I just looked at my phone and I have 2,763 photos in my photo stream, which I’m thinking makes me a bit of a photo-obsessed when it comes to my kids (or at least one that needs to learn how to clean out her photos). But, I don’t even care I barely have any memory left because I love those photos so much. I love taking them and then looking at them when I have a few seconds in line at the grocery store; I love sharing them with my family and friends; I love printing them out (fine, very occasionally), and marveling at how much the kids have grown and how much we’ve done together.
That little cell phone holds a world of memories and good times in it, which, of course, then need to be organized, backed up, prettied up, and shared, all of which can be overwhelming and time-consuming if you don’t have the right apps. Fortunately, I also happen to be really into photo apps. From quick editors that take photos from blah to stunning, to set-it-and-forget-it auto backup tools, download these photo apps stat (that is, if you can spare the room on your phone). Check them all out in the slideshow.
11 Photo Apps for a Photo Obsessed Mom
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A Color Story
Why I Love It: Because A Color Story took everything we like about every photo app out there and then a bunch of things we couldn't find anywhere (keeping your whites white, making your colors pop without over-saturating) and made it SO EASY. Like now with the click of one button, I can add a filter to my photos that makes me look years younger, my kids' clothes look clean, and makes me look like I actually know how to take and edit photos. I promise it can make just about any photo Instagram-worthy...
Get it: Apple or Google Play
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Shoebox
Why I Love It: As someone who has left her phone on top of her car and driven away and had her son smash another one, there's a fairly good chance I'm not going to get my photos backed up before a catastrophe strikes. Which is why I invest $5 a month in Shoebox. It automatically backs up my photos on my phone and computer, plus it organizes them by date and year and, in a sweet touch, sends me an email of what happened on this day over the past years.
Get it: Apple or Google Play
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Keepy
Why I Love It: Because you're probably not ever going to get around to making a scrapbook album, and Keepy's got you covered. As a virtual scrapbooking home, Keepy helps you save photos and videos (including photos of art projects and school certificates) with recordings of you and your kids telling the stories behind each one. You can then share the files with grandparents and friends who can add their own commentary and, before you know it, you've created a pretty amazing keepsake without a ton of time.
Get it: Apple or Google Play
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Flic
Why I Love It: How many times have you been in the perfect moment, kids all smiling for once, and then you miss it because you need to delete ten photos in order to take one? Yeah, me too. The Flic app aims to change all that with a simple swipe - left if you want to delete the photo, right to keep it. Billed as 5 times easier than deleting them from your camera roll, it will free up your camera memory and probably
Get it: Apple
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Retype
Why I Love It: Because there's not a Comic Sans in sight. Retype lets you add text to your photos with really cool, Instagram-worthy fonts that will leave everyone wondering where you found the time to learn Photoshop.
Get it: Apple
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Flipagram
Why I Love It: You guys, I have AMAZING intentions. I'm always certain this will be the year I'll finally compile all the photos I've collected throughout the year into a snazzy video with music and memories certain to bring the house down. But, I always put it off because it's so overwhelming, right? Not anymore. Flipagram lets you easily upload your photos and videos to their app where you can add music from their library (tons of your favorite songs, I promise) for a totally tear-jerking video.
Get it: Apple or Google Play
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Stellar
Why I Love It: Because it's beautiful. Sometimes as a mom you just need to be inspired and Stellar is the place. Users can turn their photos into mini-posts of what they're doing, things they love, places they're visiting, recipes, and more, and it feels like an endless supply of good photography and excellent story telling. I have to admit I don't post on it, but, instead use it as a quick dose of
Get it: Apple or Google Play
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Brightwheel
Why I Love It: (Brightwheel is not technically just a photo app, but I had to include it because the photo aspect is so beneficial and I'd love it if every preschool used it!) You know how you get to the middle of the day without your kids and wish you could just check in on them for a quick sec to see what they're doing? Brightwheel lets you do that. It has a ton of features (updates on what they're learning and how they're doing), but my favorite is the photo feed, which your school can update throughout the day with class activities and photos of your little one. It's a quick little fix throughout the day that's easy on everyone and keeps the mom part of your day on track.
Get it: on their website
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First Camera
Why I Love It: Because most of us have a budding photographer in our life who really, really likes to take still-life photos of the cat. Like 147 of them, which also, coincidentally, makes it impossible to take actual photos when you need to. First Camera solves that problem by saving your kids' photos to the app rather than your photo stream and letting you set parameters on the amount they can save. Plus there are safeguards so they can't accidentally tweet or gram the photos and settings so they don't accidentally delete their masterpieces.
Get it: Apple
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Boomerang
Why I Love It: Sometimes a still photo just can't say everything you need to say and, for those times, there's Instagram's new app, Boomerang. Shooting 10 consecutive photos, it creates mini-movies that perfectly capture things like your little ones dance moves so that you can relish the hilarity over and over.
Get it: Apple and Google Play
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Face Swap
Why I Love It: Because there is literally no one in this world who can keep a straight face while swapping their face with someone else. And that includes your toddler who's currently having a meltdown in the post office line.
Get it: Apple or Google Play
