You've spent some time with "iPhoneography 101: Channelling the Wayfaring Tech Nomad in You" and now you're ready to get weird and produce images that aren't so typical. Here are some tips on producing iPhone images that will wow and astound people who see them. In this installment, I'll show you how to create a wide range of visual images either in photos or video. These tips work for both. On with the show!
1) Photosynth stills are quite possibly the images that I get asked most about. They take a great bit of effort to produce compared to just snapping a picture, but they're worth it. Here's how you create a Photosynth still:
a) Download the Microsoft Photosynth app from the app store then use the app, filling all frames to the fullest:
b) When you stitch the panorama images together, the app exports these raw images that are cool in their own right and they go in your Photos automatically.:
c) A quick crop and add light and tags on Instagram and BOOM! 50+ Likes.:
2) Choose one filter per location is usually a good idea so that the set together looks better. This is a personal preference for me because as I'm going through my pics, it makes it easier to identify locations, too.
3)Engage in multiple photo app madness.
4) HDR vs. rapid-fire photos is the ever pressing question, at least for me. I want high-res photos but because things are moving, HDR doesn't always make sense. It takes too long! I'll blast though taking as many pics as my phone can handle all in one go, look at the framing, and usually choose one of the eight to 10-ish I just snapped. This activity is impossible with HDR. Basically, it comes down to when you know you're going to have a pretty still subject or not.
5) Nabbing the perfect still shot out of video simply requires you to play the video and take a screenshot at the exact moment you want to catch. You can do this by pushing the top button and the home button at the same time until you see the white flash. Then, treat as you would any other photo.
6) Get weird with angles, subjects, locations but don't over think it! This should be fun. Really focus on the rule of thirds and most everything will work out just fine the more you practice.
Bonus video: To illustrate how the rule of thirds, contrast, and simplicity are executed in a video, here's one I shot of singer/songwriter LP at the same show where the blurry example in iPhoneography 101 comes from. Notice that I keep her at the intersection at the bottom left, her drummer is reinforcing the bottom 1/3, and the contrast is stark between her teal shirt, the simple black background, and the purple light along the top 1/3.
Holler in the comments if you have questions! I'll be watching and answering any inquiries people have if/when they pop up.
For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr and to see all videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel here!
At this point in time, we've all heard about how the mobile revolution has turned everyone and their mother (literally) into a photographer. How can you make your photos and videos stand out from this massive influx of people doing the exact same thing? Read on for iPhoneography 101: Channeling the Wayfaring Tech Nomad in you. Next week to continue the series, I'll drop all of the photo/video secrets I've discovered over the years in iPhoneography 201: When you're ready to get weird. Enjoy!
1) Turn on the camera app grid.
I know it's a thing to go "off the grid" right now but this is one instance where that course won't serve you well. To do this, simply open the camera app, choose "Options" and slide the "Grid" slider to the ON position.
2) Use the basic photography tenets of simplicity, contrast, and the rule of thirds.
This means choose the one thing you want to shoot and stick to that. The less going on in the picture, the better. One thing I have personally discovered over time is that people really like images with stark contrasts.
One example of simplicity and contrast lies in my most popular travel photo of this year so far. I chose one subject, the view. Not the window and the view, not a reflection of anything in the window with the view behind it, just the view with great light and dark contrast and people Liked it ... a lot.
If you can pair all of this with something called the "rule of thirds," you'll see your photo quality improve almost immediately.
Wikipedia says "The rule of thirds is a 'rule of thumb' or guideline which applies to the process of composing visual images such as paintings, photographs and designs.[1] The guideline proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.[2] Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would."
3) The flash makes everything look like utter garbage.
Some things you just won't be able to snap a photo of. Sorry! If you need a photo to look good with a flash, get a proper camera or a different source of light, even if it's something unconventional like a lighter or someone else's phone set on Flashlight mode. A lot of times the phone just can't focus in the dark, so using a flash is pointless anyway.
Case and point: This photo of singer/songwriter LP and me:
4) Don't mess with zoom.
Just crop it later because zoom makes the pic grainy and gross. 'Nuff said.
5) Play around with tap-focusing on light/dark areas
If your phone just doesn't seem to want to focus because you're shooting in really bright areas, try tap-focusing on the darkest spot on the screen you can find. Sometimes that's really all you need. If your pic is totally blasted out with light, try moving the light source just barely out of the frame and then try tap-focusing again.
6) Watch for sprouts!
Uniform backgrounds are best, obviously, but when you can't get a super simple background going for whatever reason, be really careful to watch for sprouts. "Sprouts?" you ask? Yes. Sprouts. They're pesky background objects that look like they're sprouting out of your subject. amNewYork, an NY-based newspaper, delivered the most amazingly stellar example of this, ever:
Once you've mastered these, we'll move on to iPhoneography 201: When you're ready to get weird. Holler in the comments if you have questions! I'll be watching and answering any inquiries people have if/when they pop up.
For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr and to see all videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel here!
Consumer Electronics Show 2013 wrapped up on Friday in Las Vegas, Nev., and CL was there to catch the coolest of the cool tech toys to show you. From $25,000 Sony stereoscopic 3DTV with SimulView to Samsung's damn sexy transparent LCD to Tyson Beckford and Ironman strutting around, what CES should've handed out along with the expo bags were mops. Why? Because there were so many amazing things there that if your jaw wasn't on the floor with robot drool spilling out, you were figuratively peeing your pants with excitement for the future.
