Of all the things we do with our iPhones, one of the most popular is certainly taking and sharing photos. The best part is the iPhone allows us to do all the basics without even connecting to a computer. However, there are apps available on the App Store that will help you take better photos and edit them before you upload them to MobileMe, Facebook or Twitter. I’ve gathered a few of the best ones below.
Best Camera: Not a bad name for an iPhone camera app, especially if it’s created by world-renowned photographer Chase Jarvis. This app does a little bit of everything for the iPhone photographer, including the ability for users to enhance images with a selection of one-touch filters. The filters are based on some of Jarvis’ most well-known work like Jewel, Paris, Slate, and Candy. You can share photos from within the app directly to Twitter, Facebook, email or thebestcamera.com. Best Camera costs $2.99.
Camera Zoom 2: This apps one of the most requested features for the iPhone camera: zoom. Camera Zoom 2 allows you to zoom in and out in real-time while taking a photo. What’s great about this app is that the zoom is a simple slider in the photo window — just tap and slide and you will zoom. Tapping anywhere on the screen will snap the picture. Camera Zoom costs $0.99.
ColorSplash: This is one of those apps that does something I never would have thought possible on an iPhone. With ColorSplash you can turn a photo to black and white, while keeping areas you select color. A very dramatic effect. ColorSplash costs $1.99.
Photogene: Here is a fairly comprehensive set of editing tools for iPhone photos. Photogene allows you to crop, sharpen, correct colors manually or automatically, adjust exposure and contrast, straighten a tilted image, add frame effects, text bubbles and many other things. This is like the Swiss Army Knife of editing tools for the iPhone. Photogene costs $2.99.
Pano: Panoramic photos are possible on the iPhone with Pano. You do not need any other software to make panoramic photos, just an iPhone and Pano. You can take panoramas with up to 16 photos and then stitch them together with features like a semi-transparent guide to line up the photos. Pano also features blending and color-correction algorithms. Pano costs $2.99.
Night Camera: This solves one of my biggest problems with any camera. Shooting in low-light situations is always difficult — having a solution on the iPhone just makes me want to use it more. Night Camera uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to trigger the shutter when the camera is stable. It features three modes: Standard, Stable and Timer. Night Camera costs $0.99.
Photo fx: There are some serious filters available in this app. You can choose from 32 filters in six categories and 327 presets. Filters include Pro Mist, Center Spot, Close-up Lens, Reflector, Star, Pencil and Polarizer. There are also two add-on groups called Portrait fx and Color fx. Photo fx costs $2.99.
DSLR Camera Remote: Your iPhone as a remote — not a bad idea at all. With this app you can plug your camera into your computer and then control your Canon EOS or Nikon DSLR camera from your phone. You can adjust settings, fire the shutter, review images and get a live viewfinder preview, among other things. DSLR Camera Remote requires free server software and a Wi-Fi connection. The iPhone app costs $19.99.
Perfectly Clear: Here is another problem I have with photos — they look washed out. Perfectly Clear applies corrections to your photos automatically, taking that flatness out. The app looks at exposure, contrast, color vibrancy, sharpen and tint removal when making its adjustments.
Light: If you want to spice up your photos with a little light and shadow, this is the app for you. You can add realistic lighting effects to any image using presets in the app. For instance, if you took an image that looks bland, you can add the shadow from a Georgian window to the background. Very slick. Light costs $1.99.