iphoneography
Latest
tadaa 3D creates the illusion of depth in your iPhone pix
tadaa 3D doesn't create real 3D images, but it can bring some depth to your photos and the result will likely delight friends and family. The US$3.99 app is disarmingly simple to use. (The app is listed as free as of August 30. That may change.) You can snap a photo from within the app, or create a depth image from your photo library. You select a picture and then use your finger to mask out a foreground object or a person or persons in the photo. The image can be enlarged for more masking accuracy, and the app does provide some intelligent processing to try and figure out what you are trying to mask out using edge detection. When you are finished, you'll see a pseudo-3D image. The background blurs, and as you move your iPhone up and done or side to side, the foreground image moves in relation to the background. It's a nice effect -- not real 3D, but still pleasing to the eye. The image is shared via the usual social services, or sent via email or text message. A person viewing the image on an iPhone with motion sensors will get the full depth effect. If you send a photo to a user on another kind of phone or a computer, they will see an animated image similar to an animated GIF where the image toggles back and forth to give a depth effect. When viewing on a computer, you can also use a mouse to change the faux perspective. I tried tadaa on a few photos with foreground objects and some with people in the image. The app works as expected, and masking the foreground objects is pretty easy. To make it all work you need a free account with tadaa since the images are hosted on the developer's servers. Images you take are private, only viewable by yourself and those you share them with, unless you decide to be part of the tadaa social community. In that regard, tadaa 3D is similar to the social photography community created by Instagram. tadaa 3D is a well-crafted app that performs a unique function. The app requires iOS 6 or greater and is optimized for the iPhone 5.
2013 iPhone Photography Award winners showcase the best of mobile photography
While many of us just use our iPhones to take quick snaps of friends and family, some photographers are pushing the limits of the iPhone camera and creating incredible works of art. The iPhone Photography Awards showcase the best of what photographers are able to capture and manipulate on their phones, and the 2013 winners are outstanding. Rather than discuss the photos, I'll simply make the suggestion that you should take some time out and enjoy the winning images. [via 9to5Mac]
Olloclip's Telephoto + Circular Polarizing Lens: Up close and personal
For iPhone photography, the Olloclip 3-in-1 lens kit (US$69.99) has no peer. The kit includes high quality wide-angle, fisheye, and macro lenses ... but no telephoto lens. That hole in the Olloclip line has now been filled with the addition of the new Telephoto + Circular Polarizing Lens ($99.99) kit. This lens and filter combo is available for order now, and was scheduled to ship in late July, 2013 -- that date, of course, has come and gone, and the Olloclip website is still showing that the telephoto can only be pre-ordered. Design The telephoto lens is a 2X lens, meaning that everything seen through it is magnified optically by two times. Like the other Olloclip lenses, the telephoto is made from optical glass and aluminum, much more durable and optically superior than plastic. The entire little kit comes in two microfiber bags, one containing the circular polarizing lens and the other containing the iPhone 5 adapter with the telephoto. The telephoto can be used by itself, or the circular polarizing lens can be slipped onto the front of the telephoto lens to reduce glare and provide richer color. %Gallery-195776% Like the 3-in-1 lens kit, the telephoto can be used with a "naked" iPhone 5 or in concert with the Quick-Flip Case ($49.99) that adds a tripod mount and cold shoe to the mix. Functionality Like the 3-in-1 kit, the telephoto is a piece of cake to install. You simply slip the adapter over the camera lens on your iPhone 5 and the lens lines up perfectly. You can use the telephoto with any iPhone camera app, or for extra capability in terms of focusing you can download the free Olloclip app. To give the Olloclip Telephoto and Circular Polarizing Lens a workout, I went for a walk in our local greenbelt, which is filled with marshy areas that are loaded with cattails and prairie wildflowers this time of year. To demonstrate the telephoto capability I took some shots with the regular iPhone 5 lens, then with the Telephoto Lens with the Circular Polarizing Lens attached and adjusted (rotated) for maximum effect. The results can be viewed in the gallery below -- note that in each case, I have placed the non-telephoto image first, followed by an image through the telephoto. The final pair of images shows how the polarizer can be used to minimize reflections on water. %Gallery-195775% The optics in both the telephoto and polarizer are pretty good. I liked the fact that there was no visible vignetting; some third-party lenses I've used have shown the telltale edge shadowing of vignetting, while the images with the Olloclip telephoto were bright and clear across the frame. Conclusion While not exactly inexpensive, the Olloclip telephoto and circular polarizing lens are a perfect accompaniment to the company's wide-angle offerings for avid iPhone photographers. Pros Excellent build quality No vignetting of magnified telephoto image Coated lens reduces reflections to a minimum Circular Polarizer works very well for increasing sky/cloud contrast, reducing water reflections Included microfiber carry bags can be used to clean lens surfaces Cons Somewhat expensive, although the product quality is top-notch Might not be usable with future versions of the iPhone Who is it for? The hard-core iPhone photographer who uses the phone as his or her sole camera
Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner an easy way to digitize 35mm negatives
