Tag: iphone

Instagram Stories: Shoot Daily and Share

Posted on March 16, 2018 by Keenan Gilson

For those that don’t have access to professional gear, it may seem difficult to believe that you can still produce nice images. So much emphasis is put on equipment these days that it can be easy to believe this. As someone who travels often, sometimes I purposefully choose to shoot with the bare minimum. It lightens the luggage and helps you avoid attention. It also forces to you to focus on what’s important when creating images. Things such as lighting, composition, lines, genuine expressions and things like these.

Something that has really encouraged me to shoot like this is Instagram’s story feature. It’s a great little platform that allows you to share your images from your day with those that follow you. It keeps your followers engaged and can keep you in a creative mindset throughout your day. How can we use this feature for our benefit?

In order to show you a real-life example of how this can be done, I decided to run (literally went for a run) through the city of Ho Chi Min in Vietnam with only my iPhone 6. I want to show that even if you don’t have top of the end gear, you can practice, improve your craft and interact with your followers all at the same time!

Instagram Story

Instagram

, in general, is a great way to showcase your work to an international audience. It seems like nowadays Instagram presence and following is a great way to secure jobs and receive income from sponsorships. With that being said, how can we make the most of this app in our everyday life?

First, let’s take a look at what this Story feature is all about. Stories will appear on the top of your Instagram feed in the shape of a circle. Your followers can click the circle and see either photos or video that you posted. They will be present for your followers to look at for the next 24 hours. If your plan is to use this medium to share your images, you will want to shoot knowing you will have to crop to 16×9 later. This can affect that way you compose your shots.

Understanding Your Camera

The next thing you need to do is fully understand the camera you will be using. If you’re using a phone, there are many downloadable applications that allow you to get uncompressed, highly detailed images. Many also allow you to manually control such settings as aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. My goal is to get the best medium exposure possible and having these extra controls allows me to do just that.

Understanding all the possible ways to release the shutter can be extremely useful as well. On all the typical iPhones you can take a photo by pressing the volume buttons (this includes the earphones when they are attached as well). This allows you to take more inconspicuous photos.

Once you have a complete understanding of all the functions that can be used, you can then use them to have full control over your final images.

Editing

Once you have a good amount of images to choose from, it’s time to edit them. The best option is to upload them to a computer but if you’re traveling, there are some excellent options to edit right off of your phone. There are many apps that I could recommend such as VSCO or Snapseed but my favorite one recently is an app called Color Story. It’s a free app that gives you most of the controls you would have on your computer. It also has some excellent free filters and effects.

Application

When I was in Vietnam this past month I used all of these suggestions. I shot every day and shared my images with my followers. They were able to get a glimpse into the wonderful country of Vietnam and I was able to push myself creatively.

If you ever plan to visit Vietnam, I would highly recommend that you learn some basic phrases in their native language. It seemed like no one spoke English at all. Such phrases such as “hello” and “thank you” can be very useful, especially if you are going to be taking pictures of strangers.

I would also recommend that if you don’t have any experience riding a motorcycle that you don’t learn there. It has the craziest form of traffic that I’ve ever seen.

You don’t need the best equipment in order to progress as a photographer. It can be done with a simple camera phone with some forethought and diligence. Take advantage of Instagram’s Story feature which can encourage you to shoot daily and interact with your followers!

Keep learning and have fun!

How to Take Better Photos With Your Phone: 4 Steps to Improvement

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Taya Ivanova

Fact #1: Almost all of us have smartphones. Fact #2: Almost all of us have used our smartphones to take photographs at one point or another.

Even if you’re not an avid Instagram user, there are many ways in which phone photography (commonly known as phoneography) can boost your creativity and observation skills. Phone photos, thanks to their ever-increasing popularity, are taking over both the real and the online worlds, compelling others to find something photogenic of their own to shoot.

What if you’ve already tried out phone photography but disliked the process? Maybe the camera in your phone didn’t provide you with enough options, giving you results that were either too bright or too dull. Perhaps you believed that shooting at night would be too problematic because of your phone’s limitations. If you could relate to any of these scenarios, give phoneography another shot; there’s a solution to all of these issues that might transform your hesitance into interest. Here are tips on how to take great photos with your phone.

