effects

By now, just about anyone with an iPhone or iPad probably has a ton of images sitting in his or her image library. Most people already know about photo-sharing apps like Instagram and EyeEm, along with photo filter apps like PhotoToaster and FX Photo Studio for that stylized look, but there are still more fun ways to play with your images to produce nice-looking projects.

Diptic (99 cents) is an intuitive app that lets you make cool-looking collages using photos you take with your iPhone camera or what you have stored in your photo library. A new version of the app now adds photo filters and other options, letting you create simple but elegant collages in only a few easy steps.… Read more

The new Facebook Camera app for iPhone offers many of the features people love about Instagram, and adds new ones that Facebook users will definitely appreciate.

Right as soon as you launch the app, you can see the camera icon in the upper left for taking a picture (which I'll get to in a moment), but you can also see thumbnails of your latest shots. Below that is your Facebook feed, with great big images posted by your friends and options to Like the photo, or comment on the post in the lower left. The new layout is excellent … Read more

Adobe Systems today began selling Creative Suite 6, its mammoth but expensive collection of software for designers, artists, photographers, videographers, publishers, and others in the "content creation" business.

The software is available in the $2,599 Master Collection, the smaller $1,899 Design and Web Premium or Production Premium collections, or the yet-smaller $1,299 Design Standard collection. About three quarters of Adobe's unit shipments today are in these collections, but individual packages are available, too, such as Photoshop CS6 for $699 in its standard version or Illustrator CS6 for $599.

With CS6, Adobe tried to mix … Read more

Spring has finally sprung here in Northern California, and with the nice weather and everything in bloom, it's the perfect time to check out some new photo apps.

We all know about apps like Instagram, and I've talked about effects apps like PhotoToaster here before. But I have come across some new (or new to me) photo apps recently that are great for playing with your images and sharing them with friends.

This week's iOS apps are perfect for snapping pictures of springtime (or really, any time). The first is a social photo app like Instagram with … Read more

Photofunia is a ridiculously simple photo effects app that lets you drop your photos into funny and interesting scenes, similar to those you might find at an amusement park photo booth. If, say, you want to see what your face might look like on a billboard in Times Square, Photofunia has an effect for that. How about on the cover of Esquire Magazine? Photofunia's got that covered too. With an incredible number of effects available, the possibilities seem endless.

To get started with Photofunia, just fire up the app and start looking for an effect you like. You can … Read more

Photofunia is a ridiculously simple photo effects app that lets you drop your photos into funny and interesting scenes, similar to those you might find at an amusement park photo booth. If, say, you want to see what your face might look like on a billboard in Times Square, Photofunia has an effect for that. How about on the cover of Esquire Magazine? Photofunia's got that covered, too. With an incredible number of effects available, the possibilities seem endless.

To get started with Photofunia, just fire up the app and start looking for an effect you like. You can … Read more

Slideshows are a great way to display your digital images at parties, presentations, family gatherings, and many other events. There's no shortage of software designed to help users create slideshows, and with so many to choose from, it makes no sense to compromise with substandard software. Unfortunately, that's exactly what AVD Slide Show is. We wanted to like this program, but functional problems made that all but impossible.

AVD Slide Show has a simple but attractive interface, with a toolbar across the top and a navigation pane down the left side that lets users select the images they … Read more

Adobe Systems is about to begin a difficult -- but smart -- transition.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company will overhaul its core software business in May when it launches a subscription service called Creative Cloud, which bundles its new Creative Suite 6 products with a swath of other products and services. To make it a success, it'll have to convince customers that it's a better value than traditional software licensing.

Here's an indicator of how hard the change will be: A CNET survey in March showed a frosty reception, with 41 percent of respondents viewing Creative Cloud negatively, … Read more

Adobe Systems first showed a few paws, then a tail, then a couple ears and some whiskers -- but now the company is letting the complete Creative Suite 6 cat out of the bag.

After a series of sneak previews and early announcements, Adobe now is detailing the full CS6 line, the meat and potatoes of Adobe's business. It's important to a large number of people involved with photography, videography, design, and publishing on the Web or on paper, and it's set to be arrive within 30 days, Adobe announced today.

But CS products aren't cheap, … Read more