Lomography has made a business out of trying to keep some of the old film technology alive, and they've been doing it for 20 years. To bridge the gap between the film and digital ages, they've come up with the Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner (US$59). This post probably won't make sense to those of you who have grown up with digital photography, but there used to be a day when cameras used this stuff called "film." You'd stick it into your camera, take photos, then have them "developed" so that you could see your pictures on "prints." When you'd pick up your envelope of prints, the place where you got your photos developed was always kind enough to include your "negatives," which were the processed film strips. Want another print? Drop off the negative with your friendly neighborhood processing shop, and you'd get the print later -- for a fee, of course. The Smartphone Film Scanner is a tiny lightbox with a feed mechanism for rolling through those strips of negatives. Put your iPhone (or other smartphone) on top of the device, align your phone's camera lens with the hole on the top of the device, fire up the free Lomoscanner app and start capturing images from the negatives. Note that you can also scan positive (slide) 35mm film, but unfortunately there's no way to scan mounted slides. You'll need to put a pair of AA batteries in the scanner before starting. I used my Apple rechargeable AAs for this, and they worked just fine. You'll also want to remove the Lomokino adapter before scanning 35mm film -- it's used for scanning Lomokino movies, which are 144-frame 35mm movies shot with a special camera available from Lomography. Turn on the backlight, fire up the Lomoscanner app and then feed one end of the 35mm film strip into the slot marked "Insert film here." Turn the little knob to feed the negative until it's framed properly, and then tap the shutter button to take your photo. Turn the knob again, take another shot, and so on until that shoebox full of negatives has been scanned. If you have Photo Stream set up on your iPhone, all of those scanned images will show up in iPhoto or Aperture, ready for additional touch up. There are built-in app adjustments for exposure, contrast and color temperature, so if your negatives have faded, you can begin the process of making them look brand-new within the Lomoscanner app. Me? I think those slightly-off hues can be charming; after all, 5 billion Instagram users can't be wrong. You'll notice that the images seem grainy, but that's an artifact of the original film, not the scanning process. %Gallery-195200% A lot of users have given the Lomoscanner app negative reviews due to crashing; I only experienced that when I tapped the button to go into my Photo Library. My main concern was that images that were taken vertically on the film strip were cut off when zoomed in. I quickly learned to leave those images zoomed out, and to then use iPhoto to crop out the extraneous space around the images. The Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner is a great way to digitize those 35mm film strips and get them into your Photo Library. If Lomography ever comes out with a version for scanning the thousands of 35mm slides I have, I'll be the first to buy it. Giveaway And now, courtesy of TUAW, Photojojo and Lomography, we're giving away a Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 or older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before August 3, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner valued at US$59. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Parenting Tip: Photographing your children with your iPhone
As a parent, I think the iPhone is a fantastic camera. Although it doesn't have the optics of a DSLR, it's always in my pocket, ready to snap a photo at a moment's notice. My children are my favorite subject, but I must admit -- they are a challenge to photograph. Kids don't sit still, and the iPhone just isn't good enough to freeze motion like a DSLR, especially when I'm trying to snag a photo inside my dimly lit house. Because of this camera limitation and my very active kids, a lot of my iPhone photos come out blurred. Over time, this Mom photographer (not professional by any means) has learned a few tips and tricks to increase the odds I will capture a photo that lasts a lifetime. I've listed a few of these hints below. If you have any other suggestions for photographing children, please share them in the comments. Get them to pose I will start with the most unrealistic tip as it is hard to get children to sit for a photo without moving or goofing around. Posing, however, is the easiest way to get a focused, non-blurry shot. When posing my children, I try to keep it simple and short, so I can maximize the odds that they will stay still. I try to frame the shot so they can sit or lean on something, which will help keep them from fidgeting. Giving them something to hold will work sometimes, too. I arrange my children so they have some wiggle room as well. This minimizes the chance they will poke or push each other, either on purpose or inadvertently. Turn off the flash I leave the camera flash off by default for two reasons. First, the flash slows things down. I can't tell you how many times I've missed a shot because I accidentally left the flash on. Instead of a quick snap, I have to wait for the flash to fire before the camera snaps the photo. It might only be a one second delay, but that's long enough for a smile to turn to a frown. Second, I find the flash tends to overexpose a subject, especially when you are taking a close-up photo. Turning off the flash increases the chances of getting blur in your photos, but it preserves the lighting and color balance of a shot. When possible, I'd rather turn on a few lights or take things outside, instead of using the flash. That being said, there is an exception to my "No Flash" rule. I find that the flash is great for inside or low light shots in which the subject is more than four to five feet away. In these photos, the flash does a good job of lighting the area. As a bonus, it also helps to minimize motion blur. So feel free to turn on the flash when needed for a far away shot, just remember to turn if off when you are done. Remember, the iPhone camera remembers its last state and will fire up the flash again if you used the flash in your last photo. Of course, you could set the flash to Auto and let the iPhone decide