TouchUp for iPad Review

I currently use Google’s Picasa to edit pictures on my computer but from now on I’ll probably use TouchUp on my iPad (even if it takes the extra steps of getting the pictures on and off the iPad). Using the iPad’s touch interface to edit pictures feels more natural than doing so on a computer, especially with TouchUp.

TouchUp’s photo effects include all of the standard ones expected in editing apps: cropping, straightening, contrast, brightness, tint, sharpening, and more. But what makes using these effects so easy and natural is that effects are stacked on top of each other in a series of steps from the original to the finished product. So if at anytime the user wanted to see what the picture looked like a few steps ago when they added the sepia filter, they can do so. TouchUp even provides videos on how to use the app in the drop-down help menu.

Almost any effect can be drawn on or erased. For example, I applied the black and white effect on the flower picture. Then I started to erase the black and white around the flower, making the flower the only part of the picture that had color. There are four different types of brushes to make different effects. Someone who wanted to be precise could zoom in as far as they wanted (with the pinch feature) and use the brushes to make some awesome final products.

TouchUp provides various methods of getting the picture off the app: exporting to the Photo Library on the iPad, a shared folder (accessible with iTunes), Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, email, copying to the clipboard, and even printing the picture immediately using an AirPrint-enabled printer.

$10 may be a little expensive for someone who isn’t planning on photo editing often. But for anyone who does it even semi-frequently, TouchUp is worth it.