My smartphone camera plays a big role in my world. As a blogger, social media influencer, and parent, I use my phone for on the go photos. Of course, I rarely post them as is. Most of the time I crop them, edit a bit, make a collage, and always watermark them. When I moved over to using the Nokia Lumia 928 as part of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I worried about finding the right apps for what I need. Being a realist, I knew that many of the apps I was used to on the Android platform are not currently available for the Windows OS. Thanks to blogging friends like Robyn at Robyn’s Online World and Amy at Selfish Mom, I knew work around solutions could be found. This is the current view of tiles when I open my phone.

During a great webinar with the folks at Nokia, I learned about some great features in my phone. I will share some of those along the way. Most of the #VZWBuzz people were very curious about apps. There was some talk about Instance which is a work around app for Instagram (that should be Windows OS by the end of the year). It can not do Vine at this point, but it allows me to post to Instagram and share on Twitter and Facebook at the same time.

When looking at the Windows Store for apps, I immediately recognized PhotoGrid. It is a great tool to make collages across platforms, but that is all that it will allow me to do. If I want to add text to the collage or a watermark, I needed something else. Since I was in a pinch, I quickly located Picture Perfect.

Picture Perfect had more photo editing capabilities, many that I have not explored completely. In addition to this, I could add text that would allow me to write TheAngelForever.com. While the combination worked out nicely together, it still was not quite what I was looking for, especially with the watermarking.

Just as I was settling into these options, SelfishMom came to the rescue. She asked me if I had tried Phototastic. I had not tried it and immediately checked it out. Color me impressed. Not only were there amazing collage options, but I could use many different fun fonts and change the color and opacity for watermarking on the fly. Yes, this one app pretty much had everything that I was looking for all in one. Although it was already really late, I had to try one out. Once it was finished, I shared it as a thank you to Amy.

I have to admit that I am in love with this app and am curious about the full version of Phototastic. Just look at some of the items that I made for fun while sharing on Instagram.

While I am still learning the quirks to the Lumia 928’s camera (every phone has them), I now know more ways to creatively share them when I am out and about. Plus, I can even use them here on my blog if/when I need to.

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I receive different devices to check out in my life. There is no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.