You’re not required to have an Instagram profile or sign up for an account: Just fire up the app and start picking the photos you’d like to combine. If you’re looking to smoosh a handful of photos together or show off the before-and-after results from your fitness efforts, Instagram’s free Layout ( Android, iOS) app makes it about as easy as it can get. There are stickers, borders, and surreal effects galore-though you’ll need to pony up (starting at $3 a month) to unlock all of the premium content. This is also one of the easier general editors to wrap your head around, sporting helpful getting-started guidance for many of its features, and it’s the one to beat if you’re looking to add some whimsy to your photos. That lone bird that’s mucking up your otherwise perfect sunset shot? Remove it in a few swipes with PhotoDirector ( Android, iOS), which makes short work of nuisance objects. There’s also a plentiful selection of not-too-garish filters if you’re looking for something quick and easy.

Head tilted awkwardly? Try the “Head Pose” feature.

Corner too dark? Use the “Selective” tool to brighten it up in a tap and a swipe. This is a good bet for the tinkering set, with plenty of options for enhancing not only entire photos but very specific sections of photos. Google’s popular Snapseed ( Android, iOS) app manages to cram a lot of photo-fixing features into a reasonably intuitive, free app. Plus, it offers the added bonus of being available for Windows computers so you can get comfortable with one interface across multiple form factors. It’s got just enough to cover your photo-editing bases without getting too overwhelming. This is a solid everyday option for adding a little extra oomph to your photos, whether it’s straightening out crooked shots, sharpening grainy images, red-eye removal, or other effects. The gold standard in desktop image editing, Adobe’s well-known Photoshop offering, is also available in a mobile-friendly version called Photoshop Express ( Android, iOS).

Photoshop app free