when to use it, but, in my experience, that option is not without its problems. Sometimes the flash will fire when I don't want that extra light, and other times it won't flash when I think I need it. Personally, I would rather take control over the flash by turning it off and on as needed. Take things outside Shooting photos, especially shots of kids moving, is much easier outside. The lighting outside is better, and the iPhone is able to capture motion with minimal blur. Turn Off HDR I turn off HDR as I don't want the few second lag while the iPhone saves the three photos that it uses for the effect. This lag slows down my shot-to-shot speed, which is critical when you capturing something spontaneous. For most of my kid's photos, I'd rather capture the moment than the correct shadow and highlight details. Use tap to focus Tap to focus was added in iOS 4, and it is a great feature for photographing kids. Point your iPhone at your child and tap them on the screen. The camera will focus in on them and not their background. Use the lock screen camera Don't forget that iOS 5 added the very handy lock screen access to the camera. In the bottom right corner of the lock screen is a camera icon. Tap it and swipe upwards to open the camera without typing in your password or hunting for the camera app. In this mode you only have access to the camera app and not the rest of the phone. If you can't find the camera icon on your lock screen, you may have disabled it in the Restrictions. Follow this tutorial at OS X Daily to restore the camera to your lock screen. Consider alternative apps like Fast Camera or Camera+ The iOS App Store is filled with apps that'll help you with your photo-taking. I use Fast Camera from i4Software because its rapid shutter feature lets you take a hundred photos in less than a minute. When you take this many photos in succession, you will have at least a handful of keepers. The toughest part, though, is wading through all those photos to find the gems. Another alternative is Camera+ from tap tap tap. Camera+ lets you add stabilization to your photos and take burst shots, both of which will help you snap some great images. It also has a Live Exposure setting that'll show you the ISO, f-stop and shutter speed of a shot. You can't manually change these values like you can on a DSLR, but you can add lighting to your environment to improve these parameters. When you have taken a photo, you can use Camera+ to edit the image and apply effects like a clarity filter, flash filter or backlit filter to improve the quality of the shot. When in doubt, take it out Some of the best photos I've taken have been on a whim. The one I used in this post is a great example. I was running a 2K with my kids, and I saw that they were all going to line up in front of me with their feet flying. I pulled my iPhone from my pocket, swiped up on the lock screen to quick launch the camera and grabbed a few shots. They were some of the best photos I took that day. Practice Patience Be patient and don't expect perfection as you likely won't get that one shot that has everyone smiling or even looking at you. Be in tune with your children and read their cues. Try to call it quits before they get frustrated. Keep picture taking light-hearted and fun, so your kids will be willing to pose again in the future without grumbling and you will enjoy recording their lives as they unfold.
Tangent is a new, first-class tool for artistic iPhoneography
Many people enjoy taking pictures of their world with their iPhone. Some of these folks like to take things a step further by turning their photos into works of art. One of the newest tools for the artistic iPhoneographer is Tangent from Ben Guerrette and Pixite. Tangent lets you apply artistic shapes, frames and patterns to your photos. The app includes 39 shapes and frames and 43 different patterns. When you launch Tangent, you are prompted to either pick a photo from your camera roll or snap a new picture with your camera. When you choose to pull a picture from your saved photos, Tangent does a nice job of picking up your default camera roll, the panoramas you have taken and all your photostream lists. The app has a handful of default geometric and pattern effects that you can apply to the photos. The effects have an artistic flair and are highly customizable. You can drag them to place them right where you want them on your photo. You can also rotate each one and use pinch to zoom to adjust their size. When you find an effect that you like, you can customize its look before you apply it to your photo. You can add one effect per photo. If you don't like the default set of geometric patterns that ship with the app, you can buy two expansion packs for US$0.99 each. Each set is included in the app and you can even preview them on your photos before you buy them. These premium effects are marked with "+" so you know which ones are included with the app and which ones cost extra. Those who are more artistic can tap the "Start Fresh" button and create their own effects by selecting the shapes, colors and patterns they want to combine. Tangent has a robust set of controls that really let you get the look that you want for your photo. The performance of Tangent was smooth and the UI was intuitive. The only quirk I found was when I was deciding which artistic shape to apply. I was able to browse through all the default effects easily, but when I clicked "Start Fresh" to check out the option for the homemade shapes, I couldn't get back to the default set of shapes without starting over. It's a minor thing and will likely only bother those people who enjoy trying out multiple options before clicking "Done" to create a finished photo. When you are done with your creation, you have several options to share and save your photo. You can save it directly to your camera roll or send it to another app for further processing. You can share it on your social networks like Twitter, Facebook and, of course, Instagram. Lastly, there is an option to "Retangent" your photo, which sends you back to the editor to tweak your effect for a second, third or fourth time. Tangent is a first-rate tool for creative types who enjoy working with photos. It is available in the iOS App Store for $0.99.
