ESSENTIAL PHOTO APPS FOR YOUR
SMARTPHONE
If you have a click-happy finger, you might
want to consider these free tools that will help you add pizzazz to your
snapshots, create collages and slideshows, back up your images onto the cloud,
share them with friends in neat little albums, and even hide your private
memories from prying eyes.
Review...
PHOTO
EDITOR BY AVIARY
Photo Editor by Aviary is a comprehensive
image-editing tool with features such as one-tap auto enhance, effects and
frames, stickers that let you add fun elements to your pictures, tools that
allow you to tweak colours, draw over images, add text, and even create memes.
Using Photo Editor, you can crop, rotate and
straighten your photos; adjust brightness, contrast, colour temperature and
saturation; blur or sharpen subjects, and even use cosmetic tools to fix
redeye, remove blemishes and whiten teeth.
The app, which supports hi-res output, comes
with a few pre-packaged effects, but you also get the option to download extra
packs.The good part? Create an Adobe account through its interface, and you can
download nearly a 100 effects for free. This limited time offer is valid till
February 20, 2015 and anything you download till then is free for you to use
for life.Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Windows Phone | Free
SHIFT
Shift is for snappers who want more than pre-set
filters. It consists of two sliders: one for hues and the other for intensity .
What you also get are three `touch points' that appear on the photograph that's
being edited.
Creating a new filter is as simple as playing
with the sliders, while also moving the touch points to create an endless combination
of textures, colours and blends.
If you like a particular effect, you can save it
using the favourite button. Alternatively, you can use its “random“ button to
try out automatic permutations. With Shift, you can create individual filters
for each of your snapshots. If you're looking for something more than stock
effects, then Shift must find a place in your digital dark room.Android, iOS |
Free
SCENE
Well, it's one thing to shoot pictures with your
phones, but organizing all those snaps on your device and finding the exact
picture you want while scrolling through hundreds of them can be quite
something else. Scene to the rescue.
This app automatically displays all your images
in chronological order, so you can jump back in time with its Calendar View and
Smart Slider. You can even find any photo by its taken-on date.
It lets you create multiple albums, comprising
up to 1,000 photos each with simple drag-and-drop. You can then add captions
to the photos in your albums and share these privately with friends via e-mail
and text messages.
Shared albums can be viewed on PCs--recipients
do not require the Scene app--and friends can also help build albums by adding
their own photos. In addition, you can now publish albums for the world to see
via a photoblog, or post public albums to Facebook, Twitter, etc.Android, iOS |
Free
TRUNX
Like Scene, Trunx is a central repository for
all your images. It backs up all the photos from your smartphone to its
servers, and it even connects with your Facebook, Instagram and Dropbox
accounts to import whatever you have uploaded there.
When you register with Trunx, you get 15GB of
free storage space and the incentive to earn 2GB for every friend you invite to
this service and there is no limit to the invites you can send out.
All your pictures are stored in the resolution
they are shot at and there is no loss in quality while uploading to Trunx.
These images appear in a timeline, and can be tagged to make browsing easier.
You can also use its built-in camera to take pictures, videos and attach voice
recordings to your captures.
You can even use Trunx to create custom albums
and share them with friends and family (who will also need to have an account).
If you don't want strangers browsing your pictures, you can use a PIN code
feature to keep your photographs private.Android, iOS, Kindle Fire | Free
PHOTO
GRID
How about `Instagramming' a collage instead of a
single photo? With Photo Grid, you can combine up to fifteen pictures, choose
from multiple layouts, pick or create a custom aspect ratio like square,
widescreen, etc add a frame, enter text, throw in some stickers and a whole
lot more. Once you are done, you can save a hi-res version to your phone before
sharing it via e-mail, WhatsApp, etc.
Moreover, if you already have pictures saved in
Facebook, Flickr, Instagram and Dropbox, then you can connect to these accounts
to create new photo montages. Apart from the nine grid layouts, you can
download free templates, create a scrapbook, or stick them all together to form
a long filmstrip.
The app also lets you create a short video
slideshow of your snapshots, complete with transitions and a background
soundtrack. And there's a selfie mode included too.Android, iOS, Kindle Fire |
Free
HIDE
YOUR PHOTOS
If you do not want your personal albums to be
visible to anybody who handles your smartphone, safeguard your privacy with an
app that hides the pictures on your handset. This way, even if you lose your
phone, your photos and videos will not be accessible. Here, you can try Hide
Something for Android devices. Simply set a pattern lock for the content you
want to hide.
Apple iPhone users can install Private Photo
Vault. It has an alert mechanism that takes a snapshot, along with GPS
coordinates, of anybody who tries to break into your secret gallery. You can
also set a decoy passcode to let some friends “think“ they have access to your
personal stash. In reality, this password will give access to a different set
of pictures.
Then, there's Lock & Hide for Windows
Phones, which encrypts the images before making them invisible to other users.
Ashutosh Desai and Savio D'Souza TOI14FEB15
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