App Review // Instasize

Finding, using, and sharing apps is one of my favorite hobbies.  Starting with my iPhone 4 I've loved to download photo editing apps, overly process photos and share them with the world.  That was when Instagram & the power of the smartphone was new.  Today, there's a different story when it comes to the photos we take and edit with our phones - subtle, professional edits that enhance the natural beauty of a photo.  Prior to the age of the smartphone you'd use something like Photoshop to create the perfect photo.  Today that whole game has changed!

this post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.

We're trying harder now to curate the photos we take and there are a ton of apps that can help edit that perfect shot right on your phone - Instasize is one of them!  I was contacted by Instasize to review the full version of their app and share it with you today.  Instasize is an easy way to carefully and subtly enhance your photos as well as create a curated social media presence.

What is Instasize?

Instasize is truly an all in one photo editing app.  The app features a wide range of professional filters & editing tools, the ability to edit both photo & video, pre designed text overlays, 50 fonts to insert your own text, & a collage creator.  Seriously, all in one app!

A premium subscription of $4.99 USD/month offers you access to updates monthly + exclusive, member only tools. 

Information from the iTunes app description here. Download from the Google Play Store here.

What does Instasize do?

In a nutshell, Instasize allows you to curate your social media presence with consistent photo edits & text overlays.   Giving you a complete tool kit to stream line your social feeds in one app, Instasize can be your go to for any size photo you need to post.  At it's core, Instasize can fit a portrait photo into a square canvas, perfect for posting to Instagram.  However this app does so much more:

Photo & Video Editing

First off, there are 40 professional filters for you to choose from to edit both photo and video.  When you load the original size photo/video into the app you'll be editing the original size.  You can either crop the media, work with it at it's original size, or tap the yellow circle in the lower left of the image to shrink it onto a square canvas.

From here you can edit the photo using the filters or the precision edit tools - both options for saturation, brightness, etc and beauty tools to whiten teeth, even skin tone, etc. I think that this app is perfect for portrait or landscape photos.  And by that I don't mean the orientation of the photo but rather editing images/video of people and/or the outdoors!  The flat lays I usually do don't fair well with the filters in this app, I've found.  But I love the way the filters enhance my selfies!

Collage Maker

Another cool feature of this app is that you can create a collage then edit all the photos in the collage at the same time.  Doing this means you'll be able to have a consistent look to each photo rather than the fear that each image may have a different look.  I find this an important feature because of the consistency and the ease of not having to jump between apps.

From the collage maker you can choose different layouts and actually see how your photos will be arranged in each layout prior to choosing the collage.  Then you can edit the spacing between each photo and even add a background, photo, or color around the image.

Social Media Formats

Cropping your media all in the same app is important & Instasize gives you many options to crop your media for various sites.  The only downside I can find is that you're unable to crop in a vertical format - think long form video or stories for Instagram or SnapChat.  In the example below I edit a photo, crop it for a YouTube thumbnail, then add text.

If you import a photo or video at a 9:16 ratio, you can still edit it but you can't crop something like a native camera photo/video to a 9:16 ratio.  This is easily solved by either cropping before or after editing the media in the app.

Preset Font Overlays & Customized Text

If you need a quick graphic, Instasize offers 10 text overly presets.  This is great to be consistent with your branding when you're posting to Instagram or other social feeds.  Use the second text overlay - Finish Line - for a series of posts outlining a process, use the first option - Candy Shop - to announce a sale, & use the Full Moon overlay for a little bit of simplicity.

Your also able to add your own text if you're not fond of the presets.  You can choose from 50 professional fonts - there are really nice sans serif & scrip fonts included!  You may not find your personal branded fonts but you may be able to find something super close.  Get creative with how you add the fonts to your canvas.  The best part is that you can add the text to your videos too!

How it helps you

Because this app is nearly an all-in-one content curation app, Instasize gives you a way to plan, edit, and be consistent with your online presence.  As a blogger, influencer, & content creator you'll have a ton of easy to use tools right at your finger tips.

Another subtle feature of this app is the ability to use the media storage on the homepage of the app to plan your Instagram grid.  While you can't add a caption or store hashtags you can get a visual idea of how your grid may look and then push the photo to Instagram when you're ready.  Easily delete photos you don't plan to use or tap & hold a photo to move it around on the grid.

All in all, Instasize is a great app to create the consistent social feed you desire!  While you can use the app for free upgrading to the monthly subscription will give you the best experience with the app.  So I recommend it.

