The best camera is the one you have with you.
I have a fancy camera with fancy lenses, but my kids have become iPhone kids. Initially I struggled with accepting this because how can I have all this nice equipment, and not use it on my favorite subjects? Truth is I am now sooooooo okay with it because I enjoy treasuring moments WITH them more than PHOTOGRAPHING them.
So instead of letting my big camera get in the way of our activities, I can whip out my phone, snap a pic, put it away and continue sledding, throwing snowballs or finish making snow angels in our swimsuits. Who would want to miss out on that?
The quality of the cameras in many phones has drastically improved over the years. I recently switched from the iPhone to the Galaxy Note 3. It’s a really large phone, but the camera is so much better than the iPhone.
The phone camera will never offer you as many capabilities as a DSLR, and I’ll never take a pic from my phone, blow it up and put it on a canvas. But it is fantastic for those every day moments. And with all the editing apps available, I’ve seen some really amazing pictures which I would have never though were taken on a phone.
With technology changing so quickly, hundreds of new apps pop up daily. While I’m sure you could add many more apps to this list, I’ve tried to highlight a few that I use or are popular among photographers I know. This is just a starting point for those who are looking to jazz up the pictures that are taken on their phone.
Camera Apps
Camera +
This app seems to be one of the most popular to use instead of the camera app that is standard on your phone. Lots of functions and worth checking out.
Just.Self Timer
It’s nothing fancy but does what it says. You can set it to a various time delay so you can set it up and then have time to get in the picture. As a mom, I know I have lots of pics of my kids. This way, you can be in the picture with them.
Procamera
A few of the highlights of ProCamera is the rapid fire where it will take multiple photos in one burst and it can also capture images at night better. The timer and the full screen trigger, meaning you can push anywhere on the screen to take the photo, are beneficial when you hand the phone to someone else to take the picture. Think about the times you ask a stranger walking by to take a picture of you and your family. Utilizing one of those options, you have made it much easier for them and also giving you a better chance of a nice photo.
Editing Apps
Pictapgo
This is a great app filled with lots of flexibility. You can add multiple filters or make adjustments on top of each other. You can easily go back a step if you don’t like it. And I think the coolest part is if you find a style you like once you’ve finished the edit on that particular picture, you can then save it as a “recipe” to use for future pics.
A Beautiful Mess
First, I just love the name of this app. And it’s just as fun as the name conjures up. Lots of fun accents, shapes, collages, to choose from.
Pixlr/ Snapseed- a couple other user friendly and popular editing apps.
PhotoShop Touch
Photoshop is the editing software I use when editing all my images. It’s a powerful program and they have a version for the phone.
Perfect 365
This is a perfect app for making your “selfie” pics look even better. With a few easy steps you can remove dark circles and blemishes, brighten teeth, and so much more.
Magic Shutter
This app allows you to keep the shutter open longer. It allows more light to come into the camera so it’s great for getting better pictures in low light settings.
Over
Over provides a plethora of text options including a wide variety of fonts and word art. Don’t see something you like? You can even import your own.
Collage Apps
Instaframe is an extention of Instagram. Instraframe gives you more options such as frames, collages, etc in the square format of Instagram.
Photogrid– This app has become my favorite to use on my new Android. It autofills your collage for you and you can easily adjust, resize, and change locations. You can add text in a variety of styles too. Super fast when using one pic or multiples in several options.
Diptic/Picframe/Picstitch– just a few other popular ones
App Crawler is a great way to sort through available apps. It allows you to view most popular apps by device or filter through apps most similar to Pictago, for instance. Appcrawler.com is a great site for looking up apps for business, health, photography, games and many, many other categories.
Heather Wanninger, mom to 3 wild and crazy boys, began her photography business in 2011 after being a stay at home mom for 11 years. Heather has photographed several weddings, in addition to engagements, newborns, families, commercial, modeling headshots, sports team photos, and events. With her fun loving personality and a God given gift to capture emotions and human connection on film, her business has grown rapidly. In 2014 she will be photographing weddings in California, New York and Florida. Contact Heather so Sweet Lemonade Photography can capture your family’s sweetest moments.
