Megan Ellis, a seasoned user of Canva, recently explored the platform’s newly launched photo editing tool, intrigued by its potential to enhance her design workflow. Having relied on Canva for straightforward designs over the years, she was curious to see if this new feature could rival her go-to photo editing app, Snapseed.
What is the most important feature in a photo editor?
In a recent poll, users highlighted the significance of generative AI tools, with 60% favoring this feature. Other important aspects included availability on desktop and mobile (20%) and sliders for adjusting contrast and saturation (20%).
My favorite Canva photo editor feature is one Snapseed doesn’t have
Among the various features offered by Canva, Ellis discovered a standout tool: the automatic background selection and removal. Unlike Snapseed, which lacks this functionality, Canva’s tool proved to be both free and impressively accurate. This capability allows users to effortlessly isolate subjects in their photos, a task that can often be cumbersome with other apps.
Ellis noted that while smartphone cameras have improved significantly, there are still instances where background blurring is desired for website images. The Canva photo editor not only allows for background adjustments but also provides options to tweak contrast and saturation, thereby expanding creative possibilities. Although Snapseed offers a lens blur feature, it does not achieve the same level of separation between foreground and background.
Could Canva replicate the best Snapseed features?
With her curiosity piqued, Ellis delved deeper into Canva’s photo editing capabilities. Similar to Snapseed, Canva offers a range of image adjustments, including brightness, highlights, shadows, temperature, and sharpness. This user-friendly approach makes it accessible for beginners while still providing enough depth for more experienced users.
While Canva lacks some advanced features like color curve adjustments, it compensates with a brush editor that allows for selective fine-tuning of specific areas within an image. This feature is particularly useful for highlighting certain elements or minimizing shadows.
Canva fails in one key area
Despite its strengths, Ellis identified a significant drawback: the mobile app’s usability. Although improvements have been made over the years, she found that bugs occasionally hindered touch input, and the back button often exited the app entirely instead of navigating within the photo editor. Additionally, the app’s tendency to re-upload images from the camera roll when selected for editing added unnecessary steps to her workflow.
Canva will be my go-to editor for PC
Ultimately, Ellis concluded that Canva’s photo editor would become her primary tool for PC-based editing. While it does not replace Snapseed in her mobile workflow, it serves as a valuable complement for desktop tasks. For social media photo editing on her smartphone, she remains loyal to Snapseed, which continues to be a top choice for Android users.
