5 Easy Ways to Add Effects on Snapchat

Snapchat is a popular social networking and messaging app famous for its creative photo and video effects. Snapchat's effects include Lenses and Filters. Lenses use augmented reality to change the way you look. Filters use color and design effects to enhance photos and videos. You can also add style to your Snaps by adding text, drawings, and decorating with stickers. If that’s not enough, you can use AI to modify and edit your Snaps. This wikiHow teaches you how to experiment with the different filters and effects available in Snapchat.

Quickly Apply Effects In Snapchat

The carousel at the bottom of the Camera screen displays a variety of Lenses you can apply before taking a Snap. After taking a Snap, you can select a filter from the carousel at the bottom of the screen. You can also apply text, stickers, or draw on a Snap. Use Imagine AI to reimagine your Snap.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Using Lenses (Face Effects)

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1
Open Snapchat on your phone or tablet. Snapchat will automatically open to the front camera screen, where you'll see your own glorious face. If you want to flip to the back camera so you can use lenses on another person, tap the icon of two arrows in a square at the top-right corner.
- Lenses are special effects applied in real-time using face detection.
- Lenses are used before you take or record your Snap, while filters are added after you take the Snap. You can use both Lenses and filters on the same Snap.
2
Swipe on the carousel at the bottom. You’ll see a variety of lenses in the carousel at the bottom of the screen. Swiping left and right allows you to preview a variety of popular lenses.
- Hold your phone away so you can see your entire face. If you're using Lenses on another person, make sure their entire face is in the frame. Also, make sure the lighting is decent, as darkness can hinder the facial recognition.
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3
Tap one of the categories. In addition to the lenses that are present in the carousel, you can find more categories listed at the bottom of the screen. These include Aesthetics, New, Trending, Characters, Masks, Bitmoji, and more. Swipe left and right on the Category tabs to view all of them. Tap a category to view lenses from that category in the carousel.
4
Tap the smiley face icon with a plus (+) sign. It’s in the lower-right corner of the screen. This displays a preview of all the lenses in your current category as thumbnail images.
5
Tap the Search icon
. It’s above the list of thumbnail images on the right-hand side. This allows you to search for lenses by name.
6
Enter the name or type of lens. If you know the exact lens you want to use, you can enter its name. Otherwise, you can enter a category name (i.e., cartoon, make-up, the name of a character, etc).
7
Select the lens that you want to use. If you see a lens you want to use, tap it to select it. You will see a preview of the lens in real time.
- Because of the rotating selection, the lens you are looking for may not be available. Check back in the next day or two to see if it has become available again.
Many lenses work instantaneously. However, many lenses will display a quick command or instructions to make the effect work. For example, to do the puking rainbow, you're prompted to open your mouth.
9
Take or record a Snap. Once you've found a Lens you like, tap and hold the Capture button to record yourself with that Lens. It’s the large circular button at the bottom. If you'd rather just take a photo, tap the Capture button once instead. Your lens effect will be recorded in the Snap.
- If you took a photo, you can tap the stopwatch icon on the right side of the preview to control how long the image can be viewed by the recipient.
- Check out the other methods to learn about more effects you can add to your Snap.

Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Using Filters

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1
Open Snapchat on your phone or tablet. Snapchat will automatically open to the front camera screen—if you'd rather use the back camera to capture another subject, tap the icon of two arrows in a square at the top-right.
- Snapchat filters are added after taking the Snap, and they give your photo or video added pizzazz without too much work. Simply swipe left or right to access them, or read the full details below.^{[1]
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2
Take a picture or record a video. You can add filters to both photo and video Snaps. On the main camera screen, tap the large circle to take a picture, or tap and hold it to record a video.
- You can even add a filter after using face Lenses.
3
Swipe through the available filters. Simply swipe left or right on the photo or video preview to see a variety of filters. Some may change colors and lighting, while others have illustrations.
- You can see the filter icons in the carousel at the bottom of the screen.
- If you don't have Location Services for Snapchat enabled on your phone or tablet, you'll be prompted to enable Location Filters while swiping through the filter selection. Location Filters are filters for specific places and events in your area. For example, if you're at a sporting event, you may find a location-based filter that has something to do with the stadium or one of the teams. Tap Enable, and then Allow to let Snapchat access your location.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Using Imagine AI

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1
Access the Imagine AI tool. You can apply Imagine as a lens or as a filter. Use one of the following steps to access Imagine AI.
- Tap the AI category tab at the bottom of the screen below the carousel of lenses.
- Take or record a snap and then tap the icon that resembles a circle with three stars in the menu bar on the right.
- The Imagine AI tool is free, but you have a limited number of image generations per day. To get unlimited image generations, you need to upgrade to Lenses +.
2
Enter a text prompt. Tap the text and enter any prompt you want. You can say “Make me a wizard,” or “Show me as an 8-bit video game character.”
- If you are not sure what to enter as a prompt, Snapchat has a variety of suggestions as well as trending prompts.
3
Generate an image. To do so, simply tap the screen. Allow a few moments for Snapchat to generate the image or video.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Adding Stickers and Drawings

