My brother doesn’t own a traditional camera; rather he uses his cellphone to make the most of photo ops, and then he instantly shares the images with me and the rest of our family via email. He also tweets a bunch a photos, which I typically miss since I am anti-social media (little inside joke).
With much of the world attached to their picture-taking PDAs it’s no wonder that photo apps are such a hot topic. Wander into photography forums these days and everyone and their brother (literally) is swapping stories about the latest and greatest apps that allow you to take photos, edit photos, add special effects to photos, and even order photos from your phone.
Some of the most popular apps are only available to iPhone owners, which makes sense since iPhone apps have been around a lot longer than Android and other platforms. Still, if you are looking for cool photo apps, you should seriously consider checking out the following:
Instagram: My brother is obsessed with this free iPhone app. Not only does it let you take photos on your phone, but it also features a slew of different filters to create psychedelic effects that change the look and feel of an ordinary picture. After you fiddle with your photo and adjust it to your liking, it’s a breeze to configure your settings to share on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and a bunch of other social networks. If you don’t have an iPhone you will be happy to know that the company plans to release versions for Android and other platforms as well.
Hipstamatic: A few of my friends are loyal Hipstamatic fans. This cool iPhone app lets you snap photos using a variety of funky lenses. It also has filters built into the app, so you can change lenses or cameras with a simple swipe of your finger. The downside to this app is that there is a painfully long wait time while the settings load. Also, it costs $1.99 and is currently only available for iPhone users.
Path: If you refuse to be sucked into the social media abyss, then you might prefer Path. The free photo sharing app for iPhone allows you to take photos and videos and share them with just your close family and friends, and not the entire world. The app also lets you add captions and emoticons to pictures, and even chat live with fellow Path users.
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