Gear Diary’s Best Apps for…Photography

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With so many apps in the iTunes App Store it has become all but impossible to find the best of the best. To help you find the best apps we are beginning a series of posts highlighting some of the apps we personally use and rely upon.

Our process is completely unscientific. We ask the Gear Diary team to list up to three apps in a specific category… something like “Best Apps for… Photography” and then collate the responses. Those that get multiple mentions go toward the top.

So what are our favorite iOS photography apps?

Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 07 45 PM
Camera+: It’s been at the top of the App Store charts for a while. The clarity filter does wonders for images with low saturation and makes anyone a great photographer.
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Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 11 55 PMProCamera: This app was listed by a few of us. It has a decent zoom, anti-shake compensation, and is reasonably priced. It has both “Pro” and “I’m just taking snapshots, here” modes which offers great flexibility.
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Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 06 34 PM iPhoto: As Mike put it, “iPhoto takes better advantage of the full screen while apps like Camera+ are ‘iPhone’ apps and therefore automatically do not.”

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Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 13 28 PMPhotoshop Express: This app packs a huge punch, especially for a free app. Obviously it can’t handle drastic image manipulation like its desktop counterpart, but it works great for refining snapshots taken with the iPhone camera.
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Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 21 20 PMTouch Retouch: This is an amazing application that lets you, among other things, remove items that are in the picture. It truly is an app the reinforces the notion that “you can’t trust everything you see”. There is a learning curve but first time you use it it will blow your mind.
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Get it for Touch Retouch HD for iPad

Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 21 59 PMHipstamatic: You would be amazed how the simplest items can make phenomenal images when the correct filters are applied.
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Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 22 33 PMAutostitch: The best app for taking panoramas. It is easy to use and allows users to crop and share the final image.

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Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 23 05 PMPhotogene: This all on one photo app is a great option for manipulating and refining pictures. It has been a favorite of mine since it was first released.
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Get it for Photogene for iPad

And here are a few apps we use that fall under the category of “Just For Fun”:

Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 23 33 PMCollage: This app makes it simple to create and share a collage from photos you’ve gathered.
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Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 24 00 PMMemeDesign: A favorite of Carly’s, this app lets you add funny sayings and caption to pictures. The results look professional and, with the right caption, will bring a smile to the faces of those with whom you share it.
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Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 24 31 PMColorsplash: With this app you can turn an image into a black and white photograph and then add color back to specific portions of the picture. The results are striking.
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Screen Shot 2012 08 08 at 12 25 18 PMSketchMee: Not an artist?With SketchMee you can turn any picture into a pencil sketch, a water color painting or something a color pencil artist would create. Fun and impactful.

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Get it for iPad

Are your favorites on this list? Did we miss any? Leave a comment below for a chance to win a $10 iTunes gift card!

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.

1 Comment on "Gear Diary’s Best Apps for…Photography"

  1. Good post. Definitely highlights some really excellent photography apps. In addition to these, I also really like Diptic, Photoforge 2, Snapseed, and Bracket Mode.

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