{"id":3938,"date":"2022-03-10T12:29:39","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T12:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alternative-spaces.com\/blog\/?p=3938"},"modified":"2023-05-12T09:03:52","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T09:03:52","slug":"how-to-create-social-photo-editing-apps-like-vsco-and-picsart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alternative-spaces.com\/blog\/how-to-create-social-photo-editing-apps-like-vsco-and-picsart\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create Social Photo Editing Apps Like VSCO And PicsArt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Anastasiia Diachenko<\/a>, Writer, Updated 03\/10\/2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can hardly imagine social networks without photos, and most of them are definitely edited in special apps. Whether it\u2019s a selfie, food, sightseeing, or pet, people love editing photos and embodying their creativity this way. That\u2019s why with the growing popularity of social media apps, photo editing applications are equally in high demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, if you\u2019re thinking about building your own social photo editing app, this article is for you. We have created a concise guide on photo editing application development with the required feature set, technologies, and costs. Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s a social photo editing app?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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According to the statistics, today almost half of Americans<\/a> use photo editing applications on their smartphones. The popularity of these apps is growing from year to year, thus the global photo editing market will grow by $394 million by 2024<\/a>. The first and the most important thing to know before building your app is that there is a difference between simple photo editing apps and social photo editing apps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applications such as Prisma, Retrica, and Snapseed help with editing photos, while social photo editing apps such as VSCO and PicsArt involve user interactions apart from editing capabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social photo editing apps feature a social component letting users share photos, chat with each other, become friends or a part of the art lovers community. This type of photo editing app aims to gather users who have the same interests and let them interact with each other via comments, likes, views, and shares. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at how social photo editing apps like VSCO and PicsArt work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Core features to create a custom social photo editing app<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When creating a social photo editing app, you need to think over a clear set of features to cover users’ needs and make your app stand out from the competition. Below, our experts share mandatory features required to build an app like VSCO and PicsArt and extra features that can be added optionally.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Login\/Account creation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In most apps, users need to register or log in to an account to start using the application. Start with designing a splash screen first to attract users, then propose to them to create an account. Accounts further help personalize the user experience by managing preferences, adding tools or filters to favorites, and creating personal presets. Here is how a sign-up form looks when registering in VSCO mobile app:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image loading and camera<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The next step after registration is uploading a photo for further editing. At this stage, it\u2019s necessary to provide permission to the device’s library to upload a photo. Also, if you want your application to work in real-time so that users can immediately take a photo and edit it, ask them for access to the camera as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Social networks integration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Integrating social networks in your photo editing app gives two winning advantages for your potential users at once. First, they can easily log in or register in your application using their social media accounts. This will save them from filling in personal information since they already have all the required data in social networks. Second, users will be able to share edited photos in their accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and various messengers right from the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo editing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition to filters and various ready-made patterns, social photo editing apps allow users to use multiple effects, layering, blurring, brightness, exposure, rotation, collage, cropping, and other correction features. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Settings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With the settings function, users will be able to specify all preferences for the work of the social photo editing app. It allows choosing where to store and save photos, tuning the size and quality of the saved photo, and managing the subscription plan. Users are also able to contact support if necessary, read about the privacy policy or app licenses, and set up notifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Albums<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Give users the ability to create a folder where they can save edited photos and share the album with other users. The albums can be divided by themes, dates, or any other user preferences. This feature helps users to manage all the photos conveniently and store them in the app\u2019s cloud in case they don\u2019t want to upload them on the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo feed and social elements<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One more must-have feature in the photo editing app is a feed of photos. When someone has edited their photos in the app, apart from sharing them on social media, they can also add these photos to the photo feed of the editing app itself. Users will be able to subscribe to interesting photo authors, get inspiration from them, and also share masterpieces with their subscribers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can add a smart hashtag system and AI\/ML tools to recommend your users relevant and interesting posts. To make users interact with each other, add some social elements to your app. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, let them put likes on the photos in the feed, leave comments, show reactions, or share images they like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We shared the list of must-have features above, but to make your app even more attractive and useful, here are some extra features to add.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stickers and GIFs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Give users the opportunity to express their imagination and creativity. Make it possible for them to create colorful GIFs or stickers from their photos. This will definitely increase user engagement and give them the opportunity to have fun with your application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspiration section<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Inspiration boards give users an example of how beautifully editing can be done, discover new features or tools of the app, and encourage them to learn more about using your app. VSCO is an awesome example of how inspiration features work. They created a section called Discover, where any user can admire other users’ beautiful photos and get inspired by fresh ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chatting in messages<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Adding a chat feature for communication between app users can increase the loyalty of your customers. Let them share edited photos or favorite filters and presets with each other in messages. The opportunity to share impressions with like-minded people will encourage users to actively use your program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gamification<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Transform the photo editing process into an exciting game for your users. Gamification in a social photo editing app can engage your users and lead to closer interaction. For example, many of these apps allow users to share their edited photos and enter a \u201ccompetition of the day\u201d game where other users rate the other\u2019s photos or get votes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Required tech stack to build a social photo editing app<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And now let\u2019s talk about the technical side of social photo editing app development. To help you with the required stack of technologies, our specialists gathered all details in the following table. We divided the list of technologies according to the type of app: iOS, Android, or hybrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How much does it cost to develop a social photo editing app?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Calculating the exact amount of money for building any app is difficult since it depends on various factors. Here are the most important ones that influence the overall mobile app development cost<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n