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Tuesday 13 May 2014

App Instinct: Fhotoroom

Who here has a Windows 8 device? *raises hand*

It's great how Windows has decided to try and incorporate apps into the mix, although there is one downfall; the Store. Windows just doesn't have the variety of apps that Android or Apple has. But do not worry! Here are the apps that I use (and recommend) for photo editing.

Okay, so you could fork out some hard earned dough and buy Adobe PhotoShop, but seriously, for the amateur photographer (a.k.a me) it can't be justified spending that much for functions that I wouldn't even begin to know how to use.

Presenting to you, Fhotoroom

The 'home' page.

It's like a Instagram/Photo Editor cross. It has all the filters you need plus your basic editing needs. And that's in the free version.

It's super user friendly, which is good. It may take you a couple of minutes to find out where everything is (it did for me), and once you're right, you can begin on the whole quest for the perfect edit.
General Fhotoroom layout
One downside is that you have to pay for a little something called 'ProTools'. Despite this, I loved how you can use the ProTools and see how it will affect your photo without having paid. You just can't apply the changes, but I feel it gives you a good idea of what and how you can use them.

I went all out and spent a whole $1.49 for the complete app. Yeah, that's right, less then the fee for not using your Bank's ATM. And it's $1.49 well spent. I love the ProTools edit brush which allows you to target specific areas for contrast, brightness, saturation and sharpness. ColorSplash is also a favourite because you can intensify specific colours which can take you pics to the next level.
Using the edit brush to sharpen specific areas

There is also a FhotoRoom 'store' where you can buy or install more filters and frames. Some of them are free whereas some sets are 49 cents. It is a little annoying that you have to pay for additional filters, especially when you have already paid for the app (although I'm led to believe by buying the whole app you get 12 additional filters included).

Another plus is that you can control the threshold of pretty much everything. You can control how intense the filters are, to the frames, to pretty much any corrective measure you would like to use.


Before
 
After.


And the app is probably the closest thing to Instagram for Windows. You can share your photos with the Fhotoroom community, apply hashtags, and search for similar things. Some of the edits will blow your mind and inspire you in a number different ways.

Searching for photos within the app


Searching for photos on the website


There is just one photo editing service that this app lacks. It is the ability to 'stitch' your pictures together or make a collage. But that is no problem since Fotor can do that for you, and it's completely free.

Some may enjoy Fotor more than Fhotoroom, but I find that it lacks some editing ability when compared out of the two. That being said, the two together; woah.


In conclusion, I would definitely recommend Fhotoroom for the average person's editing wants. Depending on what level of editing you need within the app, buying the whole app and all the additional frames and filters is unnecessary for your very basic needs. If you want a bit more scope within the app, I could not recommend the ProTools addition enough. This app lacks (but only slightly) because you cannot make collages and pic stitches with it, but try Fotor for that.

If you want more editing power than this, definitely go for Adobe PhotoShop products, but be prepared to pay more then $1.49 for it - although they do give you a 30 day free trial before you make up your mind, so it is worth checking out.

THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST. I just wanted to share something that I like using and to give a review on it. If you have any favourite apps to rave about, please comment below!!

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