iPhotographer: Introductions, Filterstorm

Photography on iOS has come a long way. We're here to help you learn more about it.

We here at 148Apps would like to welcome you to the new iPhotographer column. What exactly is the point here? That is a mighty fine question.

We will bring you tips, tricks, and reviews geared directly at photographers of all skill levels. There will be tips and tricks on how to perform tasks on an iOS device that just might have you questioning the need for a laptop. We might even delve into some photo techniques and how these techniques can take your iPhone photography skills even further.

Now the question becomes one of credentials. I am an IT professional who ditched his education in computers for life behind a camera. I am a self-taught photographer who is looking to continue to grow my skill set while helping others along the way.

My name is Chris Nitz and I started my own photography business. I have read more articles on shutter speeds, rule of thirds, lighting, and white balance than I can ever care to remember. I have a passion to see the world from a viewfinder. I am by no means a photography elitist or so called expert. I’m here to learn right along with you, and encourage your comments and suggestions at the end of every article.

Let’s get to the meat of this column with a small review. This review is trimmed down, as you will see this app show up in future articles. The app I am referring to is Filterstorm

Filterstorm takes programs like Aperture or Lightroom and brings them right onto your iPad. Filterstorm contains all the goodness of tonal curves, noise reduction, saturation, and so much more right to your finger tips.

Filterstorm’s interface is easy on the eye while maintaining simplicity in navigation. Firing up the app will have the basic controls on the left side of the screen. Loading up a photo is as easy as choosing it from your photo library. Those with a camera connection kit can even bring in photos straight off a memory card.

Once the photo is in the app the real work begins. All edits are made without destroying the original photo. There is even an apply button you have to hit before the changes are made. You can easily test how the changes will look without racing for the undo option.

iPhotographer: Photo Posting For The Photog On The Go

You can really accomplish everything from photo-shoot to posting the final product right in iOS!

iOS has brought users a great all-in-one stop shop for taking photos, manipulating them, posting them online, and composing a whole blog post over that spectacular shot. In fact, because the iPad and iPhone have such great apps, there are some pros that don’t even carry a laptop with them onto photo shoots. Everything they need for quickly getting photos to the world can easily be handled right on these magical devices. Let’s look at just a few tools that make this possible.

Shooting The Photo
The first major change is just how the iPhone takes photos. Long gone are boring, under/over exposed, bland photos. Now we have HDR embedded right in the included camera app. If this is not powerful enough for you, apps like TrueHDR and Pro HDR can take your HDR photos to higher levels than what is already available.

Maybe you like adding a bit of flair to your photos — this is where wonderful apps like Hipstamatic come into play. I use this app all the time when I am shooting fun setups with all my Lego People. The various lenses and films all add up for some fun, and unique shots that I have thought of recreating with my DSLR and Photoshop.

Processing Without Photoshop
The next part of any good shot is the post-processing step, and yes, just about any photo worth its weight in metallic paper is photoshopped in some form or another. This may be as simple as removing dust particles or increasing saturation levels, to full-blown photo manipulations in layers that a slice of Tiramisu would be jealous of.

Apps like Filterstorm, or Photoshop Express, allow for some basic photo-editing while away from your computer. Filterstorm even allows you to make adjustments in that all too familiar layer workflow so many of us are comfortable with. Are these apps going to allow you to completely avoid using Photoshop on a laptop? Of course not. However, what you do have is the ability to post process while sipping on a beer at the local pup without all the worry of dropping a pint on your precious laptop.

Uploading Those Shots
Uploading photos does have a few gotchas, as there is not one single great app to handle the huge number of uploading services. There are apps to handle some of the most popular sharing services like Facebook, Smugmug, Flickr, Twitter, and Picasa, however. Worst-case scenario is you have to email your photo to a client or a photo sharing service. This is undoubtedly one of the bigger downfalls of doing photography with the iOS devices, rather than a laptop.

