They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s also worth a thousand thoughts, emotions, and memories. Photography is a stellar way to capture precious moments, and it also makes a stellar gift to family and friends. Tools like Instagram make it easy to take photos that look good, but it takes a tool like Picture Collage Maker to take your favorite Instagram photos and create memorable collages.

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

Free for a limited time only, Picture Collage Maker from PearlMountain Technology is an iOS app that allows users to edit Instagram photos and create lovely photo collages.

Pros

• Currently free, and simple to use
• 60 + background patterns & background color, plus over 30 frames and tons of clipart to add a bit of zazz to your projects
• 10 templates for creating collages with ease
• Share on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr
• Three size options: Small (600×900), Middle (800×1200) and Large (1600×2400)
• Lets you choose to connect with Facebook, or skip that syncing entirely: great that they give people the option of how connected they want to be

Cons

• Can only add 30 photos at one time
• Additional themes will set you back several dollars in IAP [in-app purchases] (if you buy all the options currently available)

Discussion

The first thing that struck me about Picture Collage Maker was how elegantly stripped down the interface is. There are just three main tabs: projects, templates, and gallery. It’s supremely easy to start a new project, and also simple to see what you’re friends are doing. The app is fully integrated with Facebook.

I also love that, unlike many other photo editing apps, You can use this app without being connected to Facebook. Facebook is all well and good when it comes to sharing photos, and it’s a great way to share your photos quickly with your entire social circle…but sometimes, there are apps that you’d rather not link to Facebook, even if you generally like the service. It’s nice to have the option here, when so many similar apps don’t give you that basic social networking courtesy.

If you want to play around with certain themes or holidays, you will likely want to make a couple of in-app purchases to get some bonus templates. Each purchase is 99 cents, with themes like Love, Travel, and Party at present.

For such a small screen, you can use your iPhone to design some respectably sized collages. You have three basic options for your creations: Small (600×900), Middle (800×1200) and Large (1600×2400). If you’d prefer to design collages on your Mac instead of your iPhone, you’re in luck. Picture Collage Maker is also available for Mac.

Conclusion and download link

If you love to make photo collages as gifts for friends and family, or just want a better way to display your photos at once, Picture Collage Maker is a great option. The interface is totally streamlined, with just the right level of social sharing built in. For anyone who likes to make photo collages, this is an app you simply must check out!

Price: Free for a limited time

Version reviewed: 1.4.0

Supported OS: Requires iOS 5.0 or later

Download size:  31.9 MB

Picture Collage Maker on Apple App Store