Smile!: Best Photo Apps For iPad

Sep

2010

Robert Workman, iPadNewsDaily Contributor
03:00 AM ET

Apple sells an Camera Kit that allows you to easily import photos from your digital camera to your iPad. But what if you want to do more with your photos than simply view them? Don't worry, we have you covered with seven apps that will bring out the best in your pictures.

PhotoGene for iPad ($3.99, Omer Shoor)

If you're looking for a program similar to Photoshop on your computer, then PhotoGene for iPad is a prime pick. It features a number of photo-editing options, including cropping, sharpening, as well as color adjustments and resizing. If you want to add a little more flair to your photos, you can add text or shadow and glowing effects. Once you're satisified, you can upload photos directly to Facebook or Twitter for all the world to see. (You can save to the iPad's Photo app as well.)

PhotoForge for iPad (Ghostbird Software, $4.99)

With a number of fine tune adjustments and tools available with a tap on the screen, PhotoForge for iPad is an incredibly helpful program. Simply choose your photo and go with whatever options you desire, including simulated HDR (where you manipulate the visible range of an image's highlights and shadows), manual exposure and vibrance. In addition, there are multiple tools to help you with editing, including a clone stamp tool (where you can copy a part of an image to another area) and an Eye Dropper tool (in which you can select the color of individual pixels in an image -- say goodbye to red eye!).

FilterStorm for iPad (Tai Shimizu, $2.99)

Cheaper than the previous applications, FilterStorm for iPad is a great editing tool. Various items are available here, including curves manipulation, luminance filters (as pictured above) and black and white conversion fine-tuning, among others. You can export images up to a size of 3072 X 2048 pixels (it automatically scales to fit into the iPad screen) and add everything from a caption to other metadata, such as the city or state where the photo was taken. This one's very in-depth and ideal for both would-be photographers and pros alike.

PhotoPad by Zagg (ZAGG, free)

If you're hard pressed for cash or just getting into photo manipulation for the first time, PhotoPad by Zagg is a great place to start. For the price of nothing, you get a lot of options to play around with here, including rotation, scaling, drawing and sketching, color swapping (check out the example above) and adjusting threshold levels. You can also adjust color, contrast, tint, and saturation with ease. Zagg has done pretty good with this free application, so be sure to check it out.

PhotoBucket for iPad (Free, Photobucket.com)

With PhotoBucket on the iPad, you'll be able to upload existing media straight to your online albums. In addition, you can also search through the site's huge media catalog using a helpful search tool. You can also do background downloads, so you don't stop the photo viewing action while something is downloading. And with full album and media management, there are literally dozens of ways to organize your albums. We like the Photo Frame option as well, where you can display photos through virtual slideshows. If you're a PhotoBucket user, you'll love this virtual application.

PhotoEditor for iPad ($2.99, Marvin Lee)

Although this application isn't as heavily advertised as the others on our list, there's something about it that made us want to point it out. PhotoEditor features a number of options for the money, including brightness and contrast, color balance, hue and saturation, selective grayscale and image rotation. It's also got a very user-friendly interface, so you can do everything you need to without going through so many useless screens. This is another one that's good for beginning photographers.

Bill Atkinson PhotoCard for iPad (Bill Atkinson Photography, $4.99)

Although it's not as option-laden as the other choices included here, Bill Atkinson PhotoCard is a nifty program that lets you create your own custom postcards. You can either print them up and send them via snail mail or email them to your friends. The program comes with 150 default images, and adding your own is a cinch. You can also add stickers and stamps to personalize your photos, then put your custom message on the back. If you're on the go a lot and want to send special postcards to that certain someone, this is the best way to go.