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Discover the best apps and techniques to transform simple iPhone snapshots into artistic statements using the tool you already have in your pocket.

Vintique App

March 4, 2013

I am in love. You drifted into my life so unexpectedly, and now I don't know how I ever lived without you. Ehem...

Some apps drift into my life temporarily, as they sometimes share the same function or filters as other apps or I just don't find anything about them to be unique or interesting. Vintique falls into the "I Will Never Delete This App...Ever" category. It really is a MUST HAVE photo editing app. The filters speak for themselves, but the ability to adjust the filters is what interests me the most. I don't think I have any other app that allows me to edit the filters, other than Pixlr Express+, which does allow you to adjust the strength.

Vintique has the basic photo app features that allow you to adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation, vibrancy, temp/tint, etc. You can also add various vignettes and textures, frames, and in a recent upgrade, they added a text option and even more vintage filters! The preset filters are GORGEOUS! I don't think I could have dreamt of colors this beautiful. An already beautiful blue sky becomes an aqua green that is vibrant and full of life. Fall leaves become rich reds, oranges, and yellows.

Vintique in action...

Below is an original photo and to the right of it, the same photo with the Vintique treatment:

Original Photo

Edited "Warm Day" Filter - Vintique

In the processed version, I used the "Warm Day" filter, which looks like it dropped a coating of yellow-orange to give the sky a beautiful aqua green hue, and the trees have all of the colors of Fall that I love so much. I also added the painted edges (frame 21) to add to the vintage appearance. The filters in Vintique feel more like they unite all of the elements in a photo and give it the uniformity that is so pleasing to my eyes.

Editing the filters...

Here is another version where I edited the filter and turned off the filter's preset saturation levels:

Post-Process - Vintique "Warm Day" & Frame 21

You can see that it now has a light sage-green sky, and the trees are a little more subtle. This is just one of my favorite filters. I am love with many more, but I don't want to overwhelm you. You should just check them out on your own, as I have no doubt that you'll find it hard to choose only one favorite.

VW Bus - Processed with Vintique

Nothing is perfect...

As much as I rave about Vintique, I do wish for a couple of changes. I had originally planned to tell you how much I wish that it had other resolutions besides a square, but just as I was putting this post together, my prayers were answered. Vintique now supports any size! So now the only gripes I have are that it would be nice to have more border choices, and now that it supports other resolutions, the borders would look nicer if they scaled correctly to those sizes. Right now they look a bit distorted on rectangular formats.

These minor gripes will not keep me from using Vintique. I will always love this app. Next Monday, tune in for a more in depth "before & after" of a photo I have processed using Vintique.

About the Author: Jennifer Lynn Bishop is a freelance graphic designer, artist, and iPhoneographer. Follow her artistic journey at Rainy Day Doodle.

For more app tips and tutorials, check out our library of Free Tutorials and Guides for Mobile Photography and Art.

Your iPad: The Creative Tool You Didn't Know You Needed

February 4, 2013

Your iPad: The Creative Tool You Didn't Know You Needed. Photo Anne Wilemsons.

What's it like to use an iPad as your creative tool? How is it different using your iPhone as your main tool? How do you deal with transferring your images and what are some of the advantages with the larger screen?

I asked Anne Vilemsons, who got an iPad for Christmas (!) if she'd be kind enough to write a review, and here it is:

I Got an iPad for Christmas!

It was cold, heavy and neat. I was told it would be great for my new hobby – IPhoneography. And the day after I got some more presents for the ipad. A cover and a stylus for my iPad.

I was a bit shocked by the gift. I just looked at it and put it in a safe place. After a few days I got help to get into it. The first thing was to transfer all my photos on to the iPad. First send the photos from the iPhone to the computer and then from the computer to the iPad. And the other way around if I edited some photos in the IPad.

iPad, iPhone and laptop. Photo: Anne Vilemsons

Editing images on an iPad. Here's an example of an image where I discovered minor mistakes when using the larger iPad screen. Photo by Anne Vilemsons.

It was like crystal on a frosty winter morning

Then I opened all the Apps that I already had on my iPhone. All of them didn´t work in the iPad. At first I was really disappointed because one of my favourite apps, Camera+ didn´t work on the iPad. Later on I realised that there was a separate iPad version for Camera+. That can be good to know for someone who's new to the iPad.

The screen is great on the iPad. It was like crystal on a frosty winter morning. I saw minor mistakes in some photos and how beautiful others were.