It's a seriously amazing time to be alive. Here are more things to get stoked about:
Dancing Parrot AR Drone 2.0s
Killer drones are real. They're in the news all the time these days, reminding us that the days of Johnny Mnemonic being pure fantasy are behind us. However, these are not those. These are the kind of augmented reality drones you can't wait to harass your neighbor's dog with and they are sweet.
Samsung's Transparent LED LCD display
When you walk up to this TV, it looks like a glass case and nothing else. When turned off, it looks like any other piece of glass. It's clear and it's there, no big deal. But switch it on and the blacks are really black, the colors are more vibrant than the video alludes to, and I know I already said it's damn sexy, but I'll say it again: This thing is damn sexy! The video does it no justice and at roughly $2,800, I expect these things to be all over in retail display spaces in no time as they become more affordable. In the home, these could replace curio cabinets once the formats start becoming more diverse, too. Imagine being able to display your wedding glasses or grandma's urn with dynamic photos and videos to accompany special objects. Once this thing goes touch screen The Matrix's Zion has arrived.
Sphero Augmented Reality Games
This novel little toy gives all new meaning to being a baller.
Tell me if this situation sounds like you. If it does, please keep reading.
It's first thing in the morning and you log online to do your regular rounds of liking and commenting on the photos the cutie you follow has posted. Throughout the day, you enjoy her really interesting posts, liking and commenting on those as well. You compliment her in the photos she posts of herself. She doesn't respond, but it's OK because, as you can see from her feed, she's crazy busy and that's certainly going to make it difficult for her to get back to you. That's what social media is all about, right? She posts things because she likes the attention, right?
WRONG. You're being fuckin' creepy, and I'm here to help you immediately stop.
Before you skewer me with, "Well you put yourself out there ..." and "This is what you asked for ..." let's say this, first: Generally, people who post things online enjoy the likes and comments or they wouldn't post them in the first place. But when that turns into exuberant one-way attention, nobody wins. I don't mean this post in the woe-is-me, I'm so pretty I have all of these dudes harassing me online way, either. This is a real-life situation that can bleed into someone feeling harassed, and it's not an uncommon experience for many women on the Internet, especially those who actively engage. This post is about that. There are ladies who do their own crazy things, but we'll save that for later. This one is for the guys.
The definition of "that guy"
We all know the type: that guy is always the one who makes others wonder if he has a job (life?) or not because his social streams are flooded with banal post after banal post, hour after hour, usually with no or almost no interaction from anyone.
Chances are, you just want to keep up with people online and you're bored at work, so you probably don't even know you're being a creeper.
How to tell if you're "that guy"
1) You subscribe to the girl's feed yet you refer to her intimately in comments as if you are friends in real life but aren't. That's creepy. Quit that. Right now.
As we enter into 2013, many of us are pondering new adventures. With that comes potential headaches with planning and execution: tracking where you're supposed to be and when, figuring out transportation, and, most importantly, searching for good, local eats.
Never fear! There are four travel apps out there that can get you through what can sometimes otherwise be one annoying hassle after the other. TripIt, Seamless, Uber and Hipmunk. Here are my thoughts on each:
TripIt
TripIt is available free on iOS devices, online, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7. What's it do? It combs your emails for itineraries, making them easy to access in one place - and you less crazy in the airport at 2 a.m. on some random layover.
You sign yourself up for an email notification from the airline, TripIt grabs it and keeps everything together. The bonus here is that as long as you have your phone, you never have to actually bring any kind of paper itinerary anywhere again. When I travel, I know that TripIt has my schedule and my confirmation numbers. I connect with my family so they know where I am (this is an optional feature) and if I'm ever without my phone, I can always go online and get what I need. Another bonus for analytics geeks like me: It tracks how many miles you've covered.
More on their website: https://www.tripit.com.
Seamless
Seamless makes finding good, local delivery food really fast and really easy. The app finds your location, giving you the option to sort by how much you want to spend and if a business is open at that time. You then order and pay through the app and 30 to 45 minutes later, you have bomb-ass authentic navratan korma at the door. There's a small service charge, but there are also restaurants that will do a discounted amount, ultimately making the service/delivery charge essentially free. It's great.
The only downside is that not all cities - Charlotte, for example - have it. Lucky for you, though: You're out traveling when you need Seamless, not when you're back here.
More on their website: http://www.seamless.com.
Uber
Remember this?
Uber was the star of the show that night in Boston, Mass., a couple of weeks ago when a group of us needed a cab and were nowhere near where one would casually drive by. Since there were six of us, we used Uber and for $6 per person, we made it back to 40 Berkeley in style. We ordered a large car but a limo showed up. Sweet!
More on their website: https://www.uber.com/.
Hipmunk
Hipmunk is the easiest travel plans/search site I know of, especially for those who enjoy multimodal travel. Hipmunk allows you to search not only planes but also trains, and since we all know train travel out of Charlotte is borderline orgasmic, you can see why Hipmunk is amazing. I can't say enough good things about it.
More on their website: http://hipmunk.com.