Best photo-editing apps of 2013 - Apps of the Year

Move over Instagram! The year is just about ending and we’ve seen some quality photo-sharing and editing applications for iOS, Android and even Windows Phone. Most of these apps have tried to go beyond being just photo editors and have tried to inculcate the goodness of sharing and social networking within themselves, a la Instagram. So, if you want to move beyond the same old filters that the Facebook-owned app has been offering for years now, here’s where you should be looking:

VSCO Cam:
The app makers describe VSCO cam as something that’s born out of creativity, curation and connection. VSCO Cam was made available for iPhone earlier this year and for Android only this month. The app features a large amount of preset filters that can be tinkered around with and customised with a precision slider. Essentially, you can have your own preset values that will pretty much be unique.

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VSCO Cam is one of the best apps this year

Curation is another important aspect for which VSCO Cam is known. The app offers you the Grid, which showcases all your work. You can always go back to an image on the Grid and edit it. Grids belonging to friends and family are also viewable. You can purchase more filters too for your images. Don’t be surprised if you end up getting addicted to the app soon and we hope that the makers release a Windows Phone version in the near future too, while also making the Android app a little bit faster.

Download VSCO Cam for Android and iOS from the respective app stores.

Google+ Photos:
This nifty little editor fills the gap between Instagram and VSCO Cam for us. If you think the latter app is a tad too confusing and you’re overwhelmed by the number of filters and presets and are too bored of the filters offered by Instagram, Google+ photos is for you.

Google+’s photo editor is surprisingly good

Besides performing regular functions like cropping and rotating, you can pick and choose from some really good looking filters and frames for your image. The best part about these filters are that they offer you more than one option in each category. For example, if you want a cool filter to your picture, you can choose between four filters within the same category. You can then go on to add frames of your choice.

The only drawback to Google+’s Photos app is that you need your Google account to tinker around with images. The app is already available on most Android devices right now, bundled with the Google+ app. As far as iOS goes, you can download Google+ and edit pictures from within it.

Hipstamatic Oggl:
Now, here’s one application that Windows Phone users can also be a part of. Touted to be a rival to Instagram, Oggl has a “capture first” shooting experience. Basically, you can add filters and effects to your image, even while you’re clicking them.

Windows Phone gets a great editor with Oggl

Hipstamatic’s Oggl has a no-nonsense approach to photo editing. There are five presets available to you - Landscape, Food, Portrait, Nightlife and Sunset. Choose one while you’re taking a picture and get going. Thanks to a recent update, you can even edit a photo after it has been clicked. You can then go on to share your favourite shots on your “My Collection” page. This will also contain photos you’ve curated from around the community.

You can download Hipstamatic Oggl for your iOS devices from the App Store and for your Windows Phone from the Windows Phone store. Sorry Android users!

(Cover image credit: Getty Images)