You can edit or change what a photo looks like on your Pixel device. You can also edit older photos and photos taken on other devices in your Google Photos storage. Learn how to open your Camera app on your Pixel phone.
Your camera saves your image files in JPEG + RAW format when you enable RAW/JPEG in camera settings. You can tell the difference between your RAW and JPEG photos at the top of your photos with the icon for RAW .
To enable RAW + JPEG files:
- Open the Camera app
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- At the bottom left, tap Settings
More settings.
- Under "General options," tap Advanced.
- Turn on RAW/JPEG control.
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More settings.Tip: This step isn't required on Pixel 8 Pro.
To turn on RAW:
- In photo mode, at the bottom left, tap Settings
.
- Turn on RAW + JPEG.
To find, view, and edit a RAW file:
- Open the Google Photos app
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- In the gallery grid, a "RAW" badge indicates that the RAW + JPEG photo pairs were taken with RAW setting on.
- To view RAW, tap to view.
- You can see the JPEG image, but you can tap on the second tile to see the RAW image.
- To edit RAW, tap Edit.
- When you edit your RAW files in your favorite editor, you can set a Default RAW Editor directly from Google Photos.
.Tip: If backup is enabled in Google Photos, your RAW photos are automatically backed up.
To use RAW files:
- Take a photo in Night Sight or default mode.
- Go to your Home screen.
- Gesture navigation: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
- Three-button or two-button navigation: Tap Home.
- Open Google Photos.
- At the bottom right, tap Library
Use gridlines to straighten photos
- Open the Camera app
- At the bottom left, tap Settings
- Tap More Settings
- Select the type of grid you want.
Adjust the photo's ratio
- Open the Camera app
- At the bottom left, tap Settings
- Select a ratio option:
- Wide crop (16:9)
- Full image (4:3)
Crop a photo
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In the Photos app, go to the photo that you want to edit.
- Tap Edit photo
.
- Adjust the borders to your desired size.
. - Find the photo that you want to edit.
- Tap Edit
- From here, you can adjust the light, color, or blur of a photo.
Photo unblur
Important: This feature is available on Pixel 7 and later, including Pixel Fold.You can improve your blurry photos with Photo Unblur.
- Open your Photos app
- Select the photo you want to edit.
- Tap Edit photo
Tip: You can use Photo Unblur on new photos or older photos in your photo library.
Pop
Important: This feature is available on Pixel 4a (5G) and later.
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In your Google Photos app
- Then, adjust the scale slider.
Color pop
Important: This feature is available on Pixel 4a and earlier.
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In your Google Photos app
- Then, adjust the color pop slider.
Portrait light
Important: Add light and Balance light features are only available on Pixel 6 and later, including Pixel Fold.
You can adjust the lighting in your photos of people. For Portrait light to work best, make sure that faces are clearly displayed and take up most of the Camera view. When faces are centered and look at the camera, Portrait light captures those faces.
- In your Google Photos app
- To brighten the photo: Tap Add light.
- Move the white ring to where you want more light.
- Lower or raise the brightness manually or automatically:
- To set the brightness yourself, adjust the slider.
- To let your device set the lighting, tap Auto.
- To soften shadows: Tap Balance Light.
- To brighten the photo: Tap Add light.
Adjust brightness or shadows
Important: This feature is available on Pixel 4 and later, including Pixel Fold.Adjust brightness: On the right, adjust the slider to lower or raise Brightness 
Adjust shadows: On the right, adjust the slider to lower or raise Shadows
Important: This feature is available for Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
Zoom in on an existing photo to make the image more crisp and detailed. You can save the enhanced image as a high-resolution file.
- On your Pixel device, open the Photos app
- Tap on the photo that you want to edit.
- Tap Edit
- Zoom in on a certain part of the photo that you’d like enhanced. For best results, zoom in closer to your subject.
- Tap Crop and enhance.
- For images from Pixel 8 Pro and 9 Pro that were highly zoomed, to apply the effect without cropping your photo first, tap Enhance details.
- To keep the enhanced photo, tap Save copy.
- In the Photos app, go to the photo that you want to edit.
- Tap Edit
- Tap a suggestion. You can also use the circle or brush to erase more distractions from the photo.
- To make objects blend in with the photo, tap Camouflage and use the brush.
- To finish, tap Done.
Important: This feature is available on Pixel 8 and later.
To reduce unwanted sounds or to turn up sounds from videos, you can use Audio Magic Eraser on your Pixel phone.
- On your Pixel phone, open the Google Photos app
- Tap on the video you want to edit.
- At the bottom, tap Edit
- To have your phone automatically adjust the audio for you, tap Auto.
- To manually adjust sounds, tap on a sound and adjust the slider.
- To adjust the volume of different speakers, adjust the slider for each speaker.
- At the bottom right, tap Save copy.
- Open your Camera app
- Tap Portrait
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- To view the enhanced version, in the bottom right corner, tap the photo.
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Tip:
- To add a blurred background after you take a photo, tap Edit photo
. Then, move the Blur slider.
- On the Pixel Tablet, portrait mode is supported only on the front camera.
. Then, move the Blur slider.Important: This feature is available on Pixel 8 and later.
If someone blinks or looks away in your group photos, Best Take combines similar photos into one photo where everyone looks their best. You can choose your favorite facial expressions for everyone and create your own Best Take.
To edit a photo with Best Take:
- Open the Google Photos app
- Open a photo from a sequence of similar photos that includes one or more people.
- At the bottom, tap Edit
- Tap on a face bubble to choose a different expression.
- When you’re satisfied, tap Done.