5 Best Mobile Apps For Android Photography

Photographers are in the catbird seat. Camera technology is much more affordable than ever before. Even if you can’t spring for a Hassleblad or Leica, both considered to be the Cadillac status of camera gear, you most likely can afford the camera that lives inside your cell phone.

For the purpose of examining what a smaller budget can buy, mobile devices offer decent quality. Using an IPhone or Android camera phone is advantageous: it takes up very little room and the varied app market is readily available. With a quick download at a modest cost, and in many instances free, apps are ready to use instantly. Add the apps to the cost of a mobile phone (anywhere from $200 -$400) and you can easily enjoy becoming a fully equipped mobile device shooter. Compare that system to a full version of Adobe Photoshop ($489) or even its pedestrian equivalent, Adobe Elements, ($62), and the cost of a camera (from $200 to $7000), it’s plain to see the savings add up. Apps take considerably less time to learn and the phone comes in handy too!

Five awesome apps for mobile Android phones are:

Snapseed: Free! Ten adjustments tools: align, crop, grunge layers, contrast, saturation and vintage effects that can be cumulatively applied.

Instagram: Free! Comes with 20 filters, square format, selective blur.

EyeEm: Free! Rectangular shape format similar to 35mm, adjustment colors, grunge effects, and cropping tool.

RetroCamera: $2.99 Lomography, Polaroid, Pinhole camera, 35 mm film edges and light leaks effects.

Vignette: $2.60 Has numerous settings such as Holga and Diana styles, Instant camera, retro, film grain, pastel colors, light leaks, colored filters, soft-focus, monochrome, b&w, filter intensity, self-timer, time lapse and customizable filters settings.

All of the above apps have share capability. Since all the editing is done in the device, users can quickly share to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or app specific galleries. 

EyeEm for example, has periodic meet-ups within certain cities. You can create your own meet ups and start a photo live event. Part of the fun of photography is sharing works, and the affordability factor is consumer favorable. Here’s to making art – and being snap hAPPy!