Pixiq

My name is Rhonda Tipton and I have always loved photography. I am known for taking photos with anything I have at my disposal…DSLR, Point & Shoot, iPhone…I guess you could say it is kind of an obsession. My blog can be found at RTiptonPhoto.com

If you are an amateur photographer or photography enthusiast, chances are, like me, you have a full-time (non-photography) job. Having a full-time job in addition to classes, I don’t always have room to carry my DSLR with me everywhere I go; however, there are many times I still want to take photos and that is where my smart phone comes in. The cameras on smart phones are getting better and better as time goes on. I currently have an iPhone 3GS and plan to upgrade to an iPhone 4 in the upcoming year.

There are several apps for photography available for the iPhone. Below are the apps I currently use.

Flickr – App that interfaces with your Flickr photo stream. [free]

PicasaFoto – App that interfaces with PicasaWeb [$0.99]

Camera+ – This app is from Lisa Bettany (@mostlylisa) and contains many scene, crops, effects and border options. I like all the apps, but this one is my favorite. [$0.99]

Best Camera – This app is from Chase Jarvis (@chasejarvis). It has several cool options and filters, but what I like better than the app itself is the online community and upload interface. [$2.99]

Hipstamatic – Awesome app that enables the creation of analog style photos (see example below). This app is extremely fun! [$1.99]

PhotoShop Express – An app from Adobe that allows you to adjust exposure, contrast, saturation and more. Also, has several effects and framing options. [Free]

Pro HDR – This app allows you to take a photo exposed for highlights and a photo exposed for shadows and combine them to create HDR images. [$1.99]

100 Cameras in 1 – This app is from Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff). It allows you to take a photo or choose from your library and apply one of one hundred different effects. [$1.99]

Color Splash – This app is pretty fun. It allows you to desaturate a photo and keep certain details color, see example below. [$0.99]

CameraBag – This app allows a photo to take on one of several different camera styles (see example below). [$1.99]

NOTE: Prices are as of 01/02/2011

Granted, taking photos on a smart phone is not as high quality as a high-end point-and-shoot or any DSLR, but it is better than not getting the shot at all. Also, a big advantage is the ability to share your photos on the web almost immediately. Lastly, the art of composition can be practiced and achieved on ANY camera.