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Want to learn more about how to use Instasize? Check out the Instasize blog here.  Find more iPhoneography tips on my blog here.

What apps do you use in your online branding?  How do you keep a consistent feed? 

App Review // Photo Video Collage (PVC) Pro

If you've been around the block or two with this whole blogging thing you'll know that things change all the time.  I mean we had the Instagram algorithm switch, adpocalypses over on YouTube, and the switch (quite a while ago) to vertical images on blogs because Pinterest favored them.  So what is new now?

this post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.

Well it may not be new, new.....but video is taking over.  We've got video on Instagram (read more about what to post when you've got nothing to post here) and on Facebook.  And the verdict is video is better because it engages us longer.  Who doesn't scroll through the next video on Facebook or tap on the videos on the explore page of Instagram?

I was contacted by the makers of Photomarks, Bits & Coffee, to review a cool collage app that combines photo & video to create square content to share on your Instagram, Faceook, or other social media feeds.  Let's talk about this cool app.

What is it?

Photo Video Collage or PVC pro is an  collage app that allows you to "Create beautiful and engaging photo & video collages with your memories and favorite music, built for sharing on Instagram, and Facebook!  PhotoVideoCollage brings collages to a whole new level. Not only can you add photos but also entire videos and mix the soundtracks with your favorite iTunes song!"

Information taken from the app store here.

This app takes collage much farther by combining photo, video, text, and sound to create unique content optimized for sharing.  The price of this app is $1.99 USD so it's pretty reasonable but there is a free version here, too!

What it does

PVC pro gives you the ability to create quality videos for your social feeds with just a few taps.  Choose a layout, tap a box, add a photo or video.  It is that simple.  You can create branded content by using images created in a text overlay app - my favorite is Phonto but PhotoMarks is made by the same creator as PVC Pro - or use your own styled images.

Drag & drop to rearrange the elements of the layout and add music from iTunes.  If you have copyright free music, this would work perfect to share & monetize.  You can add a text title as well.

There are 70+ square layouts, background colors & texture overlays, the ability to export a new video to Instagram, Facebook, email, or your camera roll. 

This app is another great powerhouse tool to make content while you're out & about!

How it helps you

As an on the go blogger, I do most of my content creation on the go and on my phone.  I film not only YouTube videos but short & sweet videos for my various feeds.  The optimal video is also square or - I can't believe we've come to this - vertical.  I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's happening.

This app can help you create interesting and optimized videos - especially if you have multiple things to share.  One way I use this app is to add a vertical video into the collage plus two other graphics with supplemental information.  I find these fit better into your Facebook page or groups but are not that aesthetically pleasing when used on your Instagram feed.  But you can always pop these into your stories.

Overall, I think this app is very useful.  I've created a few videos with this app (check one here on the 516 Facebook Page) and have to say I will keep it around!  I do wish that there was an option to go horizontal or vertical.  A vertical layout would be fun to use in your stories.  I think this app is great as a companion app in your blogging arsenal. 

Download PVC pro today to get your video making on!  Want more amazing apps to try? Read more app reviews here.

What apps do you use in your blogging arsenal? 

xoxo, Moe

App Review // A Color Story

100% of my blog & Instagram photography is taken with my iPhone 6.  I can not wait to upgrade to at least an iPhone 7 (maybe a plus?? who knows!) because of the portrait feature!  I am a strong believer in the best camera to get is the one you will use...and with the ability to have an amazing camera right in our pocket, why should be assume we need the DLSR to take the best photos?  I'm not knocking the bloggers that use high end equipment - but if I didn't have my iPhone, this blog would not exist.

I want to say it was about 2013/2014 or so that I gave up using my DLSR for blog photos.  It became too much of a hassle to import things to my computer, edit and the export.  The files were huge and I felt the headache was unnecessary for the reward I was getting from the process.  Plus I find it much easier to shoot, edit, and upload photos (and video!) right from my iPhone.  I can shoot a batch of blog photos on the weekend, edit on Monday's lunch break, and throw them in to blog posts Monday night.  BAM! - A whole week or two of blog posts done and done.

I've mentioned before my favorite apps for subtle edits and the apps I use for blog photos.  Today I want to do an in depth app review of my go to app for blog & Instagram edits.  Honestly, if you see a picture from me it has most likely gone through A Color Story first.

