28 Great iPhone Photography and Video Editing Apps

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camera+Since the launch of the the photo sharing iPhone app Instagram there seems to have been a huge growth in photography apps. With so many options available it’s really easy to edit a photo, add a filter and make it look beautiful and professional. With this in mind here are some of the best photography and video apps I personally use and ones that I feel are worth having on your iPhone.

Camera+ I thought I would start with this one as this is one app that most people have. Camera+ lets you create a picture that can look truly beautiful. You can adjust the focus and exposure, use the flashlight, set a timer, crop the image and set a scene mode like in a real digital camera. If you need help to line up your shot there is also a grid to guide you. There is a huge range of effects and filters to enhance your picture. After you have finished up you can add borders and save or share to Twitter and Facebook. There is even an undo button if you delete a picture before you saved it and want to get it back.

Dynamic Light This photography app is one that you won’t use all the time but when you do it creates some great effects. It takes your picture and gives it a realistic HDR look. The best kind of photos to use with this app are ones with lots of sky and big clouds. The app then adds loads of texture and colour to it and transforms it into an amazing picture. You can also change the colour and tone from a selection available. It is all done by one dial on screen and you simple move it left or right depending how much of an effect you want to use.

Noir Photo This is a fairly new app and one I am still trying out on some of my pictures. The app turns your picture into a black and white image with light shining on a selected part of you photo. You can then add a hint of colour for example sepia, silver, blue-gray and use touch and pinch controls to adjust the brightness and exposure. Easy to use straight from the camera roll and saves with the tap of a button.

Diptic A great app for putting together multiple photos into one place. There are 19 layouts to choose from which are divided into sections of 2, 3 or 4. You choose the one you want to use and then simply tap to add an image. You can change the border colours and width and if you want to adjust the dimensions of these dividers there is an in-app purchase for that. Each photo can be indivdually edited. It can be rotated or you can zoom in or mirror it. Then there is the normal brightness, colour and contrast adjustments.

TiltShift Generator A great app for adding that miniature effect. It is also ideal if you want to blur out parts of the photo and draw attention to one part of it. It offers a radial or linear blur, vignetting control and you adjust the contrast and saturation. Very simple to upload photos or take within the app and you can then save to your camera roll.

Hipstamatic A fun app to give your pictures that plastic toy camera effect. This is an app with a great user interface and fun sounds to go with it. Choose different lenses, flashes and films each offering different effects. The app gives a very unique look to your pictures and can make an ordinary photograph look very professional.

Swankolab Another great app with an amazing UI and sound effects. This will take you back to the days of having a darkroom. Use chemicals and a formula book to alter your photos to a unique look. There is even a developing tray to watch them transform! There is no limit to the effects you can create with this app as you can choose which colour chemicals and effects you add or simply follow the formula book.

plastic bullet appAdobe Photoshop Express One of the first photography apps I used for my photos and again is probably one app you will already have. Great for improving and editing your image. Choose from filters, different colours, borders and basics like crop and rotate. A great app to start you off if you are new to editing your photographs.

Iris Photo Suite A full photo suite of effects and filters. You have a choice of 27 filters ranging from cross-process, retro to split tone and blueprint. You are sure to find a filter you will want to use. Then there are 27 different textures to apply to your picture. Great for adding a unique look. Within the app there is also the option to layer to combine multiple captures.

Photoshake A fun app to play around with your images. This works in a similar way to the Diptic app. It is used to combine multiple photographs together. There are 6 themes, Single photo, mulitphoto, Instantphoto, Gridphoto, widephoto and wallpaper. You can take a photo within the app or from your camera roll. Tap all the ones you want to add, give it a little shake and it then adds them to the chosen grid. Then you can change the borders and colours and add text should you wish. You can also add balloon comments and stickers. Supports most social networks giving you the option to upload them and share with friends.

photo messPicture Show Another app that uses the toy camera effects. This one is very flexible and you can mix and match each one. There are 45 styles and lots of frames to choose from. You can add light leaks to your picture and different noise effects. There is the basic cropping and rotating and changing of colour. There is also a lens kit to give your picture a single, quad, Vertical quad or multi-exposure. It is very easy to use and adjust and once you have a completed image simply save or share via your social network.

FX Photo Studio comes with lots of effects and filters to adjust your pictures. Filters like tiltshift, vintage, lomo,paint, blur and textures. There is the usual crop and rotate and you can add more than one effect to a picture. Each filter is sorted into set catergories for easy browsing. You can take within the app or use from your camera roll. It is very easy to use, once you have applied the filter you can adjust the edges and contrast to your desired range. There are lots of unusual filters within this app so it is definitely ideal if you want to have a picture with a different look.

Colour Splash – This app basically turns your picture into black and white. You then decide which chosen area of the photo you would like colour showing through and ‘paint’ the colour back. It draws the attention to a part of a photo and you can make some great photos with it. You use your finger as the brush to paint the colour back on. You can zoom in for delicate small areas so you don’t go over into another colour. It is all touch and zoom controls and easy to use.

Phototreats – Compared to others this app only offers a few filters and effects. I have kept it though because the ones it does have are not similar to the others. The filters give extra light and colour, even a snowy effect which I am sure you may have seen around christmas time. There are additional packs you can buy in-app and you can see what they look like before you make any purhase.

PocketBooth A fun app to use giving you the feel of using an old style photobooth. You can use either front or back facing camera and it offers several effects to add to the picture, black and white, sepia, antique and 1975. You can also use the flash if need be. It is also Airprint enabled and you can easily save to your camera roll. Just press the big button at the bottom and the app starts snapping the pictures one by one then you just wait for them to develop and appear.

