7 Cool Photo Apps for Kids who Want to Play with Photography

With the popularity of smartphones and tablets on the rise, it’s no surprise that children have become enthralled with the colorful worlds within our touch-screen devices. And apps have become wonderful tools kids can use to learn more about the world.

With cameras built in to most digital devices these days, it’s a rather inexpensive way to allow children to experiment, get creative, and document their world. Photography apps provide endless ways to create imagery. From playing with composition and editing techniques to the creation of exciting photo-related projects, kids will gain a new hobby as they play.

These photo apps—designed with kids in mind—will provide hours of learning and imaginative fun.

Typic Kids

Typic Kids allows kids to embellish their own photos. The interface features bright colors and tons of fun, but instead of an appearance aimed at very young children, it’s tailored toward older ones. There are a variety of frames and filters to choose from, and beneath the photo you are editing, you can scroll through a sea of stickers and fonts. The colorful stickers include shapes, animals, people, food, and more, all with little eyes and smiles.

Once you’ve finished your creation, it’s possible to export them to social media; chances are your little ones are too young to have their own accounts. But if they can answer basic multiplication questions, they will gain access to the accounts on the phone or tablet, so watch that they aren’t posting their creations all over your profiles.

PicLab

The PicLab interface is not as child-friendly as some other apps, but it’s still simple enough for kids to use. Make basic photo edits, like adjusting brightness, saturation, and contrast, and use filters or overlays to change the general appearance of your image.

The biggest draw is the ability to add text to your images. A vast collection of fonts and phrases can make your image into the ever-popular inspirational photos that are popular with teens. An additional drawing tool lets you handwrite your own words on top. Images come with a watermark that can be removed for $1.99.

FrameMagic Lite

Although collage apps are popping up left and right, FrameMagic Lite really stands out among the rest. Kids will love putting groups of pictures together to create their own collages—and they aren’t your standard frames. Instead of the usual black and white (although those are options too), you can create colorful or patterned ones. There are various layout designs and shapes in which to insert pictures as well. A help icon is located at the top to guide children who might be stuck.

But the fun doesn’t stop there! Unlike most collage apps, you can create video collages and slideshows as well.

Crayola Lights, Camera, Color!

Crayola’s innovative photo app allows you to snap a photo (or pull one from your device) and drain its color to turn it into a black-and-white coloring page. After a vacuum sucks the color off, you can add stickers; choose from glasses, hats, ears, and noses. As you click the arrow to move on, you will be taken to the coloring mode. Ten different colored markers in three thicknesses are included in the free version as well as an eraser.

Upgrade for to access an additional 64 colors of crayons and 24 colored pencils. The upgraded version of the app will also give you more sticker choices. But even with just the markers and basic stickers, this is a really fun concept for an app that will allow children to create their own coloring pages.

StoryKit

StoryKit marries kid-friendly photography with fun storytelling. When you first open the app, there are a few samples to get you started: Stories like Humpty Dumpty and the Three Little Pigs, complete with text and images. But there is also the option to craft a new book.

Each book starts with simply a cover page, but you can add additional pages as your plot progresses. Tools like text, paintbrushes, and even audio clips will allow kids to enhance their storybook, and they can add photos they’ve taken themselves to complete the project. Young children might have a hard time maneuvering the app, so be sure to help them out until they get the hang of it; then step back and let their creativity take flight.

PosterLabs

Similar to collage apps, PosterLabs allows kids to make their own posters. The free app features layouts designed in styles like magazine covers, movie posters, gourmet ads, travel documentaries, and more. The unique designs give you options to create visual eye-candy and you can also add text to truly make the project your own.

Strip Designer

Never fear—another ultra-creative app is here! Strip Designer gives kids a chance to create a comic book out of the images they take. Similar to StoryKit, you can drop the images into the frames and add text to tell your story. The layout itself can be customized; choose from a more traditional comic book style or a filmstrip. Kids will spend hours adjusting the appearance of their creation in this easy-to-learn app. And when they’re done, they can even export it to a PDF file that can be emailed to friends and family, or printed out to keep.

Do you have a favorite photo app for kids? Share their creations with us!