Instagram’s service has long offered much more than just an attractive set of vintage photo filters — the resulting network is what really led to its $1B price tag. That’s not to say there isn’t magic in those filters, however, and in many ways, it’s what keeps users coming back for more.
So even as Instagram expands its network with support for outside apps, there’s not much hope for developers looking to take advantage of this continuously growing standard that is an Instagram-styled photo. And even if you’re tired of artistic hipster shots of whatever your friends are eating for dinner, this trend isn’t dead yet. If you’re an app developer, what can you do to provide filters to your users?
Enter DLCImagePickerController, a new tool that lets developers include instagram-like features right into their apps for free. It was created by the team behind Backspaces, an app that hopes to become the easiest way for you to tell your stories. Here’s the story of how this tool was created.
As for why DLCImagePickerController was built, co-creator Dmitri Cherniak explains his reasons simply:
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We decided that having awesome and easy to use filters would be an excellent addition to Backspaces… or any other iOS app. I’ve always loved Instagram’s camera picker. It’s simple, intuitive, and packed with great looking filters. We decided to use it as inspiration in creating our own.
Here’s a demo, pre-UI refinement:
Going the open source route is a wise one, and just like Aviary has emerged as one of the de facto image editors for app developers, this tool has the potential to save developers time while satisfying the filter obsession of countless smartphone users.
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