It’s Hip to be Square

Like many people, the iPhone has completely changed the way I do things, in particular how I take pictures (But that should come as obvious, seeing that I am blogging about photography). So for all you non-iPhone users, please don’t click away to a sub-par site. Stay for a while and let yourself be swayed by the wondrous world that awaits. Let me lure you from the dark side, flick that evil little android whispering outdated ideas into your soul, and listen to the halo-saturated voice of reason calling out to you: Hipstamatic.

Hipstamatic was the first photography tool that I ever got; it was actually one of the main reasons I opted for this palm-size mastery of technology. I have a friend who is way ahead of the gadget curve who would show me up with what I thought was some crazy Photoshop skills. I would spend tons of time working on my pictures to perfection with limited success in duplicating his work. When he let his secret out, I became psychic because I got a clear look at my future and it included the iPhone and this particular app.

As per Wikipedia, “Hipstamatic is is a digital photography application for the Apple iPhone. It uses the iPhone’s camera to allow the user to shoot square photographs, to which it applies a number of software filters in order to make the images look as though they were taken with an antique analog camera. The user can choose among a number of effects which are presented in the application as “lenses“, “films” and “flashes“. Several of these are included with the application, while others need to be purchased separately.”

In my humble opinion, it is a great application that makes you feel like you actually have a camera. With the swipe of a finger, you are changing everything about your camera, even the casing itself It is a lot of fun and when you spend enough time with it, you start seeing the world through the combination of lenses and films it can offer you. There are competitions and there is shwag to be won. I also find the interface is very easy to use and makes a lot more sense than most of the other photo options out there. And if it wasn’t good enough, the upgrades are actually useful and not simply cosmetic. You can rest assured that when there is an upgrade, its worth the time and your limited data plan.

However, this is an expensive app. Really expensive as apps go. While the base kit only runs you $1.99, it only gives you a small fraction of the available goodies. Each kit you invest in will run you at least a buck; but there are a lot of kits.  And they are all so tempting! I can pretty much guarantee once you get the app and you have a taste of one of the kits, you will be redeeming your gift card or charging your credit card for every last one of them. Another downside is that once you have made your selection of film, lens, and flash, you are stuck with it. No undo button here and no switching or post production of the photo through the app after you take the shot. Nonetheless, what may seem to be a downside is also what gives this app it’s charm.

So, it all comes down to you. There are tons of things that can be done with this gadget, if you are willing to pay for the kit in its entirety.  People will take notice of your pictures and then you can thank me for it (I take bank cards and PIN’s). All kidding aside, you can also check out a week’s worth of my year long photo blog that was dedicated to Hipstamatic.

Photo Credits:

1. Lance Shields

2. Photo-Fenix.com

3. Photo-Fenix.com

4. Jeremy Brooks

5. Photo-Fenix.com