a powerful camera with exposure correction and also a level tool for perfect lines. It even has options like saturation, sharpness, contrast, vignetteamong others.

pixlr

For more solutions, we recommend you to use this application on Android or iPhone, which is considered one of the most suitable photo editors to professionally optimize an illustration. Since, has all the effects and tools you need for a professional result. That way, it also allows you to layer multiple photos and mix them together for an original look with double exposure.

In addition to this, you can apply different styles to the images, whether it is to look like an ink sketch, a poster, a pencil drawing, etc. Also, you can balance color with automatic correctionremove blemishes and red-eye, as well as whiten teeth, use photo environment settings to amplify or reduce hue, flexibly resize photos, and share them on social networks in just seconds.

Polarr Photo Editor

It is a photo editor also available on the Play Store and the App Store that has various functions with which you can customize the result of editing your photo. Thus, it provides advanced tools for automatic image enhancement and offers you sophisticated filters that you will surely like. Taking into account that, for greater benefit, this application gives you the facility to create and share your own custom filters and synchronize them between all the devices you use.

Among other features, we highlight that it has various layers and blending modes and, therefore, allows you to overlay photos with 10 or more blend modes. Add various types of adjustments for color, depth, gradient, luminance and many more masks to optimize the photo. Likewise, has edge tools, tint adjustments, temperature, saturation, sharpness, tonesetc.

Online tools to apply all kinds of filters from the web

On the other hand, if what you prefer is to use online platforms where you can perfectly edit your photos, without the need to install an application or software; In this section we present, in detail, five of the best online solutions that you can use for this for free:

Fotor.com

This online tool, without a doubt, is one of the best known and used to edit photos from the web in a simple and fast way. Since, it offers different options to edit your images at a professional level, among which should be highlighted the color adjustment, size change, increase or decrease of light and contains HDR effects for more advanced results.

Among other features, Fotor also provides a wide variety of photo effects to add a magical touch to your images. It also has great features for creating collages, making very unique greeting cards, and making enhancements to your portraits to add highlights, increase brightness, and beautify your face.

ribbet.com

It is a free platform that has excellent web functions to edit photos in a completely optimized way. Among its main features, it is worth noting that It has an extensive editing menu that can be adjusted to all needs. In this way, it gives you the option of making use of different filters to improve your photography, as well as using automatic fix tools. In short, it has an important integration with social networks such as Twitter and Flickr.

For its part, with this tool you can also create collages that go beyond the usual and all this without paying anything at all, since it allows you to make use of its free trial. As for the interface, It is very easy to handlebut it is not translated into Spanish.

PicMonkey.com

It is no secret to anyone that this is another of the most popular online services for editing photos without downloading anything to your computer. In view of that, It shows a very easy to use and intuitive interface as well, making it the favorite of millions of users. Thus, it offers you the option of using its different free design and editing functions or you can pay a membership and use other Premium functions.

In reference to its details for photo editing, it is worth noting that provides you various filters and effects to transform the images you want without any kind of limitation. In addition to this, you can add text and graphics to your photos, as well as use masking and cloning tools in order to provide a much more professional result and/or look.

SumoPaint.com

Basically, it is an editing tool very similar to the renowned Photoshop program. Which means that, It has various functions to retouch and improve the images you want, from the comfort of your web browser. In this sense, it offers different editing alternatives for free and also has paid functions that are blocked and if you choose to use them, you must pay around $19 in order to acquire the indicated license.

In addition to this, it should be noted that the web is fully translated into Spanish and this, without a doubt, is a good advantage for those who do not speak English, which is the default language that these online tools bring.

BeFunky.com

To finish with the list of online tools, we highlight this web platform that provides endless artistic effects that you can apply to the photo you want in a few simple and quick steps. Taking into account that it is a solution that It has a large number of utilities to edit and design photos at a professional level..

Regarding its interface, we emphasize that it is very powerful and intuitive and in addition to that, it is outstanding for being one of the platforms with higher performance when it comes to online websites. In addition to this, it also has the option of create collages and optimize them to the maximum.

Programs to apply filters and effects to photos from PC Windows and MacOS

In case you want to edit your photos from your computer, be it Windows or Mac, luckily, there are several alternatives that you can quickly download and install on your computer to start creating and editing images in a very efficient way.

Here are five of the top software that allow you to make great edits:

photoshop

First of all, it is valuable to recommend this program which, by default, is one of the most famous for photo retouching from a Windows PC and a Mac OS computer. In this sense, it is used to modify digitized images, create and edit photos and graphics; all by means of excellent tools such as a set of capable to transform the photographs in the best way.

In this sense, you can also carry out an extensive treatment of photos such as control and retouch the colorenhance the light or background, perform auto-corrections, use blur filters and add blur effectsas well as using skin tone detection and best of all, it supports various types of image files (JPG, PNG, GIF, etc.).

photoscape

Thanks to its remarkable simplicity, this is an ideal software for beginners who want good results when creating and editing photos. Since, it is estimated as one of the most effective programs to correct and optimize photos quickly. In this sense, it is worth noting that PhotoScape is available for both Windows computers and Mac OS.

Among its main features, we detail that it has an image editor that has options to add text, adjust the size, correct lights, among others. It has an adjustment editor to modify the color of the photograph, it also has an effects editor to add templates and framesallows you to create animations in GIF and offers a RAW to JPEG format converter and other.

paint.net

Only available for Windows OS, this program is another of the most powerful solutions on the market for edit photos and images from a computer easily. Since it offers an intuitive user interface and apart from that, it is very innovative due to its great support with special effects, capable and an extensive variety of useful tools for perfect results.

In this sense, the software presents an excellent capacity for its users to work with multiple filters, effects and layers, so that they get the desired edits. It has easy-to-handle drawing tools and issues support for acquiring photos from scanners or cameras.

pixelmator

This option is exclusive to Mac OS users, since it only supports that operating system. In this sense, it refers to one of the most special and solid alternatives to the famous Photoshop. As for its main tools, we highlight that it is a software with a variety of layers that you can use to your liking and also offers different ranges of filters and effects that manage to adapt to all tastes and requirements.

Additional to this, pixelmator allows you to use very precise selection tools that guarantee professional results and also contains other functions capable of correcting the color of the photo by simply adjusting its contrast and brightness levels. Apart from this, you have possibilities to eliminate wrinkles or cracks in the skin, blur edges in general, etc. However, it must be taken into account that it is a payment program (although very cheap).

The GIMP

To conclude, we recommend that you make use of this program compatible with Windows and Mac OS that is completely free and, even so, very powerful and professional (even more than Photoshop itself). In this way, the program gives you the facility to retouch your photos using highly advanced functions and toolswhich are based on layers, filters, color adjustments, options for drawings or paintings, among others.

For its part, The GIMP contains different functions to handle sharpening in images, as well as to modify the scale, remove smudges or shadows, etc. In short, it has the ability to automate many processes by means of macros, import PDF files and vector images (SVG) and the final photograph can be saved in the formats you want (with or without layers). In other words, it is a very advanced alternative for editing photos on computers.