BY HEATHER KELLY
The iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch photo-sharing app Instagram has signed up more than 4 million users since it first launched in late 2009. It has also spawned an ecosystem of Instagram-related iPhone, Web, and Mac apps, as well as print services and other products. Here’s a look at a few of the many fun things you can do with your Instagram images and feeds.
Map Them Out
The Instamap iPad app is a slick Instagram client for the iPad that allows you to browse photos by location or tag. View geotagged images from around the world as pins on a map, or switch to the attractive gallery view. Instamap also makes it easy to add or delete Instagram subscriptions, “like” photos, and leave comments. And it’s updated in real time, so there’s no waiting around for fresh pics.
See Your Stats
To see a satisfying breakdown of your Instagram statistics, turn to Statigram. Log in with your Instagram username and password, and then start quantifying. See your most popular images and filters, find out the day of the week you post on the most, view your tags at a glance, and take a peek at your Instagram followers. You can even have your stats emailed directly to you if you feel like sharing them on Instagram or just reveling in your own popularity.
Get More Filter Options
Instagram has a much-beloved set of 15 retro photo filters that you can apply to an image. For iPhone photographers who want more options, check out the 100 Cameras in 1 app. It has 100 poetically named effects that you can mix and match. The app has also just added Instagram support with its latest update, so you can take a photo, edit it in 100 Cameras in 1, and then export it directly to Instagram.
Enjoy the Photos on a Mac
Enjoy browsing Instagram photos on a device with more screen real estate: your Mac. The $2 InstaDesk Mac app is a fetching way to look through your Instagram feeds on a desktop. View images by popularity and tags, see everyone who follows you, or find new people to add to your Instagram circle. All the usual Instagram interactivity is here, including the ability to leave and receive comments. You can even save your favorite images to your computer. Unfortunately, you can’t upload images to Instagram from a Mac.
Make Your Own Instagram Prints
Instagram automatically saves each photograph as a 612-by-612-pixel, 72-ppi file. This is pretty small, even by iPhone-photography standards (the iPhone 4 can capture 2592-by-1936-pixel images). To make a print of an Instagram shot, you should start by increasing the ppi in an image editor. At the recommended 240 ppi, you’ll get a sharp 2.5-by-2.5-inch print. If you really want it larger, you can blow the image up to 4 by 4 inches, but that will lower the dpi to 153 ppi. The print will be larger, but it will also appear slightly softer and pixelated.
Send a Real Postcard
You’re on vacation, the scenery is stunning, and you want to send a postcard to your technophobe grand-father. The free Postagram iOS app will turn your Instagram image into a real postcard, add your custom message, and send it via snail mail to any address you enter. The app is free but each postcard costs $1. You’re not limited to sending Instagram images—you can use any shot from your Camera Roll.
Make Stickers and Posters
Have you ever noticed how adorable your Instagram photos look in thumbnail view? Printstagram will turn your Instagram photos into a book of 252 little stickers ($10). If tiny doesn’t do it for you, go big with a 20-by-40-inch poster of your tiled Instagram images ($25). If you’d prefer to print your own fun projects, check out the free templates from Printstagram. It will automatically lay out your Instagram photos in the templates and let you download the PDF.