What it is

A bright fresh photo editing app that has over 100 filters, 40 effect, & 20 tools.  Subtle, professional edits imitating the perfect color balance and lightness achieved in professional software.  Professional tools (such as a curves feature) wrapped up in an easy to use interface.  Free download includes all tools, essentials filter pack (my personal favorite), ability to save editing steps, plus more.  Available on iTunes & in the Google Play Store

taken from the A Color Story iTunes info + blog post on A Beautiful Mess

A Color Story website here

What it does

A Color Story allows you to edit your mobile photos with the precision of a professional software.  I've always had a thing for Photoshop actions.  These preset edits are subtle enough to enhance your photos with out looking too processed.  A Color Story app allows for this subtle edit perfectly.  While I personally feel some packs are better than others, each filter is distinctly different.  In some photo apps the wide range of filters are so close to each other that it is hard to tell the difference.  This app offers filters the vary widely, perfect if you find it hard to make up your mind!  The best part about this app is the Essentials Pack - the best pack for natural edits to blog photos - is free in the app download.

 Original // Edit

Filter - Everyday 40%

Filter - Lite Bright 27%

Original // Edit

Filter - Everyday 75%

Filter - Lite Bright 27%

Filter - Lipstick 75%

My four favorite filters for naturally and subtly editing my photos are Pop, Everyday, Sharp, & Lite Bright. These filters are all from the essentials pack.  After I apply one or a few of these filters - not at their max strength, of course - I find that I often don't have to do much brightening or contrast editing.  I do take my photos under pretty good lighting (see my lighting set up here) so I find that a combination of these few filters work perfectly for me.

A Color Story also allows you to save your edits as presets to apply later.  So lets say you're always styling your photos in the same or similar lighting - like flat lays for your blog or always taking outfit photos around the same time of day - applying these presets will save you a ton of time if you have multiple photos to edit.  Applying the same types of edits over the same style of photo will give your blog a look of consistency as well.

Another feature I love is effects.  My current favorite set of effects is not included in the free download - but to me, all the packs offered are worth the price tag for the creativity!  This effect pack is called Glow.  The hazy, light leak effect gives an otherworldly feeling to photos.  

With the newest update you can also save your favorite filters, most used effects, etc so you don't have to remember which pack they belong to.  You can also find a Recent Edits feature under the Saved edits tab.  That way you can see which pictures you've applied edits to and decide if that edit would look great on a picture today.

Obviously I didn't touch on the most professional option in this app - ability to edit curves.  I think that this option is a great feature to get photography buffs to play around with the app...for the everyday iPhoneographer I feel it's not a necessity.  Personally, I hardly ever use it (mostly because I've never understood curves!) but it is fun to have if you need to subtly tweak something.  All other editing tools closely resemble the native editing tools in Instagram.  I've found that I love Instagram's brightness, shadows, and fade feature over any of these same features available in other apps.

How it helps you

As a professional or casual blogger A Color Story offers professional edits at a cost considerably less than professional photo editing software.  If blog photography seems daunting to you and perhaps its the reason you stopped blogging or the reason you won't start a blog of your own, pick up your iPhone and download this app.  You'll achieve professional looking photography in a few taps.  The ability to save your editing steps is key to achieving a cohesive look to your blog or social feeds.  This app has the best combination of filters plus the ease of applying the same style over every image.

Original // Edit

Filter - Pacific 62%  Filter - Pop 38%

Filter - Ice Ice 16%  Filter - Punch 49%

Effect - White 100%  Effect - London 38%

Effect - Positano 100%

Instead of spending late nights editing your photos perfectly using some tools you may not quite understand, this app will simplify it for you.  Because this app returns professional edits to you in a single tap you can feel confident fitting blogging in to your everyday schedule as you edit photos on the go.

I hope this review was helpful.  I love finding new, go to apps for photo edits!  If you have any recommendations, please let me know!

xoxo, Moe

Boost you Blog // Free Boss Babe Stock Photo Sites

A little while ago I shared tips and insight on creating a style guide for your blog.  Style guides are important to maintaining a cohesive look not only on your blog, but on your associated social media sites.  I know that it is hard to get those perfectly styled blog photos all the time.  We've got actual words to type here guys, we don't always have time to photograph.

Enter the stock photo.

Stock photos are a great way to keep your branding consistent through out all of your social media platforms.  A trend I'm really loving now is the bright and feminine look.  I call this the boss babe look...I'm sure I'm not the first too call it that, but this look reminds me of all the inspiration of carefully lettered text over a bright and inspiring background.

