Nowadays you don’t need an expensive DSLR to
have fun with a camera – here’s a few apps you can download to get you
feeling more snap-happy using your mobile phone.
1. Instagram
It comes as little of a surprise that Instagram has found a place on
the list. Developers Burbn Inc claim that their app is enjoyed by 50
million people, and once you play with it a bit yourself you can’t help
but believe them.
Instagram is available on iPhones, iPads, iPods and the more recent
Android devices, and allows you to apply a multitude of filtered effects
to your photos before sharing them on Facebook, Twitter and other
social media websites.
Best of all is that the app is completely free, so you can inject some life into your snaps as often as you like.
2. 360 Panorama
As the name may suggest, 360 Panorama is an app
designed to create panoramic images from a camera which would normally
be too narrow to do so. Get snapping as you turn in a circle and watch
the software stitch the photos together seamlessly, ready to share on
Facebook, Twitter or whichever social network you frequent.
Similarly to Instagram, 360 Panorama is available on Android and most
iProducts for a small fee of £0.69. Used with Facebook’s new Timeline
cover photo feature, this app is a bit of a winner.
3. Photo Editor Ultimate
It wouldn’t really be fair to leave Blackberry
owners out of the mix, so here’s an app you can download free from their
App World.
Photo Editor Ultimate clumps together the ability to apply filters,
edit, and resize photos ready to be uploaded to social networks and
image hosting sites such as Imgur. It’s a pretty small file so unlike
some photo editing apps, storage space shouldn’t be too much of a worry.
4. The Photographers Ephemeris
A fairly unique app which improves the quality of landscape and outdoor photos in a rather clever way.
The app calculates the sunrise and sunset times and places anywhere
you happen to be in the world and allows you to calculate when and where
the best photos can be achieved. This is a pretty handy tool if you’re
planning on travelling some distance to get to a specific location to
photograph – the last thing you want is to get to the site only to find
it’s dark/raining/otherwise not optimal.
If you’re more interested in night-time photos then TPE has got you
covered. As well as showing the rise and fall of the sun, the app can
provide similar data for the moon and even help you with little things
like the time that the moon will appear above a hill to get some
stunning photos. What’s more, most features don’t require an internet
connection to run so you really can take shots just about anywhere.
The bad news is that TPE costs $8.99 (around £5.73) for iPhones and a
more modest £3.10 for Android devices. On the plus side, it’s just been
released completely free for Windows/Mac/Linux so if you’re happy to
research your destination in advance and hope that nothing changes
before you get there then this is a good option.
5. Camera+
If you’re searching for good quality, professional
looking photos then Camera+ is the app for you. Priced at £0.69 (though
the developers say this is for a limited time) it provides your standard
filtered effects as well as the ability to improve focus, lighting and
exposure and even reduce blur.
Of course, it also comes with the ability to upload your snaps to
Facebook, Twitter and wherever else you fancy, but for now it’s sadly
limited to the iPhone.
Bonus: Color Splash
All of the above apps have certainly earned their
place as must haves on the serious photographer’s mobile, but if you’re
just after some funky looking pictures and a bit of fun in the process
then Color Splash is a safe bet.
Costing £0.69, Color Splash allows you to create black and white
images and bring vibrant colour to a specific area to create a dramatic
and striking image.
It certainly has some good uses in the photographer’s repertoire, but
it’s just as fun to play around with and give your friends bright red
eyes or black teeth. Sadly, Color Splash is limited to Apple operating
systems.
The below article has been written by our very own
Becky Brand who works in our Torquay Store and has long been a diehard
fan of the World of Warcraft series of games. As an avid gamer; I
thought she would be better equipped to talk about this subject with you
this week.
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