Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Pixlr-o-matic

The next app on my list is Pixlromatic.  This has become one of my favorites.  You can either take a photo with the app or upload a saved one.  When you upload a pic from the gallery it is a little slow, just touch the picture and wait a couple seconds and it will open.  It starts with a choice of filters (the film icon), all of which are named after people.  There are effects (the light bulb) you can add to your photo like light leeks and scratches and the last option is a choice of frames.  It is simple and fast to use, it has become one of my go to apps when I want to edit a pic to upload to instagram or share on facebook.  I think this was a free app with a good selection of filters and effects.  If you want more you can click on the film canister icon on the upper right and purchase new sets.  I recommend this app if you are looking for a free, fun and fast way to edit photos.  


Filter: Tony
Effect: Rainbow
Frame:  Dirt
Tuesday, June 5, 2012

iPhone Apps Review: Instagram

I upgraded to the iPhone a few months ago and I have been smitten with the fantastic photo apps that are available.  In truth it was the main reason I decided to switch from the Droid to the iPhone.  I have since purchased a small fortune in photo apps (there are free ones as well).  I just wanted to share some of the apps I have found and give little reviews for them in no particular order.  This will also take several posts for me to complete as I have too many apps for this to just be one post.

Allow me to start with Instagram.  This is a highly addictive little app because it blends photography with a little social networking.  Instagram photos exist in the app, you can follow your friends and comment on/like photos.  These photos can also be shared on other networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.  You can take photos straight from this app or add photos that are saved to your camera roll.  I prefer this method because I usually do my photo editing with other apps before uploading to instagram.

I don't see the need to spend too much time going over the features of this app, it's pretty popular.  I will just go over my favorite features.  I love the tear drop at the top, this allows for tilt shift/selective focus.  It can make for some fun and creative shots.  I used this for the truck photo, setting the focus only on the truck.   I also like the feature at the bottom left hand corner, the one that looks like a sun.  This can help add detail to a photo, I don't use it on every picture but it can brighten up or pull out details to photos that are a bit blurry or a little underexposed.  If you would like more info on features and some instagram tips and tricks check out this site http://www.fatmumslim.com.au/2012/02/instagram-cheat-sheet.html she made what I was too lazy to make, plus I don't think mine would have looked that good, or been as informative.