14 Must Have Apps for the iPhone Photographer

by Bill Jones

The iPhone is great for a number of reasons and one of those reasons is it’s camera. Obviously it does have its limitations and can’t be compared to anything other than camera phones. However, when comparing quality, features, easy of use, and photo management, it’s really at the top of its class.

One other reason the Iphone stands out is its apps and more specifically its photography apps. With these apps you can shoot and process all from within your iPhone.

I have handpicked what I think every iPhone photographer should have installed to really help you get creative and have some fun.

Camera Bag

iPhone Photographer

TiltShift

iPhone Photographer

Artist’s Touch

iPhone Photographer

Quad Camera – Multi shot

iPhone Photographer

Toy Camera

iPhone Photographer

iFlashReady

iPhone Photographer

Color Splash

iPhone Photographer

Juxtaposer

iPhone Photographer

Photo FX

iPhone Photographer

Vintage B&W, Vintage Green, Vintage Red

iPhone Photographer

Pano

iPhone Photographer

Photogene

iPhone Photographer

We would love to here about your favorite Iphone photography apps. Leave a comment and let us know.

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40 Comments

@todayinart said:

Too bad I don’t have an iPhone… Maybe the new iPod Touch will come with a camera! That would would rock!
Bill Jones said:

I think I heard it might.
Luciano Fagundes said:

Take a look also on i-Toon App. It allows you to apply filters and text ballons on your pictures.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=324187245&mt=8

-Luciano
mikelite said:

I tossed Pano for Autostitch. It’s amazing. I uploaded some panoramas on my site, if you wanna check ‘em out

http://mikelightman.com/blog/?s=panorama&searchsubmit=Search
Bill Jones said:

@mikelite

Thanks for pointing out Autostitch.
@KCinAZ said:

For now I will stay with my Nikon. Hope they improve but the quality still isnt there.
fredrik ampler said:

I was hoping to find an “expensive SLR with a 70mm f1.8 emulator”, a portrait mode that will blur background and foreground. That would enable us to take stunning portraits where the person stands out. It would only work on the 3GS with autofocus (to figure out what’s actually background/foreground). Maybe this ships with the 3GS, anybody know?
wade holloway said:

Not sure that all of these are ‘must have’, but I absolutely love several of them including Camera Bag, Tilt Shift, and Toy Camera.
Thanks for the post. Tweeting and following now! Cheers!
Dave said:

Nice list, but it would have been nice if descriptions and prices were included
Anthony said:

Personally the iPhone’s camera will never make the grade, it’s handy but I would never put that much effort into using it as an addition to my existing kit. However, anyone who maybe interested in an iPhone app that may actually be of use to the more decerning photographer try PhotoBuddy!
Anders said:

No list is should be without ShakeItPhoto and Mill Colour.
Neil Corman said:

Nice list of apps. CameraBag is on the top of my list. This month put a couple of iPhone images in my gallery and asked a couple of people to point those out… in all instances they got it incorrect.

Yes still use the Nikon for my work, but the iPhone brings something else into the fold.
John said:

Photo Van Go Vintage also is a great app for color tinting over black + white images or photos. The app automatically converts color images before you begin any colorizing. Nice set of paint tools.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=327020334&mt=8
Marloes said:

Great apps! I am going to try a few. Also great apps: shakeitphoto to make polaroids and Hipstamatic for an old look.
Scott said:

Hipstamatic is my absolute favourite right now – great vintage instamatic look. Also Photoshop.com Mobile is fantastic for applying simple but great adjustments ala Photoshop.
Marion said:

DashofColor is pretty neat. turns the print black and white and then allows you to draw in the color.
Henrik said:

If you are interested in photography news, then this app maybe good too: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-infos/id375593972?mt=8&uo=6
photopro said:

What a fun list. 2 more apps I find myself using often is photocalc and Shoot Planner
Inventimo said:

FX Photo Studio is a good one, if you want to have it all in one place.
yuyus said:

will be awesome if we can use free apps and get superb photos!
Raina said:

My favourite is Hipstamatic… By far the best vintage/toy cam app out there!
TeamMP said:

Wow, you almost explained how every app works! Good job!
Tom said:

Best app Ive ever seen to showcase photos is Amoveo, it just came out, and would appreciate you reviewing it…
M Neelise said:

The camera of the iphone is getter better every time. I no longer use a digital camera on the trips to the mountains. Here are 30 more photo apps to check out.

