How to Use VSCO: A Complete Beginner’s Guide in 2025

Are your phone photos looking a bit… meh?

You snap a picture, and it just doesn’t quite have that “wow” factor you see online.

Maybe you’ve heard about VSCO, but opening the app feels like trying to read a secret code.

By the time you finish, you’ll be making your photos shine like a pro, all from your phone!

Get ready to transform your pictures with How to Use VSCO.

Getting Started: Setup and Navigation

Alright, let’s get you set up with the VSCO app!

Think of this as getting your art supplies ready before you start painting.

1. Downloading and Installing the VSCO app

First things first, you need to get the VSCO app on your phone.

• If you have an iPhone, open the App Store.
• If you have an Android phone, open the Google Play Store.
• Search for “VSCO: Photo Editor” (or just “VSCO”).
• Once you find it, tap the “Get” or “Install” button. It’s free to download, though there are extra features you can pay for later if you want. Let it download and install, just like any other app.

2. Creating Your VSCO Account: A Simple Walkthrough

After the VSCO app is installed, open it up. You’ll need to create an account. This helps save your work and connect with other users if you choose to.

• You’ll likely see options to sign up using your email, Google account, or Apple ID. Pick the one that’s easiest for you.
• Follow the on-screen steps. You might need to enter your email, create a password, and choose a profile name. It’s quick and easy!

3. Understanding the VSCO Interface: Where Everything Lives

Once you’re in, the VSCO app might look a little different from other photo editing apps.

But don’t worry, it’s pretty simple once you know what’s what.

At the bottom of your screen, you’ll see a few icons. These are your main stops:

• The Studio (Two stacked squares icon): This is your main workspace. It’s where all your imported photos and videos will live. Think of it as your personal digital darkroom.
• The Discover Feed (Circle with four intersecting lines): This is where you can find inspiration. You’ll see photos from other users and trending content. It’s a great place to see what’s possible with the photo editor.
• The Profile (Little person icon): This is your public gallery. Any photos you choose to share will appear here for others to see.
• Settings (Gear icon or similar): This is where you can change your account details, app preferences, and get help.

4. Importing Your First Photos: Ready, Set, Edit!

Before you can work your magic, you need to bring photos into the VSCO app.

• Go to your Studio (the two stacked squares icon at the bottom).
• You’ll see a big + sign, usually at the top or center. Tap that.
• This will open your phone’s camera roll. You’ll see all the photos and videos stored on your device.
• Tap on the photos or photo and video clips you want to edit. You can select more than one!
• Once you’ve picked your favorites, tap “Import.”

Now your chosen images will appear in your VSCO Studio.

Ready for you to add a cool preset or adjust the tone with a slider. You’re all set to start your journey into photo editing!

Essential Editing Tools in VSCO: Your First Edits

Now that your photos are in the VSCO Studio, it’s time to start editing!

This is where you can make your pictures look awesome.

VSCO has lots of tools, but we’ll focus on the most important ones for beginners.

1. Introduction to the Editing Panel

First, pick a photo from your Studio by tapping on it.

You’ll see some options at the bottom. To get to the editing tools, look for an icon that looks like two sliders or a wrench. 

Tap this icon. This opens up your “creative workbench,” where all the magic happens!

You’ll see a row of tools at the bottom of the screen.

You can swipe left and right to see all of them.

2. Applying Presets: Instant Mood and Style

VSCO is famous for its “presets.” Think of a preset as a special filter that changes the whole look of your photo with just one tap.

It’s like choosing a certain style of paint for your picture.

Maybe it’s bright and airy, or dark and moody, or even gives your photo an analog film look.

• When you’re in the editing panel, the first thing you’ll see is a list of presets. They usually have names like “A1,” “C2,” or “F3.”
• Tap on different presets to see how they change your photo. Don’t be afraid to try them all out!
• Once you find a preset you like, tap on it again. This will bring up a slider at the bottom of the screen. This slider lets you control how strong the preset effect is. Slide it left to make the effect lighter, and right to make it stronger. This is great for fine-tuning!

3. Basic Adjustments: Bringing Your Photos to Life

After you’ve picked a preset, or even if you skip presets entirely.

These basic tools will help you make your photos pop.

To find these, look for the “Adjust” tab (it might be a wrench icon) next to the presets.

