Santa apparently thought I was a good boy this year because he got me a shinny new iPhone 5! Since many people are starting the new year still getting to know their new gadgets I thought now would be the perfect time to list the five best iPhone apps for photographers.
Camera App
There are more apps than I can count that can take a photo on an iPhone but at the end of the day I always come back to the native Camera app. Why? One simple reason: I can get to it from the lock screen, making it the most convientent and quickest way to take a photo.
Yes I know that there are a lot of apps that can add filters and do crazy things but I prefer to take a clean photo and to stylize it in post. Plus no matter whether you are using Camera Awesome, Camera+, Top Camera, or any other camera app the quality of your pictures will all look close enough that no real app edges out the others. Thus the one you can get to the quickest becomes the best.
iPhoto
$4.99 on iTunes
iPhoto works well as a photo management app, but what many don’t realize is that it’s a powerful editor. The interface isn’t always as intuitive as I’d like, but once you figure out what everything does it easily outdoes Photoshop Express and other editors. iPhoto is what I turn to when I have serious work to do on a photo.
Snapseed
Free on iTunes
There is a reason that Apple named this the best iPad app of 2011. Even cooler is that now that it’s been bought by Google it’s free! Where as iPhoto is one of the most powerful editors, Snapseed is one of the easiest to use. If I’m looking to make a quick tweak or edit then Snapseed is the answer. Even cooler is that if you are one of those kind of people who likes effects; tilt shifts, blurs, and the full Instagram-look, then you’ll really enjoy Snapseeds newest update which added a whole mess of filters. More than anything though it’s the app’s UI that makes it feel so amazing. It’s fluid, simple, and fun.
TPE (The Photographer’s Ephemeris)
$8.99 on iTunes
I live at the beach and landscape photography is one of my biggest ways to relax. As a result TPE has become one of my go to tools for planning shoots. A basic weather app can tell you the exact time of a sunrise or sunset but what makes TPE worth almost $10 is that it allows you to pick a spot on a map and track what angle the sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset will be. Win. End of story. Must buy!
500px
Free on iTunes
I don’t have a 500px account. I don’t think my stuff is good enough to be on 500px. But you know who does have a 500px account? A whole bunch of photographers who know what they are doing. As a result 500px is the greatest place to visit for inspiration. From landscapes, to portraits, to everything in between; it’s the best app around when you are looking for magic.
Honorable Mentions
The Night Sky
$.99 on iTunes
I’m not an astronmer. About the only constellation I can pickout is Orion because of his belt. So when I’m out doing astrophotography this app is the bomb. It let’s me track what stars I’m seeing as well as the locations of the milky way and planets.
Color Splash
$.99 on iTunes
I’ve never been big on selective coloring. However if I was then Color Splash would be my app of choice. It’s simple to use and as long as you have a delicate touch you can do some really cool things with with it.
Pro HDR
$1.99 on iTunes
HDR isn’t a gimmick or filter. It’s a tool photographers use to get arround the fact that our camera sensors do not have the same dynamic range as our eyes. So what’s great about Pro HDR is that it takes two exposures and allows you to propperly mix them to your taste the same way you would in Photomatix or Photoshop.