TUAW TV Live: The semi-annual iOS photo app edition
It's the time of year all of us in the Northern Hemisphere look forward to: summer! We're outdoors a lot more, which means that there are many more opportunities to take photos of friends, landscapes and even flying insects! Today on TUAW TV Live, Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd and I will run through a bunch of our favorite camera apps for iOS, and also talk about ways to improve your iPhoneography. To join in to watch the live feed and participate in the chat, just click here. You'll join us on the AOL On Network. If you can't watch the entire show today, come back to this page within 24 hours to see the video or visithttp://tuaw.com/tuawtvlive to see the latest show. Past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel.
Rift Labs Kick iPhone-controlled photo light offers a whole spectrum of colors
Our good friends at Photojojo were excited to tell us about a new product for iPhone that is bound to be a winner for iPhone photographers and videographers who want to add special lighting effects to their masterworks. The Kick (US$179) is an app-controlled photo light that not only provides adjustable brightness, but an infinite variety of light colors as well. The product began life as a Kickstarter project that received over $210,000 of funding, and it's now available for sale -- when it's in stock. Design Like many LED photo lights, the front of the Kick has a grid of lenses located over the 40 physical LEDs that help to diffuse the light that is generated. Those LEDs are powered by an internal battery pack charged by the usual USB to micro-USB cable. A charge LED gradually changes from red to "greenish" to indicate that the battery is topped off and ready to go. The Kick works with the iPhone 4/4S and also with the iPhone 5. There's a small rubberized pad included to make the Kick work with the iPhone 5, since the phone is thinner than the earlier versions. For manual lighting of your photographic or video subjects, there are two sets of +/- buttons on the "top" of the unit. One controls the brightness of the LEDs, while the other adjusts the hue through a rainbow of colors. Power to the unit is controlled by a single button on the charging end of the Kick. There's one really important button on the unit; the Wi-Fi button. Pressing it enables a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network named "RiftNet." That Wi-Fi network becomes extremely important when you are using your iPhone to control the Kick. Yes, there's a free app that allows remote control of one or more Kick lights over that network. Therein lies the power of the Kick light. Professionals or dedicated amateur photographers can set up a number of the Kick lights around a subject and then tweak the lighting to achieve a particular effect. One more thing; you won't mind carrying the Kick around; it's pretty lightweight (3.6 oz) and can slip into a pocket or backpack. Its bright -- 400 lumens at 5400 Kelvin, and it has a wide color range -- 2500 to 10000 Kelvin. Functionality While some might think that spending $179 for a small LED light is madness, I can see where professional photographers or others who just want to add some pizazz to their iPhone photography could really make use of the Kick light. I found that it takes a little time for the iPhone to recognize and lock onto the RiftNet Wi-Fi network. I started waiting about two minutes after switching over from my usual network so I could make sure that the iPhone was ready to go on RiftNet. Note that this could be an artifact of using (ahem) a beta operating system on my iPhone. The app interface is a bit busy, but it doesn't take all that long to figure it out. One feature I like is being able to pick a color from either something in your Photo Library (including a video) or in "real life." The LEDs then adjust to mimic that color as closely as possible. In addition to the ability to match colors in existing photos or in real life, there's also a standard color picker available. There are also lighting effects that can be added to video with the tap of an icon. Want a strobe effect? One tap and you're there. How about a repeating rainbow of colors? Ditto (see video below). Want a lightning effect for that horror movie you're filming with the iPhone 5? It's a tap away. Using the color picker on a video can be really fun -- the video above shows an example of grabbing a light color from a campfire, complete with all of the variations in brightness and hue that exist in the "real" light. Conclusion Owners of iPhone 4, 4S and 5 smartphones who want to add professional quality lighting to their images now have a relatively inexpensive solution complete with a Wi-Fi peer-to-peer network for adjusting a number of Kick lights. It's the perfect marriage of a powerful iOS app and device with advanced lighting technology. Pros Relatively inexpensive for professional lighting Lightweight, compact, and able to be attached to a tripod Almost infinitely adjustable brightness and hue Lighting can vary in real-time iOS app is robust and has the flexibility to create a variety of lighting effects Cons None to speak of Who is it for? Professional photographers and videographers who want a compact, infinitely adjustable lighting solution, or iPhone photographers interested in adding professional-quality lighting to their bag of tricks.
