Key Takeaways

• While you can’t create a custom preset using the Photos app, you can copy and paste edits in iPhone’s Photos app to reuse edits.
• Another option is to enable Preserve Camera Settings on your Phone for consistent photo quality.
• You can also consider using a third-party editing app like Snapseed to create custom presets.

If you’re among one of the people who prefer maintaining a cohesive theme on their social media feeds, you’ve probably spent hours editing your images to make them look similar. One simple way to avoid manually editing your images and achieve consistency is to create custom photo filters on your iPhone.

Copy and Paste Edits Using the Photos App

Unfortunately, the native Photos app on your iPhone doesn’t have a built-in feature for creating custom presets. However, there’s a simple workaround. You’ll need an image in your camera roll that has already been edited with the effects you want to reuse.

If you can’t find one, it’s best to take some time to edit an image using the Photos app.

Keep in mind that you can’t reuse edits from an image if it was edited using a third-party app.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone and locate an image you’ve edited already.
2. Tap Edit, and then hit the horizontal three dots in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Choose Copy Edits from the options that appear.

Once you’ve copied edits from an edited image, here’s how you can paste the edits onto a new image:

1. Locate the image you’d like to edit.
2. Tap Edit, and then tap the three horizontal dots.
3. Now, choose Paste Edits.

While this doesn’t create a preset filter, it’s a quick way to reuse your favorite settings in the iOS Photos app. To save time, I’ve added my preferred edited image to my Favorites album for easy access.

Preserve Your iPhone’s Camera Settings

Similar to reusing edits in the Photos app, another way to achieve consistency across shots you take and ensure a more uniform look from the start is by preserving your iPhone’s camera settings. Doing so would allow you to lock in specific settings like the last iPhone camera filter you used, the aspect ratio, or lighting setting you used.

Ultimately, this means that you wouldn’t have to spend so much time setting up your camera prior to taking an image. You can turn this feature on by heading to Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings.

On the next screen, you’ll see different toggles, like Camera Mode, Creative Controls, Depth Control, Macro Control, Exposure Adjustment, and many more. The options you’ll see will vary depending on the iPhone model you own. While you can find brief descriptions of each option on the same page, I’d suggest toggling on Creative Controls and Exposure Adjustment.

Use a Third-Party App Like Snapseed

Unfortunately, the Photos app is quite limited when it comes to advanced editing features. Naturally, this means most of us turn to third-party iPhone photo editing apps. While most of these apps allow you to create custom presets, you often need to subscribe to the premium version to access this feature.

For example, VSCO allows you to save and reuse edits by creating a Recipe, but you can only create one Recipe in the free version. Google’s editing app, Snapseed, is an exception as it allows you to create unlimited custom presets.

Here’s how to create a custom preset using Snapseed:

1. Open the Snapseed app on your iPhone. Tap anywhere on your phone, and pick an image from your camera roll.
2. Edit the image as you normally would. Once you’re satisfied with the edits, head to the Looks tab at the bottom of the screen.
3. Scroll to the end and tap the plus (+) icon.
4. Name your custom preset and tap OK.

Now, whenever you want to apply the same effects to your image, just go to the Looks tab and select the filter you created.

All in all, the methods above will not only help you take social-media-worthy pictures, but will also help you save a ton of time in the long run.