I shared 5 free stock photos on the blog here and I've also shared tips to help you create the best flat lay photos for Instagram....but where do you get more Boss Babe inspired stock photos?  If you've found that a lot of stock photo sites are too sterile, I've got a few more FREE sites for you to check out.

Ivory Mix

This website has the largest mix of free stock photos.  You are required to sign up but as soon as you do you are directed to a library of wonderfully bright and inspiring images.  I love this site for that bright and colorful boss babe look but you can also find a ton of different style aesthetics helpful for any brand.

Wonderlass

Here you'll find a set of 15 awesomely styled stock photos geared towards the planner girl in all of us.  If you love bright colors and stationery, these stock photos will suit you perfectly.  To access this set you'll need to sign up for the email list as well - but I can already tell it's going to be a great list to be on.

Rekita Nicole

This is the first site I found that offered free stock photos.  I used a photo of her's in this post!  Sign up to get access to monthly packs (and past monthly packs) that are bright and colorful.  If you're a planner girl or just generally creative, she's got you covered!  There are also some more classic looks too.

Soloprenuer Sidekick

These 10 free stock photos don't fit my style at all.  I am the colorful boss babe in this equation...but these are prefect for that black and white, classy look.  Think marble, coffee, simplicity.  Love them!  These are not behind an email list sign up, simply download them from the blog.  Sleek and clean looking, these are great for any lifestyle blog!

I think it is great that other boss babes are out there creating communities for bloggers, instagrammers, and other content creators.  It is wonderful to have access to these awesome libraries at your fingertips!

If you'd like to find more photography tips for your blog, check out all my iPhone-ography tips here.  Read more Boost Your Blog articles here to get your blogging mojo going.  And don't forget to follow me on Instagram for some boss babe and planner girl inspiration!

What do you love most about being a content creator?  Where do you get inspiration from?

xoxo, Moe

My Favorite Apps for Memory Keeping

The holiday season always gives me the warm and fuzzies.  It is a time for family, a time for coming together, and a time for forgetting our troubles.  It is a time to be kind, to help others, to see the good in others.  Something we shouldn't forget when January 1st rolls around.  Today I want to share with you some apps that I love for memory keeping all year round, not just for the warm and fuzzy times.

(this post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.)

Ever since I started my memory planner I've loved the instant access to memory keeping that my phone provides.  You no longer have to worry about the 24 exposures on your camera roll, you can fill up your phone with as many memories as you'd like.  But the key is to participate in the memories too.  Don't just stand behind the camera get out there and make the memories too!

Collecting Photos and Memories

There are a few apps to help you collect the memories you're making if you're going to transfer them to paper later.  If you're into scrapbooking, memory planning, or journaling, the apps Collect and Penzu will really help you keep track of your daily happenings to reflect on at a later time.  Collect will help you create a daily snapshot of your life by adding photos by date into albums then allowing you to tag those photos and add a little note.  This is perfect for memory planning and scrapbooking.  Penzu is a journaling app that allows you to keep a secure diary on your phone.  If you like to spend more time reflecting on your day to day life, you can keep detailed notes of thought and happenings to reflect on later.  This app allows you to add photos from your camera roll into your logs and is more of a traditional diary format.  Best of all?  Both of these apps are free!  They do require and upgrade for some features but the free versions of the apps are still very, very useful.

Collecting all these memories may clog up your phone.  I love having Google Drive, Dropbox, and my SanDisk iXpand app on my phone.  With your Gmail address, you get 15GB free storage through Google Drive.  The app is great for organizing photos and sharing with friends. Create albums to access on your desktop or to share with those you choose.  Dropbox works about the same way.  If you're traveling where you may not have access to wifi to back up your photos to Google Drive or Dropbox, the SanDisk IXpand Flash Drive is a great back up device.  I use this when I travel with Zach (mentioned in this post here).  

Editing Photos and Adding Text

Sometimes the photos you take need a little bit of editing.  Use the tips in this post to take the best pictures possible and check out my past photo app recommendations here.  My current favorite photo editing app is A Color Story. This app is great for giving your photos that unedited look.  Add subtle effects to enhance your photos without going over board.  Plus the free filters are perfect for creating a natural look.  No need to purchase any of the other packs for everyday editing.  I find the filters Light Bright and Everyday are the best for adding the right about of brightness and the right amount of sharpness and contrast to the photos.  Two other apps I love for subtle edits are Afterlight (review here) and Snapseed.

