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How to edit photos on iOS 5

In the past iOS users have had to rely on third-party apps to edit their photos on-device. Soon, users will be able to edit photos directly in the Photos app on their iDevice, with no need for most third-party apps. Follow along as we show you how you can plan on editing your photos.

Jason Cipriani
Jason Cipriani is based out of beautiful Colorado and has been covering mobile technology news and reviewing the latest gadgets for the last six years. His work can also be found on sister site CNET in the How To section, as well as across several more online publications.
Jason Cipriani
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1 of 9 Screenshot by Jason Cipriani

Editing photos in iOS 5

Apple has given iOS users the ability to edit pictures directly in the Photos app on iOS 5.

To get started, open the Photos app on your Apple device, find a picture you want to edit, open it, and tap on Edit in the upper right-hand corner. This is where the fun begins!

Follow along as we show you each editing option, as well as how to use it.

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Editing options

Here you can see there are now four options along the bottom bar that can be used for editing the photo. From left to right they are Rotate, Enhance, Reduce Red-Eye, and Crop.


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Rotate

Each time you tap on the Rotate icon, the picture you are editing will rotate counter-clockwise 90 degrees. Once you have rotated the picture and are happy with it, press the Save button.

If you have made changes that you want to undo, press Cancel.

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Enhance

To enhance a photo, it's pretty straightforward. Tap on the Enhance icon and let your iDevice do its magic. Once it is done, you will be presented with a picture that has had the color, shading, and overall appearance enhanced.

Sometimes enhancing a photo truly makes the photo look better, and other times the original still looks better. If you are happy with the new, enhanced photo, press Save; if not, press Cancel.

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Reduce Red-Eye

Red-eye can be, and is, a major distraction in photos. Thankfully, Apple included the ability to reduce red-eye in your photos.

To reduce red-eye, tap on the Red-Eye icon, then tap on each red eye. When you are happy with the results, press Apply.

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Crop

Wanting to crop out that random stranger in the background of your picture is something we all can relate to.

To crop a picture, tap on the Crop icon, you should then see a grid on top of your picture.

From here you can drag each corner to the area of the picture you would like to keep. If you are looking for a predefined size, tap on the Constrain button on the bottom. 

If you aren't going to use the constrain feature, select Crop to save your photo.

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7 of 9 Screenshot by Jason Cipriani

Constrain cropping

When you open the Constrain menu, you will be presented with nine predefined sizes with which to crop your photo.

Select the size you would like your photo to be, move the grid in place, and press Crop to save your photo.
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Save your work

Once you are all done making changes to your photo, make sure to press Save. But be warned, currently there isn't a "save as new" option, meaning your edited picture will take the place of the original. Hopefully this is something Apple will add before iOS 5 is released to the public.

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The final product

Here we have the final product: a picture that has been both cropped and enhanced directly on the iPhone. You have to admit, he sure is a handsome little devil.

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