How to Invert Colors on Snapseed

Cassandra McBride November 21, 2021

Snapseed is one of the best photo editing apps, with so many filters and customization options that might make you feel like a professional. This app is developed by none other than Google, and it is available for download free of charge at the official Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

This popular app lets you do many things with your photos. You can invert colors, make your photo black and white, and give them an old photo feel. You can play around with the backgrounds, silhouettes, make things disappear, and much more.

Read on and find out how to use all of these cool features in Snapseed.

Color Pop Images in Snapseed

One of the coolest things you can do in Snapseed is making color pop images. A color-pop image is an image with black and white background, with the main object colorized. The inverted color is closely linked to the color pop image-making process.

This filter allows the main object of the image to stand out, and it is amazing for portrait photos because of that. The “pop” in color pop is clever wording because the subject of the picture pops out and takes everyone’s attention.

Don’t mix color pop with a color splash, as the latter focuses on a specific part of the subject, while color pop makes the entire subject come to focus.

Now that you know more about this cool feature, you can learn how to use it. Make sure to download and update Snapseed to the latest version

How to Invert Colors in Snapseed

Follow these detailed steps to invert colors on your Snapseed image, and make the subject stand out:

Open the Snapseed app on your phone or tablet.
Tap on Open, or the plus icon which will lead you to your photo gallery. Choose the photo on which you want to invert colors.
Now you can select the Looks bar and choose either the Accentuate or Pop filter to saturate the photo even more and make it more exciting.
Now select the Tools bar and choose Black and White from the dropdown menu. Choose the neutral tone and tap on the checkmark in the top-right corner of the screen to confirm.
In the following window, you should tap on the Undo setting at the top of the screen, next to the Info icon. You will see a dropdown menu.
Select View edits from the selection.
You want to manually undo the Black and White filter you used. Select Black and White and then the Stack Brush tool in the middle.
Make sure Black and White are set to 100. Start drawing a mask layer very close to the edges of the subject. It is best to zoom in and do the outline. Finally, fill the inside of the subject too, without any blank spots.
Once the mask is done, select the Invert option at the bottom-left, next to X. This will invert the area of the mask and apply the Black and White filter only to the chosen area. Tap on the checkmark to save the changes, when you are happy with the results.
Voila, your subject will be in color, and the background will remain black and white. That is how you invert color in Snapseed.
Finally, you can select Export and then Save to save your color pop image to your image gallery.

Alternative Method

There is also the opposite way to the masking process. When you get to step 7, you can mask the background, instead of the object. This is useful when you have a huge subject and a tiny background. It will save you a lot of time and effort.

In this scenario, you shouldn’t select the inverted color option. Just save the background mask as it is. Hopefully, this makes sense. It is a lot easier when you have a picture in front of you, so try to edit one in Snapseed and see what option suits you better.

Anyway, that is the way you can make a color pop image, with a black and white background and without inverting colors in Snapseed.

Inversion Completed

Snapseed is a very fun photo editing app both for experts and newbies. Inverting colors in it is not all that hard, but you do need some practice. Don’t expect perfect results on your first try, you will get there eventually.

Frequently Asked Questions

Snapseed is a feature-packed photo editing application with a lot to learn! We’ve included more answers to some of our most frequently asked questions in this section.

Can I edit a photo more than once in Snapseed?

Absolutely! One of the best things about Snapseed is the ability to make multiple edits to the same photo. For example, if you want to brighten a photo but the native functions just don’t make it bright enough you can brighten it as much as you can. Then, save the photo, upload it again, and brighten the photo more.

Is Snapseed free?

Yes! You can use Snapseed to edit as many photos as you’d like without ever paying for the service. You can also download the image without water marks which is especially nice.

Don’t give up, because Snapseed can help you create amazing images. It just takes time and practice. What are your thoughts on the matter? Did you have fun using Snapseed? Let us know in the comment section below.