my iPhone app addiction….
Posted on January 12, 2012
Those of you who follow me on facebook, twitter or instagram, know that I’m slightly very addicted to taking pics – and posting them – with my iPhone 4s. I often get asked what my favorite apps are, how I make the photos look like I do, etc., etc….. so I thought I’d write a blog post about it 
The simple answer is that I use LOTS of apps….and most of the time, I use at least 3 apps per photo. I have a #365selfportrait #iphoneonly project going on right now on instagram, for instance, and every one of those photos reflects the use of 3-6 different apps! Yes, I know….I’m…a control freak. BUT it’s a great way to push myself creatively, and that’s mostly what that project is all about anyway.
So, here’s a list of my current favorite camera apps and why, ordered from MOST favorite to least. (although I love them all… oh, and I’m not listing instagram, since it’s obviously one of my favorites) Enjoy!
Feel free to leave your own favorites in the comments if you think I need to know about…even more apps to feed this addiction!! (By the way, Jeremy Cowart is coming out with an app of his own, so look for that one; it should be awesome!)
1. PhotoForge2
I LOVE this app!! If you were only going to get ONE app, this should be it, simply because there are sooo many different things you can do with it – has over 25 different adjustable filters and FX and you can layer them…. yes, you can create layers to composite an image – super cool! Full res photo editing just like on your computer, tons of editing tools (like cropping, frames, levels, channel mixer, sharpen, HSL, white balance, exposure, noise reduction, vibrance and textures). You can share easily to virtually anywhere, including to any FTP; I especially love the share to dropbox option. Seriously….it’s pretty amazing. And right now, you can pick it up for 30% off during their winter sale – totally worth it! Anyone, from beginner to professional photographer can use this app – not hard to figure out at all. Here’s an example of an image that only uses Photoforge2 + instagram:
2. Slow Shutter
This is super cool for a couple of reasons: you can do things with your iPhone that you didn’t think was possible, ie. controlling the shutter speed. AND self timer (with the forward facing camera). Yeah. Now, having a basic knowledge of f-stops and exposure is helpful with this one, since you can manipulate your image like you would a DSLR, but even beginners can play around with it and come up with some cool shots. You can even set it to “Light Trail” and really get artsy Also, today only – this app is 50% off! Here’s an image I created with Slow Shutter + Photoforge2 + Instagram:
3. Snapseed
Snapseed is good for when you’re in a hurry and want to apply some cool effects that Instagram doesn’t offer. It’s fast (you swipe to access tools and apply adjustments, and there’s also a single tap auto correct) and you can layer your effects. (Not a true layer like PhotoForge2, but you can continue to add filters to the same image.) A really neat feature of Snapseed is that you can edit RAW files if you are using an iPad – supports high res files.
Here are photos created with snapseed + instagram:
4. PhotoEffects Studio
I like PE Studio because you can easily apply filters like Instagram, (I mostly like the vintage ones) but you can also adjust the brightness, saturation, detail, contrast, etc… and crop. It was my go-to app before I discovered PhotoForge2
Here’s a sample of PE Studio + Instagram:
5. PictureShow
I have to be honest…I mostly just love the sound effects in picture show It simulates using a polaroid camera, and the filters are really fun too….I also like that you can save favorite recipes and their textures are the best I’ve found. I love the tilt shift on this app – most of them have it now, but I like the control of this one for some reason.
Here are some shots from PictureShow + Instagram:
6. 100 Cameras in 1
exactly what it says!! super fun to create layers and layers of texture and artsy effects on photos – great for sunsets – I took a LOT of photos with this app + instagram:
Those of my absolute favorites – the ones I use all the time. Here’s a quick list of others I like, but don’t use as much:
7. Infinicam
endless possibilities here – fun and quick, but easy to get lost in, like Picture Show.
8. Camera Plus Pro
I haven’t used this too much yet, but really like the idea of real time, live camera and video filters – and time lapse!
9. Diptic
for creating frames and collages
10. Frametastic
another great one for collaging
11. Snappr
fun fisheye camera for iphone; only played with it a little so far, so can’t fully vouch for it
12. Mattebox
I’ve heard a TON of good things about this app; but I don’t know if I need it, since it seems to have similar effects as PhotoForge2…. still deciding on this one.
13. Tiny Planet
one last fun one….
distort your photos to look like planets this was done with Photoforge2 and instagram as well.
So there you have it……again, these are just my faves – would love to hear about yours!
Gibbs Family | Santa Clarita Photographer
Posted on January 6, 2012
Usually a session involving two dogs (heck, any dog) is harder – but not with these two cuties Here’s just a few of my favorites from the Gibbs session!
