OutColor is an application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows you to create what the developer calls “Out of Bounds” images, where part of the picture is shown outside of the frame. This type of editing really makes your pictures feel 3D and appear to pop right out of the frame. Not only is this app another great tool for photographers, but it’s also just plain fun for anyone to play around with.

The app can be a bit confusing at first, so the developer has included a help menu and tutorial to guide you in the basics of the application. The tutorial is very helpful and will give you some confidence when you go to create your first image. If you’ve used the application, Color Splash, then you’ll feel right at home with OutColor. The first step is to load an image from you library. The app will automatically add a frame and shadow to a small portion of your picture. The next step is to figure out what part of the picture you would like to have pop out of the frame. Tapping on “foreground” will show you the entire picture in black and white with the frame. From here, you’ll need to start using your finger to “brush” the area you’d like to appear outside the frame. You can use the image brush and whatever you touch will start to appear in color. You can also choose the solid brush to make everything you touch appear in red. I prefer the latter approach, as you can easily see what you are selecting. To make your image look natural, you’ll want to zoom in as close as possible to be really precise with your brushing. Two fingers on the screen will pan and zoom. Brushing is as easy as swiping your finger across what you want. You can change the brush size, softness and opacity. As you go, if you make a mistake, you can tap the undo button at the top of the screen. You can also use the eraser to make very fine corrections.

After you have brushed the part of the image you want, tap on “review” to see your final product. If you don’t like the way it looks, you can always change it until you actually save your final image. From the review screen, you can change the shadows on the frame and on whatever pops out of the frame to make it look more realistic. You can also change the background to whatever color or gradient you choose. In the next update, which has already been submitted, the application will allow you to select background images from your photo album.

For me, the app ran smooth with absolutely no crashes or hiccups. Buttons are readily available and the options for customization are plentiful. However, I did run into a problem with the frame itself. If you decide to move the frame or change its angle, which you will definitely want to do, you must do so one corner at a time. You can’t just move the whole frame to a different location. This is a feature that the developer promises in its 1.1 update. I would also like to see some social integration to share photos with Facebook and Twitter. As of now, you can only save a final image to your library.

OutColor is a very powerful application for photo editing. If you really spend some time with the app, you can create beautiful 3D images that will grab anyone’s attention. If you don’t have patience, or are someone that just wants instant gratification, then this app isn’t for you. If you have patience and would like another photo editing tool available at your fingertips, then I highly recommend this application. It does not disappoint. I also recommend you take a look at the developer’s website for more screenshots of some really well done creations using this app. They are far better than what I have created for this review and show you how powerful the app really is.