Snapchat: How To Edit Photos & Videos from Your Camera Roll

It might be pretty hard to imagine, but there was a time when people didn’t have cameras with them wherever they went. Today, however, with smartphones in every pocket, just about everyone has access to a good digital camera at the touch of a button.

As a result, anyone with a smartphone has the opportunity to take pictures and videos of each and every moment from their lives that they want to share with others. In response to this, social media platforms like Snapchat were created to allow us to easily share these pictures and videos with all of our closest friends and family members.

Of course, sometimes we capture moments that would make for terrific snaps, but it doesn’t occur to us right away to share it with our followers. Instead, that awesome photo or video sits untouched and unappreciated in our phone’s camera roll.

Thankfully, though, it doesn’t have to stay there. Snapchat makes it easy to access photos from your camera roll through the app, edit them, and share them with your followers, so no one will ever need to be out of the loop just because of a forgetful moment.

Likewise, you may have snapped the perfect photo through Snapchat, only to decide that it’s not quite ripe for public consumption. No problem. Snapchat also makes it easy to save snaps to your camera roll or memories for later editing and sharing.

In this article, I’m going to provide a short and simple tutorial on how to edit photos and videos from your camera roll for use in Snapchat. Whatever your photo saving and editing needs, Snapchat has you covered. Here’s how.

How to Add Pictures From Your Camera Roll to Snapchat

Want to share a photo that you took three weeks ago at your best friend’s birthday bash? Fortunately, Snapchat makes it incredibly easy to do so.

Follow these simple steps to access all of the photos in your phone’s camera roll:

Step 1

Open Snapchat.

Step 2

Go to the Snapchat Camera view (if you’re not there already).

Step 3

Tap on the “two phones overlapping” icon beside the camera button to open the Memories section of Snapchat.

Step 4

Tap the Camera Roll tab.

Step 6

Tap and hold on the photo you want to share.

Step 7

Tap ‘Edit’ to make any alterations to your photo.

Step 8

Tap the blue arrow “Send To” button to share the photo immediately, or use the editing features to edit the photo.

There you have it. Now all of your followers can follow along to your night out or the birthday party you’ve thrown with your friends.

Adding Videos to Snapchat

Another great feature is the ability to add videos, edit them, then snap them to someone else. To do this follow the exact same instructions as above but choose a video instead of a photo. Then you can:

Trim the Video – Using the small box in the lower left-hand corner grab the white ovals with three vertical lines and move them forward or backward to trim your video.

Add text, stickers, etc. – Using the right-hand panel tap on the options to make edits and add content to your video.

How to Edit Pictures Taken From the Camera Roll

If your pictures and videos aren’t quite ready for social media, Snapchat also makes it very easy to edit your content before sharing it with your friends and followers.

When you share a photo that was not originally taken in Snapchat, you still have access to most of the photo editing features. Note that we said “most.” You will not be able to use any Geofilters or tags, as they directly pertain to the time and place that the photo was taken — information that Snapchat doesn’t have regarding photos taken outside of the app. However, you still have access to all of the following editing features:

• Text – Tap T to add text to the photo. Change the color of the font with the color bar on the right. Change the size or style of the text by tapping the T again.
• Draw – Tap the pencil to draw on the photo. Change the color of the pencil with the color bar on the right. Tap the pencil icon again when you’re finished.
• Sticker or emoji – Tap the sticker icon to add a sticker or emoji to the photo. Remember to look at the bottom bar for more sticker options.
• Cut and paste – Tap the scissors to cut and copy a portion of the photo. Use your finger to trace the section you want to cut. Use your finger again to move the cut portion around and place it.
• Add a theme – Tap the paintbrush to add a theme to your photo. Scroll through the themes using your finger and tap on the one you want. Note that themes will only apply to the original photo.
• Attach a URL – Tap the paperclip to add a URL to the image.
• Set a time limit – Tap the clock to select how long you want the snap to be visible to followers.

How to Save Snaps for Later Sharing

If you’re working in the reverse order and you’ve snapped a photo using the Snapchat camera that you don’t want to share yet, save it to your camera roll or memories by simply tapping the save icon in the lower left-hand corner.

On the other hand, if you’ve taken a photo from your camera roll and edited in Snapchat only to decide that you want to save it for later, complete the following steps.

1. Tap the save icon in the lower left-hand corner.
2. Tap Save Image.

Alternatively, you can also do the following:

1. Tap Done.
2. Tap Save & Replace or Save as Copy. Note that Save & Replace will remove the original image from your camera roll.

Once again, it’s a fairly straightforward process, and it comes close to being foolproof.

If you save a snap to Memories, then you can access it and edit it in the same way as you access and edit photos in your camera roll. However, because these snaps were taken with the Snapchat camera, they have a few more editing options. Namely, you can add geotags and filters appropriate to the time and place that the snap was taken.

Final Thoughts

Snapchat is the perfect social media app for easily sharing all of your favorite photos and videos with your friends, family, and followers. Snapchat even allows you to share and edit photos and videos that you take outside of the app and save in your phone’s camera roll.

Thanks to Snapchat’s easy save and access functions, each snap doesn’t have to involve a snap decision. Take your time, savor your photos, and share when you’re ready. After all, they’re your photos, and Snapchat is smart enough to know that the easier it is and the more options you have, the longer you’ll be likely to stick around.