Instamaton Is Photobooth-Style Fun With Pictures From Your Photo Library

Start by opening the app and choosing between the strip and square styles. Then, tap “Click To Import” and grab four photos, one by one, from your photo library to create the quad you want. Tap “Frame” along the bottom to choose a frame for each of the four photos. You get nearly 20 choices of different shapes and colors you can mix and match. You can either choose each frame as you go, or tap the 1, 2, 3, or 4 along the side to select each photo you want to frame.

Then, you can tap “Filter” along the bottom to add some fun filters, like you see in lots of other apps. The process is the same as framing each photo. Choose from nine different filters, such as B&W, Sepia, Negative, Blue Light, Yellow, 70s, and more. If you decide you don’t like any of the effects you’ve added, simply hit the “Reload” button to remove it and go back to the unaltered photo.

At any time, you can change the filters, the frame, and the shape (strip vs. square). The strip is fun for parties or sharing with friends; the square shape is nice for sharing with Instagram, Photovine, or any other sites or apps that require square photos. Once you’ve got the photo strip or square you like, simply tap “Save” and it goes to your camera roll. Tap “Send” if you want to email your photo creation to someone. It’s just that simple.

Does Instamaton do anything that other apps don’t do? Not really, but if you’re looking for a photobooth app with this specific combination of flexibility (take photos in any app and import, choose strip or square) and creativity (add filters, frames), this is a nice little app that does the job. I have used quite a few photobooth apps, photo combination apps, and filter/effect apps, but none with this exact combination of features. At its introductory price (currently half off at $.99) it’s certainly a worthwhile addition to your iPhoneography app folder.