As one of the most popular operating systems (mobile or not) iOS offers decent capabilities for taking, editing and managing your photos. However, it would be impossible for the stock apps to include all the features you’re dreaming off, especially since each person has different needs.
That’s not such a big problem though, since there are plenty of third-party apps which allow you to take your photos to the next level and do pretty much anything that’s crossed your mind and even more.
Today’s roundup covers a varied assortment of photo apps for iOS, that can improve many photography related tasks from shooting and post-processing images to taking selfies, applying filters and creating collages. As a bonus all of these apps are free and despite some of them feature IAPs, the free features are still undeniably useful.
VSCOÂ (previously VSCO Cam)
VSCO is a Swiss army knife of photography, as it works as a camera app but also includes image editing tools and sharing functions. It features some great editing presets but also lets you tweak parameters manually which include exposure, temperature, contrast and more.
Camera controls also allow for advanced customization for shutter speed, focus, ISO and exposure compensation. Regarding VSCO’s social aspect, the app lets you discover photos taken by other people and you can share your own creations in the app’s community as well as your camera roll and popular social networks.
What’s more, the app bundles plenty of photo filters (many of them being free) and it lets you compare the edited photo to the original so you can get a better idea of the outcome.
CamMe
If you want to capture selfies that don’t show just your face, CamMe can offer help in this department. This app lets you start a countdown using hand gestures, giving you plenty of time to step away from the phone and position yourself before snapping the photo.
On top of that, CamMe includes other interesting features such as the PhotoBooth which lets you take multiple photos sequentially, a built-in editor where you can add your own mug to fun scenes cutouts and of course, social sharing options.
Snapseed
Snapseed is a well-rounded photo editing app that caters to all users. While it does allow you to quickly improve a photo thanks to its auto-adjust function, it also offers various settings you can manually tweak such as saturation, brightness, shadows, sharpening, warmth, ambiance, crop, rotate and so on.
Among its interesting capabilities there is the transform tool which lets you change a photo’s perspective with the app automatically filling in empty areas and the selective adjustment function that enables you to edit only certain areas of an image.
Considering Snapseed is absolutely free, the range of features included in the app is quite impressive and the numerous filters and tools such as healing and vignette are just an added bonus.
Fotor
Fotor doubles as a camera and photo editing app, wrapped in a beautiful, minimalist interface. It offers six photo-taking modes and various one-tap adjustment tools for speedy image enhancement.
However, you won’t be disappointed by its advanced options either and Fotor abounds in filters, effects, stickers and frames that lets you make your photos unique. As of the latest update, the app offers an exclusive ‘Focus’ feature that uses SLR technology which lets you adjust the focal point to give your photos more clarity and depth.
Camera360
Camera360 is a photo editing app with a social twist. It has a huge community with members from all around the world and it features photo challenges so your creations have the potential of being viewed by millions of other users.
But this is not what makes it a great photography app of course. Camera360 has plenty of image adjustment tools from funny stickers and over 100 filters to professional editing functions and even selfie optimizations like facial contouring and a quick fix option. The app surely deserves appreciation for the fact it offers so much functionality for free and doesn’t display ads.
PhotoWonder
Photo Wonder lets you have tons of fun with your photos, if that’s something you like to do. The app bundles several camera filters and basic editing options and it’s a great tool for creating collages as it provides various templates and layouts for this purpose.
Ladies will probably appreciate the ‘Beautification’ category of editing options which includes some drastic adjustments like teeth whitening, eye enlargement, skin polishing, slimming and acne removal. And if you want to take things a bit further, Photo Wonder offers plenty of decorations and frames to personalize your photos even more.
Aviary
Aviary has received a lot of praise and rightfully so as it provides features for both professional editing and the fun side of altering photos. It has a mixed collection of free and premium filters and correction tools like teeth whitening as well as redeye and blemish removal.
As expected from a great photo editing app it also lets you crop, rotate and straighten your images but also tweak sharpness, contrast, brightness, highlights, shadows, saturation, tint and so on.
Splash is one of Aviary’s most interesting features as it allows you to selectively remove and replace colors, plus the app doesn’t lack items you can apply onto your photos like stickers and frames. What’s more you can create your custom drawing and text to use on your images and share the results via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
SelfieX
If you want to take a high-resolution selfie then you absolutely need to use the back camera, which to be honest does make things a bit difficult. SelfieX was specifically create to solve this problem.
The app give you spoken instructions to help you position the camera correctly and to make thigs even easier it will automatically snap the photo. This ensures your face is always framed and you won’t struggle through multiple failures until you get it right.
Over
Over is way more than a photo editing app as it includes an overwhelming amount of graphic design features. Lets just say it’s a great choice if you need to use your photos for designing greeting cards, invitations, slideshows, social media graphics and album covers among others.
The app provides more than 300 fonts, 800 illustrations and even free photos from online sources if you install some add-ons. It also comes with various filters and a number of free extensions to enable exactly the features you need.
What I find particularly note-worthy is that Over even lets you install your own fonts and organize your favorite ones. If you need an image editing app with graphic design tools, that’s also easy to use, don’t hesitate to give Over a try.
Steller
From the same category as Over, Steller lets you create visual stories using your photos and it offers a simple way of doing this thanks to the built-in design themes. Steller is also a social app so you can share your creations with other users or via social networks, email or SMS.
Furthermore, you can view, like and comment on stories created by other users (a somewhat Instagram-flavored feature) and curate them into collections.
What’s your favorite title from today’s roundup and what other great photography apps can you recommend? Share your thoughts in the comments section or drop us a line on  Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
