PhotoForge
Michael (Admin) | Oct 2, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: 
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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If you wish you could have Photoshop on your iPhone, PhotoForge may be as close as you’re gonna get. It has a whole mess of tools that you’ll find in Photoshop like smudge, clone, brushes, erase, undo/redo, curves, hue/saturation, brightness/contrast, crop, and the list goes on and on and on. GhostBird Software also built in a bunch of filters so you don’t have to buy a separate app if you want to make your pics black and white, sepia, lomo, posterized, and all manner of other effects.
There’s a LOT of functionality in PhotoForge and I’ve had it on my iPhone for well over a month… but I honestly didn’t know what to do with it! Sure, it’s an awesome tool if you need to brighten up dark photos or pump up the colors on something, but for most folks a photo would have to be pretty special if you’re going to start doing that kind of thing.
What about the crappy everyday pics we all take with the iPhone camera? I know Photoshop pretty well, but without layers and marquees and the ability to import other images, this app started to seem pretty limited despite the massive arsenal of tools it provides… and if I, master of all Photoshop disasters, can’t figure out what to use PhotoForge for, how are YOU gonna use it? Well, today I finally figured out what practically everyone could do with this app on a daily basis.
Tags: $2.99, photo editing
Free Codes: WiFiPhoto
Michael (Admin) | Sep 30, 2009 Free iPhone Promo Codes, Photo & Video
User rating: 
(4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
(4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...
I think I’m actually gonna review this one because WiFiPhoto looks like something I can really use! I’m constantly emailing app screenshots to myself, so if this app can simplify the process of moving pics from iPhone to computer via wifi then I’ll probably use it every day.
You don’t need to wait for the review though – grab a free copy and try it for yourself!
Crasher Squirrel
Michael (Admin) | Sep 15, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: (5 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
(5 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) Loading ...
When I spotted Crasher Squirrel my first instinct was to put it under the WTF category because I thought it was just gonna be stupid, but as it turns out it’s stupid and well done and it’s even mildly amusing so I’ll spare it the WTF label. Crasher Squirrel is basically a poor man’s version of Hendrik Kueck’s Juxtaposer, but instead of mashing together two photos you’re just slapping a squirrel onto your pics.
There’s nothing terribly fancy going on here, but United Playcos did a nice job of making the squirrel move and resize with two-finger gestures and you can also erase/unerase squirrel parts as you see fit. This last bit is important because erasing portions of the squirrel does a lot for integrating the furry little guy into photos in ways that are a lot funnier and more creative than if he’s just standing there in the foreground like an idiot.
OldCamera
Michael (Admin) | Aug 20, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...
From the same dude who made QuadCamera and ToyCamera comes OldCamera. Can you guess what it does? That’s right… it makes your pics look really old!
Takayuki Fukatsu has built a pretty great foundation for his camera apps which includes all kinds of stuff in the Settings panel such as randomly applying any of several different filters, vignetting on/off, square mode on/off, and various image sizes. The only real difference between OldCamera and ToyCamera is the choice of filters that can be applied. OldCamera comes equipped with several different kinds of black & white plus a weird thing called Cyanotype that turns your pics blue.
I personally prefer ToyCamera… which I use ALL the time… but OldCamera is also a good quality camera app and, if black & white is your thing, it’s a great buy for just a dollar.
iTunes Link – OldCamera
iTunes Link – ToyCamera
Version 3.5.1
Reviewed on iPhone 3G OS3.0.1
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- It makes your pics sweet and lovely... and OLD!
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- You can upload your pics to Big Canvas Photo Share or just turn off the upload button entirely
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- Terry the Dog looks crazy when he's rolling around on the lawn in high contrast B&W
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- OMG this Cyanotype makes it look like we're underwater!
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- Settings galore
Tags: $.99, photo sharing, photos
Puri! 2.0
Michael (Admin) | Aug 6, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: 
(5 votes, average: 3.40 out of 5)
(5 votes, average: 3.40 out of 5) Loading ...
Is it wrong for a 30-something guy to be dressing up photos with a gaudy teen-centric photo stamp app? Yeah, it probably is but I’m doing it anyway so screw you!!
Photo booths in Asia have been laying flowery, ultra-cute designs over pics for years, and I’m guessing it’s probably catching on in the western world now but to be honest I have no idea. What I do know is that the iPhone is the perfect platform for apps like Puri! where you can take a photo (or select from the camera roll) and apply all kinds of frames and stamps and text, all in the name of making them sickenly cute.
I may not be an expert in this kind of app, but I feel pretty good about saying that Puri! gets the job done and offers a pretty big array of cartoony cuteness that’s just waiting to make it onto your photos.
Tags: $2.99, good for kids, photo editing, photo sharing
B-Day Giveaway: QuadCamera
Michael (Admin) | Jul 30, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: (6 votes, average: 3.83 out of 5)
(6 votes, average: 3.83 out of 5) Loading ...
If you missed out on ToyCamera, try this one on for size… QuadCamera shoots up to eight images in succession and assembles them in a single pic. It’s a little quirky but still a pretty cool toy to play with!
iTunes Link – QuadCamera
Takayuki’s website
Playing around with some camera movement during my 8 snaps
* Today is iPhone App Reviews.net’s birthday *
B-Day Giveaway: Juxtaposer
Michael (Admin) | Jul 30, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: (No Ratings Yet)
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Iron Mike would NOT make an attractive woman
Ok, let’s try to make up for the Enigma debacle…
I literally LOL’d when I played with Juxtaposer last year and gave Mike Ditka the body of a young, hot starlet on the cover of Hustler magazine! Iron Mike himself hasn’t seen the pic… I know this because I’m still alive.