• Exposure: This controls how bright or dark your photo is. If your picture looks too dim, slide it right. If it’s too bright, slide it left.
• Contrast: This makes the dark parts darker and the light parts lighter. It adds “pop” to your photo. Slide right for more contrast, left for less.
• Saturation: This tool controls how strong or vibrant the colors are. Want brighter colors? Increase the saturation. Want a more faded look? Decrease it.
• Temperature & Tint: These help you fix the overall color of your photo.
  • Temperature makes your photo warmer (more orange/yellow) or cooler (more blue).
  • Tint adds more green or magenta. This is super helpful for fixing weird color casts, like when indoor lights make everything look too yellow. This is also part of getting your white balance right.
• Crop & Straighten: Sometimes your photo is a little crooked or has too much stuff around the edges.
  • The “Crop” tool lets you cut out unwanted parts of your picture. You can also choose different shapes (like a square for Instagram).
  • The “Straighten” tool helps you fix crooked horizons or lines. Just drag the slider to rotate your photo.

Remember, you can always hit the “undo” arrow (usually at the top right or bottom right of the screen) if you don’t like a change you made.

4. Saving Your Masterpiece

Once you’re happy with your edited photo:

• Look for a checkmark or “Save” button, usually at the bottom right of the screen. Tap it.
• Your photo is now saved in your VSCO Studio with all your edits.
• If you want to save it to your phone’s gallery so you can easily share it outside of VSCO, look for an icon that looks like a down arrow pointing into a box (or a share icon). Tap it and choose “Save to Camera Roll.” You can also choose to post to VSCO if you want to share it with the VSCO community.

You’ve just made your first edits! Keep practicing with these tools to learn what works best for your photos.

Mastering VSCO Presets: Finding Your Signature Look

Now that you know the basics of editing, let’s dive deeper into VSCO’s most popular feature: presets! Presets are like magic wands for your photos, giving them a special feel with just one tap. Learning to use the VSCO presets well is a big step in finding your own unique style.

1. Understanding VSCO’s Preset Collections

VSCO has tons of presets, grouped into different collections. Think of these collections as different boxes of crayons, each with its own special colors and moods.

• Free Presets: When you first start using the VSCO app, you’ll have access to a few free presets. These are great for getting a feel for how they work.
• Paid Presets (VSCO Membership): If you get a VSCO membership, you unlock a huge library of other presets. These are often named with letters and numbers, like “A Series” (known for an analog film look), “C Series” (good for bright colors), or “F Series” (often for faded, soft looks). Each series has a slightly different personality.
  • Tip: Take some time to just browse through these. See how different presets change the mood of your photo. Do you like bright and clean? Or something more dark and moody?

2. Choosing the Right Preset for Your Photo

Picking a preset isn’t just about tapping randomly. It’s about thinking: “What story do I want this picture to tell?”

• Consider the Subject:
  • Portraits: Some presets make skin tones look great (like some in the A series).
  • Landscapes: Others make greens and blues pop, perfect for nature shots.
  • Food: You might want a preset that makes colors look rich and inviting.
• Think About the Mood:
  • Do you want your photo to feel warm and cozy? Cool and calm? Old and nostalgic?
  • A preset can instantly change the emotion your photo gives off. For example, a faded preset might give a dreamy, old-school feel, while a vibrant one makes the photo exciting and fresh.

Don’t be afraid to try a few different presets on the same photo. You’ll quickly learn which ones you prefer for different types of pictures.

3. Customizing Presets with Editing Tools

Here’s the secret sauce: You don’t just have to use a preset exactly as it is. After you apply a preset, you can still use all the other editing tools (Exposure, Contrast, Saturation, etc.) to fine-tune it.

• Adjusting Preset Strength: Remember that slider that appeared after you tapped a preset twice? Use it! If a preset is too strong, pull the slider back. If it’s too subtle, push it forward.
• Making Small Tweaks:
  • Maybe the preset made your photo a bit too dark? Increase the Exposure.
  • Did it make the colors too strong? Reduce the Saturation.
  • Does the white balance feel a little off? Adjust the Temperature or Tint.

By combining a preset with small adjustments, you’re not just using a filter; you’re creating your own unique look.

4. Creating Your Own VSCO “Recipes”

Once you’ve found a combination of a preset and adjustments that you really love – maybe it’s “A6 preset + a little more exposure + less saturation” – you can save it as a “Recipe.”

• After you’ve finished editing a photo and you’re happy with the look, look for an icon that often looks like a stack of papers or a small circle with a “+” sign (the exact icon might vary slightly in 2025, but it’s usually near the save/export options). Tap it.
• You’ll see an option to “Save as Recipe” or “Create Recipe.” Tap that.
• Give your Recipe a name that you’ll remember (like “My Bright Look” or “Moody Sunset”).

Advanced Editing Techniques for Beginners

You’ve mastered the basics and found your favorite presets.

