OCCUPYING 30

By now you heard of Instagram, and if you haven’t I suggest you go goggle it. It’s an awesome iphone app (Android users to get it soon I heard) that allows you to take photos and share them with a Social Network. It’s nifty. Luckily, there’s an online site that enables browsing outside of the iPhone. Go check out my stuff:
http://web.stagram.com/n/waggy3eb/

Anyway. Onto the post. I partake on daily postings to Instagram. Whether it’s #GPOY (Gratuitous Picture Of Yourself), work-view pictures (mostly Brooklyn Bridge) and daily sightings. Lately, I’ve been utilizing some iPhone photo apps to enhance my photos. And, I wanted to share! Consider this an almost how-to!

Let’s get started…

• Dynamic Light ($.99)
  
  This is by far my favorite app for effects. I use it mostly for turning my photos into HDR images. In total, it has over 20 effects you can apply to already taken photos. You can also get creative by applying an effect to a photo and then opening that saved photo in the app again and applying another effect. FYI: Double HDR’ing an image makes it look like ass. Outside of the ‘Overcooked HDR’ effect, my favorites are: Motion, Urban Art and Mysterious light.
  Also, get creative! Once you pick an effect and load an image, you can change where the FX and light hit the image. To do so, you’ll see a little turn-style type object on the right side, and tapping it changes from Overall View to FX to Lighting. And then you can move the middle scroll bar left/right depending on what you think looks best. You can also manually set settings (bottom right). You can modify the radius, smoothness and color boost. Try out a lot fo combos before just settling.
  
  Buy: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dynamic-light/id422494924?mt=8
  
  
•  PhotoForge2 ($1.99)
  
• This app is an all-out photo editing system. It allows layers, resizing, image adjusting. However, it’s the FX ‘Pop! Cam’ that I utilize the most. It’s next to impossible to explain what I do with this app. I’d suggest trying out all of it’s features, ESP the POP! Cam FX. And with the PopCam, use the randomize option. You’ll be shocked at how well some of the effects turn out.
  
  
  Buy: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photoforge2/id435789422?mt=8
  
  
• Pictureshow ($1.99)
  This app I use the most when it comes to pictures of people or animals. For some reason, I just haven’t managed to perfect using HDR on such things. This app though allows me to pull off some old school mySpace type shots (the old angel shot is now replaced with the ‘touched up’ shot.). Anyway, I’m pretty regardless! :P
  So, the app… I use the randomize option the most. It simply juggles random effects and boom, you can export and save. The coolest feature is the ability to SAVE a random effect. I love this feature. Once I randomized my photo and loved how it turned out and wanted to apply it to others. So, I simply ‘HEART’ (there’s a heart in the top left) the effect and could apply it in the future with the same juggled effects. Again, this app has a LOT of features you should explore.
  
  BUY: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pictureshow/id324243655?mt=8
  
  
• Frame Magic ($0.99)
  This app is for combined photos into one, and sectionalizing (I just made that word up I guess) them as you see best.
  
  Free (light version): http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/frame-magic-lite/id460296537?mt=8
  
  
  Full version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/frame-magic/id457447080?mt=8
  
  
• Labelbox (FREE!)
  Put some labels onto your image! I JUST got this (today, actually) and am trying to figure out how to utilize it best.
  I want to test out applying labels prior to other edits and also mid edit (I often use Dynamic Light and then apply effects from Photoforge2 to the saved image).
  
  
  Get it here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/labelbox/id417694704?mt=8
  
  
• Tiny Planets Photos ($0.99)
  This app was suggested to me by a friend on Instagram. I’ve been in love ever since! What it does is basically twirls, yes TWIRLS, you’re image. Honestly, that’s the best way to explain it. See below:
  Before
  After
  
  
  Buy: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tiny-planet-photos/id425996445?mt=8
  
  
• Percolator ($1.99)
  One of my new favorites! This one is harder to describe… and even harder to explain how to use. I’m honestly only 3 days deep with using it and haven’t perfected it yet. Here’s one of the outcomes of me testing it out.
  
  Weird eh?
  
  Anyway. Just get it and give it a whirl. It’s right behind Dynamic Light on my favorites list.
  
  
  
  
  Buy: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/percolator/id385454903?mt=8
  
  

And that’s it! The best advice I can give is to take a picture, and start messing around with that same photo in all the apps. Mix some filters/effects and etc. Eventually you’ll find something that turns out amazing. Oh, and friend me on Instagram! The username is waggy3eb

XOXO.