Adobe Photoshop Express is a photo editing and collage app from Adobe for iPhone, iPad and Android. Adobe also offers a Windows version. It is built for quick edits before sharing: tone and color fixes, portrait retouching, object removal, cutouts and collages. The app is free to download and use with a free account. A premium subscription unlocks additional tools; Creative Cloud members can sign in to get the premium features.
Quick actions for single-purpose edits
Most edits in Photoshop Express start from a Quick Actions menu on the home screen. Looks apply a filter style such as sepia, Retro or Duo Tone, with a slider for strength. Denoise and Dehaze work the same way, with one slider setting the amount of noise or haze removed.
Broader tone and color work uses the Adjustment tools: Color Mix, Split Tone, Blur, Vignette and Optics, plus Light, Color, Effects and Details on iOS.
Editing only part of a photo
Selective editing limits adjustments to one area. Photoshop Express offers preset selections for the Full image, the Subject or the Background. You can use these to brighten a person without changing the sky behind them. A brush or Smartcut can extend the selection by hand.
Spot Heal removes blemishes and small objects by painting over them. Brush size, opacity and feather control how the patch is applied. A Blend toggle changes how it merges with its surroundings. On iOS it also offers a Smart brush and a Clone option.
Portrait retouching tools
The portrait tools need a clearly visible face. Smooth Skin softens skin texture with a single slider, or in manual mode with a brush over chosen areas. Face Retouch changes face size and width and adjusts the head’s rotation and up-down or left-right angle. Makeup applies lip color in shades such as Natural, Bold or Romantic. It includes a refine option for the lip edges and a separate eye makeup setting.
Add Smile, facial reshaping and makeup belong to the premium tier. Free users can try a premium tool, but saving the result prompts them to subscribe.
Cutouts, backgrounds and layers
Cutout isolates the main subject or several objects. You can refine the result with Smartcut, Invert and Feather. Replace Background removes the original backdrop and puts a new image or color behind the subject.
Layers place another photo over the current one. You can then position, rotate or flip the added photo, or give it its own looks and adjustments. You can hide, duplicate, merge down, lock or delete layers. A blend slider controls how strongly an effect shows.
Collages, scrapbooks and templates
For multi-photo designs, Photoshop Express builds a collage from selected images using Grid, Unique or Classic layouts. You can give each photo cell a different shape and edit it individually, with backgrounds, fonts, stickers and borders on top. Scrapbook goes further by cutting subjects out of the chosen photos automatically. It places each cutout on its own layer for a journal-style page.
Blank Canvas adds pre-sized templates for social channels, and themes combine text, looks and stickers into editable presets.
Sharing, watermarks and the Discover feed
You can save finished images to the device or share them to social and messaging apps. You can set a text or image watermark in Preferences. You can place it in one of nine positions and size and fade it with sliders. The community feed shows other users’ edits. You can play them back and copy them onto your own photo. Photoshop Express opens common photo formats including JPEG, PNG and TIFF, as well as RAW files from many camera makers.