Choose a camera app that matches your preferences

It’s very likely that the camera app that came with your phone isn’t being used to its full potential. Advanced settings often present in DSLR cameras – such as ISO and shutter speed – can be altered in phones, too. To make the most of these hidden features, you need a handy camera app. Here are a few great ones:

iPhone users can enjoy apps such as Manual ($3.99), Focus ($1.99), and VSCO (free). All of these apps enable users to alter their camera’s focus, ISO, shutter speed, white balance adjustment, and the list goes on. Apps like VSCO will let you edit your photographs with a variety of presets as soon as you’re doing with your shoot.

Android users have just as many wonderful options to choose from Camera FV-5 ($3.35), Camera360 (free), and DSLR Camera Pro ($3.52). Like the popular iPhone apps, these are capable of letting you take the best possible photograph before you even begin the editing process. If you’re not a fan of editing apps, these instant photo enhancers are the right tools for you.

Use a tripod

Phone tripods can be found almost anywhere. Nighttime photography enthusiasts, self-portrait artists, and landscape photographers often require the use of a tripod for their shoots. Since most phone cameras have timers, tripods can really come in handy for interesting phone photographs. If you like long exposure photography, for instance, then you’ll get great results with the help of an advanced camera app like Focus and with an affordable tripod.

Photograph everything

Once you acquire a better camera app, take photographs of anything that catches your eye. Most importantly, don’t forget to experiment and try out new things. The beauty of phoneography is that it’s always accessible no matter where you are. Take photos of details, landscapes, buildings, and people. The accessibility of this photography genre makes it easy to see what it’s like to shoot different kinds of subjects. If you’re a macro photographer, try photographing people. If you’re a portrait photographer, take photos of buildings. During these experiments, you’ll discover new creative worlds. As you do, your inspiration will grow exponentially.

Acquire an editing app that satisfies your creativity

This last tip is optional but useful for those interested in improving their editing skills. Many editing apps (like VSCO) have presets similar to the ones in Lightroom and Photoshop. By understanding the beauty of color correction and enhancement, you’ll find it easy to use editing programs like Lightroom. Thus, whether you use a professional camera or not, all of your artistic skills will strengthen. iPhone users can find their inner retoucher in apps like Enlight ($3.99), AfterFocus ($0.99), and Snapseed (free). Android users can enjoy the great editing features of apps like Pixlr-o-Matic (free), Photo Lab PRO ($2.99), and Pixlr Express (free).

Phone photography doesn’t have to take over your life or replace DSLR photography. Instead, it can help you take quick photos using a small device, enable you to find photographic potential almost anywhere, and encourage you to visit new places. To put it simply, phone photography is worth experimenting with. The knowledge you acquire as you take photographs with your phone will come in handy when you use professional cameras. Phoneography is just another reason to be more creative, observant, and imaginative.

Happy shooting!

Get Creative with an App – Cool Smartphone Apps for Photography

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Simran Nanwani

Smartphones have made our lives a lot easier especially for photographers. The continuous developments in technology and gadgets with improvised cameras on smartphones, allow us to capture any moment in one click. They also come with a range of applications to choose from for photo editing. Having used smartphones for a while now, some of my personal go to apps would be Snapseed, Hipstamatic, VSCO and SKRWT. Here are some tips about using these apps and why I have preferred them every time.

Snapseed

Snapseed has always been my go-to app for editing most of my images; it’s like using Photoshop but a lot simpler. Snapseed is an app developed by Google, and it is available for iOS and Android. It is a well-developed app with all the necessary features you need to create crisp, clean and vibrant images. Editing with Snapseed allows you to play around with various features to create a picture that suits your taste.

Before Edit

When you open the app, you pick an image that you’d like to edit. After choosing your image, you create the edit by selecting the features as shown below.

After you choose the features and adjustments you need for your image, you click save, and you will have the edited image as seen below.

Some of the features I used in this edit were Tune Image, Structure, Drama and Blur. The Tune Image feature can be used to play with the brightness, contrast, saturation, ambience, highlight, shadow and warmth by increasing or decreasing them accordingly. To improve the details of the image, you can use structure by increasing it. I choose mostly not to sharpen my image depending on the need. Features like drama, blur or HDR, can be utilized depending on the mood you want to portray in the photo.

