Recent Mobile Articles

Improvements for iPhone Cameras Will Shape Photography Forever. Here’s Why.

We benefit every time that smartphone in your pocket improves its camera system. Professional or not, we must admit that the quality of the software producing images on our smartphones is brilliant. All this clever tech will hugely impact photography in the future. Here’s why.

Comparing a $10,000 Camera Setup With the iPhone 15 Pro Max

The new iPhone 15 Pro Max has garnered a lot of attention thanks to its new capabilities such as recording to external storage, bringing it ever-closer to being a professional photography and videography tool (with particular focus on the latter). So, how close is it now?
Fstoppers Reviews ACDSee Pro for iOS, One of the Best Raw Editing and Capture Apps for Mobile

With the importance that social networks now take, our work as photographers has evolved into something entirely different over the past few years. Nowadays, images must be edited faster than ever, and, sometimes, that means not being able to use our computers, but having to rely on mobile solutions. One of such solutions is ACDSee Pro for iOS, which will allow you to edit your pictures on the go with a straightforward and easy-to-use interface. In this review, discover how it could improve your workflow, whether you are a photographer or an Instagrammer.

How Apple Created Those Badass Watch Faces for the New Apple Watch

In case you haven't heard, Apple announced some new devices about a week ago, one of which was the Apple Watch 4. One of the most striking things about the announcement was the intense new watch faces shown during the demo that varied from fire, to water, to colored clouds of dust.

The Five Most Useful Apps for Planning Photos

Smartphones offer countless useful resources for planning and shooting photos. With tens of thousands of apps, it can be difficult to know which are the best. Here are my top five.

Instagram Introduces New Features Designed for Better Control

It's no secret that Instagram is a bit of a free-for-all in some respects. Every day, I fend off the usual swarm of bots and comments offering me services of questionable legality. Instagram seems to have recognized this, introducing several new tools today, all designed around increased control and positivity in the app experience.

Top 7 Smartphone Photography Tips That Will Make You Forget Your Camera

In a recent article of mine, I discussed switching from a DSLR to a smartphone for casual photography. Recently, one of my friends reached out to me and asked what camera he should get for a trip he is going to. I told him: to use his phone and gave him some tips. Here are the top 7 tips that every smartphone photographer should know.

Apple Will Enable Raw Shooting on ‘Recent’ iPhone and iPad Devices [Updated]

On Monday, Apple held its keynote presentation at the annual WWDC conference. Big updates were unveiled on stage, including interesting revisions to watchOS, tvOS, macOS, and iOS. One announcement that wasn’t talked about is the upcoming ability for iOS devices to shoot and edit raw images, which was instead hinted at through a presentation slide and a WWDC Session video description.

Is the iPhone 8’s Camera Really That Good?

While perusing YouTube I stumbled across Matteo Berttoli Visual’s cinematic video clip that was shot with only the iPhone 8 Plus. The video does a great job showing how far Apple has come in their development of the software and camera behind the media.

The iPhone's Camera Evolution and Why It Has Revolutionized Photography Forever

We have all seen the comparison from one iPhone to the next as the newest tech is announced and the previous model is shot off as outdated and useless. This time we look at the evolution of mobile shooting and the tech that brings us into a new era of photography. Looking all the way back to the first iPhone and the quality of image versus the newest flagship from Apple, the iPhone 6, it's remarkable how far we have come and it excites me to see where we can go from here.

First Hands-On Look at the Unreleased RED Hydrogen Smartphone

Here we have our first hands-on look at the upcoming RED Hydrogen smartphone they are preparing to release. As many of you know, RED is known for making high-end cinema cameras, but now they have launched themselves into the deep end of the smartphone world market.

How to Improve Your Instagram to Pick Up More Photography Work

Instagram is very much a calling card for a good amount of photographers these days. Many of my friends with successful photography businesses attribute a large proportion of their client influx to the app. Here's a great video on how to make your account better.

Over 10 Million Downloads: Meet the Developer of Open Camera

I've bemoaned the state of current Android camera apps and so, in the first of this two-parter, I interviewed Martin Johnson, the programmer behind the well respected Snap Camera HDR. As a follow-on, this article interviews Mark Harman, developer of Open Camera.

Photographers Document Epic Engagement After Meeting on Instagram

If you're on Instagram and have been immersed in the community they have built, you have most likely come across Bethany Olsen and Cory Staudacher feeds by now. Both photographers from Seattle met through mutual friends via the social network and eventual became an instant hit while sharing incredible photos across the Pacific Northwest gaining over 500,000 followers combined.

Is LiDAR the Master Plan for Apple Smartphone Cameras?

September is fast approaching, which means we’ll soon be getting a new iPhone announcement. It’s a safe assumption that Apple will be announcing a faster processor and a better camera. But how can smartphone cameras continue to improve without the ability to include large lenses and larger sensors?

The Most Useful Free App for Drone Users

A few weeks ago I reviewed the PolarPro filters for the DJI Spark and loved them. But to make full use of my drone and the adequate ND filter, PolarPro has created an app that I’m sure you’ll appreciate too. It’s available for both Android and iOS, and it’ll help you make sure you can fly your drone in the best conditions possible. Here are my thoughts about it and why you should download it too.

