12 ways to take beautiful photos on your iPhone

I do love taking photos with my big digital SLR, but sometimes it’s much more fun and convenient to shoot away with my iPhone {as you probably know, I’m addicted to it!}. I’ve done a little research and spent a little money on iPhone photography apps to share the best out there with you all. Here are the best apps available and what they can do:

1. Instagram: free

This app is a two-in-one goody bag, and one of my all time favourites. It allows you take great photos and add a variety of fun effects to your photos, but also allows you to share with your friends too. You can share your photos on Instagram, as well as Facebook, Twitter and more.
Love: Instagram gives you the ability to take a photo and then test out an array of effects on your pic to see which you like best. I’ve used the Early Bird effect above. I also love that it has an active community of users sharing photos.

2. PictureShow: $1.19

Play with light effects {oh beautiful bokeh!}, frames, noise, depth of field, vignet {even if you have no idea what they do} and find the perfect effect for your photo.
Love: I am loving the shape of the photos, and most of all the ability to easily share on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Blogger or via email.

3. CameraBag: $2.49

This app is truckloads of fun with effects like instant {polaroid}, 1962, cinema, fisheye {used above}, magazine and lolo. It’s easy to use and creates beautiful pictures that would work well with a range of different blogging niches.
Love: CameraBag has beautifully crisp black & whites {no bland shades of grey} and allows you to save the same photo unlimited times with each effect you apply.

4. PocketBooth: $1.19

If you’re a lover of photo booths then PocketBooth is the app for you, allowing you to play around and have some fun. You can select your settings prior to shooting your photo, choosing from 1975, antique, black and white, colour or sepia.
Love: It’s clean, uncomplicated & easy to use.

5. Diptic: $2.49

This app is not about effects but more about combining multiple photos from your camera roll in one of many templates. You can choose between a black or white frame, as well as how many photos you’d like to add to the template, and then customise them {maginify, move, shrink} once in the template.
Love: I love the app full stop. I love the neat combining of photos, and how great the finished product looks.

6. Hipstamatic: $2.49

This app is the very reason I lusted over an iPhone for so long. It was the very first app I purchased and the one I use the most often. I love it, plain and simple. It’s easy to use, as are most apps, you just choose the lens and film combination that you like and shoot away.
Love: My favourite combinations are Betty XL & DreamCanvas {as seen above} and Ben Watts lens & Big Up film.

7. ShakeItPhoto: $2.49

Shake it like a polaroid picture! No seriously, you can shake your polaroid to make it develop. This cool app is really easy to use. There are no difficult decisions to make {no array of effects to pore over}. Just shoot, and process. Easy!
Love: Simple, fun & old school style.

8. SuperPopCam: $1.19

Meet my new favourite app and with sweetly named effects like hollywood, violet fizz & lemonade, what’s not to love?
Love: Simply swipe across after taking a photo {or using one from your camera roll} to see the array of different effects, mostly vintage in style.

9. TiltShiftFocus: $1.19

I love a little bit of blur {more technically known as ‘depth of field’} and so when I came across TiltShiftFocus I was in heaven. After taking a photo choose what you want in focus, and the app will blur the rest.
Love: Once you download the app, it automatically appears in Instagram so you can use it there. No uploading or fancy technical knowledge required! See below to see how the above image appears once used with Instagram.

10. Halftone: $1.19

Get creative with this simple app and add captions, effects, stamps and inject a little fun into your pictures.
Love: Usually something like this would require a whole host of photoshop skills, but this is a breeze to use.

11. Infinicam: $2.49

Another of the more expensive photography apps {not by much, mind you} Infinicam is fun, fresh and another new favourite. I’ve used the poolside effect in the above photo, but there are loads to choose from, some with creative borders too.
Love: You can create your on set of styles and save them as favourites, so you can use the same effects over and over again with ease.

12. Color Splash: $1.19

I have to admit, this isn’t one of my favourite apps, and I’d only using it sparingly but it is quite a cool effect. Take a photo and the app will convert it to black and white, and then paint with your finger to uncover the colour in your photo.
Love: The video tutorials explain everything with ease, so no frustrating reading of instructions. Phew!