Juxtaposer is a very smart app that’s pretty easy to use and can be ridiculously funny in the right hands. Pocket Pixels gave it a major update in January and if you miss out on getting it for free it’s still a great buy for just $3.
iTunes Link – Juxtaposer
Juxtaposer website
* Today is iPhone App Reviews.net’s birthday *
Tags: $2.99, photo editing
B-Day Giveaway: ToyCamera
Michael (Admin) | Jul 30, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: (4 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)
(4 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5) Loading ...
Once again my iPhone App Store says an app has “No Ratings” but ToyCamera definitely does have ratings… 282 to be exact, and they amount to a well-deserved 3.5 star average.
This app is on my FIRST iPhone screen, just below the default camera app. I reviewed it almost six months ago and I still use it all the time! “Normal” iPhone photos just bore me now. ;)
ToyCamera applies all kinds of cool filters to your photos to make them look old & dusty or weird & artsy, depending on your perspective. It’s definitely a winner!
iTunes Link – ToyCamera
Takayuki Fukatsu’s website
Terry the Dog standing guard while I nap in the John Deere hat I found on the street
* Today is iPhone App Reviews.net’s birthday *
EffectsLab
T.J. Brumfield | Jul 19, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: (5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)
(5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5) Loading ...
This review is also due to a request. My wife wanted me to find her a good photo app for adjusting images on her phone. This site has reviewed apps like LOMO Camera and ToyCamera, which are designed for a very specific purpose. I’ve also come across a few designed more for entertainment purposes, transposing part of your picture with another image. What she wanted was something practical. The iPhone doesn’t have a flash. If she is taking pictures with her phone, she wants the pictures to turn out well.
Christopher Comair’s EffectsLab comes to the rescue. EffectsLab adjusts images. There are no toys or gadgets. There are no extraneous bells or whistles. There isn’t even a splash screen. You open the app, open your image and adjust it. Perhaps the app won’t wow you over with splashy graphics or polish, but this swiss-army knife of image filters gets the job done when it counts.
Tags: $1.99, Photo & Video, photo editing, T. J. Brumfield
LOMO Camera
Michael (Admin) | Jul 14, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: (8 votes, average: 4.63 out of 5)
(8 votes, average: 4.63 out of 5) Loading ...
I regularly keep 100+ apps loaded on my iPhone and one of my favorites is ToyCamera which I almost use more often than my iPhone’s regular camera… granted, I have an iPhone 3G (not S) so I’m not giving up any fancy new features like autofocus, but even if I had a 3GS I’d probably still use it all the time! That’s how frakkin cool it is… it makes lame photos a little less lame, and cool photos that much cooler.
LOMO Camera is a lot like ToyCamera in that it imitates the visual effect of an old-timey piece of crap shutterbox, specifically the Lomo LC-A. The Lomo isn’t actually all that old or crappy – it was first introduced in 1984 and sports some cool features – but this Russian-made camera has made a pretty big name for itself among photography nuts and avant-garde weirdos, and now Westarting Studio has their own iPhone-ified version available in the App Store.
Q&F: FantasyLens
Michael (Admin) | May 28, 2009 Photo & Video, Quick & Free
User rating: (2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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There must be a zillion apps that let you stick photos behind silly templates, so why did I pick FantasyLens? I dunno… I guess I liked the icon? Plus I wanted something simple to mess around with on Memorial Day at my dad’s house.
Widgetize provides 24 templates with face cutouts to fuel your need for photo wackiness. Most of them look like old paintings that I’m guessing were chosen for their ‘public domain’ status (ie: the dev didn’t need to pay for them) but that shouldn’t stop you from giving the app a try. You have to take a new photo with every new pic you want to make… no choosing from the camera roll here… but if you can get the camera angle and distance just right it’s possible to produce a pretty seamless photo fake.
The seamlessness is courtesy of several controls for adjusting image settings like brightness, contrast, and saturation, and it’s also possible to undo/redo/reset/save. These features are a big part of why FantasyLens is worth downloading; the app is by no means perfect… app rotating/resizing is more or less absent… but if you just wanna goof off there’s no harm in trying this one out.
For the record, the kids at my dad’s house LOVED FantasyLens. Their parents didn’t give a crap but the 8-year-olds just went ga-ga for it, just in case you (a) don’t mind them passing around your iPhone, and (b) need to keep them occupied for a while.
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- Some of these templates take a steadier hand than others
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- I was impressed by my dad's girlfriend's son-in-law's ability to choose the right angle for this pic!
Tags: free, funny, photo editing
Darkroom Premium
Swain Valasek | May 9, 2009 Photo & Video
User rating: (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...
I like Darkroom from Stepcase Ltd; been a long-time user of the free version. If memory serves, it was the first app to offer image stabilization using the accelerometer and for that I’ll always be grateful (even though the feature can now be found on other apps). Up for review today however is the Premium version so let’s dig right in. First and foremost, Darkroom strives to be a replacement for the Apple Camera app, an endeavor in which I feel it has succeeded save 1 minor caveat which I’ll get to in a moment. What does Darkroom Premium give you over the default camera app for your dollar?
Tags: $0.99, camera, free, Swain Valasek
