20 quick tips for stunning photos you must try

Like its phones, Samsung’s apps are filled with useful features. The Samsung Gallery app is an incredible alternative to Google Photos. The app is only available on Galaxy devices, but Samsung tends to hold several spots on our best smartphones list. Once you dig deep into the settings menu, you’ll find several options like OneDrive integration, Object eraser, Spot color, and more. It’s one of the most feature-rich gallery apps available for Android.

Below are our favorite tips and tricks to get you started with Samsung Gallery.

1. Enable Samsung Gallery Labs

You can enable some experimental features in Samsung Gallery through Gallery Labs. This hidden menu needs to be enabled in a similar style as Developer Options.

1. Open
   Samsung Gallery
   .
2. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the lower-right corner.
3. Tap
   Settings
   .
4. Scroll down and head over to
   About Gallery
   .

5. Repeatedly tap the Gallery version
   
   (the numbers, not the word “Gallery”) seven to eight times. You’ll see a toast notification saying that Gallery Labs has been enabled.
6. Go back to
   Gallery settings
   .
7. Scroll to the bottom of the list, and tap the
   Gallery Labs
   option. You’ll find the experimental and upcoming new features in the Gallery app.
8. Enable the
   Convert HEIF images when sharing
   option under Image Viewer to make sharing HEIF photos easier.

2. Move private photos to Samsung Secure Folder

You can move photos and videos from your Samsung phone’s gallery to your Secure Folder to keep them away from prying eyes. Secure Folder is easy to set up and keeps your data in a safe and encrypted format.

1. Select the photos, videos, or albums you want to move to Secure Folder.
2. Tap the
   More
   button in the bottom navigation drawer.
3. Select the
   Move to
   Secure folder
   option.

When you use this option for the first time, you must set up Secure Folder by granting it the necessary permissions and entering a password, pattern, or PIN lock. You can open Secure Folder from your phone’s app drawer to access the hidden photos and videos.

3. Give Object Eraser a shot

Do you love the Magic Eraser feature on the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series? Samsung provides a similar feature in its Gallery app, allowing you to remove unwanted objects and reflections from a photo. Samsung has been ahead of the curve and debuted an Object eraser option in its Gallery app with the Samsung Galaxy S21 series in early 2021.

1. Open the photo in the
   Samsung Gallery
   app from which you want to remove an object.
2. Tap the
   Pencil
   icon from the bottom toolbar to enter editing mode.
3. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the lower-right corner.
4. Select
   Object eraser
   .
5. Tap or draw on the object you want to remove from the photo. You can erase shadows and reflections by selecting the appropriate option.

6. Tap
   Erase
   to see the results.
7. If the object is not completely erased on the first try, repeat steps 5 and 6.

If you’re not fond of Samsung’s object removal implementation, there are plenty of other Magic Eraser alternatives that you can try.

4. Use Samsung Gallery to add spot color to your photos

Besides the Object eraser, Samsung Gallery has another fantastic editing tool buried inside the sub-menus: spot color. It allows you to turn a photo into black and white, with only some parts or objects remaining in color. This can be used to make subjects pop in a photo.

1. Open the photo in the
   Samsung Gallery
   app from which you want to re-color an object.
2. Tap the
   Pencil
   icon from the bottom toolbar to enter editing mode.
3. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the lower-right corner.
4. Select
   Spot color
   . The photo automatically converts into black and white.
5. Tap the object that you want to be in color. The changes also apply to all objects or subjects of the same color in the photo.
6. You can use the
   Remove color
   or
   Erase color
   options to remove them from unwanted objects.

7. Tap
   Done
   to apply the changes.
8. Select
   Save
   from the upper-right corner to save the photo.

5. View and edit Exif data in Samsung Gallery

Samsung Gallery makes it easy to view the Exif (Exchangeable image file format) data of the photos and videos you shoot. Plus, you can edit this data if you wish.

1. Open a photo or video and swipe up to view the Exif data like resolution, size, and geotagged location.
2. Tap the arrow near the EXIF data in the Samsung Gallery app. You’ll see a more detailed look at the EXIF data.
3. To edit Exif details, tap
   Edit
   in the upper-right corner.