Standby Bikes at Old Town, Jakarta

There are other features in Snapseed which are worth trying like selective adjust when you want to brighten or darken a particular area in your image. The HDR scape feature can be used when you have people or landscapes in your image and would like to draw more attention to detail on them. The Black and White feature is also quite useful to transform your images from colour to Black and White.

SKRWT

Ever captured an image that is not in perfect symmetry? Unable to find the right app to get it in place?… SKRWT is the answer. It is relatively a newer app than Snapseed but works perfectly for putting your pictures into perspective. This app is available for iOS and Android.

Before Edit

As you open the app, you choose your image, for example, the above image and then start playing around with the features to create your perspective. See image below.

After Edit

I enjoy using this app as the available features are easy to use, and you can quickly create an exceptional alignment and structure to your images. They also have a very active Instagram account with useful tips and discussions on photography.

VSCO

VSCO is an app with a variety of filters/presets to give your images a touch of nostalgia or clarity depending on the filter you choose. It also has a photo sharing community and is available on iOS and Android. This is my go-to app when I want to create a classic or mellow image.

After choosing preset

VSCO can be used to capture, edit and share images. Using the same image as SKRWT, I’d like to complete the picture processing with VSCO. Once you open the app and add your image, you can choose which preset you like. After selecting the preset you can use the other features to adjust brightness, contrast, highlight, saturation, sharpen, fade, etc. to compose your image. See picture below after the complete process.

Hipstamatic

Last but not least, my all-time favorite app Hipstamatic. This app is only available on iOS. Hipstamatic is an app that provides you with numerous Film, Lens, and Flash to shoot. Recently, they have added the editing feature so; you can use any image from your camera roll and edit it using Hipstamatic film and lens. Trying to find the right combo for your images can be a challenge when you start using the app. But, as you use the app you understand more how it works. There are Instagram accounts like Hipstaconnect that help you with challenges on a weekly basis to familiarize yourself with the app.

Before Edit

When you open the app, you can choose the image you like and then choose one of the combos available at the bottom or create your combo of film, lens, and flash. See image below.

Basel combo

After choosing the preferred combo, you can make other adjustments like brightness, contrast, fade, saturation, clarity, texture, depth of field, etc. to the image. See image below.

This is the second preferred app for me as it has a variety of features with specific details that you can use to create an image. The final version of the image after the edits can be seen below.

‘Si Jagur’ the Canon at Old City, Jakarta

There are some apps we can use to create images that suit our creativity and style. But, it is always best to draw it down to those very few that work for you regarding features and usage. The more apps you have, the harder, it will be for you to produce images fitting your style. Variety can make it confusing to pick the right app. If the app has useful features, is user-friendly and produces excellent images, it makes you want to keep going back to the app to edit your images. The apps above have worked for me till date as I always go back to them for all my edits.

Make your editing process a fun and creative aspect, to compose images into a stunning moment.

Feel Festive in Jakarta: Christmas Spirit in Indonesia

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Simran Nanwani

As the year approaches to an end, with the Christmas spirit still fresh and still enjoying the holidays together, we wonder what Christmas means in Jakarta, Indonesia. Christmas is a holiday season celebrated by almost everyone today not just by a certain ethnicity or religion. Many people enjoy the spirit it brings, the joy, the peace and the bliss it makes one feel during this season. Christmas can be interpreted in many ways and people take this time of the year to give back to society, to help the needy or even to give selflessly. In Indonesia, being the largest Muslim population, the most celebrated Holiday is Eid/Idul Fitri. Although, now, Christmas is beginning to be recognized and celebrated more by people in Indonesia. The festive atmosphere in Indonesia, can only be felt in the malls around the city with their extensive and colorful decor.

In a tropical city like Jakarta, we do not have the pleasure of enjoying the cold weather or to see the snow but we get to feel the spirit of joy through our friends who celebrate this joyful occasion or by listening to Christmas carols in various places around the city. Unfortunately, as Christmas is a normal public holiday, the roads and streets in the city are not decorated with lights and ornaments.

