How I use Google Photos to make my shots pop without overdoing it

My main reason for paying for a Google One plan is Google Photos — and no, I’m not talking about the extra storage space you get for media. Sure, having ample storage is a solid perk, but I’m very fond of the interesting AI-enabled smart tools Google One unlocks in Photos. Its easy-to-use interface and accessibility are why it has become my default photo management tool on both Android and iPhone.

Whenever I have to tinker with an image before posting it on Instagram, I instinctively fire up Google Photos and get to work with its plethora of AI- and manual-editing tools. Over the years, I’ve found a workflow that helps make my photos Instagram-ready without that overprocessed look. And here I am to spill all my secrets.

My first tip is an obvious one: use Google Photos’ AI tools. I’m not talking about the newer Ask Photos features that let you literally ask the app to edit images on your behalf. Instead, I’m talking about the good old Enhance and Dynamic tools that sit right there on the first screen after you tap the Edit button. They’ve been around for as long as I can remember, and the duo offers a great starting point if you don’t know exactly what you want the final image to look like.

I use Dynamic, especially on photos that come out a little dim. It boosts the overall brightness quite a bit, so it isn’t always suitable for images that are already bright enough. Enhance sits somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t forcibly brighten shadows or darker areas, which helps keep the image looking natural.

There are plenty of days when I find neither tool particularly useful, but either way, I usually jump into manual editing right after — though not before fiddling with Google Photos’ actual generative AI capabilities a bit.

Photo editing actually starts before you even click the photo. You try to get the exposure right, frame your subject properly, find good lighting, set the scene, and then — just as you hit the shutter button — someone photobombs your otherwise perfect shot.

Previously, I would get annoyed and try to recreate the moment without the disturbance. But Google Photos has helped me chill out a bit around these situations now. I know in the back of my mind that I can cleanly (mostly) remove any little thing that I don’t want in the frame.

I’m far from an advocate of using AI to make substantial changes to an image that no longer resembles reality. However, much like Photoshop helped people clean up minor imperfections or unwanted objects back in the day, Magic Eraser does the same thing for me with far less effort. Thanks to AI, the tool has become much better at handling surrounding details, including reflections and shadows.

Once I’m done cleaning up the image, I move on to my favorite part of the process: manual tinkering.

I like my photos to pop, just enough to stop people from scrolling on Instagram, but without looking artificial. I’m very particular about which options I touch and how far I push the sliders, because even a few points’ difference can make the photo look otherworldly.

I often start by increasing brightness because it acts as the foundation for how the image will eventually turn out. Even going up a couple of notches can make a huge difference. Increasing brightness overall, unfortunately, also makes some areas too bright, and that’s where White Point comes in. It helps bring back detail from those brighter areas of the photo.

I also like my photos a bit contrasty. It helps reduce any washed-out look and makes colors stand out just enough for the image to actually pop — I just make sure not to go overboard. If need be, I’ll balance the added contrast by lifting the shadows ever so slightly, which almost always works.

Instead of cold, dull photos, I prefer images that capture and radiate the warmth the subject had when it was captured, whether it’s my favorite person or my favorite dish. A tiny bit of warmth makes a photo feel more human and more relatable, no matter where you share it.

Finally, there’s one hidden gem inside Google Photos: Skin Tone. I think this is the one to use when you want the photo to pop. Even when there isn’t a person in the frame, I’ll often increase Skin Tone slightly — I always cap it at 15 points. Somehow, it adds just the right amount of vibrancy to the image every single time; I don’t know how. Use it once, and you’ll immediately understand the feeling I’m talking about.

It should be an established fact at this point that portrait shots on Pixel phones often add a blur effect that looks, well, fake. Google seemingly uses the same approach when applying portrait blur to photos later in the post.

It’s one of those features I’ve inherently learned to ignore. It’s not even in my muscle memory anymore because the results have disappointed me far too many times. The blur Google Photos adds often feels like a solid slab of blur pasted behind the subject, and it can make otherwise good photos look like low-quality imitations.

No brownie points for guessing my other least favorite editing tool inside Google Photos: Move. The AI-powered tool lets you reposition elements within a photo, but that’s where I personally draw the line. Removing an unwanted little object is one thing, but moving things around or adding elements that weren’t originally there starts to feel like fakery to me. I don’t use it, and I wouldn’t endorse it either.

Google Photos actually encourages you to take edited photos into Snapseed from the More section for additional tinkering, and I do that quite often. If you’re not familiar with it, Snapseed is also owned by Google, and it recently received a major visual refresh that made the app much more enjoyable to use. I usually start in Google Photos, make basic corrections, and then take the photo to Snapseed for more creative editing.

I have multiple presets saved there to get consistent looks across photos. For example, I have a vintage-style preset that I use for photos of my partner and me that I later turn into Polaroid-style images.

While Google Photos helps me enhance photos while keeping them looking as natural as possible, Snapseed feels more like a playground where I can experiment with different moods, overlays, frames, and styles depending on how I want the photo to turn out.

What is your favorite Google Photos editing tool? Are you also against the overuse of AI in photo editing, or do you not mind making substantial changes to your images with AI? Let us know in the comments below.