Photography Friday - iPhoneography and DIY Artwork

For the last six months or so, I've fallen down the rabbit hole that is the "App Store" and have discovered all kinds of really fun photography apps. I've also found lots of new inspiration on Instagram (I'm @janet_jw if you'd like to follow) and especially love when a photographer shares the apps they use to edit their photos. I really like instagram, but the filters it offers are pretty limiting and there is so much more out there to explore for iPhone photo editing.

Edited with Phototoaster and Iris Photo Suite

Tiny rant: I know lots of artists don't like to share their "secrets", but most of the time I think that's kind of silly. Just because you tell someone what tool you used, doesn't mean they will be able to copy your style or your success with your chosen medium. I also believe that ALL artists are inspired by others. There are no original ideas. Unless you are standing over that photographer's shoulder, photographing exactly what they saw at that time and editing your photos precisely in the same manner, you ARE creating your own work...whether inspired by another or not. Having said all that, I also believe it's good form to credit the artist who inspired you. And it is NEVER OK to download another photographer's or artist's work and claim it's yours, use it without permission, or sell it in any way. I shall now step down from my soapbox ;)

iPhone photo edited with Phototoaster

Before I tell you my favourite apps, I've also found a couple of interesting sites that feature really creative iPhone photo-art. If you're interested, check out theappwhisperer.com and theiphonearts.com.
I'm sure there are lots more, but these are a good start. Fair warning: you may be inspired to spend a few bucks in the App Store (aka "rabbit hole") if you go there!

Edited with iColorama and Snapseed

I'll be the first to admit it's possible to overdo it with these apps. But half the fun (OK ALL of the fun) is going overboard and then learning how much to pull back to make the photo look the way I want it to. Sometimes all it takes is a "That just makes me dizzy" comment from my husband to know I took something a couple of steps too far :)

On to my favourite apps (with links to each in the App Store):

Snapseed
Hipstamatic
Retouch
Painteresque
Snapdot
Popsicolor
Halftone
Diptic
Phoster
Percolator
Iris Photo Suite
iColorama
Image Blender 
XnView Fx
Photoforge 2
Phototoaster
AutoPainter

No descriptions from me because I think the App Store does a good job of describing these apps already, but here are a few more photos I've used these apps on to give you an idea about what you'd be getting:

Edited with AutoPainter

Edited with Snapseed and Iris Photo Suite

Taken with Hipstamatic Matty ALN lens, Rock BW-11 film and no flash, lightened using Snapseed

This last photo wasn't taken with an iPhone so it's kind of "cheating" as an example. It's a macro photo of a flower I shot years ago with my Canon 5D. It also has a texture layer applied but when I ran it through the Percolator app, I got this:

For me, the fun is in experimenting....combining apps to create something new and different. You risk going overboard, for sure, but you also may create something you really love. And for the price of a few apps, you might just create DIY art for your walls!