The success of sites and apps like Instagram – not to mention the ubiquity of high-definition cameras on our mobile phones – means we are truly living in the photography age. But how best to turn those mundane shots into something special? A filter can help… Here’s where to find them.

Picfull

Picfull is a free photo editing site, with plenty of built-in photo effects for you to explore. The idea is that you upload a picture to the site, choose from one of more than 10 filters and start tweaking your snap. It’s fair to say that the site is aimed more at fun than professional photographers, but it’s easy to use and its black and white effects doubtless prove useful to some.

VSCO

VSCO stands for Visual Supply Company, which provides plug-ins for programmes like Photoshop, and its own smartphone app. A basic set of filters (like bleaching, cross-processing and sepia) comes for free, but you’ll have to pay for more sophisticated ones – typically a couple of dollars, but well worth it if you want to recreate, for instance, shooting with Kodachrome.

Snapseed

Owned by Google, Snapseed comes loaded with filters that let you create a number of classic photo effects, from aged sepia to high contrast. If you can’t be bothered to trawl through all the options and near endless possibilities, hit the Auto Correct feature and instantly your image will look better.