Podcast Summary: iOS Today 740: Photo Editing on iOS

Released on February 20, 2025

Hosts: Rosemary Orchard and Micah Sargent
Platform: TWiT.tv Shows (Audio)
Podcast Series: iOS Today

Introduction to Photo Editing on iOS

In Episode 740 of iOS Today, hosts Rosemary Orchard and Micah Sargent delve into the multifaceted world of photo editing on iOS devices. Recognizing that photo editing is a daily activity for many users, the duo emphasizes its significance and explores both built-in and third-party tools that enhance the user experience.

Built-In Photo and Video Editing Tools

Micah Sargent opens the discussion by highlighting the robust built-in photo and video editing capabilities native to iOS. He appreciates the convenience these tools offer, allowing users to make quick adjustments without the need for external applications.

• Video Editing Features: Micah praises features like mirroring, rotating, cropping, and trimming videos directly within the Photos app.
  “You can simply open a video in your photos app, make a quick change to it and move on from there without much extra work.” ([02:30])

• Photo Editing Features: He points out capabilities such as adjusting color and exposure, adding filters, and changing aspect ratios. The efficiency of these tools, especially when compared to traditional desktop applications like Final Cut Pro, is underscored.
  “All of that can be done and exported without needing to wait for something like Final Cut Pro to finish exporting.” ([02:45])

Deep Dive: Editing in the Photos App with Rosemary Orchard

Rosemary Orchard provides an extensive walkthrough of the Photos app's editing tools, sharing practical tips and demonstrating various functionalities.

• Live Photos: Rosemary recommends keeping Live Photos enabled to take advantage of dynamic editing features. She explains options like Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure, which add creative flair to static images.
  “It enables a whole bunch of extra cool things... like loop, bounce, and long exposure.” ([03:52])

• Editing Workflow: She illustrates the process of selecting a photo, accessing the edit mode, and utilizing tools to adjust styles, apply filters, and make precise adjustments.
  “You can always pop it back to standard... you can tap on the exposure option, so you could increase and decrease your exposure.” ([05:10])

• Markup Tools: Rosemary emphasizes the utility of markup tools for annotating screenshots and photos, making it easier to communicate specific points or highlight areas of interest.
  “Markup tools are great. They’re fabulous on screenshots, they’re fabulous with photos.” ([09:15])

• Cleanup Features: She showcases the Apple Intelligence-powered cleanup tool that can remove unwanted elements from photos. While not always perfect, it offers a quick way to enhance images.
  “It should magically clean up this picture... what I can do is go back and then I will use the triple dots which I should have thought about this first.” ([11:30])

Exploring Third-Party Tools: Annotable with Micah Sargent

Micah Sargent shifts the focus to third-party applications, starting with Annotable—a tool he highly recommends for its powerful annotation capabilities.

• Annotable Features: Micah describes Annotable's array of tools, including crop, loop magnification, redaction, text addition, and shape drawing. He highlights the intuitive design and the ability to customize elements like color and stroke size.
  “What’s great about it is I think you’ll be amazed at how mindful the developer has been about what you would want to do when you are creating annotations for a specific document or image.” ([16:00])

• Loupe Tool: A standout feature is the Loupe tool, which offers a magnified view of specific areas, enhancing precision during editing.
  “Where I am tapping and holding, a little magnification object appears. It gives me a look at what is beneath my finger at any given time.” ([17:10])

• Redaction and Text Tools: He explains the redaction tool's ability to obscure sensitive information and the text tools that allow users to add informative overlays.
  “The text tool lets you add text. You can call this, for example, step one... the text highlight tool actually uses computer vision to let you highlight text that is discovered.” ([18:00])

Third-Party Tool Highlight: Pixo with Rosemary Orchard

Rosemary Orchard introduces Pixo, another invaluable app for managing and editing screenshots and photos.

