As I am a total Insta-Addict, I spend quite a bit of time using the app on my iPhone and iPad, so when I saw that Instagram have just released a new app, I immediately downloaded it!
Layout is a companion app to IG, in that it allows you easily combine multiple photos into a single image, ready to post on social media.
There are many other apps available that already do collages..for example, Pic Collage and Pic Jointer…so I was interested to see if this app does anything different!
And the first thing I noticed is that when you open the app, you first select images from your camera roll, rather then selecting a layout first!
You can filter using the Faces option that shows you all the photos in your camera roll that feature people’s faces.
Plus, there is a unique feature called Photo Booth…you select this, and a counter appears…four images will be taken one after the other by the front facing camera!
A bit bizarre and random, but I guess a modern version of exactly what a photo booth does!
And lastly there is a recent tab, which shows the last 30 photos you’ve selected.
Once you select at least one image, eight different layout options are shown at the top…the layouts show the images you have selected and adjust as you make any changes.
When you have selected the images you want to use…you can use up to 9…and chosen the layout, you then go to the Edit window.
Here you can resize, replace, mirror and flip the images.
There are no fancy filters etc…this app is just focused on creating a collage.
When you are happy with your layout, you can save it, and then share directly to Instagram and Facebook (no Twitter option), or email/message it.
I found the app easy and intuitive to use. For example, I have been wanting to try combining a couple of outfit images across a background for a while so this was a good opportunity.
By using two images I took today, I combined them to create this effect…it isn’t perfect, and it will take a bit of practise to get everything lined up properly but you get the idea…
As you can see from the above image, I did find that the quality of the saved images isn’t the best, especially as I take many photos on an actual camera before importing into IG.
I did discover by emailing the image to myself, the quality is a little better, but still….
However, Layout is free, and you don’t need to have an IG account to use it, so give it a try and see what you think!
I will be interested to see if the features that Layout offers end up being inbuilt into Instagram or even Facebook.
Layout is a free app currently only available for IOS but an Android version is being planned.