Image via Complex Original
After being acquired by Facebook back in 2012, many wondered how the wildly popular photo app, Instagram, was going to keep its momentum surging in 2013. However, with their new video feature, and the private photo-messaging option, it's safe to say that Instagram is going to continue to own their lane well into the next year. When it comes to making and sharing creative, mobile photography, the app remains the most-used and subscribed-to platform around. Third-party developers have certainly been cognizant of consumer response as well, stepping up their game to help iPhone and Android users everywhere create interesting and unique photography beyond what Instagram offers. And because we want to help you get all the likes you can, we put together a list of The Best Apps to Improve Your Instagram. Featuring Snapseed, VSCO Cam, Afterlight, and more, these are the essential photo accessories you should be picking up to get the most out of your mobile camera.
Call Chelsea Peretti
Price: $1.99
Brooklyn 911 star and former Parks & Recreation writer Chelsea Peretti has brought her irreplaceably weird sense of humor over to the tech world with her app, Call Chelsea Peretti. With the app's Chelstagram function, you can add filters like "I'm Feeling Fat," "Psycho" or "Wolf Mode," ensuring plenty of LOLZ for you and your followers. On top of that, if you happen to have a podcast, the app offers a hilarious soundboard as well. Download it now on the App Store.
Superimpose
Price: $0.99
For those trying to get some top-grade photoshop work done on their phone, Pankaj Goswami's Superimpose app is for you, offering the ability to blend your photos together with seamless, professional quality. Boasting over 10 different masking tools and 18 blending modes, Superimpose can help you get rid of any extraneous details that you're trying to erase in a photo, and then give that image the background you want. Make that perfect pic with your iPhone now.
Over
Price: $1.99
If you've ever wanted to add some artistic or provocative text to your photos, then Over has you covered. It doesn't always have to be big and bold either. With transparency tools, you can make the lettering as faded as you want, adding a subliminal message to your photo to help make it even more evocative. Unfortunately for Android users, this one is iPhone-exclusive for now. However, Droid customers would be wise to check out PicsArt instead.
Slow Shutter Cam
Price: $0.99
If you've been bemoaning your phone's inability to take long-exposure photography, Slow Shutter Cam is here to help you out, essentially allowing you to lengthen your iPhone's shutter speed to blur and blend images together. With both Automatic and Manual capture modes, Slow Shutter Cam is the closest you can get to turning your phone into a real, high-quality camera. Because the app isn't available in the Play Store, Android users should try the Camera FV-5 app.
pxl.
Price: $0.99
For any Georges Seurat fans out there, pxl. is the best way to add an unexpected and creative touch to your photos, allowing you pixelate them in a variety of ways so that they resemble dots, brush strokes and more. Anyone can add a Kelvin or Rise filter to their photo with Instagram, but using pxl. allows you to do things with your photography that you never even imagined. Add it to your iPhone on the App Store, and start creating your own masterpieces today.
Split Lens
Price: Free
When you want to get that crazy cloning effect in your photos, Split Lens is the app you need to download. With Black/Matrix's photo effects creation, you can add an entirely new, illusory aspect to your photography that's sure to impress at least a few of your friends. Even better, Split Lens is completely free. Download it now on the App Store.
Pic Stitch
Price: Free
If you've ever wondered how your friends were able to create and post photo collages on their Instagrams, then odds are good that they've used Pic Stitch, or a similar app. Letting you decide border width, layout, and photo sizes, Pic Stitch brings all your favorite photos into one, neatly-framed image, sure to garner a flood of Likes from your followers. Get it today at the App Store or the Play Store.
Afterlight
Price: $0.99
Afterlight was one of the most popular apps of 2013, particulary for the options that it offers in the way of cropping and editing photos. Afterlight lets you place shapely borders over your pics (including hashtags, spades, and more) and can introduce some aesthetically-pleasing light leaks into your photo, as well as a host of other interesting effects. If you have an iPhone, the 99 cents you pay is well-worth the reward. Cop it at the App Store.
Snapseed
Price: Free
Snapseed has been hailed as one of the top photo-editing options available on any mobile phone after being acquired by Google back in late 2012. Much like VSCO Cam or Afterlight, Snapseed is worth downloading because of the rich roster of pic-tweaking tools available to you for free. And with their latest update, Snapseed offers a new HDR SCAPE filter for added vibrancy and a Shadows slider to adjust the darkness and lightness of your images. Pick it up on the App Store or Play Store.
VSCO Cam
Price: Free
Visual Supply Company's VSCO Cam has been the benchmark for mobile photography for the better part of the past year, primarily on the strength of its editing options, and the wide range of styles it can offer your phone's photo reel. Letting you tinker with tools like Exposure, Temperature, Contrast, Crop, Rotate, Fade and Vignette, as well as a handy array of presets, VSCO Cam will give your photos a polished and creative flair that you can't get with Instagram alone, and is now available for both the iPhone and Android.