InPixio Photo Studio

What is InPixio Photo Studio?

InPixio Photo Studio is an image editing desktop app. The app takes the most common adjustments and edits people make to their photos and uses artificial intelligence (AI) and simple tools to accomplish them as quickly, efficiently, and effectively as possible.

This app is distinctive from, for example, Photoshop because, while Adobe's software has more features and tools, only pro photographers tend to need them. Most of us do not need so many options, and we certainly don't need the learning curve and price accompanying them in Photoshop.

InPixio Photo Studio lets its users remove unwanted objects from scenes, adjust colours, add filters, swap out drab skies, isolate objects from the background, create photo montages and more. Using these tools can be as simple as a single click. If that isn't enough, simple parameters and adjustments help the AI achieve your desired result. 

What we love about InPixio Photo Studio 

We've all taken photographs that have that one thing that spoils them: a blown-out sky, an errant tourist, or an unpleasant-looking piece of street furniture in shot. Apps like Photoshop might be what photographer pros reach for to put their pictures right, but these apps have steep learning curves.

We loved how InPixio let us quickly perform many of the more commonly needed image corrections without devoting hours of learning and practice to photo manipulation apps. From opening up the app and being asked what type of task you want to complete to tweaking the final result, InPixio led us through a simple process to a great result.

Adjusting colours, sharpness, and other whole-image edits worked great, and the built-in presets or user-adjustable sliders provide you with lots of flexibility within easy-to-understand parameters.

More invasive edits, such as isolating images from the background, replacing the sky, or deleting unwanted objects from the image, might require a bit more care, but not always. The app has an easier time doing what you want if the elements have clear margins making them distinct, or it can draw assumptions from the surrounding parts of the image.

When the boundaries are unclear, you might need to make some manual finetuning, but we found impressive what we could achieve with just a little extra manual effort. It might not always be one click, but you could achieve many of your image-editing goals on your first use of this app which is not likely to be the case if you try to do the same thing with Photoshop, for example.

Admittedly, the final images didn't always exactly look as they would if InPixio hadn't altered or removed the offending element, but that was because we knew where to look.

The image itself can influence the level of success, but during our tests for this review of InPixio, we found at worst, you could tell where the image had changed if you knew where to look, but at best, it was hard to believe the image had ever changed.

For example, if you remove a telegraph pole from the shot, the clouds in the sky around it may change or have a slightly smeared look, but you'll only notice it if you compare it to the original or know to look in that area. On the other hand, you could remove part of a fence obscuring an animal and not be able to tell where the change happened, even if you knew where to look.

What skills does it teach? 

InPixio does not directly teach skills, but it is an excellent tool for producing images to enhance lesson materials and provide for students to use in their work.

What age is it appropriate for?

InPixio Photo Studio is easy enough to use that many kids could use it to adjust their photographs. The app's privacy policy/terms and conditions indicate that only those sixteen or over should create an account.

Is InPixio Photo Studio easy to use?

Ease of use is clearly at the heart of this app's design. You can engage many of its features with a single click, which could often give good enough results. For tricky images or further refinements, you can make manual adjustments which use simple and intuitive tools and options.

The app's supporting website has an excellent user guide, and its blog has relevant and interesting how-to guides. If you are interested in this app, those guides are a perfect way to see if it will meet your needs before downloading it.

How will students benefit?

The photomontage feature brings together many of the features in the app and guides users towards combining multiple photographic elements into a single artistic image. There are endless possibilities for kids to be creative with this, including making mock-up magazine covers or photo summaries of subjects or events.

The individual editing tools remain useful for kids to avoid disappointment when they want to use a photograph they have taken but discover it has problems. They'll love having some of the power of an app like Photoshop without spending so much time learning and practising.

How will parents benefit?

It might not be educational, but parents with an almost perfect photo of a precious family moment can take it closer to the ideal by removing imperfections or enhancing it in other ways. InPixio makes a great tool on the family PC or Mac for everyone to improve their favourite snaps.

How will teachers benefit?

Teachers never entirely switch off. If they see a scene that could help a lesson, they will snap it, especially when travelling. As they won't get the same privileged vantage points as pro-photographers, they often have to accept distracting objects or that other people will be in the photograph.

The pictures are still useful, but the distractions can take kids' attention from the focus of the image. InPixio makes it easy for teachers to improve the learning potential of the photographs. As the resulting photos will still be the property of the teacher who took them, they are free to use them as they like, which could involve making them available to other teachers and kids to use in projects and lessons. 

What can InPixio Photo Studio improve on?

The app's price only appears once you begin the buying process, which we find a little opaque and would like to rectify to become more consumer friendly.

More often than not, we had success in achieving our goals with this app, but failures can happen if your expectations exceed the app's capability. These tend to be relatively narrow use cases, but we would like the app to clarify that its AI is not infallible.

An example of the limitations and how it is unlikely to apply in most cases is when removing an unwanted part of an image. We give this description for example purposes and not a typical, real-world task.

If you want to remove a small sign from a brick wall, a single click will likely remove it and leave the edit undetectable. The app could use the surrounding brickwork to inform how the image should look.

However, if you had a row of signs close together and tried to remove one in the centre, it is likely to be less successful because the AI will try to follow the pattern of the row of signs rather than restore the brickwork.

How much does InPixio Photo Studio cost?

InPixio Photo Studio has a free five-day trial available for Windows-based computers but not Macs. After any trial is complete, you must purchase a license to use the app. If you do not pay for a subscription, you can continue to use the app, but the app's premium features will always add a watermark to the image.

Somewhat annoyingly, the app's website does not state the price immediately upfront, but at the bottom of the homepage you can access all products prices with relevant discounts.. 

Multi-seat licenses, such as schools might like to have, do not feature on the app's web page, but it is usually worth contacting developers if this is something your school needs.

Is InPixio Photo Studio safe to use?

InPixio comes with a few photographs to use as you try the app's features. There is nothing within them unsuitable for kids of any age. InPixio is a premium app and does not include any advertisements.

The app's system requirements include an internet connection but once a licence is purchased, the app can be used for 30 days without internet connection.

Overall rating of the app.

InPixio Photo Studio is a very handy tool. Modern devices make us all regular photographers but not necessarily willing to learn complex photo editing software. InPixio Photo Studio lets anyone achieve results that, just a few years ago, only the pros could achieve,

Teachers don't want to spend time searching for the ideal image or modifying one to match their lesson. With this app, they can save time by altering what they have without having to devote time to learning or using it.

The tools are easy enough for kids to use, which could inspire an interest in computer-based art or photography. Alternatively, it will help kids create projects and presentations that match their intentions.

Give the trial of InPixio Photo Studio a go and see how easy it is to take your photos to the next level.