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/04/17/the-top-30-best-photography-apps-for-iphone/
Kurt said:

A photography app I made that you might find interesting is called PhotoTangler (http://www.phototangler.com/iphone/), which offers a unique solution for blending images together.
richard said:

Good list. But I always start with the basic PS Express (Adobe Photoshop) app. I find it’s still the best to deal with when starting. Personally, I didn’t find much success with Tilt Shift Generator. I found an unusual one that does the same kind of thing only better, in my opinion. It’s called Yummy Cam and was designed to make your food pics look better…but it works well on humans, too. I also use Pixlormatic as a filter app. It’s okay, but I’m not in love with it.

If you’re looking for good comic making apps, I found that if you run the photo through PS Express, turn it B&W, turn up the contrast, then run it through a little-know app called “toonPAINT” then through “Halftone” (which to me is the absolute best comic creator app…though it still has some limitations) you can make some pretty good comic strips.

Hope that helps and happy pic shooting!
Shetalyn said:

Instagram. It’s very simple and let’s u share your pictures with people around the world and you can see other peoples images :)
Leeann said:

INSTAGRAM is my fav!!!! Dynamic Light is another good photo app!
AStringham said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll surely look at some of the apps you’ve recommended. especially camera bag and Tiltshift. You might wanna try Snap-A-Note. It has a built-in mailing system that allows you to send the pictures you take in your inbox for later editing. Keep on shooting!
Jeff said:

I would add to the list Posing App htt://posingapp.com This one teaches you to take photos before edit, in contrast to others :)
alex van der kleij said:

iZoner turns your iPhone into a exposure metering piece of equipment.
Beside exposure, also color and contrast are evaluated.

Now new version with real-time color histogram and hi/low tracking
Kh Mahmudul Alam said:

Check this cool app for iPhone. Manage your privacy when shooting for random snaps and sharing. This should be a great addition to iPhone photography apps and tools with built in Facebook, Twitter and Flickr integration and photo partial photo blurring feature.

http://itunes.apple.com/ng/app/privacy-matters/id499252816?mt=8
michelle said:

i personally love instagram. the photo samples above look great. there are more good photo aps. check them out here http://darktips.com/5-photo-apps-for-your-iphone/
Curly Phil said:

Hey all. My fav’e apps for shooting on the iphone are Pro Camera (lets you select focus point and exposure indipendantly) 645 Pro gives very high detail but is a little twitchy without a tripod or sturdy shooting suport. Hipstamatic will always have a place in my heart :-) and HDR Pro. Snapseed is my ‘goto’ first basic editing app. It’s a little pricy at about £4 but it’s quite amazing what it can do. It also has a TiltShift section, so that saves on buying the TiltShift app :-) AutoStitch is an awesome panoramic app and finish off with ReTouch (may be Touch-ReTouch) a real must have to remove unwanted blemishes such as telegraph wires across a sky. Once I even removed about 20 people from a scene infront of a Roman amphitheater :-)
If you want to see what can be done with these few apps check out my Flickr page (cheeky I know) flickr.com/photos/curlyphil/
scarlet daniels said:

hey what i love pastel filter, do you know the best apps with the best pastel filter? thx
wally said:

Who love photography will love this app too!
http://itunes.apple.com/app/about-photography/id545247219
Travis said:

My friend just released this revolutionizing iPad photo browser with zoomable thumbnails, titles, captions, and search. A must for any photographer. Check it out…
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/focus-point/id571326153?ls=1&mt=8
http://focuspointapp.com/
Frank said:

Does anyone know if there is an app that takes portraits where you can have the second image in a brandy glass. I remember those when I was growing up.
stonebyter said:

Something newly released to check out:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/color-blaze/id591600562?l=de&ls=1&mt=8
Turning pictures in black/white and painting on it to bring colors back.
GG said:

I would also add the panoramic photo app Cycloramic