You might have heard of Stu Maschwitz before, possibly from his work on these Red Giant video projects, or perhaps the Plastic Bullet app he made a few years ago. His latest creation is a custom set of presets that integrate with Lightroom, and gives the user a set of vintage photo looks to choose from.
Hyperlapse is growing in popularity, despite the difficulty of creating a seamless finished product... until now. Instagram is releasing a new app later today that, if it works as well as it appears in the promotional videos, will make hyperlapsing not only easy, but puts the power to make compelling hyperlapse videos in the palms of anyone's hands. Their new app is appropriately named "Hyperlapse" and it looks spectacular.
DSTRUX launched a new iOS app of the same name yesterday that changes the way content owners control their images' usage across the web. A universal Snapchat of sorts, DSTRUX brings private and controled viewing of images to anyone with an Internet browser.
First-person cameras, such as the ubiquitous GoPro, have been filming hours of footage from their owner’s journeys for years now. These lengthy uncut videos don’t hold much interest to most people, but a team of Microsoft Researchers are aiming to change that by using some remarkable technology they hope to release as part of an upcoming app.
With the announcement of Aperture's retirement, many of Apple's software users are seeking a new home for their image libraries. One of the most obvious choices is Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom. But moving those images from Aperture to Lightroom can be a little tricky. A new app has made it out of Beta and hit the app store that may provide an easier solution.
It was just a couple years into using Instagram myself before I noticed one name pop up regularly: Merek Davis. Having first been introduced to him as "The Mextures Dude," the fascination with him and the incredible inspriation he brought along with him had me hooked. I immediately began downloading free Mextures individually from his website and using apps like Image Blender to add them to my shots to enhance them with these magnificent colors, textures and custom film grains.
500px is today launching a new iOS app called "500px Insights," which will give users access to all the valuable statistics on their 500px pages and allow them to better promote their work and strategically engage with their audience. This is a great step to getting more information about what is likely a huge networking tool for many photographers.
Being a member of the media has a set number of luxuries. One of those being, working with Adobe and getting early access of products, and exclusive news. Thanks to Adobe, I used Creative Cloud for an entire year free by attending a media exclusive Adobe event back in the summer of 2013. However, since I've started paying for it a month ago, my frustrations have hit an all time high.
Pixels has launched a pretty slick little app that will let prospective clients who are purchasing your prints on pixels.com to see them on their walls in different frames before making a purchase. The app, simply named pixels.com, targets a wall and then shows you on your iPad what the framed artwork would look like there.
Created for the creative, MIOPS is a promising new accessory used to easily trigger your camera or flash unit for high-speed photography scenarios. The MIOPS team have launched a Kickstarter to acquire funding for their new high-tech device in which they declare is “not the first trigger in the market, but it is going to be the best.”
If you’re anything like me, you’ve got hard drives full of footage from personal or other non-commercial projects, that don’t serve much use once the project they were shot for is completed. I’ve considered trying to license it as stock footage, but never really taken the time to do it. After checking out the site Nimia and interviewing one of their staff however, I decided to give it a try.
Keeping your photographs organized by means of keywording is not a new idea but a new app is changing the idea of keyword organization. Polymo lets you add your keywords before you shoot, and adds all of the photos into its own "smart album."
While the beta has been out since February and can still be downloaded here, according to a June 26th press release, Nikon will be releasing its new Capture NX-D software July 15th for free. The previous version of Capture NX-2 still goes for $140, so it's nice to see more value added to Nikon's products for us Nikonians out there.
For my inaugural post on Fstoppers, I want to run down of a few of the apps that my studio manager and I use almost daily to help manage the studio and keep things running smoothly. Many of these you’ve probably heard of, others may be new to you. The list is actually endless, but I’ve narrowed it down to these nine to get us started:
With Facebook’s reach going down hill, we’re all looking for something that will allow us to get in touch with as many people as possible and Instagram is that link. If you need persuading, follow up this article with Dave Geffin’s post about how to fully harness the app. Once you’re convinced, here are some things you can do to make sure your followers are getting the most bang for their buck and you're showing off your best work.
DJI has been a major player in the quadcopter arena for quite some time. While there are MANY other brands out there, DJI has set out to make flying easy, especially for those with no experience. Now it will be even easier to start flying thanks to the addition of Autonomous flight. They call it Ground Station.
Though this probably won't surprise many of you, Apple is reportedly discontinuing development of their once-popular photo editing and organization platform, Aperture. Aperture was once considered on a level playing field with Adobe Lightroom, but Adobe's continued development and advancements to the software obviously have affected Apple's software, and today's announcement basically confirms that Apple also believes that Lightroom has since catapulted it beyond Aperture's reach.
Streamnation, a media storage and playback solution, has always sought to fix the problems with the current paradigms in the cloud space. Expensive and limited, there is a lot to improve on. As part of that vision, they have released a new app called Shutter that is aimed at replacing the camera on your iPhone by building-in automatic and unlimited cloud storage.
If you have been reading Fstoppers for the last year, you may have noticed our post about Wave Accounting for desktop use and how it offers free invoicing, receipt creation, accounting, and more. Now, Wave has just announced their release of an official iPhone app so you can create invoices and more on the go. This app, in my personal opinion, is the best way to create invoices and get paid by clients.
Adobe has made Lightroom Mobile available on iPhone, and has managed to keep all aspects of the software intact despite the much reduced screen size. The application works exactly the same as the iPad app, just on the smaller profile of your iPhone.