The iPad has a camera as well as the iPhone. Thats great but a bit strange I think. Who takes photos with that? It´s not very handy. I would only use the camera in the iPad at work to take photos of the whiteboard after conferences. Maybe.

I love to edit photos on the iPad

Anyway I love to edit photos in the iPad. All apps are better to work in the iPad than on the iPhone. The Apps Meritum Paint and Touch Retouch are two of the apps that are really good on the iPad. These two are also great when I edit with the stylus i got for iPad.

Using the iPad to create mobile art and photography. Photo: Anne Vilemsons.

The transferring bit was a bit annoying. Luckily I got help to find a better way of transferring photos. It was the Photo Transfer App. With this installed I can transfer my images by cable or Bluetooth instead. Great change. It was true – iPad is great for my iPhoneography. But honestly I am still a bit shocked.

About the author

Anne Vilemsons is a creative iPhoneographer. She uses the alter ego KislieKapusta for her creative work. She currently resides in Stockholm, Sweden. Read more about Anne's iPhoneography art show, and follow her on Instagram or Flickr.

5 Top Photo Apps to Make Your Photos Stand Out from the Crowd

May 7, 2012

Transform your images into extraordinary, artful photos. Here are 5 photo apps that will help you make your photos pop, so they stand out from the crowd of regular, cookie-cutter filtered images, and don't look tacky. If you're an Instagram user, your photos will look different and unique in the stream of photos, when you use other apps to make your photos, and then share your photos on Instagram!

Update

This list has been updated to reflect the latest notable apps.

Take a look at 8 Essential Photo Apps, Top Art Apps for Painting and New & Noteworthy Apps, in our library of free guides and app tips for iPhoneography.

Wood Camera

wood-camera

Flexible, fast photography app with an intuitive work flow and an elegant interface. Use the in-app camera to shoot with 22 lenses in real-time or import photos. Crop, and rotate. Add and tweak effects, texture, tilt-shift and frames.

What makes Wood Camera stand out

Create unique and interesting effects with Wood Camera's customisable filters that give the user more control over the final look.

Photo sharing

Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Instagram.

Platforms

iOS devices.

Snapseed

Powerful, intuitive and sophisticated photo editing with a gesture based interface. Add drama, grunge, tilt-shift, frames, vintage film or make selective adjustments. Auto Correct analyzes your photo and automatically adjusts color and exposure. All effects can be fine-tuned and adjusted to taste. Excellent in app help makes it easy to learn Snapseed.

What makes Snapseed stand out

Versatile & powerful. Innovative touch based interface that's easy-to-use.

Photo sharing

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Flickr.

Platforms

iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac OSX.

Pixlr-o-matic

Turn your photos into art in three easy steps. Begin by picking a moody filter, then add a special effect (such as bokeh, scratches, rainbow or a vignette) and finally a border. Use the Shuffle effect for a random combination.

What makes Pixlr-o-matic stand out

Autodesk's Pixlr-o-matic is easy to use and free.

Photo Sharing

Facebook, Flickr, Imm.io and Dropbox.

Platforms

Android, iOS devices, Windows, Mac OSX.

Hipstamatic

Hipstamatic brings the romance of the analog experience into the digital age. With this unique camera app you can emulate analog photography by swapping your lens, flash, and film to create artistic photos. Shake the camera for a random combination. Hipstamatic creates beautiful, artful results and offers incredible versatility and control. "Digital photography never looked so analog"

What makes Hipstamatic stand out

The feeling of shooting with an analog camera.

Photo Sharing

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, and Tumblr. Order analog prints right from the app.

Platforms

iOS devices.

TouchRetouch

Remove undesirable elements from your photos by painting over them with your fingers with TouchRetouch. It works like magic.

What makes TouchRetouch stand out

Fast, easy and can save the day photo.

Photo sharing

Facebook, Flickr, Picasa and Twitter.

Platforms

iOS devices, Samsung Bada and Google Android.

For more app tips and tutorials, check out our library of Free App Tips for Mobile Photography.

15 Best Photo Apps for iPad and iPhone

March 21, 2011

Update

This list has been updated to reflect the latest notable apps.

Take a look at 8 Essential Photo Apps, Top Art Apps for Painting and New & Noteworthy Apps, in our library of free guides and app tips for iPhoneography.

MOBILE PHOTO EDITORS

Filterstorm

Filterstorm's unique touch interface makes it intuitive, easy and fun to use. The versatile and varied set of tools for editing photos includes powerful masking tools, that give you the ability to apply any of the filters by brush, color range, and gradient, as well as to the entire image. Selectively adjust your photo by painting on your adjustments. Filterstorm includes in-app video tutorials. Available for iPad and iPhone.

