It is amazing how far technology has gone into simplifying our daily activities… and the photography industry seemed to have received most of this positive impacts.
Here’s what I mean; digital camera is one of the most popular consumer electronics in the market today with compact cameras and DSLR camera becoming more accessible to ordinary consumers. But what is more intriguing is how this technology has been successfully brought into the simplest gadgets we use every minute of the day… our mobile phones.
A few years ago, we would have been talking about buying a camera for camping events, sightseeing events and for other ceremonies we’d like to preserve their memories. But today, we can still have these moments perfectly covered with the high-end cameras that come with our mobile devices. And as if this is not enough, there are still many mobile apps out there designed to allow us complete control over our photos… allowing us to edit them to our taste. Whether you are an Android fan or prefer iPhones, you are not left behind. As a photographer myself, I give so much value in the ability to edit and share my pictures the moment I take them, through several applications. Here are three of the best photo editing and sharing apps for Androids and iPhones.
1. Paper Camera App
Paper Camera app brings cartoon and painting effects in the camera of your Android device.
Features
Variety of effects: It provides variety of effects including comic boom, sketch up, acquarello, old printer, neon cola, contours, bleaching, gotham nor, half ton, granny’s paper, pastel perfect and pop. This also extends to include several other functionalities like custom contrast, brightness, lines, shine, slickness and edges.
Real time results: Paper camera provides you variety of effects in real time, allowing you to cartoon your world from your camera. You can pick a picture after selecting the preferred effect which makes sure you don’t have to edit anything once the picture is selected. You can also give effect to existing pictures, and record videos with these effects.
Friendly UI: Once you see the UI of this app, you will instantly get an idea of what it does. Everything in the UI is “cartoonized” including the fonts which are hand-written over a paper with a crayon that gives it a bit of 3D look.
Additionally, the app takes about one second to start and consumes about 10 to 12 MB RAM if you use an android of 2.3 devices. And unlike several similar apps, there are no advertisements displayed inside this app.
User’s Feedback
With a dominant of 5 star ratings on independent review sites, users commented on how useful and fun it is to use the Paper Camera. Most people expressed satisfaction with the variety of effects and its visibility. Additionally, you can add effects to existing pictures in your device and this may have become one of the reasons people love this app.
Paper Camera app can be used by artists as well as cartoon lovers who would love to showcase their handwork from a whole new different perspective. Overall, users sound extremely happy with this app and went on to recommending it to anyone looking for an app that would add that “wow” factor to their photos.
Pros
- Paper camera comes with a very interactive and user-friendly interface that is also advert-free.
- It features variety of effects and contrast colors; giving users a wide range of options to create their imaginations.
- You can add effects to pictures that are already in your picture gallery
- You can generate real time effects in pictures and videos allowing you to cartoon the world from your camera
- It provides easy access to share buttons
Cons
- With version 3.2, the camera screen tends to become a bit smaller while selecting effects
- Sometimes the mobile device can still go to sleep mode (if activated) even when the app is active.
2. EyeEm App
EyeEm is a simple photo editing application built with over 12 different photo editing filters and social networking features.
Features
Variety of filters: With EyeEm app, you get about 12 different photo editing filters you can use to edit and make sure your photos appeared to be what you want.
User-friendly: Once you take a shot, EyeEm comes on its own allowing you to add filters by simply swiping left and right the image. You can also add a border by swiping up and down the image.
Geo-tagging: EyeEm allows users to geo-tag their photos which help to show from where the image was uploaded.
Social networking: Images can be shared on EyeEm along with other social networking sites including Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr and Foursquare.
User’s Feedback
EyeEm seems to be a very popular app. Among other features, users like and recommend it owing to these features.
- The ability to choose between several filters that put the image just exactly how they want it; including, of course, the ability to share their pictures with friends and family across almost all the popular social networking sites.
- The ability to browse other pictures is also a fun activity for most users. EyeEm provides a fun community where users can interact and share pictures.
- It is easy to navigate and that made it for most users, especially those who have tried several other apps that consume a lot of space and hang at a slight touch. Unlike these apps, EyeEm is simple and astonishingly fast.
Pros
- Users get to choose between lots of filtering choices. There are over 12 photo editing filters with the ability to add border and name your images before uploading.
- EyeEm is easy to use; the filters and borders can be fetched just be swiping left, right, up and down.
- The ability to geo-tag and share on almost all the popular social networking platforms is an added advantage.
Cons
- The app lacks some important features like Zoom, HDR and the panorama choices.
- EyeEm lack privacy, anything you upload is available to other users on EyeEm.
3. Blurb Mobile Story App
This is an application developed by Blurb photo books, is a mobile photo editing app for iPhone with which you can capture your interests and great moments in a rich media format on-the-move.
Features
Create storystreams: You can create storystreams with pictures and videos on your iPhone with the ability to add text captions and voice-overs.
Full-blown photo-editing features: The photo editing features allow you to rotate, scale, crop or sequence the image. Additionally, you can also geo-tag your stroystream to a map location allowing viewers to see from where the image was uploaded.
Social networking: You can share your stroystream with family and friends via email or on facebook and twitter. You can also create a personal channel on Blurb.com/mobile and broadcast your storystream.
User’s feedback
The Blurb Mobile Story Apps got a dominant of 5 star ratings on independent review sites where people recommend the app for different activities they have used it for. Some of the recommendations suggest it’s perfect for presentations, especially in schools. Others who have used this app for more personal purposes said it’s just the best they have used; it helps them to put a hang on their precious moments. And the fact that it even allows them to say their mind in text captions along with the storystream is simply amazing.
You can create storystreams with the photos, videos and audio assets already in your device and share them through the popular social networking sites, through a channel on the blurb website or via email.
Pros
- Give you the ability to create a storystream with photos, videos and audio assets in your device.
- Users can add captions and geo-tag their storystreams. Text captions longer than the screen are hyphenated. Additionally, users can also share texts from other apps and widgets.
- It provides different ways to share storystream including email, facebook, twitter, tumblr and through personal channels as broadcasts.
- The Blurb app requires no special permission to run.
Cons
- If you use iPhone and iPad, you may have to pay for upgrade on both devices despite it’s the same app.