The Stilly-est camera app ever
no, no, No, No, NO! It all started innocently enough this morning when Dave Caolo pointed out a Tumblr page devoted to GIFs from an app named Stilly (US$1.99). Now, thanks to Dave's keen eye for the absurd, I have wasted untold minutes looking through a long page of GIFs and started making my own with Stilly. The app is simple, making an animated GIF of whatever motion happens to flash in front of your iPhone camera when you push the large red-and-yellow shutter button. You really have only one setting -- you can choose to change colors between your images, resulting in an even more jarring GIF than usual. The eyebrows of doom! Your final product is stored to the Photos app camera roll, and you have a choice of sharing the GIF to Tumblr or sending it as a message. Note that choosing the Tumblr destination actually gives you the opportunity to send your images to many more places: other camera apps, Google Drive, Dropbox, Path and more. The jittery GIFs won't be popular with everyone; some of them are almost enough to make you want to cough up a hairball. But Stilly is just enough fun to be worth the two bucks.
iPhone camera evolution over the years captured by Camera+
Since the release of the first iPhone in 2007, there's one feature that has been steadily improving -- the built-in camera. Lisa Bettany of Camera+ fame provides a visual comparison of the quality of the iPhone camera over the generations in six sets of images covering the range from the original iPhone to the iPhone 5. As Bettany points out, "It's clear from the detail shots that the iPhone 5 produces sharper photos with more accurate white balance, contrast and saturation." She took photos in three different situations -- a well-lit macro setting to test detail and quality, a skyline shot to test sharpness and saturation and a candlelit low-light macro photo to test noise. The results are amazing. I was surprised by how much of a jump in quality the camera received in the iPhone 3GS from the previous two generations, and how the iPhone 5 camera seems to have resolved some discrepancies in white balance that existed with the iPhone 4 and 4S. I can't wait to see what the next-generation iPhone will provide for iPhoneographers. [via Ultralinx]
iPhone 5, HTC One cameras compared by iMore
Here at TUAW, we're strictly an Apple blog, but our friends over at iMore tend to take a more cross-platform look at things. Today, iMore's Allyson Kazmucha published a lengthy and detailed side-by-side comparison of the 8-megapixel camera built into the iPhone 5 and the highly touted 4 MP camera that is part of the HTC One Android phone. How did the iPhone 5's camera compare? Kazmucha took photos at the same place and time with both cameras, so you really get a feel for how each camera responds to certain lighting conditions. The iPhone uses an f/2.4 aperture on a 1/3.2-inch sensor with a pixel size of 1.4 micrometers, while the HTC One has a slightly faster f/2.0 aperture and a pixel size of 2 micrometers on the same sensor. As she points out, these "UltraPixels are larger and should allow for better light sensitivity, particularly in low-light situations." What follows are comparisons of general, motion, low-light and panorama photography. While I won't spoil the excellent post on iMore, let's just get to the bottom line -- the iPhone 5 has better color depth, tone and saturation, while the HTC One is much better at capturing images in low light. In the one sample image at the top of this post, that's the iPhone 5 on the left and the HTC One on the right. The iPhone 5's panoramas tend to knock the HTC One out of the ring, by the way.
Shooting fashion photos with an iPhone
So you're looking for a new career as a fashion photographer. To kickstart your job, look no further than today's iMore post by Rene Ritchie where he asked Mobile Nations' David Lundblad to take high-fashion photos of model Amanda Del Duca in Manhattan's Bryant Park with an iPhone. Videographer Martin Reisch captured video of the modeling session, and the result is a one-of-a-kind blog post that provides some tips on how to use an iPhone to take amazing fashion images. As Ritchie notes, "nothing beats a DSLR for final photos, but increasingly the iPhone is the new Polaroid for everything else on set." Lundblad uses Camera+ (currently on sale for US$0.99) instead of the standard Camera app to take advantage of the extra control over exposure and focus that it provides. Ritchie is inviting aspiring fashion photographers to share their work in a forum thread he's started. In the meantime, check out the post for the tips from Ritchie and photographer Lundblad, then start getting your models lined up. We've embedded the iMore video of the shoot below.
Snapzoom Kickstarter wants to marry your iPhone with binoculars or a telescope
Your iPhone's camera is great for those wide-angle or panoramic shots, but the lens just isn't that wonderful for telephoto images. Daniel Fujikake and Mac Nguyen of HI Resolution Enterprises discovered quite by accident that by holding an iPhone camera up to a pair of binoculars, they could get some amazing video and still images of surfing action. Out of that realization came the inspiration for a universal smartphone adapter that connects to binoculars, telescopes or spotting scopes to give your phone "bionic eyes." That potential product is now a Kickstarter called Snapzoom, just launched today and looking for your support. [The Snapzoom prototype was one of the competitors in our sister site Engadget's Insert Coin competition at the recent Expand conference. –Ed.] Fujikake and Nguyen hope to raise US$55,000 towards the goal of making Snapzoom a reality. The adapter works with just about any smartphone, a nice feature when you hear Tim Cook making comments like "we'll make a larger iPhone when there are no limitations that arise by doing so." Snapzoom is significantly different from the standard telephoto iPhone cases you can purchase from Photojojo and the like. Rather than fitting inexpensive optics to the iPhone, Snapzoom can take advantage of quality binoculars or scopes that you already own. The duo has some spectacular video and still images on their Kickstarter page, and you can get a look at just how clear and impressive the view is through standard binoculars from the video embedded below. You can back the project and get a discount on the Snapzoom (it will normally retail for US$79.95) if you jump out there quickly; over a quarter of the $45 pledges were gone within about a half hour of the project going live.
