Top iPhone apps that will take your blogging to another level

When I started my blogging journey, writing came naturally to me, but my lack of skills in creating photos and videos quickly became apparent. I desperately needed tools that would save me the agony of 1) shooting a one-minute video for two hours straight and 2) editing photos by randomly dragging sliders.

So I managed to find a handful of useful video and photo apps for iPhone that are especially fit for bloggers, and I’m here to share them with you.

TOP higlights

  1. Telepromter App — Record flawless videos with scrolling on-screen scripts
  2. Optika — Gain full manual control over your iPhone camera
  3. ProCamera — State-of-the-art photo, video, and editing
  4. VSCO— Live shooting modes and editing tools galor

1. Teleprompter App

Nowadays, whenever I’m shooting a video, it only takes me one or two takes to get the job done, and this certainly wasn’t always the case. I record a lot of videos for my blog — some of me speaking to the camera and some lifestyle videos that require a list of filming instructions like “pan to the left.”

A lot of folks might think these little blog videos are easy and straightforward to shoot, but the reality is that they require a lot of planning and time to film. A quick 30-second TikTok video used to take me over two hours to shoot and edit. To save me the hassle of reading a physical script or instruction list, I shoot all my videos using the Teleprompter App — one of those apps that I found available on Setapp.

With Teleprompter I can record videos of myself while reading a scrolling script on screen. You can check out a glimpse of a few of mine below.

 

I can set the pace and size and even use an external remote to control its functions. After recording, I can easily polish up the video and crop the frame to fit the specs of my blog.

If you’re interested in starting to use video content on your blog, Speeko is another great app that could be of use. It lets you record yourself in front of the Camera and get feedback on your enunciation, pace, intonation, and whether you’re using too many fillers, so you can improve your speaking performance. My favorite thing about the app, though, is its interactive courses that help me develop what I’m lacking, such as working on my improvisation or upping my storytelling skills.

Note: Teleprompter App is available on Setapp for iPhone and Mac — a subscription platform that gives you access to 240+ native iOS and macOS apps. Under just one subscription price, I was able to access premium tools, including these ones, that improved my engagement and content quality in an instant.

2. Optika

Even if you aren’t a brilliant photographer, having original photographs on your blog beats having polished stock photos any day. Master blogger Neil Patel also agrees — and the survey says that original images performed best 40% of the time compared to stock photos at 13%. They’re more authentic and showcase real-life experiences, so you can develop deeper connections between you and your audience.

Rather than just use my iPhone camera, I use Optika as it essentially puts the iPhone camera in manual mode. This means I can mess with all sorts of fancy extras for more creativity, professional quality, and unique and eye-catching visuals. It lets me take my plain snapshots to a new level and truly control the iPhone camera at its fullest.

3. Focos

Want professional-level pictures for your blog but aren’t ready to spend hundreds of dollars on a DSLR and multiple lenses?

Focos brings DSLR photography right to your iPhone. It’s an app with a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it’s bound to become a staple in your blogging toolbox. In my opinion, it’s the best iPhone camera app to mimic DSLR-like photography, and I personally like using it to achieve focus for nature photos.

 

Especially if your blog is photo-focused, this app offers more than just basic editing tools and lets you unleash your full potential with computational photography. Its array of lens characteristics can produce swirly, creamy, and other cool effects, and it uses AI and AR to enhance any shot.

Focos comes with two plans: Photographer ($4.99/week or $99.99/year) and Creator ($12.99/week or $129.99/year). Creator includes the Remini, Splice, and Filmic Pro apps, while Photographer only includes Focos.

4. VSCO

VSCO is an app that you might have heard of — but just because it’s popular, doesn’t mean it’s not powerful. If you haven’t the slightest idea of what this app is, it’s a professional photo editing app with a built-in Camera feature, made for content creators.

 

The app lets you turn your photos into stunning works of art using a full suite of preset filters and editing tools, whether you want to make it look like film photography or like it was shot with a high-end DSLR. Instead of staying limited to the iPhone photo editing tools, you can play with split tones, dodge and burn, hues, and other adjustments. You can even create montages, collages, looping videos if you’re feeling extra creative. Let’s compare a photo taken using the iPhone camera (left) versus a VSCO-edited image (right).

 

VSCO’s basic capabilities are free, but their Plus ($29.99/year) and Pro ($59.99/year) plans are where the magic happens.

Get the best camera apps for iPhone and watch your blog thrive! 📸✨

Before I started scouring the internet for tools and platforms to enhance my photo and video content, I felt like my visuals were mediocre and lacking. There was so much potential there that I swept under the rug, with hidden manual camera capabilities for the iPhone, platforms that made shooting videos seamless, and incredible photo editing apps that didn’t require me to purchase a costly camera. I encourage every blogger to give these apps a try and see how much they can do to amp up your blog’s visual appeal!