No matter whatever is in the picture, Prisma tries to convert that into an art. With a tap on the layer. Nothing else is needed. No technical or editing knowledge, but currently, you just need an iPhone and a subject to take a photo of!
There are quite a few apps that do the job of photo editing, of course, only following the user’s filter application and element changes. But what Prisma does is so good that the app is now receiving a huge number of downloads per day. It doesn’t ask you to do much and needs just your picture. After you select the picture, the only thing you need to do before application of the layer is the rotation and cropping of it.
First things first, there is not even a freemium app. It is Free and here’s what is given on the “Terms of Use” section that you need to know:
Prisma does not claim ownership of any Content that you post on or through the Service. Instead, you hereby grant to Prisma a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the Content that you stylize on or through the Service, subject to the Service’s Privacy Policy.
The Privacy Policy of the app is quite clear, stating that the content posted by the user is used by the developers internally. Now, let’s talk about the app itself.
Unlike Instagram that now allows you to post pictures with any aspect ratio, on Prisma, you need to have a 1:1 ratio for the picture. There will be layers like Heisenberg, #FollowMeTo, FlameFlower, Light summer reading, Coloured Sky, Roy, Electric, Candy, Mosaic, Transverse Line, Composition, Red Head, Roland, Paper Art, Running in the Storm, MIOBI, Udnie, Mondrian, Dreams, etc. and though I haven’t checked it keenly, I guess some of the layers here are available or taken off based on the picture.
The processing of the image after you select the filter takes about 5-10 seconds. Quite understandable that, because you aren’t just throwing a filter to sit over the picture. Here, according to the developers, there is a combination of Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks that is playing with the picture to change things bit by bit. Also, a layer placed over the picture is not a fixed one as you can reduce or increase its intensity. Here comes the fun and lovely part – drag your finger on the layered picture, either left or right to see how beautifully the image is getting converted.
Once you are done with the layer application, all it takes is a couple of hits to save the picture to the Gallery, or to share to the social media. The resolution is altered and it is a smaller picture that is getting saved, but that is totally okay. Also, I remember getting to know about the Dubsmash app through the watermark it had on every video. The same is the case here, with the Prisma app showing its watermark on the right bottom. But you are totally free to choose whether to allow that or get rid of it, with a single toggle in the Settings.
Some might ask, is it so good and unique? I would have done a better job with Adobe Photoshop! For me, or for many like me, it is convenience and ease of use that is making me love the app. This is a simple app doing everything I want. I don’t need a computer, I don’t need to sit and work on the layers, transferring the files and bring them back to the device after spending a good amount of time editing them on the large Photoshop software. Also, I am not at all skilled to use Photoshop that easily.
No, the Pixlr Express app or the Photoshop Express App on your smartphone won’t have the layering of this level. Call it exaggeration, but it is what it is. The pictures are literally converted into an art. Some do have a higher level of editing that is unneeded, but the intensity can be reduced.
The only problem with the app is that it is an online-only one, so you will have to keep the phone connected to the Internet all the time while using it. And because there are a lot of users asking the servers to work on their photos, occasionally you would see the overload error and will have to wait for a few minutes to see it work normally again.
All said and done, does the app qualify as the best one out there to change the way your capture looks like? Probably yes, and that is after using almost every good image editing app out there. Instagram was easy but basic, Photoshop Express and Pixlr Express were good but not as good as Prisma, and some like Retrica, CandyCam and PIP did a different kind of job, but a pat on the back to Prisma Labs for making this app and making it so good and easy.