Facebook has officially released their new app, Slingshot, which was accidentally leaked/teased to the app store early last week and then quickly removed. The concept of this app is to share photos via message with friends, similar to the well known app Snapchat, but Facebook says they put a different approach to this app that will make it stand out and not be the same.
Last week, Adobe teased one of the many new features they will be unveiling this week during their launch event in New York (and online). A question that I saw asked in the comments of that article, as well as again posed during a recent Adobe briefing I attended, asked that since we were promised fast and regular updates as a part of the Creative Cloud model, why then are we waiting for a major hyped release? Well, I have an answer for you.
Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) previewed a new operating system for the Mac as well as iOS 8 for the iPhone, which comes with a host of new features due out this fall. While many features of Apple's new iOS releases leave out older devices, this one will improve your iPhone's camera (past, current, and future) with some great features we've all been too patient to see.
One of the keys to running a successful photography business is to be constantly innovating and searching for the best ways to serve your clients. A month ago I made the decision to use Pixieset for my client galleries. Here are my Top 10 reasons why I feel it is a good choice for all professional photographers.
I've reviewed BlogStomp in the past, and decided it was a tool that all photographers should be using to create simple and beautiful collages. Announced today from the same team is AlbumStomp, containing all the features you've come to love from BlogStomp, but for the use of creating brilliantly beautiful and simple photo albums for your clients.
Photographer Chip Litherland initially thought mobile photography was a threat to photojournalism and a platform for visual gluttony and selfies. But once he started tinkering with Instagram, he fell in love with the medium and began making artistic, saturated double exposures that advanced his vision. Chip explains how he uses his iPhone alongside his DSLRs when on assignment and how it has changed his photography.
Even the best photographers need inspiration. 500px is a beautiful playground for some of the best photographers in the industry, and also one of the most powerful tools for motivation. There’s no sifting through rubbish to find quality work in your feed, which is often a problem with various social media platforms, like Facebook. Here's a list of photographers and their mind-blowing work in 4 different genres you MUST be following.
Dropbox posted today on their blog about a new mobile gallery they are releasing called Carousel. The gallery will be for displaying photos and videos from your life and they are claiming it is "unlike other mobile galleries." The size of your Carousel isn't constrained by the space of your phone, so no more worrying about losing your life's memories as they will always be in one place.
As a photographer, I'm always looking to capture something in a unique way. This is the craziest landscape photoshoot I have ever done. By taping a tiny Nikon Flash to my DJI Phantom II Drone, I was able to fly my remote helicopter up the side of a lighthouse and light the entire thing with flash. Creating this photograph was one of the trickest shoots I've ever done, and this is how I made it happen.
In 2007, Adobe released Lightroom to the world and completely revolutionized the workflow for photographers everywhere. With each new release, Adobe has built new features and tools that have wowed us all. Well, announced and released tonight, Adobe brings us Adobe Lightroom Mobile - allowing you to sync and edit on the go. The best part of all? It's a free update for those on the Creative Cloud.
Software company Red Giant has been making the plugins that video editors have been using to sweeten their edits since the days of MiniDV. Fan favorite Magic Bullet Looks has long offered stylized, preset looks for its users. It has just been announced that Red Giant will be updating Magic Bullet to version 2.5, along with updates to PluralEyes and BulletProof.
I've read plenty of articles online about the sharing of user information, privacy settings on facebook, and the creepy things that someone could do with malicious intentions. In this video, Sam Pepper uses Instagram location tagging to find girls in the area, and makes them believe they know each other by sharing information they posted online.
Red Giant, the plugin supergroup that is responsible for filter packs like Magic Bullet Looks, Trapcode, and PluralEyes, has recently announced a new plugin model, Universe, where new and updated filters will be provided to members at low to no cost. If you're a motion graphics designer, or love sweetening your video edits with funky filters, check out the video and see if Universe is for you.
When I sat down to write this, its was originally going to be a pretty solid list of 5 crucial apps for traveling. However, when I got going I realized that most of what these apps did could be done in no time without them. Which led me to wonder...What is the most complicated thing you have to deal with when you're traveling. The itinerary? The packing? Getting everything booked? Maybe none of those things jam you up when traveling domestically, but what about when traveling internationally?
The GlamSquad is a new app that has nothing to do with photography; it's not even related to retouching or filters. But it can help you on your photo shoots. How? Simple - the GlamSquad app is the 'Uber' of Hairstylists. Need a hairstylist for a simple fix for your model/subject right before your photo shoot? Just pick one of the 10 hair styles available, choose your preferred time (even within 1 hour) and pay. Your professional hairstylist will arrive at your location and do his/her magic.
The guys over at Immaculate Infatuation are a little, well, obsessed with food. Their restaurant reviews are honest and refreshing; they tell it like it is. So when I saw that they wrote a piece about how to take "perfect" food photos, I knew I had to check it out. Now this isn't a guide for professional food photographers (far from it) but if you're one of the types that likes to Instagram every meal you eat, chances are you could learn something from their post.
There is obviously no shortage of camera apps out there in the world but, every once in a while something new hits the market that actually seems a bit useful. While not something I would recommend to the casual, or even semi-pro photographer the Mark II Artist's Viewfinder actually looks very helpful to directors, and photographers that need to do a lot of scouting and planning for their shoots.
