Make your videos even better with the built-in editing tools in Photos

Apple baked video editing tools right into iOS. Here’s how to make the most of these tools and make your videos awesome!

You’re going to encounter a lot of important moments in life that you’ll want to capture and cherish on video. As a new parent, I’ve been taking a ton of videos of my newborn since my iPhone 13 Pro camera is fairly great. But you can take your videos even further on your favorite iPhone or iPad by editing them right in the Photos app, no third-party app required. Here’s everything you need to know about how to edit video on iPhone and iPad.

Using video editing tools on iPhone and iPad

The following directions are intended for those using devices running at least iOS 13 or iPadOS 13 and later. So if you have a compatible iPhone or iPad, especially with iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, then you are able to edit video without needing a third-party app. Supported devices include the first-generation iPhone SE and later, 7th-generation iPod touch, and iPad Air 2 and later. However, keep in mind that the editing tools will only work if the video is in the proper format.

How to edit videos on iPhone:

How to trim your video
How to resize a video
How to flip and rotate a video
How to adjust the brightness of your video
How to adjust the saturation of your video
How to adjust your video even further
How to add a filter to your video
How to mute the sound on a video

How to trim your video on iPhone and iPad

Launch Photos from your device’s Home screen.

Select Albums at the bottom of the app.

Choose Videos.
Tap the video you wish to edit.

Choose Edit at the top right of the screen.

Tap and hold on the left or right side of the timeline to engage the trimming tool.
Drag the anchor left or right to trim.
Tap and hold an anchor to expand the timeline for more precise editing.

Tap Done on the bottom right of the screen.

Note: You can go into the Photos app at any time and undo the trimming of any video.

How to resize a video on iPhone and iPad

You can now resize a video without needing a third-party app!

Launch the Photos from your device’s Home screen.

Select Albums at the bottom of the app.

Choose Videos.
Tap the video you wish to edit.

Choose Edit at the top right of the screen.

Tap the crop icon.
With your finger, choose Straighten, Horizontal, or Vertical.
Move your finger left/right to resize. Any changes you make are shown automatically.

Tap Done to save.

How to flip and rotate a video on iPhone and iPad

To flip and rotate a video on iOS 13 and later:

Launch the Photos from your device’s Home screen.

Select Albums at the bottom of the app.

Choose Videos.
Tap the video you wish to edit.

Choose Edit at the top right of the screen.

Tap the crop icon.
Choose the flip icon at the top left to flip your video.
Select the rotate icon at the top left to rotate your video. Repeat as necessary.

Tap Done.

How to adjust the brightness of your video on iPhone and iPad

During post-processing, you can change the brightness of your clip just as you would with photos.

Launch the Photos app from your device’s Home screen.

Select Albums at the bottom of the app.

Choose Videos.
Tap the video you wish to edit.

Choose Edit at the top right of the screen.

Tap the Adjustment icon.
Choose the Brightness circle.
Scroll left and right to select a brightness level.

Tap Done.

How to adjust the saturation of your video on iPhone and iPad

You can change the chromatic intensity, or saturation, of your video similarly as the brightness.

Launch the Photos from your device’s Home screen.

Select Albums at the bottom of the app.

Choose Videos.
Tap the video you wish to edit.

Choose Edit at the top right of the screen.

Tap the Adjustment icon.
Choose the Saturation circle.
Scroll left and right to select the saturation point.

Tap Done.

How to adjust your video even further on iPhone and iPad

The brightness and saturation aren’t the only ways you can adjust videos on iOS and iPadOS. Following the same steps, you can edit a video’s exposure, highlights, shadows, contrast, black point, vibrancy, warmth, tint, sharpness, definition, noise reduction, and vignette.

Launch the Photos from your device’s Home screen.

Select Albums at the bottom of the app.

Choose Videos.
Tap the video you wish to edit.

Choose Edit at the top right of the screen.

Tap the icon representing the solution you want.
Scroll left and right to select a setting you wish to change.
Tap Done.

Repeat Steps 6 through 8, as needed.

How to add a filter to your video on iPhone and iPad

During post-processing, you can add a filter to your video as follows:

Launch the Photos from your device’s Home screen.

Select Albums at the bottom of the app.

Choose Videos.
Tap the video you wish to edit.

Choose Edit at the top right of the screen.

Tap the Filter icon.
Directly below, scroll left and right to change the filter setting.

Tap Done.

How to mute the sound on a video on iPhone and iPad

Launch the Photos from your device’s Home screen.

Select Albums at the bottom of the app.

Choose Videos.
Tap the video you wish to edit.

Choose Edit at the top right of the screen.

Choose the sound icon at the top left to turn it on/off.

Tap Done.

Anyone can edit video on iPhone like a pro!

As you can see, it’s incredibly easy to edit your videos directly in the Photos app without ever needing a third-party application. These tools cover the basics and will make your videos shine! However, they are still fairly barebones, so if you are looking for something more advanced, you’ll want to check out something like LumaFusion on the App Store.

LumaFusion for iOS

$30 with in-app purchases at App Store

LumaFusion is a professional video editing app for iPhone and iPad. Edit multi-track videos directly to tell the perfect story without needing a computer.

Updated January 2022: Updated for iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.