Photography Assignment Generator for iOS is a new twist on an old problem
We all have or cameras, iPhone our DSLR. But what photos to take? It's an easy decision at a party or get together with friends. Vacations also tend to provide you with lots of ideas.
But how about just taking pictures for the fun of it? It's a bit harder, and Photography Assignment Generator is designed to help you overcome those mental blahs by giving you a boatload of photographic ideas. The apps are US$2.99 in the App Store for DSLR users, and there is an iPhone version that just supports the iPhone camera for $0.99.
The app comes in an iPhone and iPad version. For this review, I'll concentrate on the iPad version. When you open the app, you are presented with the option to choose a category, or get one at random. Categories include things like Composition, Landscape and Nature, Photographing People, etc. You choose one, and you're presented with tips about photos of that type, and you get some examples with commentary, and some suggested camera settings. If you want, the app can send a daily reminder of a suggested assignment, and there is an option to share your photos with other users of this app.
All in all, this is a clever app, that should get your creative juices flowing. The author, Canadian photographer and teacher Noel Chenier knows his way around the art of photography.
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I have a few things I'd like to see improved. The app only runs in portrait orientation on the iPad, but with more and more people using cases with stands, this app is awkward to use. I'd also like to see more depth on some of these subjects. There is good info here, but many people will want more. The iPad and iPhone versions are similar, but the $0.99 iPhone version is aimed at iPhone photography, and the built-in tips are aimed at using the iPhone camera. If it were me, I would have made the app universal, and leave a software switch for deciding what equipment to use. As it is, there are, counting the free versions, five different apps. One price, one version. Much simpler.
The Photography Assignment Generator apps are a clever and well-executed idea. It's not an app for pros or semi-pros, but for people getting started.
If you are on the fence about these apps, there are free versions you can try. The assignments are more limited, but they will give you a feel for how the app works.
