By Graham K. Rogers

Over the course of any month I look at a lot of apps for the devices I have. Some are easy and exciting from the word go; some have problems that I would rather ignore so into the trash they go; but there are some that while not easy to get to grips with initially, eventually produce some satisfying results.

I almost missed a recent arrival in the iTunes App store here because it did not initially attract me. The oddly named PopAGraph, has a fairly dull icon. This is the first point of contact for many users and a well-designed badge can suggest (sometimes - not always) that the developers are taking care: top to bottom (See my comments on Handy Photo). Nonetheless, I clicked on the icon and the screen shots were interesting enough to make me stop and have a longer look. As it is a free app, I lost nothing by downloading it, noting at the time that there are in app purchases.

PopAGraph

While I had a clear idea what the app would do, it was the fine details that I was missing. When I did go back to the videos, it became clearer; but it was not until I had run the process on several images that I began to be happy about the output I was producing. It did not take long, but this is not an app that produced instant results.

One way of looking at PopAGraph is as a work-flow app. An image is brought in, a process is applied, effects are added and an image is exported. It is in the care that the process needs where I had the initial problems. When this had been done a few times, it became easy.

The menu that appears at the side when the orange tab is slid to the left reveals the workflow menu: Photos, Mask, Filters, Frames, then Share. A Settings gear icon at the bottom has a few ways to contact the developers or rate the app, but at the top is a Help link that reveals a number of questions. Tapping any one reveals a link for a video. This may be slow if the user's internet connection is poor.

Starting the Process

Having selected an image, it appears in a square frame. It may be resized or moved within the frame. An icon marked "Original" to the right of the Crop icon may be used to view the original image. Pressing "Use" at the top right will crop the image and the process is moved to the next stage: Mask.

The Mask section is set ready to go and the user outlines the main object that is to be the focus of the finished image by drawing a colored line round it. I did not find there was a need for great accuracy with the way the app works, but a tight outline can be made by use of the erase feature, and by using the pinch to enlarge the image so that all of the desired section can be included. A tab at bottom left opens a tool panel so that the brush may be changed (round or square) and the outline color changed. Once the basic outline is complete, the app automatically fills in the center section. The user then presses the Lift icon at the top right.

When Lift is pressed the app begins the process of extracting and when finished - this is where I was confused - there appears to be no change. Trust the developers. They have this right. Proof is when we use the Filters: the next stage.

Adding Effects

As well as Background shown in the bottom toolbar, there is also the word "Popped" which refers to the image that has been popped or released from its original background. So switching to this item allows the central image to be manipulated as well. As with any such effects, the basic rule of "less is more" applies. Some filters may not suit the user, and some combinations of effects may not work properly. Some work very well.

The section marked Frames was the hardest to get right. A frame in this app is not an exterior decoration, but is an editing tool to remove a par (or parts) of the image so that the final output is more shaped. This needs much care.

There are several controls starting with Add (and delete). The new frame fills the square of the image and can be adjusted smaller with six contact points. Adding a frame cuts out the background and leaves the core image remaining. This needs to be applied carefully. One frame may be OK; two may work; three frames need careful consideration. While working a useful Preview icon (top right) gives an exact display of what the final image would look like. With this, the user can go back and forth getting the best output.

Once a frame setup has been decided on, there are a number of ways that the frame can be adjusted. BY pinching, it may be zoomed, while another gesture will turn the image. There are also icons beneath the image that allow rotation and inversion.

A Style icon accesses controls that will change the color of the frame itself. The frame width and corner roundness can be changed with gestures: swiping the touchscreen. There are 11 colours available for the frames, but only two (black and white) are included. The rest are part of the in-app purchase.

Finishing and Exports

The effects and filters that are only available as in-app purchases can still be used. The user can try these out to see the potential, but any images created using these will have a watermark: the PopAGraph icon is displayed clearly. To avoid this with one image, I went back to the Filters section after having set up the Frames and Background and selected another filter.

The final export is by way of a Share icon in the Share section, which seems less clear than it could be, but adding the final effects and backdrop to this section cause this minor discrepancy. There are 6 methods that can be used: Instagram, facebook, Twitter, Library, Email and SMS.

Exporting by email gave me four size options with the largest at 1.4 MB. Saving to the Library, gave me similar images that were transferred to the Mac using PhotoStream. In Aperture, I found the exported images to be identical: 1024 x 1024 (1.4 MB). I was a little disappointed by this, especially with the effects I was beginning to see, but an export of the two best as 8-bit TIFF files, produced images 14" x 14". The best one was enlarged to 20" x 20" without too much distortion. I should add here that the developers clearly intend this app to be used for export of images to social networking sites like Instagram and Facebook, so users will not be expecting magazine quality output.

Comments

A lot of thought has gone into producing this app but most of the skills are hidden below the surface: the app does its job rather well, but we do not see it working. This is particularly notable with Masking when some intelligent processing goes on.

A slight disappointment came when I tried this on the iPad. The app is not optimised for the device, so only displayed in the x1 and x2 formats. However, the larger display does make it easier to work with the app, especially in the x2 format: what is lost in sharpness is more than made up for with the screen size.

Some of the best effects are reserved for those who make the in-app purchases. The style package (backgrounds) is $0.99; the Filters cost $1.99. I decided to buy the Filters package. When I bought this again for the iPad I was correctly reminded that I had already made the purchase and I was offered the download again.

As a free app this could be an easy decision: try it out and see.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.