Today’s communication professional must be able to tell captivating client stories in words and images. Fortunately, for savvy wordsmiths who feel they lack innate visual creativity, there is a myriad of tools to help. Below are 10 tools to help you create images and videos. These free and low-cost tools are easy to use (beware, some are addictive) and will have you rocking visual creation like a pro!

Adobe Express. I use this to promote posts, share a thoughtful quote or publicize an event. It is a free tool with a desktop and mobile version that allows you to create posts, pages, and videos on the fly. You can remix a theme so that you don’t have to create a design and layout and then easily customize it to make it your own. It is free but watermarked. Simply share a post to remove the watermark.

Over. I use this app to overlay text onto an image. It’s free and super easy.

Ripl. This is a free tool, but there is also a pro version. You can use it to create animated posts for social. Add images, and music (if you choose) to turn boring into a snazzy animated post. This is a nice tool to promote a new service, feature, or event. 

This. I use this app to annotate photos. Let’s say you want to share a map. You can use this to point to places on the map and add text. Again, it is easy and handy when you want to highlight specifics in an image. The app is $1.99 and is available on iTunes and Google Play. 

Pro Shot. This nifty little app turns your phone camera into a professional camera. You can control aspect, aperture and a ton of fancy stuff that I don’t fully understand just like a professional photographer. The app is $3.99, and available on Play and iTunes.

PicPlayPost. Use this app to mix photos, videos, GIFs and music into a collage. Tell your client’s product creation story or share scenes from a conference or trade show.

Videoscribe. This app is $12/month or $144 per year and has a 7-day free trial. It allows you to create animated whiteboard videos without any technical skill set. Whiteboard videos can be very effective for B2B by demonstrating common problems in the buyer’s journey.

Legend. This is a great tool to support content creation for social media.  In 3 easy steps you can add animated text to your photos or videos.

Canva. This robust image creation tool allows you to create everything from social media posts to infographics and ebook covers. You can choose a layout or blank template and add text and images. Upload your own images or purchase stock images from within Canva for $1. There is a free and premium version.

Vee for Video. This app is a little more advanced. Use it capture and edit videos. You can combine clips, reorder, add music, adjust speed and add filters. The app is $2.99 for iPhone and Android.

What are your go-to apps for image creation? Let us know in the comments!