Composing A Photo Blog Post
Once your photo is captured, processed, and uploaded, you just might want to quickly write up a small blog post about the photo. There are apps to allow you to do just that as well, but again, this will be limited to your choice of blog host. Some services may even support one iOS device over another device, as is the case with SquareSpace only supporting the iPhone at this time. There are applications like BlogPress and WordPress that can be used to update blogs, too. A tip here: if you can’t post from an app, type it up, email it to someone you trust, and have them add the blog posting. We all know that content is the key to keeping your viewers coming back.

iPhotographer: Better Photos With The Rule Of Thirds

Time to apply some photography rules to your iPhone camera for better photos.

You are now ready to elevate your iPhone photos to the next level. After all, the internet is full of quick snapshots, party pics, and other miscellaneous photos that do not do iPhone photography justice. How do you take this budding art and make it a richer photographic experience? Start by following the most fundamental of all photography laws: The Rule of Thirds.

What is the rule of thirds you ask? Without diving into the science of how the human eye works, this rule is about simply breaking your photos into thirds, and then using those thirds to your advantage. Utilize this rule in two ways for richer photos. First, pretend there is a TIC-TAC-TOE board on whatever you are going to photograph. Now, place your subject in any of the four intersecting points of this grid. If you have multiple subjects, fret not, try to place each subject in one to two of the intersecting points. The second part of this rule applies to breaking your photo into thirds. Let us say you are going to shoot a sunset over a lake nestled in a forest. Place the lake in the bottom third, the tree line should consume the middle third, and the sky the top third.

Maybe you can’t get the rule of thirds right away in your shot, have no worries, as you can apply the rule of thirds in a bit of post processing. Apps like Filterstorm and Photoshop Express will throw up a grid when you go to rotate your images. Use this grid to help visualize where images to fit into this rule, and if some cropping is going to be necessary. It may not be a perfect solution, but it will help you end up with better photos.

There are times you may break this simple rule, but when in doubt, stick to the rule. There is a reason this rule has stood the test of time, equipment, and improving technology. The next time you are just going to snap a photo with your iPhone, apply this rule, and watch as your photos become much more interesting.

iPhotographer: Halloween Photo Tips

Time to collect the candy tax!

Halloween is just around the corner (you know, like this weekend), and we all know you will be carrying an iPhone with you from door to door on your candy raids. Maybe you will even have some minions with you doing all the dirty work of begging for candy. Why not put the phone in your pocket to good use and capture a few of these memories in style? A few tips to get you rolling are as simple as:

Snag pics of the kids earlyBefore you embark out into the night, capture a few shots of everybody in their costumes early. Not only will this net you some much better lighting conditions, but it also allows you to capture photos before everybody is antsy to dive into their buckets of tasty treats. Keep the photos interesting by using various angles and remembering to keep the rule of thirds in place. Keep in mind that head-on shots of kids are ok, but children offset by the pumpkins they carved while standing in front of a big pile of colorful leaves is much more enjoyable. Bonus Tip: You can add on a bit of face manipulation with apps like Kid Face Halloween Edition for that extra bit of Halloween photo fun!

iPhotographer: Break Out Some Angles

It all comes down to perspective.

One of the simplest ways to increase the visual appeal of your photos is with different points of view. This is possibly the one area the iPhone excels at when it comes to taking photos. The diminutive size, coupled with a large “view finder”, means you can easily play with varying angles to create spectacular, different, and enjoyable photos.

Here is what I mean by changing your angles. We have all seen photos where the subject is straight on, with a relatively generic background. While the scene might be nice, it does not do enough to differentiate itself from the flood of these types of photos online. This is where you, your eye, and a bit of work come into play. Prepare to lie on the ground, climb a tree, and generally look like a goon while you try to catch “the shot.” There is a reason why professionals are willing to lay in the dirt, and that is to create an image that is both pleasing to the eye while providing a different view point to set the photo apart.

Let us take an example of how a simple change of angle creates a more dramatic and interesting photo. Here we start with a photo taken straight on. Sure, the Lego Falcon adds a little to the photo, but the overall feel is a bit bland and over done. We get the idea, but the photo is lacking personality.