My Favourite Mobile Apps
There is an app for just about everthing these days and there are a few that will be handy for up-ing your product photo game. Below I’ve shared by top 5 apps. Some of these will come in handy for planning your shoot, others for shooting, and others for editing your images.
LIGHTROOM
Most smartphones come with an inbuilt camera app, however it allows the user limited capability to control the settings. Instead I recommend downloading a third party camera app which will offer you many of the same manual controls as a DSLR camera.
My go-to app for shooting with my phone is lightroom. It’s made by Adobe which designs all the creative cloud software (photoshot, indesign, illustrator etc). So its pretty much the industry standard for photographers. Once you have finished shooting with Lightroom you can edit your images inside this app too. So it’s a great all rounder.
If you are just using the basic version of the app it is FREE for both iOS and Android. Advanced features require a membership for around $15 per month which comes with a subscription to photoshop which is also a fantastic (more advanced editing tool for images)
2. VSCO
VSCO is another great all rounder app. Its has a great camera as well a solid editing tools - so if you are not a fan on Lightroom I would suggest VSCO as an alternative.
VSCO is made by Google and features film inspired presets. Its a pioneer when it comes to being able to customise your presets for each unique image.
My favourite feature in VSCO is the ability to copy edits of one image and apply them to other photos. This is super useful when you are editing a series of images from the same photo shoot and you want them all to look cohesive. Plus it's a massive time saver.
VSCO for iOS and Android - FREE + in-app purchases
3. PICMONKEY
PicMonkey has 2 key functions that set it apart from other apps. The first is its cropping tool which comes with templates for every type of social media post you can think of from etsy banner images, to pinterest posts. So if you are unsure how to optimally size your images for the various platforms you can open up PicMonkey and drop your image into one of the many templates.
The second exciting feature is the background removal tool which comes in very handy for product photography. Unfortunately this app isn’t free, however if removing backgrounds is a function you need, it may be worth the investment.
4. SNAPSEED
Snapseed is another app created by Google and is excellent for basic photo editing adjustments.
For me, the highlight of Snapseed is the selective tool which allows you to make selective edits to only certain points on the frame. This is very useful for brightening or darkening certain parts of the picture.
5. CANVA
Canva is the place to go if you want to add graphic design aspects to your images.
Canva has are loads of customisable templates for banners, posters, ebooks, social media posts - you name it. You can add your images then adjust colours and fonts to make the designs your own. You can share your creation straight out of canva or save it to your camera roll.
I hope you’ve found this blog inspiring. For more tips and tricks on how to DIY your product photography check out my online product photography webinars.
If you have questions or would like to connect you can always connect with me over in the photography for makers facebook group.
Happy Snapping!
Rachel