Photogene

Intuitive and easy to use to edit, enhance and share your photos on the go. Professional editing tools. Photogene is an excellent everyday photo editor.Available for iPad and iPhone.

PhotoForge

PhotoForge is a digital darkroom with an impressive range of tools; image manipulation, painting, retouching, effects, and color correction. PhotoForge is available for iPad and iPhone.

Adobe Photoshop Express

Adobe Photoshop Express is a free, basic mobile photo editor that lets you upload, view and share your photos. Available for iPhone, iPad and Android.

MOBILE PHOTO EFFECTS

Pano

Take beautiful, seamless 360° panoramic photos directly from your mobile device. Pano's handy semi-transparent guide helps you line up all your shots perfectly. For Android, iOS & Windows Phone 7.

QuadCamera

4-8 serial shoots are taken in sequence by the iPhone’s camera, then composed into a single shareable image with 6 selectable effects. QuadCamera is one of many toy apps by Takayuki Fukatsu that allows you to do fun and artistic things with the iPhone’s built-in camera.

TiltShift Generator

Create more dramatic-looking images, focused only on one spot. Processes your photos with blur, color, and brightness to apply radical depth-of-field effects. With TiltShift Generator you can make even flat cell phone images look like DSLR-quality shots with depth of field. Available for iPhone & iPad

ARTISTIC VINTAGE FILTER EFFECTS

CameraBag

Recreate the magic of film by emulating photography’s most beloved and iconic vintage cameras, film, and processing techniques. Effects can be stacked. CameraBag is easy to use with an intuitive, simple interface. For iPhone, iPad, Windows & Mac.

lo-mob

Retro lo-fi and photographic experiments on your iPhone. Select or snap a photo and lo-mob immediately generates a list of previews of all the different effects. Pick the one you want, tweak it if you like, and save or share your photo via e-mail as well as through a range of social media services. Available for iPhone and Windows Phone 7.

PictureShow

Choose between 37 analog presets or mix your own style with frames, light leaks, noise and vignetting. Features lens kit, random shuffle effects and social photo sharing. Find your own style and save it as a PictureShow recipe. For the iPhone.

Plastic Bullet

Randomly generates the look of many combinations of cameras, lenses and films turning your photos into gloriously unpredictable works of art. A true electronic lomography app that encourages you to explore the “happy accidents” of your photography. Share directly to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. Plastic Bullet gives you instant, high quality results. Available for iOS devices and Mac OSX.

Film Lab

Recreate the look of analog film stocks with Film Lab's impressive set of film and film styles from brands like Ilford, Kodak, AGFA, Calotype, FORTE, GAF, Polachrome, Rollei and Fuji. Transform your iPhone into a film camera with Film Lab.

FX Photo Studio

Tons of effects that can be stacked on each other, combined, randomised and saved as new presets. FX Photos Studio includes basic photo editing like cropping, rotating, flipping, as well as social photo sharing. For iOS devices and Mac OS X.

Hipstamatic

Hipstamatic brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras from the past. Swap between a variety of camera components, film, lenses, and flashes, for a variety of different looks and styles. Beautiful. For iPhone

Instagram

Instagram offers a selection of vintage inspired filters and borders but what really sets this app apart is its focus on social media and photo sharing. Easily share photos through Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, Foursquare and Twitter. Get started in no time with this Guide to Instagram. Available for iPhone & Android

For more iPhoneograpy app tips and tutorials, take a look at out our library of Free Guides for Mobile Photography and Art.

Top 20 Apps to Turn Your iPad into a Portable Creative Studio

June 8, 2010

Update

This list has been updated to reflect the latest notable apps.

Take a look at 8 Essential Photo Apps, Top Art Apps for Painting and New & Noteworthy Apps, in our library of free guides and app tips for iPhoneography.

MindNode

MindNodeis a beautiful and minimalist mind mapping app. A simple and effective way to brainstorm and easily map out and organize your ideas.

Platforms

iOS devices and Mac OS X.

Evernote

Remember everything. Build and organize your own digital scrapbook with notes, photos, links, web clips, audio and auto-synchronize to your Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad and Web. Magically makes text within snapshots searchable and includes geo-location information in notes. For research, to capture design, art, writing and blogging inspiration. Evernote is incredibly useful and free.

Platforms

iOS devices, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7, Mac OS X, Windows, Safari, Chrome and Firefox.