Do you have any photography apps that you’d like to add to the list? What’s your favourite photo app?

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Please note: Prices are in Australian dollars.

35 thoughts on “12 ways to take beautiful photos on your iPhone”

  1. wow! I didn't know they had that many LOL… i will have to try them out soon ( i get me an iphone 4 next week woohoo. I have waited so damn long for it too. 🙂 xxx

  2. I have a lot of the same ones. I love messing around with the apps for the Iphone 🙂 Thanks for sharing I had not heard of Halftone and I like the effects it has.

  3. I spent some $$ on a few of these after reading your post. Just a quick note – your prices are for US? I paid 2.49 for the ones you listed as being 1.99 🙂

  4. Thanks so much for this post, I've been looking for some new photography apps.

    I'm obsessed with taking photos too, and the iPhone is just so much easier than lugging around my DSLR.

    I'm also addicted to Instagram, and there are a couple you mentioned that I haven't got, so will get onto that.

    I also like camera+ as I still have an iPhone 3GS and I find it takes better pictures. I also like Dynamic Light for some great effects. xxx

  5. Wowsers! Thanks a bunch for this fabulous amount of brain fizzing overload – now I have to spend MORE money on itunes!

    I really appreciate you sharing how you do your groovy photos, I am new to your blog (and looooove it by the way) and often wondered how you 'publish' such lovely images.

    Well done you, for sharing the love.

    Mwah,
    B

  6. Thanks for this great post! I have a few of these but will definitely be purchasing the rest!

    I recently purchased CrossProcess which is really great as well. Also obsessed with my iPhone – good to know Im not alone out there!

    Leah X

  7. I don't have an iPhone *sigh* but play with hubby's quite a bit. However, I can't convince him to download apps. Think I might have to get him to look at this post. May just win him over with this! hehe!!
    The HalfTone is classic! Even I could look good in pix using that! 😉

  8. I have recently converted to a HTC Incredible S after an unfortunate incident with my Iphone being stolen. I did have a lot of apps on my Iphone for photo editing and I will definitely have to invest in some of these for my HTC. Thanks for the info 🙂

  9. THANKS fat mum slim. That was super informative, love this post, and I am now $5 down in my bank account 🙂 Well spent.

    any other post on iPhone apps and tips would be greatly appreciated.

  10. Great post Chantelle. I love my DSLR but sometimes it's just too clunky to go everywhere with me. The only app I've been using is Hipstamatic but I'm definitely going to check out some the otehr ones you suggested. Thanks for the tips!

  11. Thank you! I must get PocketBooth – my sister and I wanted to get photo booth pics a few months ago but could only find a colour, 1 shot booth.

    Another you might like is Polarize – it converts a regular photo into a Polaroid.

    Sam x

  12. Have you tried hipstamatic? choose your film, flash, lens..it's great fun if you are into camera bits n pieces..i love it!

  13. Aaah – I spent last night trying different iphone photo apps to be part of the June Challenge and the ones I found were poo (technical term). Thanks so much for this post. Will download away.

  14. i've only just started using instagram as a result of the 30 day photo challenge. I'm loving it! Can't believe this week was the first time i had heard of it.

  15. Great post 🙂 I hope it was my Lego shots that inspired your toy pics.

    Great read, I'm always on the look out for new photo apps..I'm actually surprised that Camera+ is not on the list. If you haven't tired it you really should – easily the best photo app for the iPhone. http://campl.us/

  16. I have serious instagram envy. I have an android phone and have not yet found anything as good. Also the camera on my phone is only awesome in natural light. such a bummer.

  17. Wow I never realised there were so many, i have hipstamatic too and i love it. I also have retrocamera which lets you apply textures as well as other vintage prettiness.

    b x

    • Retrocamera is my favourite at the moment but I can't wait to try a few of the others (only just discovered your blog and am thrilled)

  18. Adobe photoshop express is another freebie, good for cheapskates like me! It has some of the cool things you get on photoshop, like sketch and lots of themes etc. I think it's great!

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