The iPhone is a the best smartphone out there, offering millions of apps and tens of thousands of accessories, puts your email in your hand, and it’s not bad at making phone calls either. But its camera doesn’t get much of a mention, always derided as having too few megapixels and an almost wilful lack of built-in functions.
Yet, look what it’s doing to digital camera and camcorder sales – Cisco recently scrapped its brilliant Flip camcorder because the iPhone was all people seemed to need these days.
My own Canon compact camera languishes with my Flip and Sony camcorder in the desk drawer of defeated technology. My iPhone is always with me and it’s the device I use for most of my domestic photography.
While I’ve read a few books on digital photography I hadn’t even thought about improving my iPhone snap skills until I read Create Great iPhone Photos: Apps, Tips, Tricks, and Effects by Allan Hoffman (No Starch Press, 2011).
Create Great iPhone Photos is a must-read for anyone like me who has abandoned their expensive cameras for the one on offer in the iPhone.
The book doesn’t need to dwell too long on Apple’s built-in Camera app, as its so basic.
The bulk of the book looks at third-party iPhone apps that transform the iPhone camera into either a professional camera or funky effects recorder.
Download a few of the fantastic camera apps, such as Hipstamatic, Lo-Mob or Photo Booth, and you’ll transform your digital photo habits almost immediately.
Create Great iPhone Photos covers most of these photo apps in some detail, which is a real boon as the apps themselves come with no real manuals or instructions. I've downloaded these apps only to be disappointed by their obtuse interfaces, and so have used them only sparingly. Now I know how to use them I'll be switching to these apps more than the stanadrd Apple Camera app.
Photo-blogger Hoffman also looks at using the iPhone’s camera for social networking, which is increasingly mobile and visual in its usage.
It’s full of tips and tricks for generating effects, applying filters, and manipulating your images with third-party apps. There are also interviews with today’s top iPhone photographers and galleries of their impressive work.
Create Great iPhone Photos content includes:
• Produce stunning panoramas, vintage-style photobooth strips, and super-saturated Polaroid photos with a hip, 1970s look.
• Unlock the secret power of your iPhone’s camera with burst mode, high dynamic range (HDR) effects, exposure and focus controls, and more.
• Find and install the best iPhone apps for cropping images, adjusting contrast and exposure, and editing your photos to achieve eye-popping results.
• Publish and share images right from your iPhone, without the hassle of memory cards, cables, or complex desktop photo editing tools.
More at Photo Advisor and iPhone Advisor
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