About a month ago I discovered what has become one of my very favorite iPhone apps: Instagram, released in October. I have several photography apps on my phone, including paid ones, but this free app has quickly become my most-used, primarily because they’ve nailed the social media aspect of it.
Instagram allows you to use either photos you take from within the app or from your photo library; edit them with cool, retro filters; and upload them to your Instagram feed. You also have the option of adding the photos to Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous, or Foursquare. One drawback is that you can’t zoom the camera from within the app (I can with Best Camera, one of my other favorite iPhone camera apps). If I want to zoom, I just take the photo with the regular camera app and import it to Instagram.
New Permit Driver | Mickey D's Sweet Tea | Best Camera Book
Instagram is slice-of-life. Those things that you’re told no one wants to hear about on Facebook and Twitter—what you’re eating, wearing, etc.—they don’t mind seeing. Almost nothing is mundane.
You’ll want to follow people who are your real life, online (or both) friends, otherwise their images probably won’t mean much to you. Once the app is installed, click the Profile tab to search your address book, Facebook, and Twitter friends (the Twitter search never works for me) to see who’s on Instagram and select who you want to follow (the photos they upload will be in your feed). I installed it on my husband’s phone and he immediately uploaded two photos.
Instagram has some heavy investors, so there will probably be additional (paid) filter options and apps for other camera phones in their future. The quality of photos in my flickr stream may have taken a dive, but I’m having so much fun on Instagram that I just don’t care. For a girl who loves seeking beauty in the mundane, it’s a perfect app.
[Angry Julie Monday just wrote a post for iHeartFaces about iPhone camera apps, including Instagram.]
i don’t have a fancy phone for this, but I ALWAYS click on people’s pictures in twitter. what so many see as simple and mundane, i see as this great view into life. into people’s worlds and hearts and just fun things i miss seeing out there. so fun!
Sara, I want to start emailing you all my random photos now!
I discovered Instagram a few days ago… and i’m looking forward to know how I can look back to the pics i’ve favorited! Is it possible?
I love Instagram too, but you already knew that. I am doing Project 365 and I’m still going…every week I post all of my daily photos on Saturday. It is an entertaining way to see my daily life. I have ummm lots of food photos…{giggle}
I have the Droid – no instagram app! pout. pout. I do have a Vignette free photo app but am looking around for another cool one. If you hear of any good free ones for the Droid – I am SO interested! 🙂
I love instagram! I’d love to follow you, I love the photos you posted! Follow me at ‘NaomiStrange’
I am such an app junkie! I had it downloaded, but only in the past 4-5 months maybe started using it. Why did I wait so long?!? I love instagram (oh, yeah, and I follow you on IG too! LOL)