Most people use Apple Photos to manage their photos and videos, but the app also provides powerful editing features. I use it to adjust a number of settings after the fact, including lighting, color, and resolution. I also add filters and clean up unwanted elements in my photos and videos.
The editing tools and controls in the Photos app are the same in both iOS and iPadOS. Just make sure you’re running the latest OS version if you want all the latest features. For that, head to Settings > General > Software Update. You’ll be told that the OS is up to date or be prompted to install the latest update.
Keep in mind that Photos app’s video editing skills are effective, you will bump into certain limitations. For instance, you can’t combine multiple clips into a single video. For that, you’d need a more powerful mobile video editor, such as Apple’s free iMovie app.
1. Automatically Adjust Attributes
To edit a photo or video automatically, open to an image in the Photos app and tap the three-lined Edit icon at the bottom. The Adjustment option on the bottom toolbar is selected by default. Tap the Auto button (it looks like a wand), and the app automatically tries to improve your photo by enhancing the exposure, brilliance, contrast, brightness, and other attributes.
You can then adjust everything at once by moving the slider bar to the right or left. To remove changes made by Auto Enhance, tap the Undo icon at the top. You can restore the last change by tapping the Redo icon.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
Prefer to manually tweak each attribute separately? Tap the Auto icon to reverse the changes, then choose the individual attribute and use the slider bar to adjust as needed. You can edit the exposure, brilliance, highlights, shadows, contrast, brightness, black point, saturation, vibrancy, warmth, tint, sharpness, definition, noise reduction, and vignette.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
2. Add a Filter
Want to change the look of your image? You can add a filter to your photo or video. Tap the Filter icon next to the Adjustment icon on the bottom toolbar to check out the different filters, including Original, Vivid, Vivid Warm, Vivid Cool, Dramatic, Dramatic Warm, Dramatic Cool, Mono, Silvertone, and Noir. Adjust the slider bar for each filter in order to adjust its intensity.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
3. Crop an Image or Video
You can crop your image or video by selecting the Crop icon on the bottom toolbar. You’ll be able to drag the highlighted corners until only the area you want to keep is visible. Directly below the image are three icons that allow you to tilt the image, change the vertical perspective, and change the horizontal perspective. After selecting an icon, drag the slider bar to the left or right.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
4. Change the Orientation
You can flip a photo or video horizontally by tapping the triangle icon in the upper left corner or rotate the image by tapping the square icon. Tap the segmented square icon in the top-right corner to change the aspect ratio of the image. Choose between Original, Freeform, Square, or Wallpaper to set the shape of the image.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
You can also choose the rectangle or square icon at the bottom of the screen to switch between portrait and landscape. There are specific aspect ratios to choose depending on the image’s orientation: 9:16 or 16:9, 4:5 or 5:4, 5:7 or 7:5, 3:4 or 4:3, 3:5 or 5:3, and 2:3 or 3:2.
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At any time, you can hit Reset at the top of the screen to return the image to its original form. Tap Done to make the changes stick. Even if you save your changes, you can always revert the image back to the original just by tapping the ellipsis icon at the top and selecting Revert to Original.
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(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
5. Erase Unwanted Elements
With an iPhone or iPad that supports Apple Intelligence, you can use AI to cleanly remove a person or object from a photo. Removing the object then fills in the empty area to smoothly blend it with the rest of the background.
To do this in editing mode, tap the Clean Up icon at the bottom. The AI may automatically detect an unwanted element and select it. If not, touch or paint the area you want to remove. Wait a split second, and that element should disappear. You can select more than one area to erase and you can tap the area again if the element wasn’t completely removed or the background didn’t blend in properly.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
6. Copy and Paste Your Edits
Let’s say you made some color and filter changes to a photo or video and now want to apply those edits to another photo. After tweaking the initial photo, tap the three-dot icon at the top and select Copy Edits. Head over to a different photo, tap the three-dot icon, and select Paste Edits. This will apply all the same edits without the need to manually replicate all the changes you made before.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
7. Trim a Video
Is your video too long? Tap the Edit icon at the bottom to trim its length. Make sure the Video icon is selected, then drag the first marker on the timeline right or left to change the start of the clip. Drag the second marker right or left to change the end of the clip.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
8. Adjust the Audio
With videos that include live music, you can adjust the audio mix to fine-tune the sound. Tap the Audio Mix icon at the bottom if it appears. Choose among such audio modes as Standard, In-Frame, Studio, and Cinematic. With each one, move the slider left or right to tweak the sound. You can then play the video as you adjust the audio.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
About Our Expert
Lance Whitney
Contributor
Experience
I’ve been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I’ve written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including , ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I’ve also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.
I’ve used Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products for years so I’m well versed in that world. I also know the Mac quite well. I’m always working with iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Android on my various mobile devices. And these days, I write a lot about AI, so that’s become another key area for me.
My wife always jokes about all the tech products we have around the house, but I manage to put them to good use for my articles. I like Lenovo computers, so I own a couple of Lenovo desktops and several laptops. I have three MacBooks and a Mac mini. For my mobile life and work, I use an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, and iPad mini as well as an Apple Watch. But since I write about Android, I own several Android phones and tablets. Like any tech person, I have a cabinet full of cables, wires, and assorted mysterious gadgets. And when it’s time to take a break from writing, I have an old Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, both of which I use for exercise and fitness games.
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