iPhoneography - Part 3, Special Effects Apps

by Carol H.

Wow, we have been having awesome conversations about mobile photography over the course of this series. Many thanks to all of you who have shared your process and the apps you are using. So good. Are you an Android user who also has an iPad? Check out Colleen Gutschenritter’s comment about how she uses her iPad to process her Android pics using all the groovy apps available at the Apple store. Did you miss Part 2? Click HERE to view the post and most importantly, the comments.

Ah, so many apps, so little time! Using special effects apps is pure playtime! With them you can convert your photographs to illustrations, or line art…and all while you are watching Downton Abbey (you know who you are!)

On my 5th and last  post of this series, I will include a short list of other apps that I didn't cover in this series, but that you  might want to investigate. In the meantime, here are 3 of my favorite special effects apps:

ToonCamera – This is a fun little app that applies cartoonish filters to photos as well as video. The challenge with this or any cartoon-type app is recognizing an image or video opportunity that is tune-worthy. Some images and video look awesome as line drawings and others, not so much! Occasionally the tune effect can make faces look like putty while another will create dark shadows and eye lines that look a bit creepy! This app is so much fun to play with though that I think its worth the time to experiment – especially with video! Droid users can check out Toon Camera by Huboro.

Glaze – I know I’m not the only one addicted to this wonderful app. With it you can create a variety of painterly effects pretty quickly with a variety of pre-set actions. You can also combine up to 4 of the pre-sets to create your own custom look by using the tool kit (see lower right of the Glaze screen.) I couldn’t find a comparable app for the Android so if you are a Droid user, please let us know what you are using to create painterly effects.

Tangled FX –The first time I saw an image processed with this app, my jaw dropped, literally! Dan Marcolina posted an image on IG with the hashtag #tangledfx. Thank you Dan! After gushing all over this image in the comments section of his IG image, I rushed on over to the Apple Store and downloaded it. I have to say, watching this app do its thing with an image is quite mesmerizing! It applies tangly, furry, electric-looking fibers to your photo. You can take pictures in-app or load an image from your camera roll. There are several pre-sets you can apply with the ability to fine tune the look with several controls for contrast, scale factor, sharpness, smudging, etc. One thing to remember when you are ready to save your image – be sure to tap the center top area to switch the image from “preview” to “full size” and wait until it has finished processing the full-sized image, then save and/or share. Sorry Android users, could not find anything even remotely close to this. Let us know if you have found a comparable.

Do you use special effects apps and if so, what are they? Leave a comment to let us know and show us your wonderful creations on the Focusing On Life Flickr group or on Instagram and tag #focusingonlife.

The 4^th installment of iPhoneography, App Stacking, will be posted on 4/10/13.