Incredibooth This is very similar to Pocketbooth but just with a different user interface. Offers four different filters to adjust your picture. You can also share the pictures seperately or all in one strip. Again you just press the button and wait for the pictures to be taken. All the fun of a real photobooth!

Plastic Bullet Camera This is definitely not an app to be used very often. It gives an aquired random look and not one you would want to use all the time. Take a photo or upload from your camera roll. Then tap the adjust button and your image will appear several times with random effects added. You keep tapping until you find one you like. When you do you simply tap and save it. It can turn a plain and simple photo into an interesting and beautiful picture.

Pocket Labeler Once you have uploaded or taken a picture you can then add captions and design borders or a wallpaper. All the labels you type with text can be moved around your picture and scaled to the right size. There is a good choice of colours to match your designs. Great if you want to add sayings, jokes or just a birthday wish!

Labelbox – Another labelling app but this one again offers something a little different to the other one. Add your picture and then add a label from a range of colours and materials. Touch to move the text and fit it where ever you choose. There are 9 different styles to choose from and more if you wish to buy in-app. You can then save or share your image.

Happysnapper This is yet another app to have a little fun with. It enables you to add stickers to your photos and add text on them if you like. Not an app you would use all the time but worth having in your folder. Simply pick a sticker, write a message and pop it where you want. You can save to camera roll or share on your with your friends.

iDarkroom This is another app that offers great filters but also has some effects that others don’t offer. There are 20 filters to choose from with the option of using one of the eleven paper effects as well. There is a good range of light effects including the popular bokeh. Then it also offers noise, frames and vignette effects.

Hipstamatic AppPhoto Mess This is an app to create lots of photos on one screenshot but not in the same way the Diptic app does. You can scatter your photos where ever you want on screen and alter the size of it as well. You can adjust the borders and background colours. You can add as many pictures as you can fit into it. Great for showing all your pictures in one place.

HalfCamera Fun for doing the half frame camera effect. Take up to 12 pictures on a realistic film roll. Choose two that you like near each other and add them together. You can also create text inbetween them if you like. There are also 11 effects you can use to adjust your picture.

Lo Mob This app offers lo-fi adjustments to your picture. Simply take a picture and it will show you a huge range of filters and what your picture will look like with that effect. It offers 39 filters altogether and you can edit the colours, blur and vignetting. It also offers several frames that others don’t. Just some of the filters in the app are photocards, vintage 35mm slides,classic square vintage and old emulsions.

iMovie I think a lot of people will have this already but it is worth a mention. Great for editing your videos and adding music and text. Create amazing slideshows with your photos or do a mix of both. Great for any budding movie maker!

Silent Film Director This is a fun video editing app and one I have really enjoyed using. It helps you in creating silent movie clips. There are a range of styles to use, 20’s, 60’s, 70’s, Black & White, sepia and vintage. Then there are some fun sound tracks you can add or simply upload from your device. You can adjust the speed of the video to make it that little bit funnier and is one app that is sure to bring a few laughs.

iMajicam Another video editing app offering fun filters. There are 36 altogether. There is a mix ranging from magnify, water, kaleido, black and white, old film and sketch. All easy to use, just start your camera and you can see what it will look like. Quite a few of the filters can be adjusted as well.

8mm Vintage Camera An app to make your videos look old and retro. It uses different films and lenses and lets you choose from 25 different looks. Effects like light leaks, frames, scratches and great retro colours. There are 5 lenses and 5 films. You can have the sound on or do a silent movie it is up to you! Great for turning your clips into something a little different.

So there you have it, my huge iPhone photography app collection. Do you use any of these or have a personal favorite not listed? Let us know in the comments below.

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13 Comments on “28 Great iPhone Photography and Video Editing Apps”

  1. David Bennett

    I’d like to see a review of the best photo editing apps for the iPad using images that have been imported from a decent camera via the camera connector. Any chance of that?

  2. Max Berkowitz

    It’s nice to see iPhone photography covered as a subject however I’m not sure Instagram is responsible for a sudden jump in photography [iPhoneography] apps as they have been around since the 1st gen iPhone.

    What Instagram has successfully accomplished is creating an easy to use platform for sharing photos in a social manner. Many great iPhoneographers have chosen IG as a way of sharing and commenting on photos…Twitter for photography you might say. With that being said it also seems to be a daily diary for most, here’s a picture of my meal, my beer, my bento box, whatever.

    This list of photo apps is fantastic for those unfamiliar as to which ones are avaiable. Camera+ is, for my money, one of the very best available as it has a wonderful UI, preset but adjustable filters, lighting presets, and is both usable as a camera replacement shooter or light table editing app.

    One editing app popular among iPhoneographers is Filterstorm which allows for fine tuning adjustments such as lighting, color & contrast. I’m not particular to Filterstorms UI, but that’s just me.

    Juxtaposer is another great app for layering images, creating image cut outs or stamps that can then be duplicated over and over again.

    Lastly, BlurFX is a wonderful app for creating different types of blurred backgrounds or subjective focus.

    Max Berkowitz
    MAXSiPHOTOS

  3. Rob

    Fantastic, utterly fantastic. I have a selection of apps on my iPhone already but am always looking for something extra. I can now decided based upon this rather than random purchases and app store reviews.

  4. Anonymous

    A decent round up – you’re missing two of the most powerful photos apps available for the iPhone: Filterstorm and Tiffen Photo FX. Also, with the exception of just a few, nearly all of the apps mentioned have been around long before instagram. I’m not sure IG has had much to do with any “growth” in photography apps. Also, though I appreciate your effort in summarizing these apps, I have to disagree that popping a filter on an image makes it look “beautiful and professional.” In fact, many images I see end up suffering from a mis-use of pre-fab filters. In any event, nice job and thanks for sharing.

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