Snapseed is one of the most popular photo editing apps for mobile devices.
Developed by Google, Snapseed provides professional-grade editing tools in an easy-to-use interface. The app can enhance photos in just a few taps, thanks to its intuitive design and powerful features.
While Snapseed is designed for mobile, there are ways to use Snapseed on a PC as well.
In this guide, we’ll look at the different methods to run Snapseed on Windows and Mac computers. We’ll also explore the key features of the app and see how to edit photos with it. Let’s get started!
What is Snapseed?
Snapseed is a free photo editing app for iOS and Android devices. It was created by Nik Software, which was acquired by Google in 2012.
Snapseed has a wide range of editing tools packed into an intuitive interface:
- Tune Image – Adjust brightness, contrast, saturation and other parameters.
- Crop & Rotate – Crop, flip, rotate and make perspective changes.
- Healing – Remove unwanted objects from photos.
- Brush – Apply adjustments to specific parts of an image.
- Structure – Improve composition by tweaking perspective.
- HDR – Bring out detail in high contrast scenes.
- Perspective – Shift the perspective in photos.
- Expand – Fill in the edges of photos to remove unwanted elements.
- Vignette – Add creative vignette effects.
- Frames – Add stylish borders to photos.
- Text – Add text captions and watermarks.
This powerful toolkit enables anyone to enhance their photos with just a few taps.
The app’s ease of use made it highly popular on mobile devices. But can you use Snapseed on a Windows PC or Mac? Let’s find out.
How to Use Snapseed on Windows PC
Snapseed is designed as a mobile app, so there is no native Windows version.
However, you can still use Snapseed on a PC in a couple of ways:
Install Android Emulator
An Android emulator allows you to run Android apps on a PC. Here are the steps:
- Download and install an Android emulator like Bluestacks.
- Open the emulator and log in with your Google account.
- Search for Snapseed in the Google Play Store and install it.
- The Snapseed app will now show up in the emulator. You can use it to edit photos on your PC.
The advantage of using an emulator is that Snapseed runs natively. The editing experience is the same as on an Android device.
The downside is that emulators tend to be slow and eat up a lot of RAM.
How to Use Snapseed on Mac
Just like Windows, there is no native Mac app for Snapseed. But you can use the online web version or an Android emulator. Here are the options:
- Use the Snapseed Web App – Works the same way as on Windows. Just open the Snapseed website in a browser and you can start editing photos.
- Install Bluestacks – This Android emulator works on Mac too. So you can download Bluestacks for macOS, install Snapseed via Google Play Store and use it.
- Try Genymotion Emulator – This is an alternative Android emulator for Mac. After installing Genymotion and VirtualBox, you can get Snapseed running easily.
So while Snapseed is designed as a mobile app, Mac users can also enjoy the editing experience on their desktops.
The online web version is the simplest option.
Key Features of Snapseed
Now that you know the methods to use Snapseed on desktops, let’s look at some of the key features that make it such a great photo editor:
1. Intuitive Interface
Snapseed’s interface is designed for quick, on-the-go edits on mobile. The same ease of use translates well to the desktop versions too.
The tools are laid out in a clean, minimalist style. Each editing tool is presented as a separate module.
You can swipe left and right to switch between the tools. This focused approach makes image editing simple and fast.
2. Versatile Editing Tools
As covered earlier, Snapseed packs a ton of editing tools ranging from filters to healing.
The ‘Tune Image’ module itself provides granular control over parameters like color, contrast, shadows and structure.
The ‘Brush’ tool allows applying adjustments to specific portions of the image. Overall, Snapseed provides desktop-class photo editing in an easy-to-use mobile interface.
3. Non-destructive Editing
Snapseed follows a non-destructive editing workflow. This means your original image is never altered.
The edits are saved separately and applied in real time. You can go back and tweak the edits endlessly without any loss in quality. This gives you more room for creative exploration.
4. RAW Photo Support
Many serious photographers shoot in RAW format as it offers more flexibility in editing.