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1
Shoot or record a Snap. On the main camera screen, tap the large circle to take a picture, or tap and hold it to record a video. If you want, you can apply a lens before taking or recording a Snap.
It's the icon that looks like a folded sticky note on the right side of the screen. This opens the Sticker explorer, which allows you to decorate your Snap with an unlimited amount of Stickers.^{[2]
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3
Tap the Star tab to view basic stickers. This tab shows a variety of stickers that are available. Scroll down to see all the stickers. .
- You can also tap one of the options at the top of the screen to add a mention, sound, location, question, poll, or story.
4
Tap your Bitmoji face to view Bitmoji stickers. This displays a variety of stickers that use your Bitmoji avatar.
If you want to add an emoji as a sticker, tap the smiley face icon.
6
Tap the scissors icon to view your own stickers. You can make stickers out of your own Snaps. If you haven't made any yet, it'll be empty.
- To make a sticker, return to your Snap and tap the scissors icon on the right. You can select the Rectangle, Ellipse, or Draw option at the bottom. Then, use your finger to outline any part of the video, such as a person's face. Tap Done when you are finished. Now you've created a Sticker that you can move to any place on the screen with your finger.
- You can remove the sticker from your image by holding and dragging it up toward the Sticky-Note icon, which will morph into a Trashcan as you approach.
7
Search for a sticker or GIF. Tap the magnifying glass icon in the upper-left corner to open the search bar. You can use the search bar to search for stickers on Snapchat or GIFs from Giphy.
8
Tap a sticker to add it to your Snap. This will place the sticker in the middle of your Snap.
9
Place the sticker in your snap. Use one of the following steps to place a sticker:
- Tap and drag to place the sticker where you want it to go.
- Pinch to shrink, or reverse-pinch to enlarge your stickers. You can also rotate stickers by placing your two fingers at the ends and rotating them at the same time.
- Pin stickers to objects in a video Snap. When you press and hold any Sticker on your video Snap, the video will pause, allowing you to drag the Sticker onto an object in the frame. Releasing the sticker and tapping Pin to Snap. The sticker will track the object as it moves on the screen.
- Set the duration of a sticker. To set the duration of a sticker in a video chat, tap and hold the sticker. Then tap Set duration. Drag the left or right side of the timeline at the bottom of the screen to select how long you want the sticker to remain on screen.
10
Draw on the photo or video. Tap the pencil icon at the top-right corner to open the drawing tool. Choose a color in the color picker, and then tap and hold the screen to draw. If you don't like what you drew, touch the undo button (a left-pointing, curved arrow) to the left of the pencil.
- Tap the emoji with heart eyes to draw with an emoji instead of a color.
- To select a color within your Snap, tap the eyedropper icon and then tap the color you want to select.

Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Adding Text

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After capturing a photo or video, tapping the T at the top-right corner allows you to type some text.
2
Enter your text. You'll type your text into the bar that runs horizontally across the screen. The text is automatically added to the center of the screen.
- Alternatively, you can tap the icon with three stars on the right side to generate an AI caption. You need to subscribe to Snapchat+ to access this feature.
To change the font and size, tap one of the options just above the keyboard, such as Big Text, Glow, or Serif. Swipe across the options to check them all out.
4
Select a color for the text. To do so, tap the color wheel on the left side. Then tap one of the color swatches. Swipe right to view all the colors.
- Alternatively, you can tap the eyedropper icon and tap a color in your Snap to select that color.
5
Turn the text background on or off. To do so, tap the icon that resembles a square with “Aa” in the middle. It’s in the upper-right corner.
6
Align your text. To set an alignment for your text, tap the icon with four lines in the upper-right corner. This allows you to align your text to the right, left, or center.
7
Set the duration of your text. If you want to set a duration for your text, tap the icon that resembles a stopwatch in the upper-right corner. Then tap and drag the right or left side of the timeline at the bottom of the screen to adjust how long the text stays on screen. Tap the checkmark icon when you are done.
8
Tap the screen to add the text. This will add the text to the center of your Snap.
9
Move, modify the size, and rotate the text. Tap and drag the text to move it to the desired position. You can also resize the text by pinching it to shrink it, or reverse-pinching to make it larger. Rotate your two fingers together on the text to turn the text to the angle you want.
- Just like you can with stickers, you can tap and hold the text to pin the text to an object in your Snap or set the duration of it.

Community Q&A

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Question

Can the iPod 5 get Snapchat "Lenses?"

Community Answer

While the Snapchat support site does not specifically say that the 5th Generation iPod is not supported, many users have reported that it does not work, even with the latest system updates. Snapchat may need to update the app in order for the feature to work on your iPod.

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How do I get the weather filter on Snapchat?

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You'll need to enable location services for Snapchat filters in order to see the weather option when swiping through your available filters. Open your Snapchat profile screen and then tap the Gear button. Tap "Manage" and then toggle "Filters" on. You'll be prompted to enable location services for Snapchat.

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How do I buy Snapchat effects?

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Snapchat has closed the official effects store, so there is no way to purchase effects for Snapchat. Avoid any app or service that claims to add effects to Snapchat for a fee.

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