The best apps for taking selfies

I actually hate the word “selfie.” It is one of those trendy words that has stuck around much longer than it was supposed to. It caught on, like a virus, and spread across the world. Even the President of the United States uses it.

I have to admit defeat here, and use the word to describe this list. We know you love to take pictures of yourself with a new outfit, a funny hat, or while eating a burrito. So, here is our list of best apps to take selfies.

Frontback

Taking a selfie is all fine and good when you want to show off what you look like. However, your mug doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. This app splits the screen so you can take a front and back picture at one time. Then, add captions, mentions, and hash tags, as well as setting the location, before sharing it to a number of different social networking accounts. This app is available for free.

Shots

Every time an app gets too popular with the grown ups, teens and “tweens” migrate to something a little cooler. First it was MySpace, then it was Facebook, and now it appears that even Instagram is getting the boot from 13 – 18 year olds. This app is quickly growing into the next big thing for young people. Maybe it’s because Justin Bieber lent his support. What makes this selfie-only social photography website so great? No comments. That’s right, you can have a million followers (like Bieber) and not have to read incredibly rude and offensive comments about your pictures. This app is available for free.

Pocketbooth

Every year, I go to the California State Fair and every year I get a picture with my friends in one of the photo booths. Sure, I could do it for free with this app, but what’s the fun in that? Actually, it can be a whole lot of fun. You can take a series of three or four photos and use a number of different photo effects, including “1975” and black-and-white. You can also switch the paper stock from glossy to matte and even have your pics professionally printed through ZINK hAppy. This app is available for $0.99.

Snapchat

This is one of those trendy social networking sites that is quickly replacing other photography sites like Instagram and Facebook. It stands out from the more popular sites because the images that are posted are not saved. If you take a picture and share it on Snapchat, it will simply disappear. Other users can take a screenshot of your picture, so don’t think your risqué photo will be gone forever. This app is available for free.

Everyday

I have a friend who takes a picture of himself drinking a beer every single day. He calls his photo series “Open Container for Life.” It’s quite clever, especially when he snaps a pic of himself taking a swig right as a police car drives by. This is the perfect app for someone looking to create their own daily photo montage. Using the previous day’s overlay, take a new picture using the same position from yesterday. Similar to Picr, you can also make a movie of your multiple pictures to see the changes you’ve made over time. This app is available for $2.99.

CamMe

Ever felt like your arms are too short for that self-portrait—and you just can’t hold the camera far enough away? Ever stopped to ask another person to take a picture of you and a friend? Now you can go solo, no matter how long your arms are or who’s in the picture! CamMe is the best hand gesture camera app that lets you take great pictures without even touching your iPhone or iPad. Just put your mobile device in front of you, raise and close your hand to activate the camera. This app is available for free.

BestMe Selfie Camera

Capture the best side of yourself with 100+ free & unique filters, designed with selfies in mind. These include the strange & fantastic Mirror filter, which gives you an instant identical twin or stunt double in your photos, and the unique Halo filter, which turns your photos black and white with a hint of color. Other features include support for Apple Watch and selfie sticks, and the ability to quickly share your selfies on your favorite social network. This app is available for free.

B612

Designed as the ultimate selfie app, B612 is loaded with fun and fresh features you won’t find anywhere else. Features include selfie videos: show the world how awesome you are with a 3 or 6 second video clip complete with sound, rear camera support: swipe the screen from top to bottom to show your friends the world through your eyes, filters, special effects like tilt-shift, collages and more. The app also includes a timer, and support for Bluetooth selfie sticks. This app is available for free.

Don’t forget to check out our previous best-of lists.

A previous version of this post was written by Lory Gil.