Moodboard

Make a Moodboard to visualise your ideas and jump-start your creativity. Capture a mood, feel or ambience with a collage of materials (photos, textures, sketches, text and color palettes). Easily share early design concepts with clients and colleagues to communicate your idea or use as a guide and inspiration for your own creative projects.

Platforms

iOS devices.

MaxJournal

MaxJournal for iPad

A simple and elegant diary or journal. Customize the font and size, add up to three photos per entry and password protect your journal. MaxJournal features tagging, time stamping and autosave.

Platforms

iPad.

My Writing Spot

My Writing Spot is a simple and powerful tool for writers. Minimalist and distraction free writing environment with easy-to-use dictionary and thesaurus. Word count and auto save. Work on your manuscript anywhere, on your iPhone, iPad or computer, synchronize and have access to the latest version for reading, writing and editing everywhere.

Platforms

iOS devices and Android.

Qvik Sketch Pro

Qvik Sketch

Quick, easy, effortless sketching, doodling and drawing tool. Qvik Sketch shades or inks your sketches in real-time, creating beautifully rendered drawings. Qvik Sketch Pro is fast and fun.

Platforms

iOS devices.

Adobe Ideas 1.0

AdobeIdeas

A simple, vector-based digital sketchbook. Capture and explore ideas on the go. Use the color scheming tool to create harmonized color palettes extracted from your photos or artwork. Email your sketches as PDF files for further editing in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. Adobe Ideasis a handy tool for designers and artists.

Platforms

iOS devices and Android.

Brushes

A portable art studio and powerful finger painting tool for creating original artwork featuring an advanced color picker, swatches, high quality brushes, layers, extreme zooming, and a simple yet deep interface. Paintings made with Brushes have been published on the cover of The New Yorker on several occasions.

Update 28th April 2012: Brushes is no longer in development. ArtRage and Procreate are now the two leading mobile natural media art apps on the market.

Platforms

ArtRage is available for iOS devices, Windows and Mac OS X whilst Procreate is available for the iPad.

SketchBook

SketchBook Pro

A versatile, elegant digital SketchBook for painting and drawing that features 75 art brushes, a smear brush, geometric shapes and a symmetrical drawing tool. Interact with SketchBook through a gesture-based multi-touch user interface.

Platforms

iOS devices and Android.

iMockups

This gem of a tool will save designers countless hours by helping you to quickly create mock-ups, layouts and wireframes for your web design, iPhone and iPad app projects. iMockups includes customizable navbars, tab panels, and autofilling Lorem Ipsum text. Intuitive and beautiful interface that takes full advantage of the breakthrough touchscreen device with iPad-optimized gesture controls.

Platforms

iPad.

StudioTrack

StudioTrack is a powerful audio recording and songwriting tool for musicians and producers who want to capture musical ideas and record songs on the go. Multitrack recording with up to 8 tracks, and bounce them down to add even more. Easily apply effects such as delay, reverb, EQ, and a compressor.

Platforms

iPad.

Korg iElectribe

Korg iElectribe is a perfectly faithful replica of the famous Korg Electribe•R analog drum machine. Easy and intuitive to use. Features 64 preset patterns, 8 supercharged effects and advanced Motion Sequencing that make patterns come alive.

Platforms

iPad.

Rehearsal

Rehearsal is a professional tool for actors that helps you learn your lines. Developed and tested by Hollywood actors. Highlight lines, play peekaboo to memorize your script. Record your script and play it back. Add notes and record different takes to explore your character. Ability to open your scripts directly from the email messages in which they arrive from your agent, casting or production. "Almost every show on TV has at least one actor that uses the app".

Platforms

iOS devices.

CameraBag

CameraBag recreates the magic of film by emulating photography’s most beloved and iconic vintage cameras, film, and processing techniques. Easy to use with an intuitive, simple interface. The perfect companion for your iPhone photography.

Platforms

iOS devices, Windows and Mac OS X.

TiltShift Generator

TiltShift Generator Fake DSLR

Make your photos look like they are shots with miniatures, toy camera images and fake DSLR by adding a radial blur to your photos to change the perception of depth. Move the sweet spot with your fingers and increase or decrease its size with TiltShift Generator – Fake DSLR.

Platforms

iPhone and iPad.

Fabric Stash

Manage, catalogue, match, track quantities and organize your fabrics with Fabric Stash. Perfect for quilters, sewers, interior decorators, fashion designers and fabric designers.

Platforms

iPhone and iPad.