Photojojo University's first undergraduate course: Phoneography 101
iPhone photography and Photojojo go together like kittens and cute. TUAW has featured a host of products sold by the online retailer, ranging from the amazingly useful to the laughingly silly. The company realizes that iPhones (and other smartphones) now account for a staggering number of photos, and they've decided to train users in how to make the most of the camera in those devices by starting up Photojojo University. The first course offered by Photojojo U is Phoneography 101, a series of easily understood and fun email-based classes that show up twice a week over four weeks beginning on March 1, 2013. When you sign up at the introductory price of $5 (normal price tag will be $10), you're given your choice of instructor -- a stack of pancakes, an obnoxious professor or a cute basket of kittens. Don't let this silliness fool you, though -- the classes are actually quite helpful. Week one of Phoneography 101 is all about composing photos. The Rule of Thirds is mentioned, they tell you about holding the iPhone still to avoid blur, bring up the use of perspective and then have a challenge at the end to see if you've learned your lesson. Future classes will cover lighting, creative effects, editing and other topics. You won't get a diploma at the end of the course, but there's a $5 Photojojo gift card waiting for you as a reward. It's a lighthearted way to actually improve your iPhone photography, and well worth the minimal cost.
iStabilizer's tabMount and tabFlex hold onto your iPad when your hands can't
iStabilizer has come out with some really great products in the past that we've covered here at TUAW. Whether it was the Dolly for making iPhone camera dolly shots, the Monopod for doing self-photography from a distance, or the universal window mount Glass, iStabilizer designs well-made iOS device accessories that are always useful. The company just sent me pre-release versions of their new tabMount (US$15 for Kickstarter backers, $25 afterward) and tabFlex ($30 for Kickstarter, $40 afterward) to try out. The products are both seeking funding on Kickstarter, although it appears that they'll go into production regardless of the Kickstarter status. The tabMount answers the question "How can I mount my iPad or iPad mini on a tripod?" with an expanding universal mount, while the tabFlex is the tabMount attached to a flexible tripod that can stand on a flat surface or also be wrapped around just about anything from a tree limb to a car headrest. Design Made with Apple and "other" tablets in mind, the tabMount holds a 10" tablet like the full-sized iPad from side to side -- in other words, the jaws grab the long sides of the tablet. If you're using the tabMount with a 7" tablet like the iPad mini, the jaws hold onto the top and bottom of the tablet. Although that's how the jaws grab on, you can then rotate the ball and socket mount on the back of the tabMount to whatever angle you prefer. The jaws of the tabMount are covered with a rubber material, while the back has a firm foam material to prevent scratching the back of your device. The legs of the tabFlex -- the tripod -- are covered with a non-slip foam surface and the tips of the legs are rubber. %Gallery-176995% Functionality I tried the tabMount/tabFlex duo with both a 7" Kindle Fire and a full-sized 9.7" third-generation iPad. It makes a wonderful stand, both for watching videos or just reading something. Where I found it was extra handy was in the kitchen, where I use my iPad to look at recipes. Most of the time I just use the Smart Cover to prop up my iPad a little bit, but since it's so close to the counter I'm worried about it getting messed up if I spill something. The tabMount and tabFlex work in tandem to prop up the iPad well above the countertop. If you'd like to use the tabMount without the flexible tripod (for instance, on a regular photo tripod), be sure to have a hex wrench handy as you'll need to remove the hex bolt that connects the two. Correction - the tabMount and tabFlex simply unscrew from each other. I found the tabMount to work quite well with both tablets, with or without cases. There's enough extra "stretch" in the spring-loaded mount to grab just about any iPad case without taking it off of the iPad. The extra bonus feature is the tabFlex's flexible tripod. Having not used a flexible tripod like this before, I was totally impressed with how I could bend the legs to have it grab onto something. As you'll see in the photo gallery, I attached it to a railing that goes around our open loft in our house. I could see attaching it to something similar for shooting stable video with the iPad. Conclusion iStabilizer has found and filled a niche market making products to assist in taking iPhone and iPad photographs and video. With the tabMount/tabFlex, the company has now created a stand that can be used with a variety of tablets almost anywhere for everyday use or photography. The tabMount works with just about any tablet on the market, and will most certainly keep your iPad or iPad mini steady in any situation. Those of you who like backing Kickstarter projects should jump on the tabMount ASAP to take advantage of the special pricing, while the rest of you can still get a quality tablet mount at a very reasonable price. Pros Mount stretches to hold almost any tablet currently made tabFlex flexible tripod can be used to mount your iPad in a car or on just about anything Swivel makes it easy to pivot the iPad from one orientation to another tabMount can be used with a traditional photographic tripod Quite reasonably priced Cons Removing the tabFlex from the tabMount requires a hex wrench (not included) (see correction) Who is it for? Anyone who needs a stable stand or tripod for an iPad or iPad mini
