Juxtaposer is an app that allows you to creatively combine multiple photos together by enabling you to remove portions of the top image while seamlessly blending the two together.
More recently than not, I’ve seen many photography apps come out for iOS that specialize in one specific task. These apps focus on performing one thing, and they tend to do them well since they pack in more detailed features specific to performing that one task. There may be all-in-one apps that do similar things, but to my experience, they often fall short in the available features that make these one-trick ponies stand out from the crowd.
While I was well aware of this app, I’ve never used it until recently when I saw it at Starbucks as one of their Pick of the Week apps. To this day, I’ve been content with Image Blender, which is a comparable app with slight differences. So, which is better? Well, let’s find out!
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As I mentioned in the opening of this review, apps that focus on one thing tend to do them well because of the added functionality they are able to incorporate. This app does not disappoint in this respect as it incorporates features that you would want/need for making compositions, and goes even further by allowing you to save stamps (portions of a photo that have been cut out) and sessions, which can be a great time-saver for some.
Useful features of this app include:
- Ability to change brush size and edge hardness
- Picture-in-picture of the zoomed portion of where you are editing (although a brush offset would be more to my liking)
- Several different blending options available (Multiply, screen, overlay, etc.)
- Ability to edit temperature, tint, saturation, etc. on either photo to seamlessly blend the two together
- Thoughtful shortcuts like double-tapping to change from erase to un-erase
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With the most recent update, the app now has full support for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The clean and uncluttered interface coupled with easy-to-learn icons, allowed me to focus on the task at hand (or finger!), working efficiently within the app. Its responsiveness gives it a polished feel. All of this combines to make for an efficient workflow that will be sure to speed up the time it has taken me thus far to combine images.
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It’s a great app that does what it does, well. With its ability to save sessions and even stamps, it adds an extra feature that can be a great time-saver for some. With the clean interface, responsive UI, and easy-to-learn features, I had no problems creating my first composition with this app. The one thing I would love to see in the next release would be an offset feature for the brush, so that your finger isn’t covering the area you are editing (Image Blender does this well). I found the picture-in-picture feature that tries to alleviate this problem not as useful since I’m more used to looking at the area I’m editing, rather than a box that is nowhere near my finger, and that automatically moves depending on where you’re editing. Despite this, it just may now become my go-to app for combining images.