Hands Up How To...photo apps!

I love it when people share tricks of the trade!  Like Liz Lamoreaux does here when she talks about filling her Etsy orders...or like Regina from Creative Kismet does here by describing her learnings from another craft fair she participated in.

So when I heard about Jamie Ridler's Hands Up How To quest, I was game!

Give a hand up.  Help someone out.  Show someone how to...do what you do.  Share what you know.

And what do I know?!  Well, lately I know how to rock it on the iPhone.  Photography, that is.

It's true, I bought this phone for the photo apps...and have absolutely no regrets!

With photo apps, creativity doesn't have to take time.  It doesn't have to cost a lot.  And best of all, you can feel like a pro photographer in just a matter of clicks & taps.  

So let's sift through some of the fantastic photo fun to be had on your iPhone (and I say iPhone because that's what I know..but I'm sure you can find similar apps on your Android or whatever you're using..just search in the App Store).

Anyway, here's what I'm loving lately:

1.  Funky Frames!  It's all about presentation.  What photos don't look good when they're neatly packaged together in a collage?  There are so many ways you can put your photos together.  Try Diptic, Pic Collage & Frametastic!  Diptic has many layouts to choose from - load photos from your current photo album or take new pictures to fill the frame.  Pic Collage also offers a quick and easy way to present your photos while Frametastic adds funky backgrounds to your collage.  Experiment!

photo collage using Frametastic

2.  Fun with friends!  Everyone loves those old school photobooths in the mall.  Trust me, it's just as much fun...if not more...without the mall!  Try PopBooth or MPhotobooth for hours of laughter...things can get pretty carried away, pretty fast.  :)  PopBooth even mails your picture to someone at the click of a button.  ShakeItPhoto & MultiShot are also fun to play around with.

apparently I'm liking the limelight in this PopBooth photo!

3.  Artsy Images in an instant!  Turn your photos into art...literally.  With PhotoArtista-Oil, it takes your image and turns it into an oil painting.  ToonCamera turns your image into a cartoon.  And watermyphoto turns your photo into...well, water!  Seriously, you need to just play around with these apps...no explanation needed.  :)

A photo of a painting I was working on...processed with the watermyphoto app!

4.  Take the shot just a little further!  If you have a little more time to play around, I highly recommend Dynamic Light & PictureShow.  There's so much you can do to play around with your colours, contrast & creativity.  And Image Blender actually lets you lay one photo on top of another...creating some really neat textures.  It takes a bit of time to learn what looks best...but play, play, play.

exploring in an abandoned farm house...image processed with Dynamic Light

5. Words, words, words!  I love the idea of combining words & images.  Sometimes you just need a word to get your point across.  Try Phonto or Labelbox. 


And finally, where would I be without Instagram?  I think it deserves it's own paragraph.  Instagram is like an instant boost for the ego....but it's not about the ego, it's about the love.  Simply put, when people like your photo, it makes you feel good.  And it feels good to get your photos out into the world.  It's tons of fun to follow others from around the world too...it's like you're travelling without the noisy airports & dwindling back account!

Instagram offers many options for adding that extra little bit of splash to your photo.  Play around with the filtered effects and add a tilt-shift blur for an instant highlight on a section of your photo.  Here's a simple trick: If you have a little more time on your hands, play around with some of those other apps that I talked about above to create the perfect image.  Save it to your photo album, then open Instagram and pull that image up to post it.

Here's one of my Instagram posts.  I took a photo of my reflection in a barn window, layered it with another photo of a heart shape in a wood door, and pulled that up on Instagram.  

Already on Instagram?  

I'd love to see your part of the world...or come find me at username: katedaniel :)