In my daily use of iPad I have found some great free apps that have helped my photography out. From light meters to note taking apps I have tried a ton. The following apps are ones that any photographer needs to at least try.

Today I’m sharing 5 iOS apps, some may also be available on Android devices, but i know and use them personally on my Apple. The best part is that they will cost you nothing and you can easily uninstall them if you don’t find them as useful as I have. The names below are links that will take you straight to the app on the iTunes store. How easy is that just click and try 🙂

1. Snapseed - The ability of this app to edit photos, apply adjustments and crop images is awesome. I have Lightroom Mobile (not exactly free) installed on the iPad as well, but tend to use Snapseed for its ease and quickness, especially when posting photos on the web. I can very quickly share images from events, workshops and other times when I wouldn’t have quick access to my laptop.

2. Evernote - I take a lot of notes, in the old days I used to have to figure out what I meant with my scribbles and quick idea sketches. Now I use Evernote, I can tag items, clip articles, save photos and more from right inside the app. It also syncs up with my other devices so I always have my notes with me. One of the great ways I use Evernote is location scouting. I save a “Notebook” just with cool locations that I think might be useful in the future. I then snap a photo, tag the location, write any notes and save it in a special notebook to be looked at later. Then at a later time I can easily find the location.

3. Drive - Microsoft Office user? Not me, now I can create and save documents right on Google Drive. I use this to quickly send contracts, agreements and print authorizations to clients, no matter where I am. After saving some generic documents I can just fill in the details before sending. The client doesn’t know if I’m in my office, or at a coffee shop. One other way I use drive is keeping track of limited edition prints. I have a spreadsheet with the details, sale price and where it has been shown. I can also draw this up at almost any moment. How cool is that.

4. Lenstag - We all have expensive photography gear, but how do we keep it safe. With Lenstag I have an app that tracks my equipment’s serial numbers. If anything ever happens, I can report it lost or stolen and I have the records I need for insurance. You do have your equipment insured, right!

5. Golden Light - Want a simply way to know when the golden hours of light are? Of course you do and Golden Light is the app. See when the sun will be raising or setting for any location or day you need. Plus it lets you add a reminder.

Bonus: Apps Gone Free - Sometimes the application you want just may not be free. That’s where Apps Gone Free comes in. It curates the best apps that have gone temporarily free for you. One of my favorite video apps (Horizon) was found this way. Like the other apps on this list you can try it and see if it useful for you without spending a penny.

Comment below if you would like to share your favorite free photography apps!