These Have to Be the Best Photo Apps for Your Smartphone
Smartphones have changed our lives in so many ways. Just 10 years ago, to get the same range of services you now have in the palm of your hand, you’d have needed to carry a modem, a GPS navigator, a landline phone, a camera, an MP3 device, a USB stick, a radio and a notebook. That would make walking a very difficult task! But did you know that in addition to all these amazing features, your smartphone can be your personal photography assistant?
App developers apparently have a soft spot for photographers, as the collection of applications targeted to shutterbugs is growing (and perfecting itself) from day to day. Whether you need to edit images on the go, plan a photoshoot according to weather conditions, or engage with the visitors of your online photography portfolio, your little digital elf is always there to help.
We’ve picked some of the best smartphone apps for photographers – here’s how they can help you achieve better results, become more efficient, or just have some fun on the way:
Editing on the go
Since smartphone screens became larger, and notepad computers – lighter, editing and sorting photos on the go became an easier task. The toughest part is to choose the preferred app from the huge variety out there.
Lightroom Mobile – this handy app by Adobe is one of the few that will let you edit RAW files on a mobile device and sync them with your desktop computer. It might take more space and have slower photo transferring time, but the advantages are worth it. Free | Android & iOS
Snapseed – declared by Business Insider as the best photo editing app, this child of Google is often described as an answer to Instagram. With a wider selection of filters (with logical names, thank God), it also boasts creative photo frames, textures, lighting effects, and no less important – an intuitive interface. Free | Android & iOS
VSCO – used by beginners and famous photographers alike, VSCO is not just a mobile photo editing app, it’s a community. A very devout one. Its large number of filters and easy interface and sharing options created a whole new world for mobile photography enthusiasts. Free | Android & iOS
Facetune – in spite of its steep learning curve, this app is indispensable for retouching and editing face shots. It’s varied features allow you to whiten teeth, remove blemishes and iron out wrinkles in a second. The perfect app of the selfie era. Paid | Android & iOS
InFiltr – as its clever name suggests, this app offers an infinite number filters, more than 5 million (!) to be exact. The best part: you can preview the filter before clicking the shutter button. Good luck with choosing the right one! Paid | iOS
Self-promotion & business
Every spare minute is a great opportunity to promote yourself. These apps will help you stay on top of things regardless of your location:
Instagram – like it or not, being present on Instagram is a must for photographers looking to promote themselves online. To do it right, you need to download this app and apply the 7 Instagram tips every photographer should know. Free | Android & iOS
EyeEm – another global photo sharing service with a large community of photographers, but with one significant difference: the option to make money. You can sell photos on the EyeEm photo stock market that is “eyed” by leading brands worldwide. Free | Android & iOS
Wix One – Wix user? From interacting with your visitors to blogging on the go and accepting bookings in real time, this must-have app will transform your photography website into a super efficient business platform. Free | Android & iOS
Storage
There are many storage solutions out there, but these two examples are useful for more than one reason:
Google Photos – we chose this app not for its editing tools, but for the nearly limitless storage and advanced filtering options. Crazy but true: this app manages to automatically upload your photos from any device (computer, smartphone, camera and storage cards). Free | Android & iOS
Flickr – on top of sharing your photos with the Flickr community and following others, Flickr offers terabytes of storage for both image and video files. Free | Android & iOS
Planning a photo shoot
Developed for professional photographers, these apps will come in handy when planning a photo shoot, especially outdoors. Even though most are paid, those few dollars will pay off quicker than Rihanna’s “Umbrella” chorus. Only one question remains: how did photographers get around before smartphones?
The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) – are you really an outdoor photographer, if you don’t use TPE? This app will tell you the optimal time for natural light to take the photo you wanted in a certain location. The golden hour has never been closer. Paid | Android & iOS
Dark Sky Finder – this app will help the night owls amongst us to find the perfect spot to shoot dark skies at their best. Dreaming of capturing the Milky Way? The only way to achieve this is finding an area with low light pollution – Dark Sky Finder will do just that. Android users can plan night photo shoots with a similar app called Light Pollution Map. Paid | iOS
NOAA Radar Pro – out of many weather forecast apps, this has to be the most thorough one. The hi-def satellite imagery of approaching weather systems will make you decide whether it’s recommended to postpone that outdoors photoshoot or on the contrary – go chase that storm! Paid | Android & iOS
Star Walk II – astrophotographers, this one is for you. Not a photography app per se, but it will help you identify stars and constellations to make the best shot. It’s paid, but what’s $2.99 compared to the magnitude of the universe? Paid | Android & iOS
My Aurora Forecast – if your dream is to capture the northern lights, then it is about to come true. Whenever you travel to the far far north, this app will notify you when your chance has arrived to capture the elusive night spectacle. Heartwarming, or what? Paid | Android & iOS
On the set
Not just for mobile photographers: smartphone apps can help professional photographers get the perfect shot with both DSLR or a film camera. Here are the most notable ones:
My LightMeter – a must-have for film photography enthusiasts, this accurate app measures the light on the set using the smartphone’s camera, in order to achieve the correct exposure. Free or Paid | iOS
Posing app – even the most creative photographers can run out of ideas on a photo shoot with clients. That’s where the ‘Posing app’ comes to the rescue – it’s simply a cheat sheet of posing ideas that will never let you down. Paid | Android & iOS
Organizing and general tasks
Whatever your photography specialization is, there’s bound to be some form of bureaucracy. Luckily, these apps are here to help with some of those less exciting (to say the least) tasks:
IFTTT – the popular automation service ‘If This Then That’, which takes care of small online tasks. With a wide range of so-called ‘recipes’, IFTTT will take filtering, filing and sharing your photos to a whole new level. Here’s a super-detailed series of posts that will help you get started with IFTTT. Free | Android & iOS
Easy Release – if your photoshoot includes models, this app will take part of the bureaucracy load off your shoulders. It allows you to quickly create a custom release that the parties involved can sign with a finger (no paper involved!). The signed PDF doc can then be emailed to everyone who needs a copy. Paid | Android & iOS
MapApic – planning a photo shoot in several locations? This location scouting app will organize all your shoot locations in one place, along with geotags and photos, sunrise and sunset times, notes, and more. It will even provide directions to each location that you can share with others. Paid | iOS
Lenstag – having your photography equipment stolen is a true nightmare. While this app doesn’t prevent it, it gives you a chance to reconnect with your lost gear. Just register your lens, camera body, and accessory serial numbers, and the app will crawl the web searching for photos with those registration numbers in their metadata. Free | Android & iOS
Just for fun
We can only stay serious for so long. Now that the planning, handling bureaucracy, scouting, shooting, editing, and sharing is done, it’s time to have some fun! Here are some cool apps that will make your day even more colorful:
Halftone 2 – shot a funny scene today? Go wild and turn it into a comic strip image or video with filters, cool captions and even sound effects. Paid | iOS
Prisma – no need to cut your ear off in order to paint images like Van Gogh. The Prisma app offers striking filters that will turn your photos into an unmatchable work of art in the style of famous painters. Dali, behind you! Free | Android & iOS
SuperImpose – this app let’s you blend multiple photos into a single composite image. Aside from artsy fun, it can actually result in a stunning scene and give you ideas for a more serious Photoshop project. Paid | Android & iOS
Postagram – sending (and receiving) real postcards from far away countries is an exciting personal experience, especially in today’s over-digitized world. The guys at Postagram came up with the genius idea of personalizing it even further and letting you create a postcard from a chosen photo. For a small fee they will print your design and mail it to the desired address. Free | Android & iOS
By Julia Ronen
Creative Content Developer for Wix Expert Communities