Christmas has always been a favorite holiday for me. This merry season has always brought me a feeling of joy, warmth and excitement. For me, during this festive end of the year season, it is more of winding down and enjoying the break from a well-spent hectic year.

I shall share pictures of the holiday spirit that I found in various aspects and decorations. The small ornaments and details that have made Christmas a celebrated festive season everywhere, are what the pictures shared below will be about. The photos are a mix of last year and this year. They have all been captured using iPhone, edited using various apps: Snapseed/Tadaa/Hipstamatic.

This was a very interesting display found in Body Shop last year. The snowmen creatively decorated on the Christmas Gift boxes intrigued me to capture it from various angles. My focus was to try to get the green and white together in one complete image.

With lights all over this tall Christmas tree, at a nearby mall, it was a perfect opportunity to try some bokeh.

Still fascinated with the tree, the Christmas balls and colourful lights motivated me to capture this image using Hipstamatic.

Wreaths a customary decoration on doors or home interiors based on ancient beliefs are made of evergreens constructed to resemble a ring and symbolizing strength. This beautiful wreath, I found on the front door of a residence. It was captured using my native iPhone 6S camera. I edited this using Hipstamatic as I wanted to give it a rustic touch.

A beautiful framed setting done by TWG Tea at a nearby mall.

As I was walking, I noticed a girl sitting next to the teddy bear and her friend taking a picture of her.

The colours and moment itself intrigued me to capture it as it is.

A cute Christmas tree cut out decor piece, was something I couldn’t miss capturing.

I edited the image using Tadaa and Over apps to add a Winter feeling to the image.

Trying out a looking up perspective, that was decorated with this lovely colourful decor.

A day after Christmas, at a mall nearby, I found this decor in blue and white and people were taking pictures in front of it.
This scene plus the busyness around the mall, tempted me to click a snap.

Using Hipstamatic, I wanted to change the mood to nostalgia thus, changed the colour to a black and white image.

Lastly, adding a touch of patriotism, this shot was captured last year at a painting exhibition.
The red and white colours portrayed here, which are also the colours of our national flag, illustrates the Christmas colours in it’s own way.
I added this image only to show the connection to Christmas through the Indonesian colours.

Through all the photos above, I have tried to share the spirit of this festive season in my country.
Capturing various moments from different perspectives and angles, and adding a touch of edits to bring the festive mood alive.

Christmas may not hold a special meaning to me, but someday, I would love to experience this season in countries that celebrate it. So, I can also experience the spirit of joy and bliss. Wishing you a peaceful holiday season!

Tips for iPhone Street Photography

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Kim Suarez

“The best camera is the one that’s with you.” – Chase Jarvis

In today’s world, every camera is a compromise. They function in the same way, and all take great images for the most part. You can even get amazing images from the phone in your pocket. This is a great option if you happen to leave home without your camera, or just don’t feel like carrying it around. The image quality and selection of post-processing apps, make iPhones fantastic camera options. And the ease of direct to social media sharing makes sharing your photos painless.

Below, I will outline a few iPhone street photography tips I’ve picked up along the way for shooting street photography on your phone. I say iPhone because that’s what I use, but of course, this post is relevant for any cell phone with a camera. I know I’ve seen some Galaxy phones whose cameras blow iPhone cameras out of the water. It doesn’t matter what type of phone you use, as long as it has a camera.

iPhone Street Photography Tips

#1 Get Close

As Robert Capa said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” Part of street photography that takes some getting used to is to be bold. You’ll need to get close to your subjects, especially with the 35mm focal length of the iPhone. There are a few techniques you can do. You can always ask your subject if you can take their picture. This is tougher than it sounds, as approaching strangers can be difficult. It can also result in a manipulated image, which you may or may not want. You could also shoot from the hip. This means taking a shot without looking, usually with your phone at your side. With an iPhone, you can also pretend you’re texting and get away with a close shot. Or, as popularized by Bruce Gilden, just go for it! Jump into someone’s face and take the shot. This is definitely not my method of choice, but for some, it is the best option. There is nothing against the law about this, though it will piss most people off.

