Intro to iPhoneography: Shooting apps. Which, why, and how.
Shooting apps. Which, why, and how is part III in my Intro to iPhoneography series
The iPhone camera is great but there are countless alternatives if you're not happy with the interface or features. Some allow you to set white balance, metering modes, and more. I haven't become comfortable enough with any shooting apps to abandon the iPhone interface completely when I'm in a rush but I've tested a handful that are awesome when you're not shooting on the fly or want to experiment with a new look.
Available for iPhones and iPads. This app has a 28 page instruction manual. It's heavy-duty but an incredible tool for serious photographers and iPhoneographers who want more out of their images.
Some of the features include: large file sizes that create bigger images with better editing control, exposure lock, focus lock, white balance lock, night mode with longer exposure times, and a self timer.
The app is $1.99 and worth it.
This app's most unique feature is the ability to preview filters via its "live effect previews". Although I am not a big filter user I like using them on landscapes occasionally. It's pretty cool seeing the effects before the photo is taken and allows you to switch it up if it's not a good fit for your vision.
You can tinker with the intensity, brightness, contrast, sharpness, saturation and hue of the filters. There are also cropping, straightening, tilt shift, texture, and frame options to choose from. The in-app camera has 32 lenses and its a lot of fun to play around with.
Easily share your photos on Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, or Facebook.
Wood Camera is on sale for $.99.
KitCam has a manual focus option that allows you to choose difference focus and exposure points. I love that feature. It's a huge help when shooting in tricky lighting conditions. This app also has a variety of unique lenses to choose from including fish-eye and kaleidoscope (available via in-app purchase but there are a ton of free lenses included with the app).
The lens, frames, and films are live preview. There are timer, multi exposure, multi-shot, and time lapse options too. The interface is super user-friendly. The absolute coolest thing about KitCam is that you can use the features to shoot video as well. Tons of sharing options are available via KitCam.
Get it for $1.99 at the iTunes store.
Simple and easy to use Mattebox has a dual-stage shutter release option which allows you to lock your exposure and focus and then recompose your shot, white balance options, and exposure information visible in the viewfinder. It's not an overly complicated app but produces great photos. I've used it for over a year and haven't been disappointed yet. Sometimes simple is good.
There are also a handful of pretty photo effects you can add after you've taken a photo.
The price is pretty steep at $3.99 considering other apps do similar things for less but if you're a photography app junkie like me then you'll probably add it to your arsenal anyway.
This app was developed by photographer favorite SmugMug so you know it's no joke. The shooting app has great compositional guides beyond the usual rule of thirds grids including golden, trisec, and square. Camera awesome has self timer, slow burst, image stabilization, white balance options, and more. This app also allows you to set separate focus and exposure points which is a bonus. There are countless sharing options included with the app including one tap Facebook sharing.
I have a lot more to say about Camera Awesome but I'll save it for the editing post. As far as using it as a shooting app you can't go wrong especially if you're looking for variety in your photo compositions.
The app is free so get downloading.
Next week's Intro to iPhoneography post is: Editing apps. Beyond the filters.