• Stitching Screenshots: Rosemary demonstrates Pixo's intelligent stitching feature, which seamlessly combines multiple screenshots into a single image, even recognizing different app contexts.
  “It's intelligent enough to have figured out okay, there is a gap between me taking a screenshot of the screen off to the left of my home screen versus me opening the tips up and taking some screenshots there.” ([19:38])

• Customization Options: She highlights tools for cleaning up screenshots by modifying the status bar, removing scroll bars, blurring sensitive areas, and adding annotations or frames.
  “I can add text if I want to. I can highlight something. I can add various frames including borders between images.” ([20:05])

• Export Flexibility: Pixo allows users to export edits in various formats, including PNG and PDF, with customizable settings for dimensions and metadata.
  “I've set my export format to PNG and yeah, you can specify what extension I set it. Always use the largest dimensions available, please.” ([21:00])

Additional Third-Party Tools: Pixelmator and PhotoMator

Micah Sargent introduces Pixelmator and PhotoMator as top-tier third-party photo editing applications that rival desktop software in functionality.

• Pixelmator Features: Rosemary elaborates on Pixelmator’s capabilities, likening it to a mobile version of Photoshop. Features include layer management, blending modes, advanced shape and text tools, and customizable guides for precise editing.
  “It is basically Photoshop on your phone... you can add layers, shapes, text, and use all the blending modes for layers.” ([28:46])

• User Experience: She underscores the app's affordability and versatility, making it a must-have for users seeking advanced editing tools on their iOS devices.
  “I just find that this is a really great app for being able to do more advanced things than you can necessarily do in photos.” ([30:00])

Shortcuts Corner: Automating Contact Management

In the Shortcuts Corner segment, Lauren requests assistance with automating the addition of the "+1" country code to her contacts to resolve issues with messaging while traveling abroad.

• Problem Overview: Lauren explains that while in the UK, incoming texts from the US included the "+1" country code, causing mismatches with her contacts that lacked this prefix.
  “Could we make a shortcut either to run on my phone or my Mac that would search my contacts, look at every phone number, and if there isn't a country code, append plus one to the beginning?” ([36:20])

• Solution by Rosemary Orchard: Rosemary provides a comprehensive shortcut script to address the issue, emphasizing the importance of running the process in manageable batches to prevent device slowdowns or crashes.
  “I would personally recommend doing this in batches... it is quite complex, and I would highly recommend using those export features to back up your contacts first.” ([38:17])

• Detailed Steps: The solution involves:

  1. Finding contacts without the "+1" prefix.
  2. Iterating through each contact and its phone numbers.
  3. Appending "+1" to numbers lacking the prefix.
  4. Safeguarding the original labels and ensuring data integrity.
     “If it doesn't begin with a plus one... then it removes the phone number and then it adds the phone number back with the same label.” ([38:27])

• Cautionary Advice: Rosemary advises backing up contacts before executing bulk edits to prevent potential data loss.
  “If you are going to be doing a large amount of bulk editing with these things, please back up your contacts first.” ([38:15])

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Rosemary and Micah encouraging listeners to share their favorite photo editing apps and offering contact information for further engagement.

• Club TWiT: Micah promotes Club TWiT, highlighting benefits like ad-free episodes, exclusive content, and access to a members-only Discord server.

• Hosts’ Contact Information:

  • Rosemary Orchard: rosemaryarcho.com – Links to apps, books, podcasts, and social media.
  • Micah Sargent: Social media handle - @ikasargent and Chihuahua Coffee.

Notable Quotes

• Micah Sargent:
  “You can simply open a video in your photos app, make a quick change to it and move on from there without much extra work.” ([02:45])

• Rosemary Orchard:
  “Markup tools are great. They’re fabulous on screenshots, they’re fabulous with photos.” ([09:15])

• Micah Sargent:
  “What’s great about Annotable is [its] ability to customize elements like color and stroke size.” ([17:30])

• Rosemary Orchard:
  “I just find that this is a really great app for being able to do more advanced things than you can necessarily do in photos.” ([30:00])

• Rosemary Orchard:
  “If you are going to be doing a large amount of bulk editing with these things, please back up your contacts first.” ([38:15])

Final Thoughts

This episode of iOS Today serves as a comprehensive guide for both novice and experienced iOS users looking to enhance their photo editing workflows. By covering a mix of built-in capabilities and powerful third-party applications, Rosemary Orchard and Micah Sargent equip listeners with the knowledge to make the most of their Apple devices' photo editing features.

For listeners eager to explore the tools discussed, both the Photos app and the highlighted third-party applications like Annotable, Pixo, and Pixelmator offer a range of functionalities to cater to diverse editing needs.

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