If you like to get creative with your photos, there are quite a few apps to add text and overlays - here is a list of 8 overlay apps for iPhone users.  My favorite app for adding basic text is Phonto.  Choose from a crazy array of fonts and it is so simple to add text, change color, etc.  Even save some of your most use text/phrases as presets so you don't have to type it every time.  Check out the review here.  You can also use this app to create journaling cards!

A great app for overlays & text is Rhonna Designs.  While the app is free (check out the suite on iTunes here) there are some stickers, overlays, and fonts that do require purchase. However you can create a lot with the free edition.  This is my favorite app for making graphics and journaling cards.  See this tutorial on making a planner dashboard for some creative inspiration.  Plus, if you follow the Rhonna Instagram account she often posts links to free backgrounds for the app!

Another app for simple overlays and creativity is the PicMonkey app.  Finally, PicMonkey has an app!!  The best part of the app is if you're a Royale member you can save your creations to Hub - PicMonkey's cloud based platform to use your photos and edits between multiple devices.  Great if you want to edit something later.

Creating Collages

My favorite collage app that has been my ride or die for ages is PicFrame.  PicFrame is not free but it's been the best investment since the dawn of my iPhone usage!  It is so simple and so easy to use. There is a very in depth review here.

Another fun collage app is the A Beautiful Mess app.  This allows you to create fun and unique collages perfect for larger pocket pages.  Add stickers, emojis, and text through this app too.  See more about that app here.

Printing your Memories

Finally, in order to preserve your memories you probably want to print them. Two specific mobile printers are the Cannon Selphy and the Polaroid Zip printer.  I use the Polaroid Zip printer to print 2x3 inch photos.  This is great for on the go memory keeping - if your traveling or if you're journaling as you go.  The Cannon Selphy prints photos on 4x6 inch paper and is much bigger than the Zip printer.  Each have apps that can help you create collages and edit photos for printing.

image source

Before I had my Zip printer, I  used the app Print to Size to print to my wireless printer.  I love this app because I can choose the exact size I want the photo to print.  Change the size to fit in a pocket page or even print the journaling cards you've made using the apps above.  Print to Size creates an 8.5x11 inch page that you send to your wireless printer.  You can also save the page as a PDF to your phone to print later.  Email it to yourself and print it at a place like Staples or Office Max.

Phew! That was a crazy comprehensive list of memory keeping apps!  Everyday my smart phone blows my mind with the stuff it can do.  Did you ever think you'd be carrying around such a powerful machine in your pocket?

I hope you have a fun time memory keeping around this time of year. But remember to keep that warm and fuzzy feeling going all year round, too!

xoxo, Moe

3 Ways to Boost your Instagram Photos

I love Instagram.  I love my iPhone.  I love camera apps.  And I love sharing these things with you all.  My Instagram feed has evolved drastically since I posted my first photo.  Back at the beginning of Instagram time my feed was all filters, frames, etc.  And I had an iPhone 4 and the photo quality wasn't that great.

I have a few previous everyday photo tips posts - iPhoneography Tips & Tricks & 5 Photos you Should Take to Improve your Blog Photography.  This post is going to throw some more tips out there too keep in mind 

Practice Different Shots

The more you practice, the easier it will be to take natural photos.  The more photos you take, the easier it will be to find the perfect light, the perfect set up, and the perfect angle.  The more photos you take, the easier it will be to focus on the elements important to a good photo - composition & light.  This post from 2012 shares different angles to play with using your smart phone...but since that post, the quality of our camera phones has gotten exponentially better.  Now your phone has an auto focus so playing with depth of field and exposure is easier to do from the native camera apps however the iPhone app Warmlight allows you to manipulate focus and exposure over different points of the photo.  So you can focus on one point but adjust the exposure based on a second point.  You can't do that in the iPhone's native camera app!  This will help you adjust for the perfect light!

Use Natural Edits
I've talked to death my favorite apps for subtle edits, but I'll share them with you again - Afterlight, Snapseed, and A Color Story (read all about them here).  All of these apps add subtle effects such as brightness, color correcting, and sharpness with filters and adjustments.  Both Afterlight and A Color Story allow you to save custom filters or custom edits for use later on similar photos.  I love to use these two after adjusting specific areas for brightness in Snapseed.  Additionally, the subtle effects can really offset any weird coloring on your image.  For example, in the A Color Story app you can adjust the temperature easily with a slider under the adjust tab but there are also subtle filters that will correct color temperature.  When ever I take a photo that may appear too yellow, I use the Essentials filter On Lock to brighten, whiten, and correct the temperature of the photo.  (The only filters you really need from this app are in the Essentials collection, and I believe all of those are free!)

