Photography

Blur transforms ordinary pictures into stunning iOS wallpapers

Now that we all have iOS 7 installed on our iPhones, we are frantically looking for wallpapers that compliment the new design. Sure, Apple’s included Dynamic wallpapers are pretty cool with the way they move around, but you only get one style.

Blur turns any image into an iOS 7 style wallpaper with one simple control. Take a picture of your dog and turn it into cool looking wallpaper for your Home screen and it won’t even look like your dog anymore…

Instagram updated with iOS 7 style UI, larger and higher resolution photos

Joining the growing trend of revamping App Store software for iOS 7 look and feel, Facebook-owned Instagram just rushed out a new version of its iPhone and iPod touch app. It's bringing with it flattened, minimalistic design focused on edge-to-edge images and videos. On the downside, this Instagram release skimps on headline new frameworks (that's why it feels rushed out) which Apple created to help developers tap new iOS 7 technologies.

Nonetheless, it's a nice little update and fans should be happy that Instagram no longer looks out of place and behaves like a good citizen on iOS 7...

Instagrids makes your Instagram profile unique

Have you ever checked out someone’s profile on Instagram? In the upper left corner is the user’s profile picture. Posts, followers, and a personal note is next to that. And then, there is a grid with all of the user’s pictures. What if that grid was made up of a bunch of images that made one big one?

Instagrids does that. Instead of focusing on individual pictures that a person uploads to their Instagram feed, this app uploads segments of a full picture, making your profile grid display the whole picture…

Camera+ update brings exposure compensation, additional sharing options and more

My favorite iOS camera app, Taptaptap's Camera+, has received a major, major update this morning. In addition to the flattened appearance that removes clutter and gets rid of skeuomorphism in favor of iOS-friendly look and feel, Camera+ 4 can now (finally) post images to social services beyond Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

Specifically, you can publish your touch ups to Instagram, Evernote and Dropbox. Also new: the ability to print images wirelessly using any AirPrint-compatible printer connected to the same network as your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad device and more.

We're only getting started so I've included the full list of changes and enhancements in Camera+ 4.0 right past the fold...

Apple video lays out iPhone 5s camera advances

Usually, Apple's S-upgrades are big on camera improvements and the just-released iPhone 5s doesn't disappoint in this regard. Although past S-upgrades increased pixel count on the back camera sensor - the iPhone 4S, for instance, introduced an eight-megapixel iSight camera, up from five megapixels on the iPhone 4 - the iPhone 5s's back shooter remains stuck at eight megapixels.

But photography isn't just about megapixels so Apple worked to improve low-light performance and the overal quality of your snaps, as well as enable new features like the super-slow motion video capture at 120 frames per second (stemming from the two-times faster 64-bit A7 chip).

Cody has already laid out some of the crucial new camera capabilities and now Apple has posted a video which takes us through some of the technologies that make the iPhone 5s the best iPhone camera yet...

Galileo is a multipurpose remote motion stand for iPhone

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a review of the photography app Sphere (formerly TourWrist). After reading the review, the app’s developer sent me Motrr’s new photography mount, Galileo, which is a perfect accessory to the 360-photography app.

Motrr’s new spherical recording device made the front pages when its Kickstarter campaign went supernova and made seven times its original goal. The Galileo is currently shipping to Kickstarter pledgers and Motrr is taking preorders for the device for a mid-October launch.

In addition to being a spherical recording device that fits perfectly with Sphere, Motrr’s Galileo is an iOS-controlled remote motion stand for the iPhone and iPod touch. The device features 360-degree spherical rotation capability and lets users take pictures or view streaming video using pan-and-tilt speeds of up to 200 degrees per second. Set up your iPhone with Galileo and use another iOS device to control it by swiping your finger on the screen to move the angle in any direction you like. This multipurpose stand lets you use your iPhone for video conferencing, baby monitoring, and more...

Photoristic makes photo editing on your iPad a treat

If you are feeling disillusioned with Apple’s iPhoto for iOS app and want a little more control over your image editing options, there is another (said in the voice of Yoda).

Photoristic HD is a photo-editing app that lets you use professional quality tools on your iPad. Fix lighting flaws, brighten flat photos, and turn a near-perfect shot into the perfect picture with just a few taps…

Studio Design: a design app for everyone, with a social twist

Design is an important part of our lives. There are people out there who have spent their whole life learning about the importance of lines, fonts, and placement of objects in images. These people have put all of their knowledge into designing practically everything we look at.

Studio Design is an app that lets you play at designing and also lets you share your ideas with others and get feedback from the community…

FLIP remixes your photos into original grid based collages

Sure, you can add layers and filters and frames and tilt-shifts to your pictures in order to make them look interesting and poignant. But, most apps don’t let you cut pictures up, move things around, and turn them upside down.

FLIP is a photo effects app that cuts your images into strips and squares and puts them back together with fascinating results…

2013 iPhone Photography Awards: you won’t believe your eyes

iPhone photography fans who haven't heard about the iPhone Photography Awards yet should definitely familiarize themselves with the competition.

Trust me, the quality of the images photography buffs are taking on their iPhones will leave you breathless. It's also a nice reality check for those who happen to hold their own photography skills in high esteem.

The creativity oozing from some of these shots can't be overstated, especially given the rules prevent photo manipulation other than the capabilities provided by the photographer's camera app of choice...

Sphere review: now with iPhone panorama upload

A few years ago, TourWrist hit the App Store with its high-quality panoramic photography service. User could use the company’s publishing tools to create “panos” that could then be uploaded to the app and made viewable by others.

In July, TourWrist was completely redesigned and is now Sphere. One of the biggest updates just came last week in the form of publishable Spheres using your iPhone’s panorama camera feature…