The tablet is proving to be an appealing addition to any photographer’s arsenal of tools – high resolution touchscreens make it easy to share proofs and collections; lightweight construction and built-in cameras allow for easy transport; and larger screens that offer more control than smartphones and ready access to online resources. In addition, one of the most attractive characteristics of the tablet is the smorgasbord of apps that have photo capture and editing capabilities.
Whether you are a first-time photographer looking to impress your friends or a professional with a long list of clients to satisfy, there are dozens of useful apps to help with any photographic endeavor. Here is a list of 10 practical camera apps for some of the best tablet devices available in the market.
First Camera (iOS)
First Camera makes it easy for Mom and Dad to keep their camera roll free of dozens of photos taken by the kids. Children can take as many pictures as they like with this app, and the final product is saved to the app rather than your device’s camera roll. Available filters include stickers, funny objects and shapes that will keep the kids busy for hours. The most important aspect of the app is that it so wonderfully separates existing media content from the device to avoid the accidental erasing of important files.
Photoshop Touch (Android)
One of the world’s most widely used photo retouching software is now on the touchscreen! It comes with many useful features such as layering, selection tools, adjustments and colors to name a few. Adobe also offers a free 20GB Creative Cloud account that allows users to automatically save their work before uploading it to the cloud for a later date.
Pixlr-o-matic (Windows 8/RT/iOS/Android)
This lightweight alternative to Instagram allows users to easily turn their photos into vintage portraits. With an easy to use interface, users can edit their photos by adding layer filters, borders, and simple lighting effects. There are over 25,000 choices for spicing up each individual image. Amplify the tone of last night’s social event, or dim the lights on a photo with your sweetie.
Skitch (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire)
This user-friendly screenshot and annotation app allows users to capture any portion of their screen, add layers such as arrows and comments and then upload it with the tap of a button. Try the finger painting option (iPad only) to spruce up your screenshots. Complete with a toolkit of circles, arrows, lines, pencils and text options, this app lets you easily beam your sketches to Twitter or e-mail.
Instagram (iOS/Android)
Perhaps the most popular photography app on the market for any device, Instagram is the grandfather of retro-photo filter apps. Just to give you an idea of how popular it is, 22 days after the Android launch it already enjoyed 22 million downloads. Choose from several filtered effects or tilt-shift blur to add flair to your photos and transform everyday shots to impress your friends and family. Instagram caters more to those looking for fun ways to take photos than professionals.
Stuck on Earth (iOS)
“The ultimate guide for photographers, explorers and daydreamers”. For professional photographers, this app contains hundreds of thousands of locations to take breathtaking shots of landscapes, landmarks, and people. Daydreamers can use this app for the ultimate visual guide to planning that next world trip. Finally, explorers now have the most interactive and visual travel guides for planning adventures at home and abroad. The perfect app “for people who want to explore the Earth, or who want to photograph it”.
Photos (Windows 8/RT)
Only for your Windows 8 tablet or Windows RT tablet (like a Microsoft Surface Pro or a Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2), Photos brings all of your pictures and home videos to one place, regardless of their source location – be it SkyDrive, Facebook, Flickr, or even another PC. Users can import photos and videos from any camera and then view them. It also offers photo-editing capabilities.
Snapseed (iOS/Android)
With very basic features like brightness, saturation and contrast adjustment, this app is but one of the countless photo-altering apps on the market. However it’s the smaller details that make Snapseed stand out against its competitors. An exceedingly interactive toolbar allows users to select the effects they want easily, then with the drag of a finger adjust the magnitude of the alteration. This is the perfect app for photographers not quite at the Photoshop level, but who feel comfortable navigating between contrast and saturation adjustments.
PicView (iOS)
This nifty photo app enables professionals and newbies alike to add voiceovers and annotations to images, videos and business applications. Snap or upload a photo from your Ipad and add voice notes using a simple voice recorder. The best part is that the app lets you target specific parts of the image with short animations, aptly named ‘trackers’. As a bonus, users can add filters to the shop and pick a vintage frame and a table – much like a storyboard. Upload your work to Facebook and Twitter or e-mail it to friends, family, or clients.
500px (iOS/Windows 8/RT)
Browse through user-selected and editor-curated photo galleries and use the filtering option to target just exactly the types of photos you want to see. This is a very inspirational program for professionals looking for that extra spark to their latest photo shoot.