Ever since Apple updated its mobile operating system to iOS 7, I’ve both loved and hated the parallax effect. I love having moving backgrounds via the dynamic wallpaper. I love having images that appear to move with me. However, I hate that the technology has broken my ability to use my own photos without needing some third party app.
Wallgram is one of those third party apps that make it possible for you to use your own pictures as wallpaper while maintaining the cool parallax feature. Plus, you can use images from Instagram…
A whole new category of photography apps is starting to grow in the App Store. Since iOS 7, wallpaper apps have started to appear that allow you to add your own pictures, without them getting cropped and ruined. Wallpaper Fix is one. Wallgram is another.
To create your “Awesomized” photo (their words), find a picture on Instagram that you want to use as your wallpaper. You can log into Instagram to access your account, but you don’t have to have the social networking service in order to find pictures. You also don’t have to choose images from your own account, or even friends that you follow. Any public image can be used.
Scroll through Instagram pictures that appear on the screen. Then, select the picture by tapping the plus (+) button below it. It will be Awesomized and automatically saved in your device’s photo library. All you have to do after that is set that image as your wallpaper from your Settings app.
When you set the picture as your wallpaper in your Settings app (under Wallpaper & Brightness), be sure to center the image so that the clearest portion is in the middle of the screen. The surrounding blur will act as the extension of the photo so that it will fit within your rectangular screen without looking weird.
The effect works by creating multiple layers of the main image and then bluring the edges so they match the picture. This creates a boarder that, when used as wallpaper, is not really noticeable in most cases.
If, like me, your friends all post pictures of their cats, food, and feet, you may need a bit more content to explore. Wallgram has their own Instagram feed (@wallgramapp) where they post images that are perfectly designed to look particularly good with the parallax feature.
Update: Just to clarify, the watermark I originally mentioned in this post only appears on images that you use from @wallgram’s Instagram feed. Your own images, and other Instagram images will not have the watermark. I apologize for not explaining that more clearly.
If you are looking to personalize your parallax wallpaper a little more, this app will let you turn your Instagram pics into moving backgrounds.
Wallgram is available for $1.99. Download it in the App Store today.
Do you wish you could personalize your parallax wallpaper with Instagram pictures? Will you check this app out?