Today, I want to introduce another app. This one is called Paper Camera. It’s $1.99 and it’s available for both iPhone and Android phones.
I found this app while looking for an app that has the same levels adjustment PhotoForge has (see Lesson 76)–I still haven’t found one yet, so let me know if you have one! I downloaded it out of curiosity, played with it a few minutes and then forgot about it.
Then, I was working on creating a graphic for a small business. I’m not a graphics artist, so I was starting with a photo and doing all kinds of crazy things in Photoshop Elements trying to turn the photo into something that would work. After spending hours shooting and editing, I realized I didn’t have the right composition to make the image work.
I packed up my tripod, camera, light stand, light modifiers, flash, and various accessories and headed back to the client’s location to shoot again. I got there (feeling like a pack mule) and suddenly remembered the Paper Camera app. I pulled it out, and with a single tap on the screen, created a graphic that will work. I immediately got depressed.
But, you should rejoice! This little app will allow you to create really funky stuff when you’re feeling like having a little fun. What’s also exciting is that it will create the same effects in video. And, you can see the effects in your screen as you’re taking the photo/video. It’s pretty wild.
There are three things I don’t like about the app:
- It doesn’t save an unedited version of the photo–you only get the image with effects applied.
- It’s upside down, doesn’t rotate, and the volume-up button doesn’t work for shutter release. I guess this could be 3 things, but it’s the combination of them that I find annoying.
- While the icons in the app are cute, if you’re someone who needs reading glasses but tries to get by without them, it’s hard to tell what they are.
That said, it’s still a lot of fun to see the world in line drawings or cartoon live on your phone.
Your Assignment: If you’re interested in this app, download it and try out the various effects. Try flipping over to video with the “Con Tours” effect on. It’s fun. Here are screen shots of the different effects. I’ll do some more details on what you can do with this app in later lessons.
Snap Great Photos 
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