4. Change the date, time, file name, and geotagged location of the file.
5. Select
   Save
   when done.

6. Hide private albums in Samsung Gallery

By default, new folders containing photos and videos on your Samsung phones appear as a new album in the Gallery app, including those created by third-party apps. If you want to keep your gallery clean and organized, hide unwanted albums and folders.

1. Open the
   Samsung Gallery
   app.
2. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the upper-right corner.
3. Tap
   Hide or unhide albums
   .
4. Toggle the albums and folders you want to hide. You cannot hide some folders like Camera and Screenshots.

7. Drag and drop photos content between albums on your Samsung Galaxy

If you have multiple folders or albums in Samsung Gallery, you can move media files between them with a simple drag-and-drop gesture.

1. Open the
   Samsung Gallery
   app.
2. Select multiple photos and videos and long-press on them.
3. This brings up the list of available folders or albums in a sidebar on the left.
4. Drag and drop the items to the desired folder.

8. Sync Samsung Gallery with Microsoft OneDrive

As a part of its partnership with Microsoft, Samsung offers native OneDrive integration in its Gallery app. If you subscribe to Microsoft 365, you can take advantage of the 1TB OneDrive space and back up your photos and videos to it.

1. Open the
   Samsung Gallery
   app.
2. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the lower-right corner.
3. Tap
   Settings
   .
4. Select
   Sync with OneDrive
   .
5. Agree to the terms and conditions and then tap
   Connect
   .
6. Connect your Samsung and Microsoft accounts. You must be signed in to your Samsung account.
7. Log in with your Microsoft account.

8. All the photos and videos in your Gallery automatically back up to OneDrive, and the content is organized.
9. Search through your photos and videos using dates and tags.

9. Recover deleted photos and videos in Samsung Gallery

Did you accidentally delete a photo or video from your Samsung phone? The Gallery app offers a Recycle Bin-like functionality, so you have up to 30 days to restore your deleted media files.

1. Open the
   Samsung Gallery
   app.
2. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the lower-right corner.
3. Tap
   Recycle bin
   . You’ll see a list of the deleted photos and videos from the last 30 days.
4. Open a picture or video and tap the
   Restore
   icon to put it back in the gallery.
5. To restore multiple items, tap
   Edit
   , select the items, and then tap
   Restore
   at the bottom.

10. Add portrait effect to photos

You can add a portrait effect to photos after the shot has been taken. The feature works best with selfies. Your mileage may vary with shots taken from the primary rear camera. Nonetheless, this is a handy option to have.

1. Open the photo in the Samsung Gallery app.
2. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the lower-right corner.
3. Select the
   Add portrait effect
   option. Samsung Gallery analyzes the photo and automatically adds the blur effect.
4. Use the slider to adjust the blur intensity.

5. Tap
   Apply
   when you’re done to save the changes.
6. Alternatively, keep the original photo unmodified using the
   Save as copy
   option from the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner.

11. Remaster your photos

Not happy with how a photo turned out? Do you want your next profile pic to pop? Use the remaster option in Samsung Gallery to tweak your photos. Here’s how to remaster your photo:

1. Open the photo in the Samsung Gallery app.
2. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the lower-right corner.
3. Select the
   Remaster picture
   option. The photo is analyzed, and a before/after is shown so that you can make out the differences.

4. If you like the changes, tap
   Save
   . You can save the edited photo as a separate copy by tapping
   More
   and selecting the
   Save as copy
   option.

12. Use a photo in Samsung Gallery as your custom wallpaper

Using Samsung Gallery, you can set any photo as your phone’s homescreen, lock screen, or Always-On Display wallpaper.

1. Open the Samsung Gallery app, followed by the photo you want to set as wallpaper.
2. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the lower-right corner.
3. Select
   Set as wallpaper
   .
4. Choose where you want to set the wallpaper: Home screen, Lock screen, Always On Display, Call background, or Watch face.
5. Depending on your option, a preview is shown where you can adjust the crop.
6. Confirm your action when done.

13. Bixby Vision

Samsung’s digital assistant might not have turned into the Google Assistant or Alexa competitor we had hoped for. Still, Bixby Vision is a useful Google Lens-like feature that’s baked into Samsung Gallery. You can use Bixby Vision to identify objects in your photos or copy text from images.

