Inexpensive app makes gorgeous cinemagraphs possible for all

A brand new must have for marketers

Coined in 2011 by photographers Kevin Burg and Jamie Beck who used the method to animate their fashion photos, “cinemagraph” refers to still images where a portion of the image moves in a loop, as if a video and photo got together and created a high quality effect. Animated GIFs have been around for decades, but this technique is a seamless loop of sequential frames, typically from video, to show subtle movement in only part of a photo, done with image editing software which requires a high level of skill. The fashion industry has taken to the technique and tumblr is ripe with quality cinemagraphs, but the rest of the world has not yet caught on.

Now, for $1.99, the Cinemagr.am iPhone app does the same thing in a few short steps without your having to be a tech wizard or professional photographer. Granted, Burg and Beck use high powered videography and editing tools to produce their famous moving pictures, but to achieve a similar result with a smartphone, brands can make a huge impact with subtle movement in images that don’t require a viewer to hit a play button. What an eye catching tool for high quality images; we anticipate cinemagraphs will catch on in a big way this year.

In that spirit, Cinemagr.am has launched to help photo enthusiasts to create moving images to be shared online, and the app walks users through, step by step in creating the cinemagraph. Currently available for the iPhone, the Cinemagr.am team tells AGBeat that they are working on an Android app, although they are not ready to say when that will be released. Amateur photography has become a recognized art form, complete with an online marketplace for Instagram photos!

Imagine using a cinemagr.am photo on your blog or website with a very subtle picture of water moving in a pool or trees in the breeze for a real estate listing, or perhaps a customer playing with her hair in your bookstore. Without being obnoxious like animated GIFs, cinemagraphs can capture attention in an extremely beautiful way. While sites like Pinterest and Facebook do not support animation in any image, your website does and it is a simple (and more importantly), new way to stand out. Subtle beauty is so in this year!

20 photos made with Cinemagr.am:

Try to spot the movement in each cinemagraph below, some are so subtle that it is almost like seeing something out of the corner of your eye. Tell us in the comments which of these is your favorite!