On this page 7 sections
Show the transformation: a photo before and after one of your tools, side by side or split, inside your editor’s UI. Use your own photos, show only edits the app really makes, and keep the controls simple so the image stays the hero.
Why editing apps can sell in one frame
Editing apps have an advantage almost no other category has: the screenshot can prove the product works. A before-and-after split on a striking photo sells faster than any feature list, as long as the “after” is something the app really produces in a tap or two.
Then show how easy it was. One slider, one button, one preset. People choosing an editor are afraid of complexity, and a frame where a single control does something impressive answers that fear.
For video apps, the same logic applies to a timeline: one clip, one effect, one clear result. Show captions, templates or cuts happening rather than describing them.
A five-frame plan for a photo and video app
A photo set should let the images do the talking, one tool at a time.
Headlines for photo and video apps
Editor headlines should describe the result, not the technology.
Colour and style for photo and video apps
Let the photos bring the colour. A neutral background (black, white or warm grey) with one UI accent makes images look their best and keeps a before-and-after easy to read.
Store rules for photo and video apps
The “after” should come from the app as shipped, with no outside retouching (2.3.1).
Use your own or licensed images, with releases for recognisable people (2.3.9).
App previews may only use video captured from the app itself (2.3.4), so record real edits.
Beauty and body edits are sensitive; screenshots must suit a 4+ audience (2.3.8).
Do and avoid
- Lead with a before-and-after
- Show one control doing one thing
- Use your own striking photos
- Keep the UI simple around the image
- Record real edits for previews
- Retouch the “after” outside the app
- Show ten sliders at once
- Use photos you don’t have rights to
- Make body reshaping the hero
- Shrink the photo to fit the UI
Questions
Can photo editing screenshots show before-and-after?
Yes, and they should, as long as the “after” is exactly what the app produces (Apple’s accuracy rule, 2.3.1).
What photos should I use?
Your own or licensed photos, with releases for recognisable people. Choose images where the edit is obvious at thumbnail size.
How do video apps show features in screenshots?
A timeline with one clip and one effect, plus an app preview captured from the app itself (guideline 2.3.4).
Should the editor UI or the photo be bigger?
The photo. Keep the UI to the one control that made the change.