1. Open the
   Samsung Gallery
   app, followed by a photo of your choice.
2. Tap the
   Bixby Vision
   icon located in the middle of the toolbar on the top. Bixby scans the photo to find text or subjects.
3. If text is detected in the photo, you can copy, translate or search for it on the web.
4. View similar images on Pinterest by tapping the
   Find
   icon at the bottom.

14. Let Samsung Gallery analyze your photos and make suggestions

Like Google Photos, Samsung Gallery can analyze your photos and recommend changes like adding a portrait effect, remastering them to enhance their look, and deleting duplicate photos to free up space.

1. Open the
   Samsung Gallery
   app.
2. Tap the
   menu
   button located in the lower-right corner.
3. Select
   Suggestions
   to display recommendations for photos on your phone.
4. Tap a suggestion to read more about the recommended changes. A before and after comparison is shown for comparison purposes.

5. Tap
   Save
   if you like the changes. You can also share the edited photo or remove the changes.

15. View a photo in landscape mode without rotating your Samsung Galaxy phone

Want to quickly view a photo in landscape mode in the Samsung Gallery app? You don’t need to enable auto-rotate for this. Simply tap the Rotate button in the Gallery’s image viewer to switch to landscape view or vice versa. It is a useful feature to have since it does not affect the system’s auto-rotate setting.

16. Hide albums

You don’t have to live with unwanted and unnecessary albums created by third-party apps in Samsung Gallery. You can hide them to keep your gallery tidy and organized. For example, use this option to hide unwanted WhatsApp media files from cluttering your gallery.

1. Open the
   Samsung Gallery
   app and go to the
   Albums
   tab from the bottom.
2. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the upper-right corner.
3. Select the
   Hide albums
   option.
4. Select the albums you want to hide in the gallery.

17. Copy text from photos

In One UI 5, Samsung updated its Gallery app to decouple the OCR capability from Bixby Vision. It is now better integrated and can be easily triggered with a tap, allowing you to copy text from photos easily.

1. Open
   Samsung Gallery
   .
2. Navigate to and open the photo from which you want to copy the text.
3. A
   T
   icon appears in the lower-left corner. Tap it to highlight all the text in an image that you can copy.

4. Tap the text you want to copy.
5. Select the
   Copy
   ,
   Select All
   , or
   Share
   option from the pop-up. Depending on the content you select, you get a contextual option to call a number or navigate to the address.

18. Change an album’s cover image

Don’t like an album’s cover image? You can change it on your Samsung Galaxy phone running One UI 5.

1. Open the
   Samsung Gallery
   app.
2. Switch to the
   Albums
   tab.
3. Long-press and select the album whose cover image you want to change.
4. Tap
   More
   from the menu bar at the bottom.
5. Select the
   Change cover image
   option.
6. Select a photo from the album that you want to set as a cover image.

19. Create a highlight reel

Want to create a quick highlight reel of a holiday album for sharing with your friends or family? Similar to Google Photos, Samsung’s Gallery app can create short videos of the best photos and videos in an album. It is just that you need to create it manually.

1. Open the
   Samsung Gallery
   app.
2. Switch to the
   Albums
   tab.
3. Open the album for which you want to create a highlight reel.
4. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   in the upper-right corner.
5. Select
   Create
   .
6. Tap
   Highlight reel
   .

7. Select the photos and videos you want to add to the highlight reel.
8. Confirm your selection by tapping the
   Highlight reel
   option at the bottom.

9. Samsung’s Gallery app creates a highlight reel with background music. You can edit the music, tweak the video’s light, add various effects, and more before saving it.

20. Create a GIF

You can create a GIF of burst photos using the same Create tool in the Samsung Gallery app. Again, Google Photos can do this automatically, but if you don’t use it for backing up your photos, you can use Samsung Gallery.

1. Open the
   Samsung Gallery
   app.
2. Long-press and select the photos you want to create a GIF of.
3. Tap the
   three-dot menu
   at the bottom.
4. Select
   Create
   from the menu.
5. Select
   GIF
   from the options.

6. Samsung’s Gallery app creates and displays a GIF from the photos and videos you selected.
7. Before saving, you can edit the GIF to speed up the transition, add stickers, doodle, and more.