Now, let’s explore some slightly more advanced tools in VSCO.

Don’t worry, they’re still easy to use the VSCO way, and they’ll give you even more control over your photos!

1. HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance)

Imagine you want to make the green trees in your photo pop more.

But you don’t want to make everything else too bright.

That’s where HSL comes in. It lets you change individual colors without messing up the whole picture.

• Hue: This changes the actual color. For example, you could shift a yellowish-green to a more blue-green.
• Saturation: This controls how strong or vibrant a specific color is. Want to make just the red apple stand out? Boost its red saturation!
• Luminance: This changes how bright or dark a specific color is. Want to make those blue skies deeper? Reduce the luminance for blue.

To use the VSCO HSL tool: Find it in your editing tools (it often looks like a colorful spectrum or an “HSL” icon). Then, you’ll see a list of colors.

Tap on a color, and then you’ll see three sliders for Hue, Saturation, and Luminance.

Play with them and see the magic happen!

2. Split Tone: Adding Artistic Color Shifts

Split Tone is a cool tool to add a creative touch to your photos.

It lets you add a different color tint to the darkest parts of your photo (shadows) and another color tint to the brightest parts (highlights).

• Think of it like adding a hint of blue to the shadows for a cool mood, and a touch of warm orange to the highlights for a soft glow.
• Find the “Split Tone” tool (it usually looks like a circle split in half with two colors).
• You’ll see options for “Shadows” and “Highlights.” Tap on one, pick a color, and then adjust its strength slider. Do the same for the other.
• This tool is great for giving your photos a unique cinematic feel or a specific artistic vibe, sometimes mimicking classic film stocks like Fuji.

3. White Balance: Achieving Accurate Colors

We talked about Temperature and Tint earlier, which are part of white balance.

This tool is about making sure the colors in your photo look natural, just like they did in real life.

Sometimes, indoor lights can make everything look too yellow, or outdoor shadows can make things too blue.

• The white balance tool (often looks like a thermometer or color grid) helps you correct these color casts.
• You can often use a dropper tool to tap on something in your photo that you know should be white or gray. VSCO will then try to adjust all the colors to make that spot neutral, which corrects the rest of the photo.
• You can also manually adjust the Temperature (warm/cool) and Tint (green/magenta) sliders until the colors look natural to your eyes.

4. Using the “Remove” Tool

As VSCO updates, new tools sometimes appear. If your VSCO app (especially on iOS) has a “Remove” tool (it might look like a band-aid or a magic eraser), it’s fantastic for getting rid of small unwanted distractions in your photos.

• This tool lets you “paint over” small objects like a stray power line, a tiny speck of dust, or a distracting person far in the background.
• VSCO will try its best to intelligently fill in the area, making the unwanted object disappear. It’s not magic for large objects, but for small clean-ups, it’s super handy.

5. Understanding the “Undo” and “Redo” features

Don’t ever be afraid to experiment with these tools! VSCO has easy ways to go back.

• Look for the “undo” arrow (usually a curved arrow pointing left). Tap it to undo your last change. You can tap it multiple times to go back further.
• The “redo” arrow (a curved arrow pointing right) will bring back changes you’ve undone.

This means you can play around freely, try different looks, and always revert if you don’t like the result. That’s how you really learn to use the VSCO tools to your advantage!

Sharing Your Creations: Exporting and Community

You’ve mastered the basics and found your favorite presets.

Now, let’s explore some slightly more advanced tools in VSCO. Don’t worry.

They’re still easy to use the VSCO way, and they’ll give you even more control over your photos!

1. HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance): Precise Color Control

Imagine you want to make the green trees in your photo pop more.

But you don’t want to make everything else too bright.

That’s where HSL comes in. It lets you change individual colors without messing up the whole picture.

• Hue: This changes the actual color. For example, you could shift a yellowish-green to a more blue-green.
• Saturation: This controls how strong or vibrant a specific color is. Want to make just the red apple stand out? Boost its red saturation!
• Luminance: This changes how bright or dark a specific color is. Want to make those blue skies deeper? Reduce the luminance for blue.

To use the VSCO HSL tool: Find it in your editing tools (it often looks like a colorful spectrum or an “HSL” icon).

Then, you’ll see a list of colors. Tap on a color, and then you’ll see three sliders for Hue.

Saturation, and Luminance. Play with them and see the magic happen!

2. Split Tone: Adding Artistic Color Shifts

Split Tone is a cool tool to add a creative touch to your photos.

It lets you add a different color tint to the darkest parts of your photo (shadows) and another color tint to the brightest parts (highlights).

