Photoforge2: the best photo editing app made better

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My main iOS photo editor of choice has been replaced by… itself?

Photoforge2 is now available in the app store. GhostBird Software has rewritten it from the ground up as a new, separate app. It is gorgeous and FAST. This program does about 75% of what people use photoshop for on a casual basis. With its current $3 price tag, I can’t imagine why someone would pass this up.

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What’s Macgasmic

Buckle up.

Photoforge2 always edits in full resolution. It has all the expected tools — resize, crop, artistic frames, trendy effects, etc — but it also has many professional grade tools that you may not expect from an app that costs three bucks, such as curves, levels, channel mixer, unsharp mask… the list goes on.

Don’t think a $3 iPhone app can be for pros? Photoforge2 loads RAW images from the camera connection kit and edits photo metadata, including IPTC and GPS.

Photoforge2 introduces layer support, including blending modes and Photoshop-style masking. There’s also now a history mode that let’s you step back through your changes.

For trendy photo options, the in-app purchase ($1.99) Pop! Cam adds Hipstamatic-like lens, flash, and filter sets, including a randomizer that throws a random set of selections at you. Too much here to list, Pop! Cam is totally worth the purchase. If you just can’t swing the $2, Photoforge2 includes over 25 adjustable filters and effects of its own.

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Photoforge2 use projects (with in-app file management) rather than just pulling/pushing images from the camera roll (think PSDs vs. JPGs). Reloading projects preserves layering and also reloads history states.

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Also new is in-app sharing to Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Dropbox, Picasa, Tumblr, or any FTP. If your favorite photosharing service is not here (say, Instagram), try not get your shorts in a wad, have another sip of PBR, and just send finished images through your camera roll.

The app is extremely intuitive and easy, but just in case, it’s loaded with great help just a tap away.

Check out the cool video over at the app’s dedicated website.

What’s Not

No landscape editing. I’ll get over it.

This is not an update, but a separate app, which means I have to pay for it again. Still, it’s three bucks. I’ve spent more than that today on coffee. Also, it will be universal (per the FAQ on photoforge2.com), but no iPad version yet.

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Also, it has removed photopainting tools, such as clonestamp, brushes, and adding text. I hesitate to even mention these, as I never really used them much in Photoforge, but cloning out blemishes or fingerpainting on top of screencaps could be handy. If I really need it, I still have the original Photoforge.

Conclusion

In my opinion this is the one. Whenever anyone has asked me about photo editing on iOS, I’ve always said, “Photoforge!” without hesitation. Now I’ll say, “Photoforge2!”

Grab it now on the app store by clicking on the link below.

Paul Skidmore is an independent filmmaker in Tennessee. When not producing/directing films through parabolos, he helps out other professional and independent productions by using the latest mobile and digital techniques to streamline production workflows and free the artists to create. To support other new filmmakers, he shares this information on his blog. His most recent film, Sleepwalking, can be viewed online. Skidmore shares the latest info on his films and production techniques on Twitter.