My memory keeping process continually changes. It’s sort of a metaphor for my life and how I am continually adapting to new feelings about my process and what I really want to do with this hobby.
I have almost soley been using my iPhone6 for taking photos, editing photos and even printing photos. There are still some things I can’t do completely on the phone, so I turn to Photoshop Elements or the aid of my laptop from time to time. I’m sure even those practices are capable of being done by the phone, just that I don’t know it yet or don’t want to pay for the app.
Here are some of my favorite apps and what features I use to help in my memory keeping process.
PicTapGo is a photo editing app by the creators of Totally Rad, Inc., a photo editing software company. I have been using Totally Rad, Inc.’s RadLab plug-in with Photoshop Elements for a few years now. PicTapGo provides filter effects solutions for in-phone editing of photos that can then be posted to social media or printed. The great part of PicTapGo (& RadLab) is the ability to layer multiple effects and control intensity/opacity. It makes editing super simple. As I’ve used the various filters (I have my favorites) it has actually improved my photography and how I see through the lens. I can customize and save filter recipes if I’m editing multiple shots from the same scene to make it quicker. It also has cropping abilities. The user interface is very simple and it offers the ability to undo your last filter. At this time it appears to only be available on IOS, but it seems as if an Android version is in the works.
Pic Stitch by Big Blue Clip is my go-to collage app. I’ve had it for a long time and understand many other developers have come to the table since then, probably with more features and less advertisements, but this app has always been simple for me to use and gets the job done. I have used it to post collages to Instagram, but recently use it more to print more than one photo on a single 4×6 photo sheet. It has the ability to change the aspect ratio of your layout for these different needs. There are other options for add-ons and backgrounds if you want to purchase. Pic Stitch is available on IOS and Android.
A Beautiful Mess app is a fun photo editing app by the creators of A Beautiful Mess, the lifestyle company. It has a hipster vibe, as do the sisters who created it, and has the ability to add some cheeky elements to photos. Since its launch, the app has evolved to add more features and options in each category. A fun thing is the ability to use background images and not photos, almost creating digital scrapbook elements right in your phone. It offers creative filters, borders, doodles and text, with upgraded options for purchase. Most of the edits are simple and do not offer complete creative freedom, but always cute nonetheless. I generally use it to add text to photos, mostly opting for black or white font, though there are many color options. Recently during WITL I used it to add more narrow text boxes to photos to include journaling. Sometimes controlling the elements size and positiong with just your fingers can be a little tricky, but it offers a variety of sizes. A Beautiful Mess app is available on IOS and Android.
Rhonna Designs is more of a digital designing app created by Rhonna Farrer. It’s full of images and doodles, as well as some funky fonts. I often use it with travel photos because there are some great quote designs and other travel images I like. I would say it adds more of an artsy flair to photos. I also use it to create my own printable quotes to add as elements to pages. It’s simple to use and I like that you can keep editing elements added to the canvas without being locked out of that edit. I probably have not used it to its abilities yet, as I just tend to do add simple elements (mostly words) to photos, but you can get extremely creative!
LetterGlow app is targeted towards adding creative overlays to photos. The app offers its own designs, but the big plus of it is the ability to add your own overlays, so either ones you create (like logos) or other digital files, such as png files. Being that I do some digital scrapbooking and own a Silhouette Portrait, I have my share of png files from some favorite designers like Ali Edwards & Cathy Zielske, as well as others. Cathy Zielske is who I first learned about this app and features from in her tutorial here: http://www.cathyzielske.com/2015/06/digital-photoshop-required.html. You also need another app, like Dropbox, to utilize your own library of brushes, but setting all this up literally took me a few minutes. I am able to use brushes more often by being able to use them right in my phone without having to work on a pc with Photoshop Elements. I also use LetterGlow to add journaling to photos, which I utilized a ton during WITL. Totally worth the $1.99. At this time I think it’s only available for IOS.
I use the Canon Easy-PhotoPrint app in conjunction with my Wireless Photo Printer, the Canon Pixma MP620. This app works with select Canon printers. It’s just so nice to be able to edit in-phone then quickly send the photo to the printer without having to bother with wires or uploads. The app is very basic, so no real customization, just bordered or borderless. Sometimes this creates issues with cutting off edges of certain photos. A way around this is to be sure the aspect ratio is correct and this can be adjusted with the PicTapGo app. A trade-off is printing bordered and either cutting away the white border or just adapting to it. In my quest to let go of things, recently I have chosen to just deal with the borders. This app is available on IOS and Android.
Other photo apps I own and use:
Photoshop Express app – the red eye on this app works well
Snapseed – this app has the ability to make more technical tweaks to photos and I find it a little more time consuming for my needs
What are some of your go-to photo editing apps? Do you find it makes your process quicker? Do you have a favorite app from the ones above?
the Paper goddess 
I always need help with finding apps. Thank you.
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Some great apps – I’m downloading the Beautiful Mess app as I type! :o)
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Good to know! Thanks.
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