Welcome to the second installment of my top 10 iPhoneography apps! Here’s numbers 5 – 1…
5. Image Blender
Sometimes just referred to as Blender, this app is a vital part of my photo editing tool kit! The ability to blend images together in almost unrivaled in necessity. By doing this you can gain control over other app’s failure’s. For example Camera+’s Scenes have no control over the amount of the effect. You can get around this by blending the original image with the effected one. Because you have complete control over the amount of either image you can create an entirely new picture. It can also be used to create authentic looking double exposures. A lot of the hipsters on Instagram use this app to create mad edits with geometric shapes and often predatory animals. You know the kind I mean!
Giant killer swan (Don’t look into his eyes)
Image Blender in action
4. VSCOcam
This app was designed with the soul purpose of making your iPhone photos look more natural and boy, does it do it’s job well. There’s a lot of over processed images on Instagram these days. VSCOcam is great because, although there’s not a whole lot of control, you can make smooth looking subtle edits that give your photos a more authentic retro feel. The Fade function is a particular favorite of mine.
VSCOcam
3. Camera+
New to iPhoneography? Start here! A very simple app with not a lot of control but you don’t really need it! For a long time this was always my first stop when starting an edit. The clarity scene is fantastic when used in conjunction with Blender app (the process I mentioned above). It does have an HDR look to it (over use of HDR is one of my pet hates) but when used correctly it’s subtle and really does do what it says on the tin. The in app purchases are well worth getting, too. Some lovely unique filters in there.
Camera+ & Clarity scene
2. PicFx
Always my first port of call. Even if I’m not going to add any filters it’s an easy way to crop your photo, ready for instagram so you don’t have to fiddle around with it later. It’s a good way of getting rid of those pesky black lines that sometimes appear once you’ve uploaded an image. What I really love about PicFx is that you can layer as many of the filters as you like and have complete control over the amount of each one you add. This results in completely original looking photos every time. The tones are absolutely beautiful and the textures you can add are phenomenal. Canvas in particular. It instantly makes any image look as though it’s printed or painted onto an artist’s canvas. Very clever!
PicFx w/ Meadow filter
1. Snapseed
This app really needs no introduction. If you haven’t fallen in love with it already, you soon will. By now you’ve worked out that what I believe you need in a great editing app is control. Snapseed is the king of control. There are endless possibilities with this fella! The UI is so great. It’s a little strange at first because it works very differently to any other app. But trust me.. They got it right. The selective adjust tool is something I’ve not seen anywhere else. If there’s a dark or light part of a photo that’s bugging you, for example, you can select that area and adjust its contrast, saturation and brightness. Genius! For that feature alone this app gets the No.1 spot. Not to mention it’s lovely vintage filters that once again you have complete control over. Texture, centre size, style strength, you name it, you can edit it!
Snapseed and Drama filer
I’ve spent a lot of money downloading most of the photography apps on the app store. I hope this little top ten has made it easier for you to choose which ones you’ll use. And hopefully you won’t need to spend as much as I have trying to find the best ones! =)
If you missed the first article, you can find out what numbers 10 – 6 were here.
All photos taken and edited by yours truly. You can follow my Instagram account: @Kerry_fiN
Mark Brassington 