Snapseed’s tools support editing of RAW DNG photos so you can get the most out of your digital negatives. The RAW files are converted to JPEG temporarily for editing.
5. Head-to-Head Photo Comparison
The unique ‘Before/After’ view lets you compare the original and edited photo side-by-side.
This makes it easy to see how each adjustment changes the picture. The vertical split view is a handy way to inspect and fine tune the edits.
6. Save and Share Edits
Once done editing a photo, you can export a JPG copy with all the changes applied.
On mobile, you can save back to the camera roll or share directly on social media.
The desktop web version lets you download the image to your PC. Overall, Snapseed makes it quick and easy to edit photos on the go and share them anywhere.
How to Edit Photos in Snapseed
Now that we’ve looked at how to use Snapseed on desktops and its key features, let’s see how to actually edit photos with it:
1. Upload a Photo
First, you need to get a photo loaded into the app. On mobile, you can select a photo from your camera roll.
On desktop web, click ‘Choose Photo’ and select the image file to upload. Once the photo is loaded, you’ll enter the main editing workspace.
2. Apply Tools
The editing tools are arranged along the bottom – just tap any tool to open it.
For example, tap ‘Tune Image’ and you’ll see options to adjust brightness, contrast, saturation and more. Likewise, tap other tools like ‘Crop & Rotate’, ‘Filters’ etc. to use them.
3. Adjust Parameters
Within each tool, adjust the various parameters by dragging the sliders or tapping the presets.
For example, in ‘Crop & Rotate’, drag the edges to crop the image. In ‘Tune Image’, play with sliders like saturation and contrast to get desired effect.
4. Use Brush Tool
The ‘Brush’ tool lets you paint adjustments onto specific parts of the photo.
For example, brighten just the subject’s face or increase contrast of a dull sky. Tap Brush, select a parameter to change and paint over the desired area with your finger.
5. Undo/Redo
Snapseed allows unlimited undos and redos. So feel free to play around with edits without fear of messing up.
If you don’t like a particular change, tap the arrow at the bottom left to undo it. You can also undo multiple steps together to go back to any previous state.
6. Save and Export
When you’re happy with the edits, tap the Export button at the top right. This will save a copy of the photo with the edits baked in.
On mobile, choose to export locally to camera roll or share it on social media. On desktop web, it will simply download the edited photo to your PC.
And that’s it! These simple steps showcase how easy photo editing is with Snapseed. The tools are designed keeping beginners in mind but pros can enjoy fine grain control too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common queries about using Snapseed on Windows and Mac PCs:
Q. Is Snapseed available as a Windows/Mac app?
No, Snapseed is designed as a mobile app for Android and iOS. There is no official desktop version.
Q. Does Snapseed have a web app?
Yes, Snapseed has an online web app at snapseed.app that can be used in any browser on a PC or Mac.
Q. Can I get Snapseed on a PC without internet?
You can use Snapseed offline on a PC by installing an Android emulator like Bluestacks and using the mobile version. No internet is required after installing it.
Q. Does Snapseed edit RAW photos?
Yes, Snapseed supports editing .DNG RAW files. The RAW image is temporarily converted to JPEG for editing and then exported.
Q. Is Snapseed completely free to use?
Yes, Snapseed is a free photo editor. There are no watermarks or paid subscriptions. All features are available for free.
Q. What photos formats does Snapseed support?
On mobile, Snapseed supports JPG, RAW DNG, PNG and TIFF images. The desktop web version can open JPG, PNG, BMP and other common formats.
Q. Can I use Snapseed to edit groups of photos together?
Unfortunately, Snapseed can only edit one photo at a time. There is no batch editing function. You have to open and edit each photo individually.
Conclusion
And that concludes this guide on using the popular Snapseed photo editor on desktop PCs!
With the web app or an Android emulator, you can now enjoy powerful mobile-like editing on your Windows or Mac.
Snapseed’s versatile tools and easy interface make enhancing your photos a breeze. Go give it a try and take your desktop photo editing experience to the next level!
