Times have certainly changed for the home photographer, with most of us now having a professional quality camera in the palm of our hand thanks to our smartphones. No longer do we need to take rolls of film to the shop and wait days to have them processed, as now we can capture moments and view the shots whenever we want.
Mums are especially fond of taking photos, and if you take a look through any parent’s camera roll, you’ll likely find the vast majority is of their kids. If you’re finding your photography a little stale, though, there are some pretty cool apps available that can completely change the way you take pictures with your smartphone.
Baby Story
This ingenious app heralds itself as a baby photo studio in your hand, and that’s exactly what it delivers. Baby Story features everything from filters to milestone artworks so you can turn your everyday photos into pieces worth treasuring forever.
If you like to keep family and friends updated on social media with the progress of your pregnancy and the eventual arrival of your little one, Baby Story lets you do so with beautifully decorated pictures that capture every step of the way.
First Camera
For the mum with older kids whose camera roll looks like a never-ending photoshoot of nostril selfies, First Camera is the ideal way to keep them entertained. First Camera gives your kids their own special place on your phone to take photos, and they can decorate them with stickers, speech bubbles, glasses, hats, and more. Not only is it great for nourishing their creative side, but the photos that they take and edit will only be stored on the app (unless you want to save them), so they won’t be taking up your camera roll anymore.
No photo app list would be complete without the king, and Instagram is by far the easiest and most fun way to share pictures of your little ones with friends and family. Instagram is so simple to use and allows you to apply different filters and effects to your photos, tag others, and apply hashtags to each photo to help categorise them.
You can take photos directly with the Instagram app or upload them from your camera roll, and your heart will be full of joy when you see the lovely comments that loved ones have left on photos of you and your babies.
Timer Cam
If there’s one annoying thing about looking back on family photos, it’s that mum happens to be missing from most of them. No matter how many times we ask, nag, or beg our partners to take more photos of us with our children, they just don’t seem to get the message. If you’re a mum with a whole lot of selfies on her camera roll and not much else, Timer Cam is the app for you.
Timer Cam is a simple and free app for iPhone that allows you to set the timer on your camera so that you can be a part of the photos too. There are different settings you can choose from for the length of the timer, and you can review the pictures before saving them, which will free up some space on your phone.
Big W Photos
Gone are the days where you take your roll of film into Big W and place an order for your prints, or stick a USB into the print ordering computer and make your selection. Now you can send your favourite shots directly to the store of your choice through the Big W Photos Mobile App and choose the prints you like.
Big W will allow you to choose any photos from your camera roll for printing, and you can pay with the app and organise for collection, too. Not only can you print standard photos, but you can also make posters, calendars, mugs, and anything else available in store, so they make great gift ideas for all occasions.
Snapfish.com.au
This is a fantastic online service where you can load your photos and Snapfish will create a range of products, including photo books and framed prints, and very reasonable prices. This is a great way to turn your photos into works of art to adorn your home, or to give as gifts. Another site worth exploring is Mixbook.com.
The Most Precious Keepsakes
Although our smartphones often get a bad rap for taking over our lives, this is one area where we can certainly say they’ve changed things for the better. As our kids grow up, we’ll be able to look back and see thousands of photos and videos that we captured from our phones, and far more than our parents were ever able to get.
The future of baby books and photo albums will likely look a little different in the years to come, so you may as well grab hold of the technology that’s available and use it to your advantage.
For more fun ways to celebrate motherhood and make it a worthwhile journey, click here to read the rest of the Peachymama blog.
Further Reading:
https://www.bigwphotos.com.au/pages/mobile
https://www.parents.com/fun/arts-crafts/photography/best-photo-apps-for-moms/