Last Updated on 07/12/2016 by Chris Gampat
When I was pitched on Creatic, I was told about how it offers a social sharing experience not only with your images, but also with your editing settings. That latter part really struck me. Imagine a photo editor on your phone where you can make custom presets, share them and also share your images within an internal community–and then sit there wondering why it took someone until 2016 to actually do this.
A while ago, I reported on and reviewed an app called Perfectly Clear–it offered photographers great options for editing their images and making then look, well, perfectly clear. It’s biggest problem though was and still is the lack of a social community. Where Perfectly Clear failed, Creatic succeeds and does so much more.
Features
Taken from the press release
* Superimpose infinite photos to create beautiful overlaying images
* Manual rotation of the textures
* Linear and Radial Tilt- Shift blur for giving some extra depth of field
* Vignette and Text
* Color Correction for the last fine-tuning your images
* Unique Erase Tool: Erase any part of the textures to better fit your images.
* Unique Blur Tool: You can fade any part of the texture while retaining its color.
* Fully customizable textures: Change the sharpness, temperature, shadows, hue, saturation and more of any textures to create infinite variety of images.
* Save the workspace as a Creation on the “Favorites” category.
Interface
The Creatic Interface is an interesting one that shares some similarities with the likes of MuseCam yet also reminds me a bit of some Android apps, VSCO, and even Hipstamatic. When you load an image into the interface you’ve got a number of menus that you can work with. One menu will for example will let you add presets. These presets are split up into various categories that will appeal to and be understood by many. They’re quite fun.
Another menu will give you things like film textures, light leaks, dust, film burn, etc. Then you can get into the more standard editing tools like gradients, RGB curves, exposure, contrast, clarity, etc. The way Creatic makes you work is with the fine tuning of these presets first and then using your own knowledge of photo editors later on to make the adjustments your really care about.
When you’re all down you just need to upload to a number of social media outlets including Creatic’s own journal/timeline as an option. You can also save your edit as a preset that can be shared with friends on the network. Indeed, that can be one of the biggest draws for photographers still looking to learn and one of the things that gives the more experienced photographers a way to inspire others without necessarily sharing your edit. I’ve been testing the beta though and haven’t totally figured out sharing presets in addition to superimposing images on one another. You also have the option of simply downloading the image to your phone and not putting it out there on the web.
When you’re all done editing you have the option of checking out the images of a number of folks in the community. You can comment, like, download images if you want, etc. I’m not the biggest fan of someone being able to download my images honestly though, and I hope that that changes.
Their camera interface is also something quite interesting as you can apply presets right in camera before you shoot. Most people are of the “Shoot now, edit later” mentality though if you draw from the “Get it right in camera” thought process that will mean you do everything you can right then and there.
Ease of Use
Considering that part of my living involves testing apps for this website, this is very simple for me to use. In general, it should be for most true photographers too. Those who are familiar with Lightroom and its various options in the develop panel on desktop will be right at home here. However if you’re the type that just does the basic adjustments and maybe adds a preset, there’s something here for you too.
Where you’ll have the most fun is with the editing process. Working with presets, textures, dust and more makes the image not only feel more organic but makes the process really fun. Think about it like being in the darkroom in a way and doing all the processes involved with making a final print.
Image Quality
Here are a few image samples.
Conclusions
Creatic is very, very fun free application for iOS users. What’s so awesome about it mostly is the fact that it’s offering true editors and creators a total alternative to everything else out there already. It teaches you to embrace all the possibilities of filters, editing, etc. On top of that, it does it in a simple way with its own social community. There isn’t a single good reason as to why you won’t want to at least give it a shot.
Like Flickr, 500px, etc it’s a photo community for serious photographers. You can get commentary, critiques, etc. The social aspect of the community will need to grow and become fostered, but I’m sure that in time that is bound to evolve.
For something right out of the box though, Creatic’s strongest features are all the editing versatility that it offers on top of sharing straight from the app. If anything, it’s worth trying with genuine intent this weekend.