• Think of it like adding a hint of blue to the shadows for a cool mood, and a touch of warm orange to the highlights for a soft glow.
• Find the “Split Tone” tool (it usually looks like a circle split in half with two colors).
• You’ll see options for “Shadows” and “Highlights.” Tap on one, pick a color, and then adjust its strength slider. Do the same for the other.
• This tool is great for giving your photos a unique cinematic feel or a specific artistic vibe, sometimes mimicking classic film stocks like Fuji.

3. White Balance: Achieving Accurate Colors

We talked about Temperature and Tint earlier, which are part of white balance.

This tool is about making sure the colors in your photo look natural.

Just like they did in real life. Sometimes, indoor lights can make everything look too yellow, or outdoor shadows can make things too blue.

• The white balance tool (often looks like a thermometer or color grid) helps you correct these color casts.
• You can often use a dropper tool to tap on something in your photo that you know should be white or gray. VSCO will then try to adjust all the colors to make that spot neutral, which corrects the rest of the photo.
• You can also manually adjust the Temperature (warm/cool) and Tint (green/magenta) sliders until the colors look natural to your eyes.

4. Using the “Remove” Tool: Cleaning Up Your Shots

As VSCO updates, new tools sometimes appear.

If your VSCO app (especially on iOS) has a “Remove” tool (it might look like a band-aid or a magic eraser).

It’s fantastic for getting rid of small unwanted distractions in your photos.

• This tool lets you “paint over” small objects like a stray power line, a tiny speck of dust, or a distracting person far in the background.
• VSCO will try its best to intelligently fill in the area, making the unwanted object disappear. It’s not magic for large objects, but for small clean-ups, it’s super handy.

5. Understanding the “Undo” and “Redo” features

Don’t ever be afraid to experiment with these tools! VSCO has easy ways to go back.

• Look for the “undo” arrow (usually a curved arrow pointing left). Tap it to undo your last change. You can tap it multiple times to go back further.
• The “redo” arrow (a curved arrow pointing right) will bring back changes you’ve undone.

This means you can play around freely, try different looks.

And always revert if you don’t like the result.

That’s how you really learn to use the VSCO tools to your advantage!

Conclusion

You’ve done it! We’ve covered how to use VSCO.

From setting up the app to making your photos truly stand out.

You now know your way around the basic editing tools and how to get the most from VSCO’s famous presets.

VSCO is your personal photo studio, right in your pocket.

It gives you the power to make your pictures look exactly how you want. 

Go ahead, open VSCO, and share your amazing new creations!

Alternatives of VSCO

If VSCO isn’t quite what you’re looking for, or you want to explore other tools.

Here are some great alternatives for editing and creating visuals:

• Picsart: A popular all-in-one photo and video editor with a huge community, offering many filters, effects, collage tools, and AI features.
• Canva: Known for its vast template library, Canva is great for graphic design, social media posts, and simple photo edits with user-friendly drag-and-drop features.
• Design Pickle: This is a subscription service that provides unlimited graphic design requests from a dedicated design team, rather than a self-service app.
• Blaze: While there’s a photo editor called BlazePhoto, the more prominent “Blaze” in recent searches refers to a no-code platform for building web apps, not a direct photo editor alternative.
• Fotor: A versatile online photo editor that offers a wide range of tools, including AI background removal, photo enhancing, collage making, and graphic design features.
• Remini: Focuses on enhancing old, blurry, or low-quality photos using AI to improve clarity and definition, especially for faces.
• Photoleap: An advanced mobile photo editor with powerful tools like layers, blending modes, AI avatars, and text-to-image generation for creative composites.
• Pixelcut: An AI-powered app focusing on background removal, object removal, image upscaling, and creating product shots for e-commerce with one-click tools.
• PhotoRoom: Excels at effortless background removal and creating professional product photos with AI. It’s designed to generate clean images, especially for online selling quickly.
• YouCam Perfect: A selfie and photo editor app that specializes in beauty enhancements, automatic embellishment, background removal, and fun effects.
• Photoshop: Adobe’s professional-grade image editing software, offering the most comprehensive tools for advanced photo manipulation and graphic design, with a steeper learning curve.
• Pixlr: A free online photo editor with various versions (X for quick edits, E for more advanced), offering AI tools for background removal, generative fill, and object removal.
• Photopea: A free online photo editor that closely mimics Photoshop’s interface and features, allowing you to edit PSD files directly in your web browser.
• Phedra: An AI-powered image editing and creation tool that allows users to modify images using text or voice commands, simplifying visual design.

Frequently Asked Questions