But Don't Be Afraid to Add Something Fun
Forget the overprocessed filters and light leaks and try to add something subtle.  In the A Color Story & Snapseed apps there are subtle filters to add grunge, light leaks, and color concentration.  This is adds a cool summery effect but us it in moderation!  Again, the A Color Story app is the best for subtle edits and overlaying a tiny light leak in the perfect spot creates a fun, natural effect.  These things did happen (light leaks, that is) but in order to add a bit of whimsy to your photos, be sure to add them in a place that makes sense for the composition of the photo.  It shouldn't distract from the subject or be so intense that it takes away from the focus of the image.  Just add a touch of flare.

I hope these tips have helped you think more about your Instagram feed and overall photography in general.  You can take these tips and create a carefully curated camera roll just for yourself. You don't even have to apply this to Instagram!  If you'd like to read more iPhoneography tips, click here.  And if you'd like to see my filming set up (spoilers, I film on my iPhone too!) check it out here.

What do you share on your feed?  Any more tips?

xoxo, Moe

App Review // Hipstamatic - Best Analog Camera App for Summer

I've go an oldie but a goodie type of app to recommend to you today - Hipstamatic.  This is an app I mentioned last in 2012 but originally mentioned in 2011 when I got my iPhone 4!  I'm coming back to it today because it is a fun app for taking summer photos.  I  initially want to share with you the disposable camera app made by the same company but I believe that has become unsupported by now.  I opened it and it kept crashing!  Hipstamatic can give you that disposable camera feel with out the actual camera.  

Since I hadn't used this app since about 2012 I was pleasantly surprised to open it and find some awesome things that I didn't remember existing way back when I had an iPhone 4!!

What it is

Make your photos as beautiful as your life and become part of the world’s most creative community, exclusively on iPhone. Sorry, not sorry, Android users.

taken from the iPhone App Store here.

What it does

I love this app!!  First off there is a Pro Mode (unlike the original where you had to use it's toy camera like view finder) where the photo takes up the majority of the screen.  This does take the fun out of the toy camera aspect but if you're into better composing your shots, this helps a lot.  With this Pro Mode you can control shutter speed, manual focus, ISO, white balance, etc.  This is great for capturing the perfect shot.

If your down for more of a disposable camera feel, turn on the shuffle feature to have the app shuffle through all available lenses, filters, and films to create a instant photo with a disposable feel.  The thing I loved about that disposable app is that you din't know what you had until you 'developed' your camera.  With Hipstamatic you don't see a live version of the filter that will be applied - only when the print is developed (or sent to your camera roll) does it show you the effect.  The shuffle feature is great for getting some fun, random shots.

Additionally, Hipstamatic saves the original shot so that if you don't like the filter applied you are able to change it later!  This is great for those that like just a little bit of control over the shots they take.  And you're not stuck to the 1:1 ratio - you can shoot in any ration you'd like...even 16:9 for a YouTube thumbnail

This app is super fun!

Why it helps you

If you're down for having an analog touch to your summer - this app is perfect for you!  It is no fuss - no overlaying of filters, picking the perfect one, deciding on the right effect - just point, shoot, go.  This takes the editing out of shooting as you go.  The photo below was a happy accident...and I love it.  

The camera quality on our phones now is amazing.  I have an iPhone 6s and love the quality of video and of photos.  The versatility of this app can really help you take the perfect summer shot and share with your followers!  If you're a blogger or Instagramer this is a perfect way to share some old fashioned fun online.

Check out some other apps with an analog look that I love - Lo-Mob (last updated in 2013, so compatibility issues may come up), & 8mm video (last updated in 2014, so there may be compatibility issues).  And read more iPhoneography posts here (be sure to go farther back to find these apps mentioned).

Any fun analog apps to recommend?  Any others that are your faves?

xoxo, Moe

Trend Tuesday // Beautiful Flay Lay Photos using the iPhone

Have you ever heard of a flat lay photo?  You may not know the name but you do know the style - a beautifully styled bird's eye view of something super trendy.  You can find the flat lay all over Instagram from makeup, to music, to cleaning supplies (that last one is me!) and creates a beautiful all encompassing image to tell a whole story.

