Wide Angle Lens for iPhone: Photo apps to make holiday pictures from your phone

The holidays offer a great opportunity to build memories with friends and family, and the perfect device to help you capture those memories may be right in your pocket.

Today's smartphones feature advanced camera technology that in many cases can outperform lower-end point-and-shoot cameras, experts say. Smartphones also allow you to manipulate and process your photos without having to be anywhere near a computer.

For iPhone and Android users, there are many options for spicing up your images, many of which can be downloaded for free or for a small charge.

If you are looking for an all-in-one app that will quickly tweak and improve your photo without much effort, consider Camera+ for iPhone ($1.99) or QikCam (free) for Android. Both apps add more options and features for the built-in camera on your device.

Key features of all-in-one apps include grid lines for easier composition and straighter images, cropping, quick enhancements for automatic lighting, contrast and shadow adjustment and touch exposure, which will allow you to quickly focus on a subject and adjust the exposure of the image around it.

These apps also feature a number of filters that will allow you to tweak images to make them look older or more artistic.

Many photographers seek a blurred background (depth of field) that makes the subject stand out against the background. This blurred effect can be difficult to achieve without professional-level experience, but apps can make the task easier.

Apps like Big Lens for iPhone (99 cents) and Focusoid for Android ($2.99.) will allow you to quickly make the focal point of your image really stand out.

To test these apps during the holidays, have your family stand in front of a colorful background such as a Christmas tree. The apps will blur the tree and make it appear very soft while making people in the image really pop out as the primary focus.

If creating an artistic image is your goal, there are a number of apps that will do the trick. These programs can do everything from adding rain, smoke or light leaks to an image to making the image appear to have been taken with a classic Polaroid or vintage toy camera.

Popular iPhone apps for creating artistic images include Filter Mania (free) and Qbro ($1.99.) The two apps share space in Apple's App store along with literally thousands of similar apps, but are known for ease of use and the number of available options.

Android users also have numerous options to choose from to create artistic images, including Camera Zoom FX (free) and Little Photo (free). These apps can give your images an entirely new look complete with custom vignette effects, framing and shadowing.

For smartphone users with a bit more experience, there are apps available that will allow you to make more intricate changes.

Both iPhone and Android users can make adjustments to contrast, color and shadow levels using Adobe's Photoshop Express (free.) iPhone users wanting total control of their images would do well with Snapseed ($4.99) or Iris ($1.99.)

Both of these apps were designed for pro-level users, but they are not all that difficult to manage with a bit of practice. They allow you to work with various layers, balance color, sharpen, reduce noise and manipulate the color saturation level of your photos.

Before doing any work with your images, make a backup copy first to ensure that you don't lose any of your holiday memories.