Best Free Photo Editing Apps For IPad Pro In 2024

Hey guys! Are you looking to take your photo editing game to the next level on your iPad Pro without breaking the bank? You're in the right place! The iPad Pro is a fantastic device for creative work, and when paired with the right photo editing apps, it becomes a powerhouse for photographers and enthusiasts alike. In this article, we'll dive deep into the best free photo editing apps available for your iPad Pro, ensuring you can unleash your creative potential without spending a dime.

Why Choose Free Photo Editing Apps on iPad Pro?

The iPad Pro boasts a stunning display, powerful processors, and the incredibly useful Apple Pencil support, making it a dream tool for photo editing. While professional software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom offer robust features, they come with subscription costs. Fortunately, there's a plethora of free photo editing apps that provide a surprising range of capabilities, suitable for both beginners and experienced users. These apps allow you to perform essential edits, apply filters, retouch images, and even create stunning visual effects, all from the convenience of your iPad Pro.

Using free apps is a smart way to explore the world of photo editing without committing to a paid subscription. You can experiment with different styles, learn new techniques, and discover which features are most important to you. Plus, many free apps offer in-app purchases for advanced features, giving you the flexibility to upgrade as your skills and needs grow.

Top Free Photo Editing Apps for iPad Pro

Let's get into the exciting part – the apps themselves! I’ve tested a bunch of photo editing apps on my iPad Pro, and here are some of my top recommendations, each offering unique strengths and features:

1. Snapseed: The Google Powerhouse

Snapseed, developed by Google, is a free, professional-grade photo editing app that's surprisingly powerful and user-friendly. It's a fantastic option for anyone looking for a comprehensive set of tools without any cost. One of the standout features of Snapseed is its non-destructive editing capabilities, meaning you can always revert to your original image, even after making multiple edits. This is crucial for maintaining the quality of your photos and allows you to experiment freely without fear of ruining your work.

The app's interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy to navigate and find the tools you need. Snapseed offers a wide range of editing options, including basic adjustments like brightness, contrast, saturation, and white balance. It also includes more advanced features such as healing, brush, HDR scape, and perspective correction. The selective adjustment tool is particularly useful, allowing you to make precise edits to specific areas of your image. For example, you can brighten the sky without affecting the rest of the photo, or sharpen a particular subject while leaving the background soft.

Snapseed also boasts a variety of filters and presets, which can quickly transform the look and feel of your photos. However, unlike some apps that rely heavily on presets, Snapseed encourages you to make manual adjustments and fine-tune your edits to achieve your desired result. The app's detailed control over adjustments, combined with its ease of use, makes it an excellent choice for both beginners and experienced photographers. Plus, the ability to save your edits as custom presets allows you to maintain a consistent style across your photos.

Whether you're looking to make simple enhancements or perform complex edits, Snapseed provides the tools you need to bring your vision to life. Its non-destructive editing, comprehensive feature set, and user-friendly interface make it a must-have free photo editing app for your iPad Pro.

2. Adobe Photoshop Express: A Taste of the Pro World

Adobe Photoshop Express is a free mobile version of the industry-standard Photoshop, offering a streamlined and user-friendly experience for iPad Pro users. It’s a fantastic entry point into the Adobe ecosystem and provides a solid set of features for quick and easy photo editing. While it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the full desktop version, Photoshop Express includes many essential tools that make it a powerful option for on-the-go editing.

One of the key strengths of Photoshop Express is its ease of use. The interface is clean and intuitive, with clearly labeled tools and simple sliders for adjustments. This makes it accessible for beginners while still offering enough depth for more experienced users. The app includes basic adjustments such as exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, and temperature, as well as more advanced features like noise reduction, dehaze, and clarity. These tools allow you to fine-tune your images and bring out the best in your photos.

Photoshop Express also offers a variety of filters and looks, which can be applied with a single tap. These filters can be a great starting point for your edits, providing a quick way to achieve a specific aesthetic. However, the app also encourages you to customize these filters and make your own adjustments, giving you more control over the final result. The healing tool is another standout feature, allowing you to remove blemishes, spots, and other imperfections from your photos with ease.

The app's integration with Adobe Creative Cloud is a major advantage for users who are already part of the Adobe ecosystem. You can easily access your photos from Creative Cloud, and your edits will sync across devices. This seamless integration makes Photoshop Express a great companion to the desktop version of Photoshop. Additionally, the app includes a variety of sharing options, allowing you to easily post your photos to social media or share them with friends and family.

For those looking for a free photo editing app that offers a balance of power and simplicity, Adobe Photoshop Express is an excellent choice. It provides a taste of the professional world of Photoshop while remaining accessible and easy to use on your iPad Pro.