My favorite flat lay to shoot is of beauty products but anything you can lay on a flat surface works great to tell a story like this.  Here are a few tips for flat lay photos

Background

Decide whether your photo will benefit from a simple background or a background with texture.  This may seem a little bit weird but it will give the over all feel to your photo and help you tell the story.  Adding a patterned paper in a contrasting color will give a pop to the scene your photographing.  Photographing against a white background will add a bit of simplicity to the scene. Play around with different backgrounds to see what story you can tell.  An example in the collage above is the flat lay of cleaning supplies - I chose to photograph against my carpet because cleaning is a part of my home, this is an everyday occurrence in an everyday scene.

Lighting

The lighting in your photos is pretty important.  Often you can get a little bit of brightness through apps but if you brighten too much you'll end up losing quality.  If you don't have a light box or nice light to illuminate the scene pretty evenly see if you can get the light to scatter across the scene from a window.  Stage your photos outside or when the lighting is perfect in a certain room.  It may take a couple hundred practice shots in a few different lighting situations to find exactly what you might be looking for when photographing certain scenes.  I usually take photos of beauty products on my white makeup storage because believe it or not the lighting in my closet is pretty nice!  I also use two clamp lights with bright daylight bulbs to take other blog photos.

Apps

When it comes to apps and filters I think the best thing you can do is create a natural scene.  I hardly use the filters in the Instagram app as they are often too harsh and overlay weird colors that create unnatural scenes. I've posted before on my top three iPhone apps but one I want to mention in this post is A Color Story.  The premade filters give just the right touch to brighten or otherwise adjust your photo for a natural look.  You can get artsy with some effects, but generally I'd stay away from those.  This app allows for control over curves and control over filters themselves.  My favorite filters are Lite Bright & Everyday.  These filters are both part of the free Essentials pack and work great to add brightness and make the whites of your photo whites.  I also love that I can correct the light warmth because while the light in my closet is great, it is often too warm adding a hint of yellow to my images.  I correct that by dropping the temperature while editing the photo.  Often you can use the adjustments with in Instagram to get a brighter more defined photo as well.  This natural editing will tell a better story and not create unreal, harsh effects.

The camera you have right in your pocket is a pretty powerful tool and if you start off with the right photo you can do some simple edits to feel satisfied with your image.  Keep it natural to being with and you'll only need a few edits to add that pop you're looking for.

If you'd like more photography tips, check out the posts here.

Have you mastered the flat lay?  Do you use this photo style in your feed?

xoxo, Moe

Trend Tuesday // Current Favorite Photo Apps

Way back in the day I used to post camera & photo app suggestions all the time.  Then I realized that while I liked all the fun filters, I really did like trying to take realistic photos - or photos that could better represent reality.  The camera I use for my Etsy listings and my blog photos has been my iPhone for going on a solid like few years right now!  I haven't busted out my DLSR in ages.  

It took too much to run editing software on my ageing Macbook and because my phone was so portable I could edit on the go.  Meaning I could get work done on my lunch break, during a 3 hour car ride, while I'm waiting on a movie to start, etc.  While that sounds sort of insane - those extra minutes do add up!

Currently I have a rose gold iPhone 6s, an upgrade to my iPhone 5.  I would say 2014 & 2015 were mainly photographed with my iPhone 5, before that was my iPhone 4, and going forward will be my iPhone 6s.  I was reading some where that it wouldn't be science fiction for the newer iPhone models to have the quality of DSLRs.  With the mini processing power of these phones, you can even run Adobe products!  My dad blew my mind with his use of Lightroom on his phone.  Amazeballs!

Since 99.99999% of my blog photo work is done on my phone, I'm always in the market for apps that make things easier.  Apps that have targeted enhancements and apps that allow you to create your own filters or actions always get a download from me.

Afterlight

I have a whole review on Afterlight here on the blog, but I love this app because of it's simplicity.  The adjustments sliders are just right and the options are endless.  Honestly, I use this app everyday but I would say I've never used it to it's full potential - the creativity in this app is endless.

I mainly use the fusion option which is a feature that allows you to create your own preset filters.  You can create these fusions, save them, and email them to yourself (or friends) for other devices.  You can also add on to the fusion you've created and save it as a new preset.  When I open a photo in Afterlight I only do a few basic edits - brightness, crop, etc - if need be, but I mainly only use the fusion option.  This creates a cohesive look to the photos on my blog.  Every post has the same feel and these presets aren't too over the top.  The images are still realistic.

