The camera we carry in our pocket — attached to our cell phone — is more advanced than ever before. Whether you are a professional or amateur photographer, these ten apps will improve your cell phone photography experience and your images. 

With hundreds of apps out there, it can seem a little overwhelming to find the right fit. So, we did the hard work for you and put together the definitive list of iPhone shooting and editing apps. These tools are sure to be your new photography companion. 

Get Shooting with these Five Apps: 

1) Manual

Image Source: Apple App Store

If you are a professional photographer who is used to shooting with the utmost control of manual settings, iPhone photography can sometimes be tricky because there is not much leeway for exposure. 

That’s where Manual comes in. This app allows you to treat your iPhone just like any other pro camera with full control over settings like shutter speed, ISO, white balance, focus and exposure compensations. Not only that — Manual also includes other awesome features like RAW and DNG capture, live histogram, a level, fill-flash mode and more. This app is sure to be the go-to for the detailed oriented iPhonographer.

2) Camera+

Image Source: Apple App Store

Camera+ is another great app that allows you to take full control over your shot. With settings like continuous flash, touch exposure, touch focus, and macro mode, capturing the perfect shot is a breeze. Once you have your image captured, you can edit your photo without having to leave the app. There are pre-made filters for you to use, or you can used the Advanced Editing tools to alter you image exactly the way you want. 

3) Slow Shutter

Image Source: Apple App Store

One very important aspect in photography is being able to control the shutter speed, especially when shooting scenes like waterfalls or other moving objects. This has always been something that has set iPhone photography apart from photography with other cameras — until now. Slow Shutter allows you to control the shutter speed in three modes — Motion Blur, Light Trail, and Low Light — to create awesome one-of-a-kind effects in your images. 

4) Cortex Camera

Image Source: Apple App Store

If you are an avid low-light or nighttime shooter, you know that it’s not the easiest to achieve a high quality image on you iPhone. That’s where Cortex Camera comes in. This app makes compositing a snap by using a series of individual photos that are taken in a matter of seconds to create a single high quality and noise free image. The best part is there is no need for a tripod! As long as you have this app, your night time photography will be high quality and tack sharp.

5) VSCO

Image Source: Apple App Store

VSCO is one of those great all-in-one apps. Start by taking the perfect image in the app with VSCO’s camera tools that includes settings for exposure and white balance. Once you have your image, use their film inspired filters to edit your photo until it fits your liking. Then share it with your other VSCO friends without ever having to leave the app.

Dive into the Digital Darkroom with these Five: 

1) Afterlight

Image Source: Apple App Store

Afterlight is a simple, straightforward way to edit your iPhone or professionally taken images. There are a plethora of adjustment tools, filters, textures and frame to choose from to make your image unique. This is definitely a must have app for anyone who wants turn a regular image into something special and spectacular. 

2) SnapSeed

Image Source: Apple App Store

Snapseed is another great, free, simple-to-use app to edit your images. It features many familiar tools and filters like a healing brush, Structure, HDR, transform and more. One of Snapseeds most notable features is the ability to import and edit RAW files, which is great for professional photographers who want to do quick edits on their phone or tablet.

3) Facetune 

Image Source: Apple App Store

If you are a portrait photographer or a selfie enthusiast, Facetune is the app for you. This app includes some awesome and intuitive tools to help you achieve perfectly white smiles, beautifully smooth skin, symmetrical face structure and even apply makeup. There are even filters you can add on top of your edits to take your image a step further.

4) Lightroom

Image Source: Apple App Store

If you are a professional photographer who is already using programs like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, than you must download the Adobe Lightroom mobile app. If you are already a Creative Cloud member, there is no need to fret because your photos can sync across all of your devices — even if they are in RAW format. Enjoy many of Lightroom’s desktop features in the palm of your hand to create beautiful, professionally edited images from anywhere.

5)  Photoshop Express

Image Source: Apple App Store

Another great mobile app from Adobe is Photoshop Express. This app allows for multiple editing tools and filters to create your own stylized look. One thing that sets this app apart from the others is that it includes a Collage Maker. This app will throw together a collages for you in seconds, or you can pick any photos to turn into your own custom collage. Sharing is easy, just one tap and you can export to apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more.

Keep Stepping up the Game with these Five tools: 

1) Promaster Lens Kit

The Promaster Lens Kit is a great tool for any avid iPhone photographer to have on hand. Increase the utility of your pocket camera with a lightweight wide angle/macro, fisheye, telephoto and polarizing filter lens to help you get creative and achieve the perfect shot. 

2) Promaster Selfie Stick

Never miss the perfect shot, just because its out of reach. The Promaster Selfie Stick is a great way to get those hard to reach angles and views. It comes in 3 colors — Black, Pink and Green to fit any personality. 

3) Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand

The Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand allows you to stabilize your iPhone almost anywhere. This compact tool is great to carry around on your adventures, just bend its arms to fit your stabilizing needs. 

4) MeFoto SIDEKICK BLACK SMARTPHONE ADAPTER

If you are a professional photographer who already has a tripod, the MeFoto Sidekick is a tool you should add to your kit. With multiple mounting options, it is sure to fit on almost any tripod. This is a must have for the photographer seeking to take long exposures! 

5) LitraTorch

The LitraTorch is an essential tool for any photographer to have in their kit, whether shooting with a DSLR, Mirrorless Camera, GoPro, or iPhone. This small LED light packs a big punch, is waterproof, will run for four hours comes with a GoPro mount and a diffuser and has many add on's you can buy like filters and smartphone mount to make it fit your needs.