Wednesday, July 25, 2012

iphone Photography



I love that having an iphone means having a good camera with me at all times. 

This may age me a bit, but it's still hard for me to believe that just 8-10 years ago I was still having 
film developed. Film, people!! FILM!!!!
I remember the days when I had to make sure I stocked up on disposable cameras before a 
vacation or a girls weekend away. 
One of my first gifts from my husband was a 35mm Olympus, which was replaced a few years 
later by my first digital camera. 
almost miss that feeling of excitement when picking up prints! It's so crazy to think that when
I opened that envelope, that was the first time I'd laid eyes on those images!  
Now we can edit red eye, sharpen, crop and even email in a matter of minutes! Unbelievable.
Ok, I'm starting to sound like an old fart.....moving on.... 

I've done a little research lately on the best Camera apps and editing for the iphone. 
After all, with all this technology at my fingertips, why not learn how to get the best
images possible, right?

Here's a little recap of some of my favorite things about iphone photography: 

Capturing a Screen Shot 
and Grabbing a Picture from a Video 
While at the beach, I asked my mom to take a picture of Beckett and I.
Somehow, she had the camera set on "Video" instead.
Salvageable!
Here's what I did:
At the top of the video screen, I chose the frame from the video I liked, then
took a screen shot.
To take a screen shot, hold down the power button and then the home button.
You now have an image of your screen. (Like the one above)
Now you can crop the image and edit it as you wish!

Here's an edited version: 

HDR On?

My brother taught me this one...
Do you have HDR turned on?
Unfortunatley, the shutter is slower when this is engaged, but if your'e taking 
a picture of something that's still (e.g. NOT a 20 month old) this will sharpen your images. 
In your camera options, just make sure HDR is on. 
Amazingly sharper! 


Camera+
Ok, so now let's say that turning on the HDR slowed your shutter TOO much.  
You're trying to take pictures of a fast moving toddler and the 
iphone camera just won't cut it. 
Camera+ gives you the ability to shoot continuously, so you won't miss that smile! 
Just make sure in your settings, switch to "Burst" mode.
You'll be able to fire off shot after shot.

Camera+ also comes with fantastic ediing sofware!


Great filters too! 


Snapseed 
Snapseed is just a great app for adjustment.  
Ultra easy for editing and changing the saturation and brightness. 

I kept wondering how some of those I was following on Instagram got 
all the great lighting effects in their photos.  Come to find out, some 
were using Picfx. 
The Light set is well worth the download, plus there are plenty of other filters
and editing preferences to choose from.

Instagram
I've said over and over how much I enjoy photo sharing on Instagram.  
I also love the filters and borders that are included in 
the Instagram app! 
'Rise' and 'Earlybird' are my favorites.


Want to write on your photos with cool fonts? 
Phonto is a free app with the capability to upload additional fonts. 

I really like having the ability to collage similar images. 
I used Picstitch for a while but recently love PicFrame 
because there are plenty of frames and options to choose from. 

Here's a little Folly collage I whipped up: 

Ok friends, what's YOUR favorite camera or editing app? 

2 comments:

  1. Fantastic post! I'm on Instagram as well (@allkindsoflovely) but didn't know about PicFX or Phonto. Thanks for the suggestions!

    ReplyDelete