There are hundreds of apps available that enable you to spice up your photos and create great visual content for your business that you can share on social media. Some apps focus on editing the photos and some more on the addition of text or filters. Most do both (with varying ease) and some, with special quirks.
This is a quick overview of six apps you can use to create quick and effective visual content that communicates your business or brand message both effectively and memorably on social media.
A Beautiful Mess
(~$1.09)
The ‘A Beautiful Mess’ App was developed by the creators of the lifestyle blog of the same name.
It includes options to create collages or edit a single image. The images can be resized freely and cropped to set shapes, but there is no ability to rotate the image.
Text is easily added, and there is range of free fonts to choose from. Multiple text captions can be added easily and independently styled. Resizing and tilting is simple with a pinch and twist, colour and opacity adjustment are available with a click.
There are half a dozen filters that can be applied to the canvas. Other doodles, borders and phrases can be added to the photo for extra impact.
The range of options for editing is adequate, with more fonts, borders, doodles, and phrases available for additional in-app purchase at $0.99us (~$1.09au) a pop.
Pros:
- Collage or Single image.
- Free range of canvas size.
- Multiple texts can be used and styed individually.
- Doodles and borders.
Cons:
- Limited filters
- Can be expensive if you keep purchasing extra options
Phonto
Free- (with ads) $1.20 to remove the ads in App once installed
Phonto can only be used with a single photo, and is focused on the addition of text to spice up your images. The image aspect remains as loaded, the only option to edit the photo in app is to rotate it 90 degrees (which is not much use most of the time).
The options for text more than make up for the limited photo editing options. The list of fonts available is as long as your arm, as are the options to edit them, including shadows, borders, curves, and even the option to have each letter a different colour. Multiple texts can be used on a single image to further add contrast and effect to the photo.
There are no stickers or doodles available for adding extra pizazz to your image.
Pros:
- Multiple texts can be used and styed individually.
- Large list of fonts
- Many ways to edit and style the text.
Cons:
- Single image only.
- Can’t edit the canvas size – as loaded.
- No stickers or doodles.
- No filters or image editing
Instaquote
Free- (with ads)
As the name suggests the primary focus of this app is for creating those uplifting quotes that are as much a part of Instagram as yellow cabs are part of New York City.
Instaquote can be used with your own images, cropped back to the stock square canvas or, for quotes, a selection of included canvases. Any image you load can be zoomed as needed and cropped.
Text can be added using the 50 fonts available, resized, have the line spacing and colour adjusted, but can’t be tilted. Multiple font types on a single image are also not available with this app.
If all you need is a square single image with a quote then the range of fonts may be enough for your needs.
Pros:
- Comes with stock backgrounds to put quotes on.
- Large list of fonts, over 50.
- Many ways to edit and style the text.
Cons:
- Single image only.
- Single text only
- Can’t edit the canvas size -square.
- No stickers or doodles.
- No filters or image editing
Pixlr
Free- (with ads) ~$2.57au to remove the ads in App once installed
The Pixlr app was developed by Autodesk, who also have an online, web based photo platform. The app can work with either single photos or collages of up to 10 images.
There are a large range of adjustments that can be made to the image using effects, overlays, stickers and borders. There is also the option to double expose an image, which can be used to add a company logo or brand to the finished image.
The font options in this app are extensive.
The main quirk with this app is when creating collages. Edits are made one image at a time rather than on the complete canvas, this includes the addition of text and means that added text can’t span multiple images.
For editing a single image with additional text this is definitely my pick of the bunch.
Pros:
- Collage or Single image.
- Free range of canvas size.
- Multiple texts can be used and styed individually.
- Large range of filters, effects, stickers and borders.
- Large range of fonts.
- Can add a company log or brand to the image using “double exposure”
Cons:
- Edits (including the addition of text) in a collage is done for each individual image.
Moldiv
Free- (with ads) $5.99 for the pro version.
Moldiv is primarily a collage maker but can also be used with a single image.
Images can be zoomed as required within the canvas chosen. The aspect of the canvas is easily adjustable with many pre-set ratios or select your own with ease. There are many options for the layout of the collage included in the free version.
Multiple text can be applied on a single image, with over 50 fonts available. Each one can be further customised by changing the style and/or colour.
Moldiv includes stamps and doodles to add to your image.
Some filters are included to edit the images, however these are applied to each image in the collage individually, not to the entire canvas.
The pro version of the app provides many more additions, with extra layouts, filters, stamps and fonts, or they can be purchased separately.
Pros:
- Collage or Single image.
- Free range of canvas size.
- Multiple texts can be used and styed individually.
- Large range of fonts.
Cons:
- Filters in a collage are applied for individual images.
- Many of the fonts. Stamps and filters need to be purchased to use.
Photogrid
Free- (with ads) $1.99 per year or 11.99 to remove ads for life.
Photogrid is a collage making app with great options for single images or collages of up to 15 images.
It has a multitude of filters that can be applied to the image canvas as a whole, however the range of effects that can be applied is less than that of pixlr.
Text is added to the final canvas so it can span multiple photos. Again there are many options to customise text, with various fonts, colours, sizes, etc to play with.
The image can be personalised with border patterns, stamps and backgrounds.
A custom logo or brand can also be added to the image by loading it as a free crop custom sticker.
Pros:
- Collage or Single image.
- Free range of canvas size.
- Addition of text and filters is applied to whole canvas.
- Border, background, and stamps all help customise the image
- Multiple texts can be used and styed individually.
- Large range of fonts.
- Can add a company log or brand to the image using a “custom stamp”
Cons:
- The range of effects and filters is not as good as some apps.
Personally I found the best app for tizzing up a single image is Pixlr, due to its range of overlays and effects, and the ability to add double exposure, which allows for a logo or brand to be added.
If a collage is more your thing, where you want to apply filters to the whole image then Photogrid would be the way to go, as it has a large range of options and the effects and editing are done to the whole canvas.
Yes, I know I missed Wordswag, but that is for iOS only, and we don’t have any iDevices. The Little Moments app from FatMumSlim is a great Aussie homegrown alternative to the A Beautiful Mess app for adding whimsy to your images.
What is your go to mobile app for creating visual content for your business? Would you like some step-by-step guides on how to use them?
You can find the six apps I have reviewed here:
