Top 7 Photography Apps for Smartphones and Tablets |  |
- Top 7 Photography Apps for Smartphones and Tablets
- Interesting Album of Once in a Lifetime Photographs
- Tips to Overcome Fear & Tension as a Street Photographer
- An In-Depth Look & Comparison of Canon 50mm Prime Lenses
| Top 7 Photography Apps for Smartphones and Tablets Posted: 21 Aug 2013 10:22 PM PDT Advanced mobile technology has allowed us to get the most out of our smartphones and tablets. Aside from sending SMS, calling, and browsing, smartphones can now be used as digital camera substitutes. A lot of people who own tablets also use their devices to take photos. Although these gadgets cannot really compare with high-end point-and-shoots and DSLRs in terms of photo quality, there are apps that allow users to come up with pictures that are more than ordinary. Here are seven apps that smartphone and tablet users can use to improve their photographic experience. The apps are divided according to their function or main feature. Editing and Filtering AppsThe most popular photo apps are the ones used for editing and/or filtering pictures. These apps give anybody the chance to come up with a photo that he or she can be proud of. 1. Instagram (Android, iOS) Probably the most popular photo editing app in the market, Instagram is favored by many smartphone and tablet users because it is multi-functional. Aside from allowing you to take photos and filter or add effects to them, this app also acts as a social network. You can easily post and share your photos to friends and followers. You can connect your Instagram account with your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Instagram has filters (both custom and standard ones) that are simple to use. The filters allow you to add special effects to your photos so they’ll have more depth. You’ll find its “selective focus dropper” quite useful, too. Aside from smartphone and tablet, Instagram can also be accessed through a computer.  “Fair” captured by Gerard Godin and processed using Instagram (Click image to see more from Godin) 2. Hipstamatic (iOS) iPhone users shoot square photos using the digital photography app Hipstamatic. Photos can then be edited to look rustic, as if they were taken using an antique camera. This is possible because of software filters and effects. The app has three kinds of flashes, four lenses and three types of film that you can choose from. Additional effects can be purchased if you are not content with the free ones. People who like analog-like photos use Hipstamatic.  “Sunset” captured by Mariano Luchini and processed using Hipstamatic (Click image to see more from Luchini) 3. Snapseed (iOS and Android) Launched as Snapseed Mobile for the iPad back in 2011, this photo app allows users to edit a portion or the whole part of the picture. It’s easy-to-use: there’s an auto-correct function that can work wonders on your photo’s brightness, contrast, color, texture and other similarly important elements. There are also filters and effects you can choose from. Snapseed allows you to upload your photos to Google . However, you’ll have to shell out some dollars, because it’s not free like other photo editing apps.  “British Icon – iPad Snapseed Version” captured by Michael Rammell and processed using Snapseed (Click image to see more from Rammell) Replacement or Alternative Camera AppsIf you want an alternative to your smartphone’s standard camera, you’ll need to find a good replacement camera app. Here are two of them. 4. Camera+ (iOS) Meant for the iPhone and iPad, Camera+ is the ultimate replacement camera for iOS users. It offers a variety of features that will turn your photographic experience into a success. Its most exciting feature is the Touch Exposure and Focus, which gives you complete control over how your photo should come out. Should it be as dark as night or as light as day? You’ll have the freedom to adjust the focus and exposure separately. Moreover, you can choose different shooting modes (like burst and point-and-shoot) and then improve your photos with just a tap of your finger. Like Snapseed, it doesn’t come free.  “Minerva Spring and Terrace” captured by F. Delventhal and processed using Camera+ (Click image to see more from Delventhal) 5. Pudding Camera (Android) Android’s camera replacement phone app is the Pudding Camera. Featuring nine quality camera types and eight films to use, this app allows you to take photos with different effects. You can take motion shots using a retro film or a panoramic shot with a vintage film. The Pudding Camera has no video features, but it’s free, so it’s definitely worth trying.  “Eye Sea (Pudding Camera App)” captured by “abbyladybug” (flickr profile name) and processed using Pudding Camera (Click image to see more from Abby) Other Photo Apps for your Smartphone and TabletThere are a variety of apps that offer features like photo collages and panoramic cameras. Here’s one of each: 6. PhotoGrid (iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8) PhotoGrid is an app used specifically for photos on Instagram. It allows users to create a variety of collages that they can share not only on Instagram, but also on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Picasa, among others. You can choose from different modes, collage styles and frames or grids. Rearranging photos on a grid is easy: just shake your phone! Other add-ons include stickers, decorative backgrounds and fonts you can use for inserting text into photos.  “Nature Photogrid” captured by Nakeva Corothers and processed using PhotoGrid (Click image to see more from Corothers) 7. 360 Panorama (iOS and Android) Take panorama shots of your favorite sceneries with the 360 Panorama app. What makes this program great is the fact that it processes photos in real time! This means you’ll see your panoramic shot unfold as you take photos. No need to wait for each frame to be processed. Like most of the photo apps in this list, 360 Panorama allows sharing to social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. You can also email your photos to others.  “Black Hill Panorama” captured by Mike Baird and processed using 360 Panorama (Click image to see more from Baird) These are just seven of the top photography apps for smartphones and tablets. They may not make your iOS or Android pictures look as awesome as SLR photos, but they’ll definitely make a photography fan out of you. Try them now and you’ll have a more exciting photographic experience! About the Author: For further training there is actually an in-depth eBook on: iPhone Photography ($20) Go to full article: Top 7 Photography Apps for Smartphones and Tablets |
