There are a few people out that own an Apple iPhone, and as you may have guessed that results in there being a lot of pictures being taken with the camera found on the phone. While the camera on any current cell phone is far more advanced than a pocket point and shoot camera from a few years ago, it doesn’t mean you are going to get a great picture or that you should rely on it as a camera instead of having a camera as well.If you insist on taking pictures with your iPhone, or that you want to start taking pictures with it, hopefully I can help you take BETTER pictures with the not-that-great camera that resides in your phone.If you want crystal clear images with larger resolution for easier editing, you will want to use a DSLR or at least a real point and shoot digital camera instead of a phone. The allure of shooting with the iPhone and using apps to edit photos is the ability to create stylized and unique looking images of highly photographed locations and objects. If you want to experiment and get creative, this is a great way to go.When using an iPhone it would seem as though every shot has the same shutter speed etc. due to the sound made when you snap the shot. The truth is though that if you examine the metadata of the images, they have different aperture and shutter speeds as well as white balances.If you want to make as clear and sharp image possible, you will want to use an iPhone tripod mount adapter to hold your phone steady. If you are doing HDR, low light or stitched panorama shots then this is the way to go even though spontaneity may be sacrificed due to the time required to setup. When shooting outdoors in bright light, no tripod will be needed in most situations. No matter how bright or how steady the shot, it’s not going to rival a DSLR, so editing will always be required.There are all sorts of apps available for iPhone photography, ranging from simple to very advanced. You can work with layer masks, overlay images and more. One of the most important thing to look at when digging through the huge pile of apps available is to select ones that MAINTAIN THE ORIGINAL FILE SIZE. I emphasize this point because once you decrease the file size of the image you lose quality and you can never go back.Hipstamatic: A very cool app that allows you to select different types of ‘lenses’ and ‘films’. You can see the effects created immediately and change your settings as you see fit. One popular combination is the John S lens paired with the Kodot film setting. Shots from Afghanistan with this setting combination have been shot on the iPhone and printed in The New York Times.ProHDR: I’ve been trying to get good HDR photos from my $400 digital camera, and nothing has been as easy and cool as this on the iPhone. A tripod is recommended here, though not always required if you have a steady hand and plenty of light. Try using the Auto setting to combine two photos easily or Manual to choose either highlights or shadows. Using Library HDR you may combine any two images in your library.Perfect Photo: A great app to help sharpen your images is Perfect Photo. You get a large split screen view of the before-and-after sharpening so that you may see the final result before it’s done and make adjustments. Even on the small screen, the adjustments are easy to see due to the view being zoomed in for detail.Impression: Last but not least, you will want to put your name on your images if you are uploading them to the web. Yes people can crop or edit it out, but it’s worth the effort anyway. Impression allows you to control the font size, opacity and color as well as where it appears in the photo.If you break, lose or forget your camera, the iPhone could be there to save the day in a pinch. If you want to get creative, the iPhone is great for that too. Just remember, you will never get professional looking photos from an iPhone, but you can still get some pretty cool stuff you would otherwise miss because you don’t have a regular camera long for the ride.
Tag Archives: digital products
Summer Music and Arts Festivals Are Just Around the Corner
For many people in the UK, the onset of spring means only one thing – the advent of the music festival season. From Glastonbury in June to the Reading and Leeds Festivals at the end of August, music festivals play a large part in the British summer experience – regardless of the weather.Traditionally, the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset has been seen simultaneously as the both the kick-off and the highlight of the summer festival season. As famous for the rivers of mud it attracts during periods of rain as the big names it draws, Glastonbury began in 1970 with 1500 people attending. In contrast, last year’s festival – memorably headlined by American rapper Jay-Z – saw over 100,000 people attending, figures that are a testament to how deeply Glastonbury is embedded in the hearts of British music fans.Other popular festivals featuring rock and electronic acts are spread across the season, with T in the Park in Scotland in July, the V Festival in mid-August and the Reading and Leeds festivals at the end of August. But rock music certainly isn’t the only genre to light a fire under festival-goers in the UK. The Cambridge Folk Festival attracts thousands of folk fans from across the world in the serene and beautiful surroundings of Cherry Hinton in Cambridgeshire. This eclectic festival is even older than Glastonbury, having started in 1964.What’s more, the UK is home to some of the globe’s most vibrant arts festivals every summer, like the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe in August, and the Brighton Festival and Fringe in May. In fact, the Edinburgh Fringe is the biggest arts festival in the world with over two thousand shows last year spanning theatre, comedy, music and many more genres.However, with the economic downturn looming large over many people’s finances this year, it’s possible that a lot of music fans and arts buffs won’t quite get to make it to their favourite festivals this year. Tickets for music festivals in particular can run into hundreds of pounds for a whole weekend, while tickets at Fringe events often sell out quickly – especially if they’ve been receiving good press.However, the huge technological advances of the last decade mean that it’s now easier than ever to make sure you don’t miss out on seeing your favourite bands or shows – even if it’s from the comfort of your own living room. Rapid developments in digital television mean that highlights from major music festivals and events are increasingly being shown on TV, both recorded and live.Digital channels are often among the first to screen footage from music festivals and channels with interactive features usually let you choose from a selection of bands to watch. Detailed programmes on arts festivals are often compiled too and can be seen on specialist channels like Sky Arts. What’s more, with more and more people choosing HD television, the crystal-clear quality of this format means that your favourite musical groups and performers will seem even more unforgettable.With such great digital television technology at your fingertips, there’s no excuse for you to miss the highlights of the UK’s best summer festivals.