The Best Apps For Editing Instagram Food Photos

We've all been there: You're in a dark restaurant, taking countless photos of well-plated dishes with only the ghastly light from your iPhone, desperate to show the world how photogenic your pasta is on Instagram. Despite your best efforts, you're dismayed to find the pictures blurry, washed-out and utterly unappetizing.

Luckily, there's an app for that. In fact, there are many apps. In order to make sense of all the photo-editing app madness, we turn to the experts: the Instagrammers who do this every day. These are the six apps they can't live without, and judging by their gorgeous photos, you won't be able to either.

① "Don't overedit your photos; instead, make sure the food looks as appetizing and natural as possible. Ditch the Instagram filters and download Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop Fix.

Lightroom Mobile is great for the basics: The auto-tone feature is a good place to start before making any necessary adjustments.

I use Photoshop Fix to correct smaller issues. The light and color tools allow you to increase saturation and lighting in specific parts of the photo. For example, when you really want those sprinkles to pop without turning your vanilla ice cream yellow, you can increase the saturation of the sprinkles without ruining the photo." —Justin Schuble, @dcfoodporn

② "I love Snapseed. It has the best brightening and sharpening tools that make iPhone photos look eerily similar to the photos I take on my professional camera.

I'm also still a fan of VSCO. I never use the full filter, but it adds just a little extra something to make photos pop." —Gracie Gordon, @hungry.blonde

③ "The app that totally upped our Instagram game is Facetune.

Intended for editing faces, we actually use this app for food photography. We can remove a crumb from a plate, refine a section of a photo that is slightly blurry or smooth a backdrop so the focus remains on the food.

Still, the trick with any editing app is to not overedit. People can be quick to point out a poor editing job. Only manipulate if you think it can enhance the overall focus of the photo." —Breann Chiero and Christian Medice, @hungryhipsters

④ "I can't live without Fotograf. I used to rely on other apps, but since I discovered Fotograf, it has become my go-to. The app has six pre-sets that are perfect for food, travel and lifestyle photos." —Jane Ko, @atasteofkoko