Have you ever wondered how to animate still photos? These images are also known as cinemagraphs. One portion of the image is moving and the rest is still. This creates moving and thought provoking images. Pixaloop by Enlight is only available on IOS currently but there are many similar apps for Android that you can use.
How To Animate Still Photos
Path
Tap on path to define what direction you would like the motion to go. To add the path tap on the location you want it to start and side your finger down to create a line. Each path you create will start from the parameters you set and will move in the direction of the arrow. You can add more than one path to have the object move up and then down. If you are trying to animate a waterfall you would want to start at the top and side the arrow to the bottom.
Anchor
Anchors are a vital part to animate still photos with Pixaloop. Define the area where you want to stay by tapping to add anchors. If you don’t add anchors the motion may exceed the boundaries and look very strange.
Remove
You can easily remove anchors or paths by tapping on the remove button and then tapping on the path and anchors you want to remove.
Speed
Adjust speed by sliding the slider left for a faster speed and right for a slower more flowing speed.
Freeze
Freezing the surrounding area is one of the most important parts to animate still photos. If you don’t freeze most of the image it will not work. Tap on the freeze button and draw with your finger the places you want the image free. Often, you will freeze the background and only leave a small part in motion. Zoom in to get as close as you can. The orange overlay will show what parts of the image are frozen.
Unfreeze
If you make a mistake when freezing the image tap on the unfreeze button to fix any unwanted areas that are frozen.
Loop Your Animation
There are three options of looping images blend, boomerang, and circular. Blend creates a figure 8 and does not start or stop it just keeps going. Boomerang starts at on position and then goes backward creating an in and out motion. Circular starts and stops and then begins again at the start. If you are animating a waterfall the blend works best. If you are blowing a bubble with bubble gum boomerang has a fantastic effect.
Add Motion Sky to Animate Still Photos
To animate the sky in the image tap on the sky option and choose the sky that best matches your image. Then tap on the three dots on the center of the sky option you choose. You can quickly edit how bright you would like the horizon. Adjust the ambient light in the front of the image by adjusting the slider. I like the ambient light low because it washes out my image if it is high. Next, tap on detail so increase or decrease the details. Lastly, chose if you want the motion sky to cover the sky in your image or if you want to decrease the opacity. I prefer to do my sky so you can see some of my sky and have other clouds moving over still clouds.
Camera Effects to Enhance Your Shot
Camera effects can add increased motion to your image and improve the image. Tap on your favorite option to add the effect. If your image already has a lot of motion it may be a distraction to the image.
Overlay Your Image With Sparkles and Bubbles
Create a dynamic effect to animate still photos by adding an overlay. You can enhance your image with bubbles, sparkles, falling snow, or confetti. Adjust the slider to increase or decrease the speed and effects on the overlay.
Export Your Image
Easily export your image by tapping on the upload arrow. You can choose to export a video to your camera roll, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter. Also, you can edit the duration of the video.
Pixaloop is a great app for learning how to enhance the effects of your shot. To learn more about the best editing apps and how to take pictures read these blog posts. With these tips you can quickly take great shots.
Please check out these blog posts for more information on how to edit amazing pictures with your phone.
Create Mind Blowing Edits with Lightroom CC Mobile
I cannot save my animated pic to my camera roll because there’s no such option in Pixaloop.