The main reason I made the jump to the iPhone was due largely to the built in camera. People will say, “It only has 5 megapixels!” which is a useless measurement for camera quality. I loved my Droid X, but despite it’s 8 megapixels, it still was not a very good camera.
I didn’t want to carry my DSLR everywhere I went and also did not want to purchase a compact camera to take around with me. Having seen the great work photographers like Chase Jarvis would produce with their iPhone, I decided to get one.
For the photographer, there are a ton of apps in the store to enhance the experience and expand creativity. I try to keep things simplified as much as possible, so I have around 4-5 apps on my iPhone. One that I use more than all others for editing photos is Camera+ (Not to be confused with Camera Plus which is a completely different app).
It features a variety of different tools including filters, the ability to crop photos, add frames. Photos can also be shared on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.
There is one filter however, that truly sets this app apart from all others in my view and that is the clarity filter. The clarity filter essentially acts as a quasi-HDR mechanism to bring out details in an image. Here is a perfect example. When I was leaving Chicago last week after the Story Conference, I grabbed this image during takeoff:
It’s ok. But that haze just takes some of the punch out of the image. Enter Camera+ and the clarity filter. It becomes this:
Big difference, right?
The slight downside to this filter is that it does add a noticeable amount of noise to the image. Therefore, using it for photos taken in low light where there is already visible noise will just add to that. But it’s a small trade-off for the results.
The app is not free but it only costs 99 cents. A bargain.
What are some are your favorite iPhone photography apps?
Ben Terry says
Another great options since its free right now is Snapseed. It is a pro-level photo editing app for iOS. Normally $4.99 but FREE till Sept. 23 —-> http://goo.gl/K31mF
Moe says
I second that. I love Snapseed. Great app.
Jay Caruso says
Sweet! I downloaded it. Thanks for the tip Ben!
Rob Rash says
Camera+ is my main photo capturing app and editing app. I use it all the time and love it. Going to grab snapseed right now, I wasn’t willing to dish out the $5 but since it’s free… I’m in.
I also like Photo Toaster, Pixlromatic (free), and Magic Hour (free and paid versions).
Jay Caruso says
Thanks Rob. I’ll check those out as well.
Brian Wahl says
Camera+ is great – no doubt about it. I like Instagram a lot, too. Now – off to download Snapseed.
Jay Caruso says
Instagram is great. It would have been the focus of this post, but I actually see Instagram as more of a sharing community. The app itself just has the filters. Much of the images I see posted to Instagram were made using other apps or even other cameras.
Jeremy Mavis says
I just recently picked up the Camera+ app as well, and compared to the built-in camera app on the iPhone, I have found it to be much snappier and more “socially” friendly.
Jay Caruso says
Yes, the sharing aspect sets it apart from the built in app.
Eleanor says
Thanks for the ideas. I love the sharing function of Instagram, but Camera+ looks amazing. I have an old iPhone though … 3GS … practically stone-age. Will Camera+ still work well with an older iPhone?
Krish Young says
I prefer Instagram and Camera Plus Pro.
Bought snapseed since its free 😉
Arend says
I love Camera+ works great 🙂
Other photo apps i use are
“360” for panormamas..
iTimelapse for ofcourse.. timelapse videos
ColorCam.. it’s a simple thing but very nice.. makes you able to do color-cutout shots on the fly