Getting close can also isolate your subject from the background. In street photography, depending on your city, an image can get too full. This means it’s easy to oversaturate the image. I find interesting street photographs are those that feel isolated. To me, a street scene is always busy and overflowing. But that isolated subject in a big city backdrop is interesting for some reason. Play around with this idea, and see if you can isolate subjects in your frame.

#2 Follow the Light

This is another tip which is interchangeable between phone and camera. It’s always best to shoot when the light is best, called the Golden Hour. This is the hour just after the sun rises and just before the sun sets, and makes for beautiful lighting. This is a great option for those who shoot during their commute hours. When I lived in San Francisco and worked long hours at my day job, I was always out during Golden Hour commuting. This worked out great for my street photography. It’s not to say that you’ll get bad images during the day. I’ve seen some beautiful images taken during high noon when the sun is bright and right above. Just be aware of the light when shooting, and find a way to make it work in your image.

#3 Take Advantage of Apps

There are tons of apps for shooting, post-production and sharing photos. Some people swear by apps like VSCO and Camera+, while others hate them. You should experiment and find what’s right for you, but I’ve listed a few below:

Shooting:

Camera+
Pro Camera
Hipstamatic
Snapseed

Editing:

VSCO
CameraBag
AfterLight

#4 Accessories

Just as you would with your camera, you’ll want to make sure to have a spare battery or two for your phone. For iPhone’s, this is a portable battery, which is getting smaller and more powerful. I used to have a charging case on my phone, which was great, though a little bulky. These are pricey, but are convenient and take up less space than bringing a separate device.

You should also get a solid case which has a grip for easy handling. Something protective would be beneficial as well. There are also companies making lenses, such as Moment and Ollio, which can be useful. But not necessary. For street photography, all you need is a phone with a good case and an external battery

#5 Burst Mode

Shooting burst mode is always a good idea, and I have it on 95% of the time in any type of photography I shoot. You just don’t want to leave capturing the decisive moment up to one photo. It’s always better to have a few more images to get one solid image from. Especially in street photography, when capturing people walking.

#6 Be Ready

The exciting aspect of street photography is that you never know what is going to happen. You have to be ready for anything and able to react before the moment happens. If you are out to shoot, you need to have your phone ready. This means out or in your pocket in camera mode, ready for the shot. You should be hyper aware of your surroundings, always looking around (not in a creepy way). If you are aware of your surroundings, you can better predict what could happen. It’s better to miss the moment because it didn’t happen rather than because your phone wasn’t out.

#7 Tell a Story

Here, you want to look for an interesting story to tell through your photo. Look for an emotion, something interesting about the scene. It’s so easy just to take a picture of someone on the street. The good ones evoke a feeling, a reaction from the viewer. This is what you should be looking for. This goes hand in hand with Be Ready above. If you are aware of what is going on, you can predict a moment which will lead to an interesting story. Try to capture the entire story in one image. If you capture many photos during an event, find the one that sums up what happened. This will be your strongest image.

#8 Sharing

Of course, one of the major benefits of iPhone street photography is how easy it is to edit and share images. Using the iPhoto image editing can be a bit limiting. Use of the many apps listed above to do your edits, which should only take a minute or two. Keep your street photos consistent in editing. Uploading to Instagram, Flickr or any other social media platform is a breeze. You’ll be able to spend less time editing and sharing, and more time shooting.

Now for an assignment. Take these tips and your phone and shoot only iPhone street photography for a month. I bet you’ll realize after one month how much you’ve shot and how much you’ve learned. This knowledge will rollover to your camera, and you’ll have a whole new eye for photography.

The Evolution of Mobile Photography

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Simran Nanwani

The term “Mobile Photography” has gained more popularity since the past 2-3 years as technology continues to advance in smartphone cameras. Back in time we held smartphones from Nokia/Siemens/Sony Ericson or may be Samsung that had VGA cameras or even basic cameras. In those times, having a camera in itself was a big deal for us. As it gave us the advantage of capturing moments and keeping those memories. Today, our cameras have advanced tremendously that we can even earn some money from Mobile Photography.

The term “Photography” was slightly restricted and specific to only Digital Cameras and DSLRs has now evolved into Mobile. Many photographers who are used to carrying their heavy DSLRs have started to use more and more of their iPhones or other smartphones to shoot.

