Top photo apps: Ground beneath my feet

Recently, while waiting for breakfast at The Lime Tree at Kuch Khaas in Islamabad, I decided to step outside and get a breath of fresh air. With nothing better to do, I used my ‘camera’, a Pantech android phone with a 5 megapixel camera, to take pictures of the ground I stood on.

After taking some shots I opened the pictures in several different photo apps like instagram, pixlr express and pudding camera. I played around with colours, blurs, overlays and borders. A decade ago, these tweaks were only possible to do on a computer but now all you need is a cheap off brand android phone.

DSLR cameras are a class of their own, with their advanced features and superior imaging capabilities and I don’t mean to compete against them but they were never meant to replace the instant pocket cameras. The smartphone has become the instant camera; it is this generation’s Polaroid.

Here are the top photo apps for your Android phone:

Camera Zoom FX: This is the ultimate Android camera app. It's the most feature-filled, handling both shooting and editing duties from one interface.

Little Photo: This app is great because the work flow is pretty fast. All you have to do is open the app, shoot and tap to change filters.

Pudding Camera: This app offers several different camera types as well as films that you can combine for your desired effect.


BeFunky PhotoEditor: If you're just looking for a good, free photo editor, BeFunky's is solid and ad-free. It has everything you need to fine-tune your shots before you share them.

PicSay Pro: This is one of the easiest editing apps you're going to find. It's particularly handy with its long, long list of effects.

AfterFocus: This is a great app which allows you to fake a shallow depth of field. Simply put, it lets you blur out distracting backgrounds, bringing your subject into sharper focus — all with a couple swipes of your finger.

Fast Burst Camera: This is a great app for taking quick shots. Fast Burst can shoot at up to 30 frames per second, triggered just by pressing and holding an onscreen shutter release or anywhere on the screen if you like.

Wondershare Panorama: This is a really simple panorama app: just point, shoot, and sweep. It can be used in portrait or landscape mode and has several effects options that can be applied immediately after the capture is complete.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, January 27^th, 2013.

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