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Filterstorm

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Kyle Flanigan on February 7th, 2011
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: EXTENSIVE
Filterstorm is an on-the-go photo editing application that allows you to apply a myriad of different filters to photos saved in the Photos apps or copied to your clipboard. With a bit of practice and trial and error, the power of Filterstorm shines throug
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iPhotographer: Better Photos With The Rule Of Thirds

Posted by Chris Nitz on October 14th, 2010

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.

Apps discussed in this post:

iPhotographer: Photo Posting For The Photog On The Go

Posted by Chris Nitz on October 7th, 2010

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.

iOS is not perfect, but it is getting better with every release. More companies are releasing apps that easily allow photo manipulation, sharing, and blogging for those who are constantly on the go. How has your iDevice changed your workflows while travelling? Are you one of those few who now leave your laptop at home in exchange for the lighter iOS devices?

Apps Discussed In This Post:

iPhotographer: iOS Changes Photo Scouting For The Better

Posted by Chris Nitz on September 30th, 2010

Scouting out your next photo is already more work than performing a root canal on a hyperactive child. Looking for vantage points, judging the sun, or moon, taking test shots, and so much more go into a good planning session. All this work often leads to lugging backbreaking equipment around just for a simple test shot. iOS has changed the face of test shooting and planning by margins that my back is very thankful for.

Notebooks be gone!
I have an over abundance of Moleskines full of notes, drawings, doodles, and ideas. These have traveled with me every place I run off to, including the local tea house. The introduction of the iPad has drastically changed my dependence on the tried and true Moleskine and pen. Now, apps like Penultimate allow me to draw out my ideas on my iPad. I can quickly sketch out ideas in a myriad of colors without the need of a big box of colored pencils. I can use Pages, iA Writer, or even Documents To Go to jot down all my notes, thoughts, and contemplations. My camera bag no longer rattles due to pens, pencils, or notebooks jostling around. iOS has taken several tools, digitized them, put them into an easy to use device, and made my life so much easier.

Let the camera stay in the car.
Now, every photographer knows you never travel without a camera. Heck, I lug my D90 just about everywhere I go. Yet, there are times it just does not work to my advantage to haul a camera, tripod, lens, notebooks, pens, and camera bag on a scouting trip. Sometimes I just want to hike in, snag a few quick shots, get to the coffee house, and collect my thoughts on the potential shoot ahead of me. The iPhone camera allows me to leave all the bulky equipment in the car while I take a few light test shots and start contemplating how I want to compose my photographic session.

I can then take these shots and upload them to my Flickr page via FlickStackr, or push them to my Facebook page for everyone to see. I can even do some editing on these photos thanks to Filterstorm. All these tools add up to leaving the heavy gear at home and using my iPhone and iPad for all my scouting missions. How do you use your iDevice for you planning missions?