Apple is Leading the March to Destroy the Point-and-Shoot

I have always been a firm believer that the best camera is the one that is with you. Images are about story and feeling, not megapixels and dynamic range. When a moment happens, you want to be ready. Buttons, menus, confusing UI and accessories just delay a photographer from capturing those moments right at their peak. The less switches, buttons and taps your camera takes to get ready to take the shot, the better off you are to be ready to take the shot.

Behind The Scenes – Up The Ante With A GoPro

I’ve always been enthralled with first person movie scenes, games and music videos. Clocking countless hours with Duke Nukem 3D in my parent’s basement on an old Packard Bell PC planted a seed that forever changed me. To this day I think The Prodigy's breakbeat electronic hit “Smack My Bitch Up” is one of the greatest first person videos of all time.

Can You Photograph the Milky Way With Just a Phone?

Astrophotography is a genre that requires some of the most extreme and specialized gear. At the same time, though, photographic technology has made some remarkable leaps in the last few years, with some of that technology making its way into smartphones. Can you photograph the night sky with just a phone? This great video shows what you can accomplish.

Is The Future Of Mobile Filmmaking Closer Than We Think?

While there’s never been a sure fire way to win work and sustain a living as a photographer or film maker, and particularly not today given how much change we are seeing, having your own unique vision can help set you apart from the crowd. Young film maker Paul Trillo has shown time and again how an interesting perspective can separate him and his work from the pack. After watching his recent innovative short, you'll likely never be able to look at your phone in the same way again.

Hands-On With the RED Hydrogen One

The new RED Hydrogen One phone has some new and unique display features that got a lot of interest nine months ago. Now RED has taken their new mobile phone to the media to showcase what it can do. Although we aren't allowed to see the screen (it doesn't display well on videos) we can get an idea of what RED is envisioning for the future of capturing video.

How Viable Is Lightroom's New Raw Editing Capability

I know that all of the iPhone 7 hype is on the portrait mode and DNG file capture that the new camera has, but I was particularly interested in another aspect of iOS's photo capability. Having been stuck on a Nexus 6 for the past year and a half, I missed out on a lot of the new tricks that the iPhones were offering. Specifically, Lightroom Mobile's new raw file support, giving it similar editing capability as the desktop version of Lightroom.

Make Your iPhone 7 a Better Camera with These New Offerings from Moment Lenses

Moment Lenses has been on the scene of mobile photography for a few years now and truly separates themselves from the crowd of phone lens attachments in many ways. First, their products are of damn good quality. Having shot with my Moment Lens since their first Kickstarter a few years ago, it's been a great addition to my bag of tricks while out and about shooting. Today, they are announcing their new Kickstarter to help build the next line of incredible products including a new 18mm lens, as well as a battery case and basic photo case.

The M1 Treatment Grants the New iPad Pro Editing Superpowers

Years ago, I taught a workshop on editing video for scientists. We primarily taught the shooting part of things with an iPhone and the editing part with iPads and iMovie because it would be easier to learn, not because they were particularly good tools. My how things have changed now that the new M1 iPad Pro is out.

How to Use the New Live Photo Effects in iOS 11

One of many changes and improvements contained in the upcoming iOS 11 update for iPhones and iPads is the ability to add effects to Live Photos. The three effects — Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure — can be applied easily with a quick swipe and a tap in the Photos app. Here’s what you need to know.

SanDisk Drops Three New Products at CES 2015

Each year over 150,000 people flock to Las Vegas for CES, the world’s largest consumer electronic showcase. Major tech innovators from all over the world kick off the new year by showing off their latest and greatest gadgets and innovations to the public. This year, SanDisk unveiled three new products that are designed to increase your productivity and give your workflow a boost.

Adobe Sensei Changes your Selfies to Professional Looking Shots

There isn't a lot of information about this Adobe App and whether this technology will be added to the desktop software yet, just that it's called Sensei and they have this video to show its potential. It uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to make your selfie or basic smartphone photo look like it was taken by someone who knew what they were doing.

Exploring the Murky Concept of 'Shot on a Smartphone' Commercials

We've all seen those inspiring commercials which claim to have been shot entirely on a smartphone. While technically they were captured with the device they are trying to sell to you, it is often with some heavy equipment adaptation which has always felt a little fraudulent to me, even if they do mention it in the small print which no one reads.

Changes We Wish Adobe Would Make to Creative Cloud

Adobe is known as being the creator of Photoshop. Then, they went and bought Macromedia in 2005 which changed the game a lot for the creative industry. Since then, apps were bundled, we’ve moved to a subscription model with Creative Cloud, and all the apps now work together intuitively. I have a great respect for the company that makes the software I use every day. But there are certain workflows that I think can improve.

Get More Cinematic Shots From Your iPhone, No Extra Gear Needed

When you look at Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” videos, oftentimes what’s left unsaid is the amount of extra gear beyond the iPhone the cinematographers had to use. Whether that’s expensive drones, camera stabilizers, or underwater gear, chances are, if it’s on Apple’s website, it’s not only shot with an iPhone.