Snapseed

I've mentioned Snapseed in many posts on the blog but this is my favorite app for precision editing.  my favorite feature is the Selective function.  This allows you to target the Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation of a certain area of your image.  If ever I find the corners of my photo to be dark, I use the Selective function to bump up the brightness in that targeted area.  

The edits are subtle and fully controllable to create a subtly enhanced image.  Bump up the brightness, adjust the contrast, use the brush feature to adjust exposure (and more) in a more specific area.  I also love the heal feature for any blemishes on my zillion selfies.

ColorStory

This app is new to the app store and I've found the filters very helpful for creating that realistic look.  One of my favorites is in the Essentials Collection.  It is named Lite Bright and I love it because it makes the whole image bright.  Each filter can be adjusted for intensity

This app takes it slightly farther than Afterlight for me with a true curves feature.  I'll be the first to tell you though - I don't quite understand curves!!  But the other edits are amazingly adjustable.  Using this app you can create custom filters as well.  The only downfall to this app is you can't move the photo between apps to conserve space on your phone.  Some apps will have a feature that allows you to open the photo in another app right from the app screen - both Afterlight and Snap Seed have this feature.  Moving photos through different apps is my favorite way to conserve space on my phone while traveling - read more ways to conserve space here.

I miss trying all the new camera apps but I really have a certain look in mind these days so a lot of the crazy filters don't do it for me any more!  I even love how Instagram has offered up some new filters that are more realistic.  

You can read all my iPhoneography posts here.

What are your favorite photo apps?  Do you use your phone as your main camera as well?

xoxo, Moe

Three Photo Storage Tips for your Next Vacation

A few months ago Zach & I got back from week long trip to Korea.  I know, I know....you've seen like 3 pictures of Korea ever.....I promise I'm working on that.  I really am.  When it came down to packing photo gear for this little trip I had one thing on my mind -  I am not packing my DSLR, it takes up too much space.  So I promptly went out and bought a 64 GB memory card for my old point and shoot (+ an iPhone external back up, just in case).

this post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.

When I got to Korea....turns out my old point and shoot can't handle a new fangled 64 GB SD card.....so I put my phone in airplane mode and used that as my video camera and my point and shoot.  I only have the 16 GB phone, so here's what I did to free up space for the photos I was going to take:

Delete apps you don't need

This is sort of a duh moment here but I went through and deleted all the apps I wouldn't use in Korea.  Like my Starbucks and Subway app - I'm probably not going to use those half way across the world.  I would suggest deleting the apps you have for fun if you're going on a trip in the US and will probably stop at a Starbucks.  If you have any games you haven't played in ages or photo apps you never use, get rid of them and add them on later when you get back from your trip.  Who knows...you might get rid of some and make room for more.....if you never used the apps anyway.

Move your photos through different apps

When I wanted to take a picture and do a bit of editing on it right there I found this tip to be the most helpful.  A good example, that I do often now anyway, is to start in an app like PicFrame.  Create your collage the way you want, then under the share option find other apps.  This feature will find the other photo apps on your phone so you can move the photo to that app with out saving it to your camera roll.  You've just freed up space for another picture!  So then you could move the photo to let's say, Afterlight.  Once you've finalized you're edits there, you could save to camera roll or select other apps and move it to Phonto, for example, to add a caption or other text over your photo.  Then from Phonto, you could save to camera roll oooooor move it to Instagram (or countless other apps!).  You've just saved one, fully edited photo instead of saving 4 images - one of each edit.  This leaves room for 4 more photos.  I think this is pretty cool!

Buy back up storage for your phone

I picked up a SanDisk iXpand Sync back up.  This one is super cool (and the only thing I've ever had like it) because you can create folders to organize your photos and you can set auto back up once you plug it in.  In the limited time we had before running around the next day, I'd pop in the back up, wait for it to sync, then go back - tap, tap, tap - and put the photos into the Korea folder for the corresponding day.  If later I wanted to go through and edit a photo on my phone, I could plug the back up back into the phone, save the image back to the camera roll and work from there.  This back up was a life saver for the videos I took on my phone!  The back up also has a USB end so you can plug the back up right into your computer and download your videos/photos there too.  Pretty awesome storage device!

These three tips are great for everyday storage saving on your phone but even better when it comes to travel.  I love the quality of the camera on the iPhone 5S....but honestly I can't wait to upgrade to the 6!  You can capture beautiful photos and video in the palm of your hand....and that is pretty amazing.

How do you store your vacation photos?  Do you use your phone as your main camera?

xoxo, Moe