Nowadays most people carry a camera with them every where they go. Something that most people didn’t do a few years ago, is now available to anyone. But how can you start taking cool picture with your cellphone?
Personally, I believe that you can only learn how to take pictures by taking a lot of them and trying to see things in a different way. But this post is not about how to take better pictures with your cellphone. This post is about the best iPhone Photo Apps that you can use to take amazing pictures with your iPhone.
All the iPhone Photo Apps that you might need
Below you can see the apps that me and Marcela use on a daily basis and what we love about them. Try them out and see which one is the best for your pictures.
Manual, turning your cellphone camera into something more
The iPhone camera is amazing and is capable of taking great pictures. But, if you want to take advantage of its raw power, you have to go to an app to do that. And that app is Manual.
Manual is one of the first apps that lets you play around with focus, white balance, ISO, shutter speed and exposure. There is even a histogram in there that makes everything even better.
This app is the closest you can get from a full DSLR in your iPhone. But it’s not for beginners at all.The controls can be confusing for the first time user and, if you don’t know what you’re doing, taking that first great picture might be hard.
Some of the controls can be confusing for those who never learned what is ISO and/or shutter speed. But, either way, you can download it and have fun trying it out. After you get it, you will never want to use another app to take your pictures. Trust on this one.
VSCO Cam, the best photo editing app
Free of distractions and clutter, VSCO Cam is my go to app when I need to edit the pictures I took. This app was built with composition and editing in mind and nothing can beat what this app does.
Most people don’t go over the fact that the user interface here is a little different and they don’t explore what this app can do. But, after you get used to it, you won’t change to another one.
You can take a picture with the app but, normally, I just import to it and start changing the filters to see what matches your idea and picture more. They have a lot of filters and there are even more available if you want to buy a few more. I did and I don’t regret it at all.
My favorite thing here is that the filters that VSCO Cam has are there to make your picture beautiful. It’s not like other apps that have filters just for the sake of it. VSCO Cam is here to make your pictures even better and they do this every time.
Cortex Camera, less noise on low light pictures
I was quite surprised with Cortex Camera after I started using it in the beginning of the year. This app is amazing to remove the noise and bring out the details those low light images have. This app has an unique take on long-exposure photography and you have to try it yourself.
When you open Cortex Camera, it looks like any other photo app. But once you hit the shutter button, you will see a progress bar that asks you to hold the cellphone steady for up to 3 seconds. You are not taking a picture anymore. You are doing a video capture with up to 100 frames that will build your final image. This is how the developers behind this app found a way to come up with better pictures with low light. And it works really well.
This is why you have bigger images while using this app and this is why it might take a few times for you to get used to Cortex Camera. But, once you get used to it, your pictures will look significantly cleaner than a standard picture. And for $2.99, you need to get this.
Camera +, improving the iPhone camera in every way
For a long time I used Camera + to replace the iPhone camera app. Camera + has a wide range of exposure controls, effects, filters and advanced settings that can change the way you use your cellphone camera.
One of my favorite features here is called Clarity and, when used in a good way, will bring out details and breathe life into those dull photos we all take sometimes.
Another feature that most people love on Camera + are the Scene Modes that help you get the best pictures for any situation. Concert, Food, Scenery, Beach, Cloudy… There is a preset of filters that will help you save that moment. Download it and try it now.
Editing curves with Darkroom
What Darkroom does that no other app does right is the ability to make curves adjustments like those you have on Photoshop. This way you can individually adjust whites, shadows, highlights, midtones and everything else you might need to make that picture pop.
You can even go into individual RGB channels and play around with the curves there. And, after a few days of use, you will be doing this all the time. It might be the best way of increase the light and colors on some pictures. It might sound advanced for some people but, after playing around for a few minutes, you will understand how the curves work and things will be easier. Try it out!
Darkroom also has filters but the greatest thing you can do with it is create your own filters. Imagining that as a Lightroom preset for mobile photography and you will start thinking about how powerful this can be. The app price is $2.99 but you will not regret spending this much on it.
Afterlight the best way to start photo editing
This is the app that you will download to start your photo editing life. I say this because Afterlight is simple and will make your picture come to life without the help of anything. This app will show you that, most of the times, you just need some simple adjustments and that is it.
But, Afterlight also has filters. I’m not a big fan of it but a lot of people seem to enjoy it. And since you can add film effects as well, this app has the opportunity to become your favorite place to mess around with all the pictures you take out there.
Snapseed is the do it all from photo editing apps
Snapseed doesn’t stand out in the crowd of photo editing apps but this app doesn’t lack features. You can analyze your pictures and adjust colors, exposure and everything you need really easily.
My favorite Snapseed feature is that you can to precise adjustments to an area of the picture. This way, if the blue sky on your picture need some contrast, you don’t need to do increase the contrast in all the picture.
This is the coolest feature here and why I keep going back to Snapseed to edit my pictures.
Caption on Pictures? Try Typic
Typic is a photo editing app that has filters and everything else that you might need but I only use it for adding caption to pictures. Every time that you might need to add a final touch to your pictures with design elements to make everything stand out, you will find yourself playing with Typic. Besides, the fact that you can add your logo to the image makes it unbelievable useful if you’re a photographer or if you just want to watermark your photos before posting it on the web.
This is where they’re great and why I have this app on my cellphone.
Playing around with overlay textures with Mextures
From time to time I find myself going for something different when it comes to editing my pictures on my iPhone. And, every time this happens, I find myself playing around with Mextures.
This app gives you the ability to overlay textures on top of pictures and play around with it until you find what you are looking for. The textures might be grain, grit, light leaks, old films and some grunge elements that will give a different look to most of the pictures that go through it.
Personally, I love the formulas that you can find inside Mextures. From Destroyed Film Formulas to others based on the season’s colors, this is where you need to go for a different look on your pictures.
Mextures can be a little hard to get used to but, after you understand this app, you will start trying to see how far you can go with the overlays and effects. It might look weird at first but the pictures are always beautiful.
Share your pictures on EyeEm, Instagram and Flickr
After taking that great picture and editing everything you need, probably, you will want to share it with your family, friends and the internet. For sharing pictures, I don’t have a favorite app. I have three that I use almost daily.
Instagram is my go place for sharing pictures and most of the photos that I upload there end up on my twitter and facebook. This app is a must have for everyone that wants to start sharing his pictures with the world.
Most people that start using EyeEm will think that, at first, this is just another Instagram like app. But they are not that at all. EyeEm was made to discover great pictures and amazing photographers. The discovery feature here is the difference and why I keep coming back almost everyday. You should follow Fotostrasse there.
Some people may think this is weird but I love Flickr and I use it almost everyday since 2004. Most of the pictures I took in my life are there and I use it to research sightseeing every time Fotostrasse takes me to a different city. You should have a profile there and use as a backup of every good picture you take. This is pretty much what I do and I love it.
These are a few of the photography apps I have on my iPhone. These are mine iPhone Photo Apps but if I write this post again in a few months, I know some of these apps won’t be here. Everyday there is a new app being developed and nothing is set on stone.
Don’t consider this list as a something everybody needs to buy and download but as something you should try and see if it fits what you want to do.
If I didn’t mention an app you love, feel free to comment below with your favorite iPhone Photo Apps tip and I will make sure to try it!