Tips for capturing holiday light memories with your iPhone camera
The iPhone has a great little digital camera built into it. If you're thinking about getting those last photos of the neighborhood and indoor holiday lights before they all come down, here are a few hints to make sure you get a memorable picture. Let's start with exterior lights. The iPhone isn't a terrific low-light camera, but it can still take some stunning shots. The first thing to remember is that you don't want to wait until it is completely dark. If you do, all you'll see in your photo are the lights and some small areas of the house that are illuminated by them. The best time to take your outdoor holiday light photos is just after sunset. Dusk photos will work just fine. You'll have about 20-30 minutes of twilight sky to make your photos keepers. You'll see some sky texturing that way, and the house and holiday lights will both be very visible. If you have a newer iPhone with iOS 6, try the built-in panorama mode, but be sure to hold the phone really steady. Remember, the lower the illumination, the more steady you have to be. Check the gallery below for an example of a panorama shot. %Gallery-174081% Indoor lights are easier to photograph with your iPhone. To add some interest to the photos, place some objects like candles in the foreground to focus on, which will put the holiday lights in soft focus in the background. Of course, people are good foreground subjects -- be sure to focus on them, and let the tree and lights be in soft focus in the background. Avoid using the iPhone's flash if you can. It creates very harsh lighting that changes the mood of the photo, and there's always a potential of causing "red-eye" problems. Those devilish eyes can be removed with iPhoto for iOS, but it's better to not have the problem in the first place.
Camera+ 3.6 adds flash for front-facing camera
A new version of Tap Tap Tap's Camera+ iPhone photography app is out today, bringing a lot of new features and some good tweaks to what was already a great app. Camera+ 3.6 is available now for previous purchasers, and for those who wonder what the fuss is all about, the app is currently on sale for US$0.99. So what's changed? Probably the biggest addition is the Front Flash. No, they didn't figure out a way to channel light from the rear flash to the front; instead, the screen flashes white just as you're taking a picture of yourself. Next, there's a horizon level to help you take photos that aren't tilted accidentally. A line, which coincidentally happens to be one-third of the camera frame's width, shows when you have the camera nice and level for your perfect shot. Advanced iPhone photographers are going to love Live Exposure, which provides live information on ISO, shutter speed, f/stop and more. You can see how these variables change as you set up your shot in Camera+. Live Exposure is also designed to give iPhone 5 owners a view of the scene being shot without viewfinder cropping. Live Exposure and the horizon level are outlined in blue in the blurrycam shot above.
Photojojo's Telephoto Lens for iPhone 5 and Joby GripTight GorillaPod: Review and giveaway
Our buddies at Photojojo love to send us new accessories for iOS devices, and we just love to report about these sometimes wacky and usually useful products as they come through. Today's entry is something that looks a bit absurd, but could be really useful if you choose to make your iPhone 5 your only camera. The Mobile Telephoto Lens for iPhone 5 (US$35) is just what you need to spy on your neighbors take close-up photos of that bird of prey on the fence 200 feet from you. Let's take a quick look at this latest photographic tool, and then you can enter to win this lens and a Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand ($30) courtesy of Photojojo and TUAW. Mobile Telephoto Lens for iPhone 5 This rather generic lens set actually comes as a kit. You get the telephoto lens, a cleaning cloth, a universal holder (for mounting the case/lens to a tripod), a mini tripod, an iPhone 5 case, and a carrying bag for the lens. As Photojojo likes to point out, this lens -- which produces a magnification of 12X -- is "like a Sigma 500mm lens for your DSLR." To be completely honest, the lens looks a bit goofy on the included iPhone case. It's made out of shiny plastic and has a rubber grip that's used to focus the lens from close range (3 meters) to infinity. The lens screws into a plastic mount on the included case. That case? Well, it's not exactly the coolest iPhone 5 case I've ever seen, and it offers no protection for the bottom or top of the phone, but it's really designed for the sole purpose of mounting that humongous lens onto your iPhone. Now I have to admit that I didn't get to test the lens, as my iPhone 5 isn't supposed to arrive for at least ten more days. The images you see here are from the Photojojo site, and are indicative of the magnification that you can expect. They don't show it in these photos, but Photojojo does note that you'll get a bit of vignetting around the edges of your image. Buyer beware! The universal holder and mini tripod are a nice touch -- they'll be useful for holding future iPhone products steady even if the company changes the size and shape of the phone. What's more useful than just a little tripod? How about a Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand? Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand Joby is a design house that has been around for about six years, with the GorillaPod flexible tripod being an instant success with the photography crowd. The flexibility of the GorillaPod design makes it possible to wrap the "legs" around tree branches, chair arms, or anything else that happens to be handy. Now the company has come out with the GripTight GorillaPod Stand ($29.95) to hold your iPhone -- or practically any other smartphone -- in place for steady shooting. The GripTight part of this stand is a spring-loaded adapter that holds smartphones ranging in width from 2.1" (54 mm) to 2.8" (72 mm). Just for reference, the iPhone 4, 4S and 5 are all 2.31" (58.6 mm) in width, while the Samsung Galaxy S III is a whopping 2.78" (70.6 mm) wide. The GripTight holds 'em all, and folds flat for easy carrying. I suppose one could mount the GorillaPod on a shoulder like a pirate's parrot for hands-free carrying... Anyway, the GripTight and the GorillaPod are perfect for any iPhone or iPod touch in just about any case, so you don't have to worry about shedding your protection just to put your device onto a tripod. Giveaway It's not that long until the holidays, so we're getting into the giving mood here at TUAW. Some lucky reader is going to win the Photojojo Mobile Telephoto Lens for iPhone 5 and the Joby GripTight GorillaPod stand. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before November 16, 2012 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive both a Photojojo Mobile Telephoto Lens for iPhone 5 and a Joby GripTight GorillaPod stand, valued at a total of US$65. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
iStabilizer Monopod puts your iPhone photos above the crowd
After my TUAW TV Live iPhoneography episode last week, I was not surprised to see another photography accessory show up in the mail. After all, this seems to be one part of the accessory market that's booming right now. iStabilizer, the same company that brought us the innovative Dolly, is shipping the Monopod (US$34.95) to help you take pictures or video from a whole new angle. First, let me mention something -- I own a Manfrotto Monopod with a quick-release mount and three hidden legs that fold out when I need a virtual photographic assistant. It's amazing, it's sturdy, and it's also expensive; I think it put me back about $150. But it has come in handy for shooting video, making podcasts, and taking shots with my camera high up in the air. Yes, one of my favorite uses for that expensive Monopod is not to hold the camera still, but to get the camera into the air where my point of view is above the crowd. %Gallery-164290% That's the primary purpose for the iStabilizer Monopod. It doesn't come with little legs to let it stand on its own, although I suppose you could mount it on a mini-tripod to do that. And it's not designed to hold a DSLR or HD video camera; instead, it's made to hold an iPhone, iPod touch, Android phone or POV camera (like the GoPro). You can either put the base of the Monopod on the ground to help you stabilize long-duration exposures, or use the padded grip as a handhold and put the iPhone well above or below a crowd. Want to shoot some video from the viewpoint of a dog or cat? Pop your iPhone onto the Monopod, fire up the Camera, and start shooting from a few inches above the ground as you walk around. Want to catch a close-up of an architectural detail on a building that's just out of reach? Extend the Monopod to its full length of over 3 feet, suddenly you have a very long arm. In the video at the end of this post, one of iStabilizer's staff members shows how you can use it to video yourself while you're walking. iStabilizer seems to focus on shooting video with this tool, but you can use apps like my favorite -- Camera+ (on sale for US$0.99 right now) -- to set a timer for up to 30 seconds so that you can tap the shutter button and then get the iPhone's camera in place for your best picture. The one feature I like the most about the iStabilizer Monopod is how short it is when collapsed. The Manfrotto Monopod I have is 29 inches long when fully collapsed, and it barely fits in my biggest suitcase. The iStabilizer Monopod is exactly half that length and perfect for travel. One other benefit? It uses the same spring-loaded clamp to hold the iPhone that was used on the Dolly, so you can attach your iPhone without needing to remove it from a case. Conclusion Pros Inexpensive Locking aluminum telescoping arm is quite sturdy No need to remove iPhone from case before installing it on Monopod Short enough to go into almost any camera bag or backpack Threaded on the bottom for attachment to a tripod for self-supported use Clamp holds iPhone or other lightweight camera very securely Includes wrist strap Cons None that I can find Who is it for? The iPhone photographer or videographer who wants an inexpensive and versatile accessory for stabilizing shots or enabling unique vantage points.
TUAW TV Live: Grab your iPhone camera and go
Welcome back to another episode of TUAW TV Live. Today I'll be covering a favorite topic -- iPhone photography -- and going into detail on the apps and accessories that I use to take iPhone photos that are hopefully more than just snapshots. I always appreciate the tips and ideas from the chatroom participants, so be sure to join in on the fun. Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat. In addition, the live stream and chat will be available through our Facebook page. Just point your browser here to watch the show and chat with other viewers while you're on Facebook. We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.
