How to edit photos and videos on iPad

After you take a photo or video, use the tools in the Photos app to edit it on your iPad. You can adjust the light and color, add a filter, and more, and when you use iCloud Photos, any edits you make are saved across all your devices.

Enhance can automatically improve light and color, and if you took a photo with iPhone 16 or later, you can change its Photographic Style.

Quick tip: If you want to choose the background color of Edit mode (for example, so it’s always dark), see Set the background color of Edit mode, below.

Adjust light and color

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap a photo or video to open it, then tap the Edit button.

   

3. Tap Adjust.
4. Swipe left under the photo to view the lighting adjustments you can make—for example, Exposure, Brilliance, Highlights, and Shadows.
5. Tap the lighting setting you want to edit. Then drag the slider to make precise adjustments.

   The level of adjustment you make for each lighting setting is indicated by the outline around the button, so you can see at a glance which lighting settings have been increased or decreased. Tap the lighting button to switch between the edited photo or video and the original so you can see the difference your edits made.

6. Tap Done to save your edits, or if you don’t like your changes, tap Cancel, and then tap Discard Changes.

Quick tip: To automatically enhance light and color in a photo or video, tap the Enhance button.

Change the Photographic Style of photos captured on iPhone 16 or later

If you take a photo with an iPhone 16 or later, open the Photos app to change or edit its Photographic Style.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open a photo taken with an iPhone 16 or later, then tap the Edit button.
3. Make sure Styles is selected on the left side of the screen. Do one of the following:
   • Choose a style: Tap a style or slide to select one of the style options on the right side of the screen.
   • Adjust the tone and color: Tap the Styles Chooser. Then slide your finger on the Styles Chooser to simultaneously adjust the tone and color. Drag your finger on the slider below to adjust the intensity level.

     As you make adjustments, the values for tone, color, and intensity are shown at the top of the screen. Tap the round arrow to reset these values.

4. Tap Done.

Apply filter effects

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open a photo or video, then tap the Edit button.
3. Tap the Filters button on the left side of the screen to apply filter effects such as Vivid or Dramatic.

   To remove a filter that was applied when you took the photo, choose Original.

4. Tap a filter on the right side of the screen and drag the slider to adjust the effect.

   To compare the edited photo to the original, tap the photo.

   

5. Tap Done to save your edits, or if you don’t like your changes, tap Cancel, and then tap Discard Changes.

Note: For photos taken with an iPhone 16 or later, use Photographic Styles instead of filters to give your photos a customized look. See Change the Photographic Style of photos captured on iPhone 16 or later.

Copy and paste edits to multiple photos

Copy the edits you made to one photo (or video), and you can paste them onto another photo, or a batch of photos, all at once.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Open the photo or video that contains the edits you want to copy.
3. Tap the More button, then tap Copy Edits.
4. Review and turn off any edits you don’t want to copy. Tap Copy.
5. Tap the Back button to return to your library.
6. Tap Select and tap the thumbnails of the photos you want to paste the edits onto, or open a single photo or video.
7. Tap the More button and then tap Paste Edits.

Note: Photos automatically adjusts the white balance and exposure of edited photos so they’re a better match and look even more similar.

Add stickers, text, and more

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap a photo to open it.
3. Tap the Edit button, then tap the Markup button.
4. Tap the Add Annotations button to add stickers, captions, text, shapes, or even your signature.
5. Tap the Done button to save your edits.

Set the background color of Edit mode

Edit mode’s background matches the light or dark appearance of your iPad by default, but you can change its color. Prefer to edit photos against a dark background? Set it to always appear dark.

1. Open the Photos app on your iPad.
2. Tap a photo or video to open it, then tap the Edit button.
3. Tap the More button, tap Appearance, and then do one of the following:
   • Match edit mode to the light or dark appearance of your iPad: Tap System.
   • Make Edit mode always appear dark: Tap Dark.
   • Make Edit mode always appear light: Tap Light.

Use Apple Intelligence editing tools

Apple Intelligence gives you the Clean Up, Extend, and Reframe tools for editing your photos. See our article, Clean up, extend, and reframe photos on iPad.

Apple Intelligence on iPadOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad models with M1 or later, according to Apple. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.

*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.

See also

• Crop, rotate, flip, or straighten photos and videos on iPad
• Undo and revert photo edits on iPad
• Add text, shapes, stickers, and more with Markup on iPad