HandiCraft

Quilting, knitting, crochet and embroidery on your iPad with more than 150 patterns with full instructions and HD video lessons. HandiCraft features patterns and step-by-step instructions displayed in a beautiful interface.

Platforms

iPad.

iZen Garden 2 – portable zen garden

iZen Garden 2

iZen Garden is a tranquil, Japanese rock garden, where you can find peace and create beauty. Arrange and resize objects like stones, seashells, fossils and butterflies, rake the sand into patterns and listen to soothing, ambient soundtracks.

Platforms

iPad.

Soundrop

Wonderfully fun and simple sound game. Tap the screen to draw lines and watch as a ball bounces off them and Soundrop creates music out of the pattern you create.

Platforms

iPhone and iPad.

Zen Bound 2

Zen Bound is a beautiful puzzle game with gorgeous graphics and sounds. Tilt and touch to wrap and twist the shapes to solve puzzles.

Platforms

iOS devices, Mac OS X and Windows.

For more app tips and tutorials, take a peek in our library of Free Guides for Creating Art and Editing Photos on Your iPad.

First Impressions of the iPad

June 3, 2010

I expected the iPad to be a revolutionary device and holding it in your hands, interacting with it, really is a revolutionary experience. It's the computer of the future.

It's fast!
It's powerful!
It's intuitive, responsive, easy and inviting to use
The iPad with its multi-touch screen and single tasking is the first computer that adapts to how humans work, while other computers expect us humans to adapt to how they work
The iPad apps I've tested embrace the idea of simplicity, beauty, fun and ease. Just like the iPad itself
The iPad is the first computer I've used where reading really feels inviting and user friendly
This tablet computer is wonderful for a new kind of story telling! The iPad can blur the line between reading, watching films, gaming and I can see how people could invent new ways of telling stories where images, film, audio, text and interactive experiences all blend together into a new kind of multimedia story telling
The digital environment on an iPad feels peaceful and focused
The touch screen is crisp and sharp and the book-size feels user friendly
The iPad lives up to its promise of long battery life
You need a bag and/or a slip to protect your iPad
You need a soft, lint-free cloth to remove marks left by your fingers

The iPad and iPhone are innovative devices that bring to mind Think Different, Apple's advertising campaign from 1997

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who see things differently. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

Now, what I'm really interested in, is how I can use this revolutionary tablet computer as a digital, portable, creative art studio! I'll be back on Tuesday with my findings to present a list of 20 outstanding creativity apps for the iPad.

Setting Up Shop. A Review of Big Cartel

May 4, 2010

A review of Big Cartel, an online e-commerce solution for creative entrepreneurs.

I recently set up a new store for my art and icons at Big Cartel. In just a couple of hours, I'd set up my shop, customised it and launched it. The same day I was making my first sales!

Big Cartel is a simple and beautiful shopping cart for independent artists, designers, crafters, writers, jewelers and musicians. It offers an easy-to-use e-commerce solution that gives users a way to create a small shop and sell their products through their own domain or a unique URL within the Big Cartel site. You can easily customize your Big Cartel store to fit your web site and brand.

FEATURES:

Quick and easy to set up and maintain
Easy to customize to fit your brand by changing the colours and graphics in the themes, or by using custom code and your own URL to match your site
A permanently free plan for up to five products (!)
Keep track of your inventory and automatically mark products as “Sold Out” when they’re gone
Coming soon: sell digital, downloadable products online, such as e-books, music, video, art, photography and software through Big Cartel's equally beautiful and easy-to-use sister service Pulley
You can turn on maintenance mode while you tinker with your store
Friendly and fast support
Customers can pay with a credit card or a PayPal account
View your dashboard to get an instant overview of how your online store is doing
You can reward loyal customers by creating discount codes to give them a percentage off their purchase

LIMITATIONS:

There's a limit of 100 products
No affiliate programme

COSTS:

Big Cartel doesn't take a percentage of your sales, instead there are three monthly plans. There's a completely free plan as well as monthly paid plans with expanded features. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your account at any time. For example, you could test the waters with the free plan, and upgrade when your hobby turns into a profession or simply when you feel ready for it. All you need to get started is a PayPal Business or Premier account. Here's how you sign up for a PayPal account and here are the current PayPal fees.

THOUGHTS:

Big Cartel is such a simple and beautiful e-commerce solution that I feel I can spend my time making art and icons instead of pouring my time into fiddling with web stuff which can be so time consuming for a one person creative indie business like mine. Big Cartel is an online shopping cart system that makes it easy to sell in style.