India Gate – Nokia N97 Yellow Rose – iPhone 3GS

The quality seen in images today in comparison to olden days is huge. Sometime in April, an instagram account and app @doyouskrwt asked a question on Instagram “Mobile Photography is shifting – more and more people are going for a bigger camera. Do you think mobile photography will be a thing the next years or is it going to decrease drastically in near future?” Many people including myself agreed that it definitely will keep increasing considering, “technology advances – smartphones advances – camera in smartphone advances” (Jonathan @kennedyirl). The responses also discussed the quality of images. There is no denying that the DSLRs quality still reigns far superior to smartphones but, having a smartphone nowadays for those who enjoy photography is an asset. Like Florian @flori_anz_enk put it nicely saying “I guess it will be a combination of a great smartphone and an advanced camera. I am using two Sony Alpha 7/a7s for portraits, events, and weddings and for everything else my iPhone 6s. Smartphones are so versatile and you can go into stealth mode when it comes to discrete street photography. I love both and use it for completely different styles of photography.”

Hongkong – iPhone 3GS Flower Market Hongkong – iPhone3GS

Taking photos with our mobile phones has not just become a matter of passion but a trend. Although, many times our Instagram feeds are filled with unlimited and unnecessary selfies and a display of personal activities. Keeping aside the unnecessary, we come across many talents with wonderful feeds not forgetting the various hubs that have cropped up to expose Mobile Photography. Many of these photographers have started a business, gained partnerships with famous companies and achieved recognition. However, this creates a tough competition between Photographers using DSLRs. The popularity of mobile photographers can remain inconsistent as many times their interest in photography is only for a short time span or to gain fame.

Seattle – iPhone 4S by Bridgette Shima (@bridgette.xo)

Personally for me, having the iPhone handy to capture whenever I like has made me enjoy capturing moments even more. I do use a semi-pro-Canon camera which allows me to use manual controls and gives more satisfaction in terms of image quality. The availability of various apps with impressive editing features allows me to capture, create and instantly share on social media platforms. Some platforms like Eyeem allow us to sell our photos which are a great feature for budding photographers.

Fresh Vegetables – iPhone 5 Landscape – iPhone 5

There is a vast difference in the quality of photos that can be seen through the Nokia N97 to iPhone 6S. You will notice with the Nokia N97, the image captured was pretty crisp and clear. The iPhone 3GS has improved the quality of images with more details in the capture. In some instances, the clarity depends on the lighting and exposure. For macro shots simply using iPhone 3GS, as you can see in the Yellow Rose above, it has a perfect composition defining the rose beautifully without needing any major edits. The image quality and composition balance continues to evolve with every iPhone (mobile phone). What I have noticed is from iPhone 3GS to iPhone 6S some of the elements in the camera are stable but, crisper and the noise is far lesser in the current iPhone 6S. Zooming was not encouraged in previous smartphones, however, as you see below, the zoom feature in the current iPhone 6S works well for a mobile phone as it doesn’t compromise the quality of the photo.

Museum Proklamasi Indonesia (Jakarta) – iPhone 6S

Over the years, the pixels have increased to improve image quality and to allow larger size printing. The noise has been reduced to a greater extent enabling us to create spotless images. This allows photographers to be able to have the convenience of capturing without having to carry their heavy gears. Currently, smartphone companies are starting to create smartphone cameras with dual cameras whereby one camera would have higher specifications enabling to take even greater quality photos. Some mobile phone companies also use Carl Zeiss Lens like the Nokia Lumia. The Nokia Lumia is known to have a very good camera despite its limitations as far as editing apps are concerned. An article on Nokia Lumia was written by a good friend Bridgette Shima can be read here.

Raindrops – iPhone 6S

In conclusion, I would say it has been quite interesting to see how mobile photography has progressed and continues to evolve. I wouldn’t say it can reach DSLR quality in a short span of time but having the option of using a smartphone is a big deal for all photographers. Photography is not just a passion or hobby but a profession for many people. Hopefully, mobile photographers can also walk hand in hand to learn from Professional Photographers and inspire all photographers everywhere to keep clicking.