3. VSCO: The Aesthetic Enhancer

VSCO is more than just a photo editing app; it's a creative community and a platform for sharing your work. While VSCO offers a subscription-based membership for access to its full range of features, the free version provides a substantial set of tools and filters that are perfect for creating a distinct aesthetic. VSCO is particularly well-known for its film-inspired presets, which emulate the look of classic film stocks. These presets can add a unique and timeless quality to your photos, making them stand out from the crowd.

The app's interface is minimalist and stylish, reflecting its focus on visual expression. VSCO's editing tools are designed to be subtle and nuanced, allowing you to make delicate adjustments to your photos. The basic adjustments include exposure, contrast, temperature, and saturation, but VSCO also offers more advanced controls like tone, highlights, shadows, and skin tone adjustments. These tools give you fine-grained control over the look and feel of your images.

The heart of VSCO lies in its presets. The free version includes a selection of classic VSCO filters, each designed to evoke a specific mood or style. These filters are not your typical Instagram-style filters; they are carefully crafted to add a subtle and sophisticated look to your photos. You can adjust the intensity of each filter, allowing you to create a customized look that suits your style. In addition to its editing tools, VSCO also includes a built-in camera app with manual controls, giving you more control over your shots.

VSCO's community aspect is another key feature. You can share your photos on the VSCO platform, discover other photographers, and get inspired by their work. This sense of community can be a great motivator for improving your skills and exploring new styles. While the subscription-based membership unlocks additional features and presets, the free version of VSCO is more than capable of producing stunning results. Its emphasis on aesthetic and film-inspired filters makes it a popular choice for photographers who want to create a cohesive and visually appealing feed.

If you're looking for a free photo editing app that combines powerful editing tools with a strong sense of aesthetic and community, VSCO is definitely worth checking out on your iPad Pro.

4. Lightroom Mobile: Adobe's Free Taste

Adobe Lightroom Mobile is a free, yet powerful, photo editing app that brings many of the features of the desktop version of Lightroom to your iPad Pro. It's an excellent choice for photographers who want a professional-grade editing experience on their mobile device. While the full version of Lightroom requires a subscription, the free version offers a surprisingly robust set of tools, including many of the core editing features that make Lightroom so popular.

One of the key strengths of Lightroom Mobile is its non-destructive editing workflow. Like Snapseed, Lightroom Mobile allows you to make edits without altering your original image, giving you the freedom to experiment and make changes without fear of ruining your photos. The app's interface is clean and well-organized, with a familiar layout for those who have used the desktop version of Lightroom. The editing tools are divided into logical categories, making it easy to find the adjustments you need.

Lightroom Mobile includes a comprehensive set of editing tools, including exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, temperature, tint, and vibrance. It also offers more advanced features like tone curve adjustments, color mixing, and detail sharpening. The app's selective editing tools are particularly powerful, allowing you to make precise adjustments to specific areas of your image using brushes, radial gradients, and linear gradients. This level of control is essential for achieving professional-quality results.

Lightroom Mobile also includes a variety of presets, which can be applied with a single tap. These presets can be a great starting point for your edits, but the app also encourages you to customize them and create your own presets. The app's cloud-based syncing is another major advantage, allowing you to seamlessly access your photos and edits across devices. If you subscribe to the full version of Lightroom, you can also sync your photos and edits with the desktop version of Lightroom.

For photographers who want a free photo editing app that offers a professional-level editing experience on their iPad Pro, Adobe Lightroom Mobile is an excellent choice. Its non-destructive editing workflow, comprehensive feature set, and cloud-based syncing make it a powerful tool for on-the-go editing.

Tips for Maximizing Your Photo Editing Experience on iPad Pro

Now that we’ve covered some fantastic free photo editing apps, let’s talk about how to maximize your editing experience on your iPad Pro:

1. Use the Apple Pencil: The Apple Pencil is a game-changer for photo editing on the iPad Pro. It offers precise control and makes tasks like selective adjustments and retouching much easier.
2. Take advantage of the iPad Pro’s display: The iPad Pro’s vibrant and accurate display is perfect for evaluating your edits. Make sure to calibrate your display for the most accurate color representation.
3. Explore tutorials and resources: Each photo editing app has its own unique features and workflows. Take the time to explore tutorials and resources to learn how to use the app to its full potential.
4. Experiment with different styles: Don’t be afraid to try new things and develop your own unique editing style. The best way to improve your skills is to practice and experiment.
5. Back up your work: Always back up your photos and edits to avoid losing your precious work. Cloud storage services like iCloud, Google Drive, and Dropbox are great options.

Conclusion

The iPad Pro is an incredible tool for photo editing, and these free apps prove that you don't need expensive software to create stunning images. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, these apps offer a range of features to suit your needs. So, download a few, start experimenting, and unleash your creativity! Happy editing, guys!