iPhone Tutorial: My Favorite Photography Apps

How often do you have your phone with you but not your camera?

For me, this is an almost daily occurrence.  My iPhone has captured some really important family moments.  It’s helped me create beautiful photos.  And, I’ve conquered the boredom-while-waiting monster on several occasions by editing and playing with my photos (you know, the carpool line, waiting rooms, at the park with the kids).  Built in iPhone apps are one benefit of the phone over the camera!

Photo Edited with Snapseed

I get the same enjoyment from tweaking my phone photos on the go as I do from editing my “real” photos at home in Lightroom and Photoshop Elements.

And I’m not the only one!  I have contests with friends when we’re out socializing.  Who captures the best photo with the best processing?  For instance, which play below do you like better?  Mine isn’t watermarked, so that you won’t be biased.  

I’ve spent lots of time and wasted a few dollars on iPhone apps that didn’t do what I needed them too.  I hope to save you some time by sharing the apps that work the best for me.

Snapseed - Free.  Great basic edits & corrections, either globally or selectively.  Fun effects too, like Drama, Vintage and Frames – my favorite is Tilt Shift.  It’s from the makers of Nik Software, so you know it’s for real.  All edits are completely adjustable in overall strength and intensity of each component that goes into an edit.  Snapseed uploads images directly to Facebook, Twitter, email etc., and you can open images from it into Instagram for further creative edits.

Instagram - Free. Create edits that are a bit more creative than Snapseed will give you, but without the customization and tweaking options.  I love the social network and feedback I get on my photos from other photogs.  If I want to get more creative with my edits, I will do basic corrections in Snapseed, open the photo into Instagram to let the processing vibes flow, and then upload to Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Edited with Instagram

Diptic - $0.99  Creates customizable collages for various numbers of photos.  The frames and borders are customizable too.  These collages look awesome on Instagram or FB either one.

Marksta - $1.99 Watermark your images.  Invaluable.  Need I say more?

645 PRO - $2.99 Use this app instead of your camera app to take Raw photos, lock exposure and focus point separately, and much more.  The app takes a bit of time to learn, but it is worth it.  You have easy access to everything about your camera that can be controlled.  

• Want to record Raw images?  You can.  645 gives you the option to record images in what they call dRaw, which is an unmodified TIFF file that gives you lots of editing leeway.  Raws, of course, will take up lots of space in your phone’s memory.  I use this option for special shots, and move them from the iPhone to the computer as soon as possible.  
• You can also easy set one spot in your image to focus on, and another to meter from.  
• Set white balance.
• Select either spot or multi zone metering.  
• Use the shutter time to record photos with you in them!
• See a live preview of your image with the settings you have chosen before you snap.  Tweak until it looks right, and get it right on camera (phone).

So these are my favorite iPhone apps.  Go out and play!  And please vote in the comments before you leave!  Which of the two photos above do you like best (of the men in silhouette on the parking garage)?  Just say “frame” or “no frame”.  And make sure you vote for me, so that I don’t have to buy the next round of margaritas!

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