| Interesting Album of Once in a Lifetime Photographs Posted: 21 Aug 2013 08:15 PM PDT So much of photography is waiting for just the right time. The split second when lightning strikes, a bubble bursts, or a predator leaps for its prey. Catching these dramatic moments on camera depends on many factors coming together and on being in the right place at the right time. The lucky photographers who took these shots thought quickly and clicked their shutters at the perfect moments (for those of you reading this by email, the album can be seen here): Good things come to those who wait. Being prepared and patient could be your key to capturing once in a lifetime photographs. Go to full article: Interesting Album of Once in a Lifetime Photographs |
| Tips to Overcome Fear & Tension as a Street Photographer Posted: 21 Aug 2013 06:48 PM PDT Are you comfortable photographing strangers in the street? What holds you back from getting the shots you want? In an impassioned monologue, documentary photographer John Free gives tips on how to get over the fear and emotions that create tension around street photography (for those of you reading this by email, the video can be seen here): Free discusses his belief that photographers need to overcome their worry about taking photos in the street and their discomfort with the camera in order to make a photograph that can be understood and admired by viewers. Street photographers often get tripped up with anxiety over what the people they’re photographing think of them. They worry that they’re invading privacy or interrupting something. To get over this fear, Free suggests you think of the people in your photographs simply as props, stop thinking about what they’re saying about you, and become confident in your own good intentions as a documentary photographer. Besides becoming comfortable with people, technical skills are a must. Tension is often caused by your inability to react in time to to get the photos you want. Free instructs photographers to go out and practice until they are completely in control of the camera and can work fast to get shots that depend on a split second of quick thinking.
Only when photographers clear the obstacles that cause stress can they portray their power and thought in their photographs (Via Petapixel). Unobstructed dedication, love, and practice will help you create effective images that people want to put up on their walls. For Further Training on Street Photography:Have you been wanting to learn more about the technical and conceptual aspects of Street Photography? This 141 page eBook covers everything about the genre even down to specific post processing techniques that can bring the best out of street scenes (& includes a bonus eBook of interviews with famous street photographers). It can be found here: Essentials of Street Photography Guide Go to full article: Tips to Overcome Fear & Tension as a Street Photographer |
| An In-Depth Look & Comparison of Canon 50mm Prime Lenses Posted: 21 Aug 2013 03:00 PM PDT Deciding which 50mm prime lens to buy can be daunting, considering the many different brands, apertures, and prices. Even after a photographer has chosen a company to buy from, it can be difficult to narrow the options to just one lens. Fortunately, Kai hopes to clear up some of that confusion through its in-depth review of Canon's three 50mm prime lenses—the f/1.2 L, f/1.4 USM, and f/1.8 II— discussing the key factors to consider to find the right lens for you (for those of you reading this by email, the video can be seen here): Kai, DigitalRev TV's iconic narrator, reviews the Canon f/1.2 L, f/1.4 USM, and f/1.8 II on the basis of budget, ergonomics, and usability. "Sometimes it's the little things that matter the most," he said.
At an estimated price of $125, the 1.8 is Canon's cheapest 50mm option, but don't underestimate the lens because of "the overenthusiastic use of plastic in the build," Kai advised. Not only can this little lens compete in quality with its more expensive counterparts, it also hardly adds weight to your camera setup, making it the choice 50mm lens for long photo treks. One major drawback for this little lens is speed—in good lighting, you'll hardly notice the different between the 1.8 and the 1.4 or even the 1.2, but in low-light conditions, the 1.4 and 1.2 will excel where the 1.8 cannot.
The 1.4 lens costs around $400, which is expensive, but not too costly if you're a careful saver. Canon improved the build on the 1.4, using denser plastic and constructing the lens more solidly, Kai explained. Even better, he said, you get "extra speed in terms of aperture—and when we're talking about Canon, you get ultrasonic motor." While not quite as fast as the 1.2, the 1.4 is a sturdy, high-quality alternative, producing decent bokeh and enabling photographers to shoot with very shallow depth of field.
The benefits of the 1.2 lens are obvious; with its ultrasonic motor, the 1.2 produces better quality images, excellent bokeh, and very shallow depth of field when compared to the 1.4 and 1.8—but its drawbacks are just as dramatic. You'll pay a premium for the 1.2, an estimated $1,620, and it's heavy—really heavy. At 600 grams (1.3 pounds), the 1.2 weighs as much as Canon's 700D camera. "Is there really any real need to carry another camera body on the front of your camera body?" Kai wondered, and also warned consumers that the 1.2 is not entirely consistent; despite its f-speed, it sometimes has trouble focusing and, under certain conditions, its bokeh ranks beneath the 1.8.
In the end, DigitalRev TV advises photographers to conduct their own research to find the 50mm lens that best suits their specific needs, and to remember that the photographer produces images, not the equipment.
Go to full article: An In-Depth Look & Comparison of Canon 50mm Prime Lenses |
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