Google Photos Tests Game-Changing AI Photo Transformation Tool

Google Photos is pushing the boundaries of image editing, testing a new feature that uses generative AI to transform photos in a groundbreaking way. Last week, I talked about Google Photos's revolutionary changes to their search feature, and today, we're going to explore the editing features themselves. Named the "Magic Editor," this innovative tool promises to offer a level of manipulation that allows users to make drastic changes to their photos seamlessly.

Is the Apple iPhone 14 Pro a Good Camera in 2024? — Fstoppers Review

As an avid advocate for iPhone photography, I have written a ton of articles on the matter. However, I never reviewed the actual device I am using for my photos. Having had it for a year, it's time to give the iPhone 14 Pro a long-term review, as well as answer the question of upgrading to the 15 Pro.

Avoid Long Editing Hours With Adobe Lightroom CC’s Effective Mobile App

When Lightroom mobile was initially released a few years back, I, like many Adobe users at that time, was curious, and found myself finger tapping all the way to my phone's respective App Store to download it. After that addition to my phone was made, the once fresh home screen icon for a long time sat irrelevant, and relegated to the end of the bench, placed inside of a seldom seen, far lateral, home screen folder.

The Crazy Things You’ll Hear from Light, Makers of the L16

One of the first things I heard when I sat down at a large white table with Light CTO and Co-Founder Dr. Rajiv Laroia and VP of Marketing Bradley Lautenbach was that, when it comes to lenses, plastic is better than glass. Scratching my head for a bit, while searching for some logic, but keeping an open mind (I did ask for a meeting with the guy who decided to put 16 lenses in a small box and call it the future of photography), the meeting proceeded to somewhat blow my mind… if it’s all true.

iPhone Vs. Hasselblad X1D: The Bokeh Comparison

When it comes to background blur, or what we photographers like to call bokeh, it’s a well-known thing that smartphones aren’t the best. In the recent years, however, they have improved, thanks to the dual camera systems and pixel separation algorithms. They have improved so much that some may be tempted to say they are on par with some of the best professional cameras out there. Marques Brownlee decided to see for himself if that was the case and compared the current best smartphones on the market against the Hasselblad X1D.

Contrary to Instagram's Statement Yesterday, Curated Feeds Are Now Live

Well, it's official. The app once known for its convenient, chronological order of posts is no longer. As I woke up this morning and did my usual routine of running through emails and social media, I noticed something odd. I opened Instagram, and the first post wasn't the most recent. It looks like the rumors were true, at least for me.

Instagram's Much-Anticipated 'Insights' Analytics Look Awesome

A number of iOS and Android apps rake in huge sums of money by promising heavy Instagram users access to a multitude of account information and analytics. It's no secret that Instagram could capitalize on this in a huge way. Naturally, they don't plan on charging for the service. Instead, they're likely counting on it to boost user interaction. But we do finally know what the new "Insights" feature will offer and how it will look.

Why I'm Starting a 365 Day Project in 2017

I’ll admit that I’m in a creative rut. And like any photographer that feels frustrated, there’s only one thing to do: go in a different direction. For well over a year I’ve been shooting hardly anything besides studio portraits. While I love that genre and the work that I’ve created in that time, I feel like my work has hit a wall creatively. After watching several photographers and filmmakers doing these a-photo-a-day projects, I decided to give it a go in 2017.

Is Your Photography Website Ready for Google's Mobilegeddon?

On April 21 Google officially launched an important new algorithm which prioritizes "mobile ready" websites over those which are only formatted for desktops. The consequence, of course, is if you have a website that's not mobile ready, you should be prepared to see a dramatic drop in your search engine optimized (SEO) traffic. For many of us, as photographers, we also manage our own websites and find that SEO traffic is very important in getting our product out to a potential customer.

Casey Neistat's New App Beme Released Today

Hearing the name Casey Neistat gives mixed reactions from people when I bring him up in conversation. Some people think his work is a gimmick, or can't get over that he smashed a perfectly good Canon with an axe. Personally, I am a huge fan of Neistat, because whatever he's doing, it's working. Throughout his daily vlog, Neistat has hinted at a new app that he and his team have been working on for the past year, and today is the day it went live. Meet Beme.

Apple Shares Some Tips for the iPhonographers Out There

The iPhone has become the world's most popular camera. Apple has done a lot of marketing specifically surrounding the camera features and now shares a few iPhone shooting tips it recommends in a new series of fun videos.

Adobe Introduces Technology Previews and Advanced Search Capabilities for Lightroom on the Web

I've started to embrace the mobile and web sides of Lightroom a bit more. The ability to access my catalog on the go, easily create and sync collections to show to clients, and cull and make basic edits while standing in line at the market has been a great boon in convenience for me. Adobe seems to be embracing it too, pushing ahead with the introduction of a useful and rather neat feature today.

Macro Gone Mobile: We Review SANDMARC Macro 100mm for iPhone

If you've wanted to try macro photography but didn't want to outlay on all the special equipment necessary, you're in luck. If you're an iPhone user, SANDMARC has a 100mm Macro lens you can screw onto your phone, and I put it through its paces.