Apps

Photographers and digital artists alike have been using image editing software like Photoshop to enhance their work for years. There are several ways to add creative enhancements and filters to your work within Photoshop, but there are ways to add them without using the program or even in conjunction via other software and plugins. Auto FX Software has been around for more than 20 years with their customized creative photo software solutions which work as a stand-alone program or as a plugin for Photoshop or Lightroom. Right now you can get two of their modules for FREE along with support from Auto FX Software.

External monitors are vital pieces of kit in any videographer's bag, but what about using that big screen you carry around with you already? Here is how you turn your iPhone into an external monitor on the Panasonic GH5.

Since Stories have been added to Instagram, every social influence has tried to differentiate himself from the crowd. From filming with a camera like a vlog to editing images in Photoshop before adding them to a story, I’ve seen just about everything. The trend lately has been to integrate text on pictures to make it more attractive. Matti Haapoja from TravelFeels has come with an app to go one step further and tracked text to his content.

Apple’s Photos app on MacOS has been through many changes. We’ve come quite far since its predecessor, iPhoto. This time around, Apple has its sights set on bridging the gap between a consumer app and something more professional. Where does it fit in, and is it worth using?

Instagram continues to grow as a legitimate tool for photographers to feature their work, build connections, and find clients. As such, developing an efficient workflow on the app is something most photographers should consider. This helpful video will show iPhone users a neat trick to save time.

On Tuesday this week Apple released their latest mobile operating system, iOS 11. Now Serif, the creators of photo editing software Affinity Photo, have also updated their iPad app to take advantage of the capabilities introduced in iOS 11 such as drag-and-dropping images to and from the new Files app.

Regular users of Snapseed have been in for a shock this week as version 2.18 rolled out across Android and iOS devices. The redesigned app featured a lighter-colored interface and a new “Looks” bar that seeks to emulate Instagram’s now ubiquitous filters menu.

As Adobe Lightroom Mobile has become more and more powerful with each update, more photographers are starting to adopt mobile workflows to get images out to both social media and clients faster. The ability to quickly make edits on your phone or tablet then share those images almost instantly has a lot of uses. Now in his newest video, photographer and YouTuber Peter McKinnon gives a quick tutorial on how to apply presets within Lightroom Mobile.

Adobe Spark has been the brand’s relatively recent jump into a range of both online and mobile products that make it easy for anyone to create well-designed content including videos, web pages, and graphics. For creatives that fancy themselves better image creators than designers of promotional flyers or small web experiences or for DIY small business owners, Adobe Spark hopes to fill in the gaps and make it both easy and fast to design range of content types for your business. Today, Adobe released some much needed updates that mark the start of what Spark always should have been.

Instagram is planning a change that is going to upset a lot of people. If you are one of those who likes to keep all your images in order and make use of the 3 x 3 grid, prepare for a storm that may stir your account's real estate.

It's a big year for Apple. This is the year Apple finally introduces some major technological upgrades from augmented-reality and improved cameras to OLED screens in its iPhone lineup. And in doing so, they've released three new models alongside each other, the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X. Most importantly for us, however, is that the new iPhones not only feature the best cameras yet, but also more broadly represent the biggest leap in image technology in a single year thanks both to new hardware and software.

I recently stumbled across the iOS app Cascable 3 while perusing the App Store. I was in search of that next great app to make my life a little easier. I fully admit my iPhone seems to find a new app each week, but for my own sanity I attempt to keep everything neatly organized with folders. Keyword: attempt. Just don't ask to see how many folders I have.

Since obtaining my FAA Part 107 certification and flying with the Phantom 4 Quadcopter, I have been pouring over flight apps like crazy. Kittyhawk, available for iOS and Android, has become my go-to app for every flight I make that provides a comprehensive flight workflow all in one location. With enhanced telemetry data, airspace maps, fleet management, and weather reports, here’s my review of the app that could replace the entire drone folder on your mobile device.

Have you ever looked through someone's Instagram account and noticed that all of their images seemed to have a consistent color palette or style about them? If you've ever wondered how that is possible, give this video a watch. Sean Tucker dives into the details of how and why some creatives choose to present a consistent style, and then he goes on to process a small set of photos to show how it can be done.

As photographers, we’re often on the bleeding edge of technology, and these days, the bleeding edge often includes an app for that. However, manufacturers are increasingly relying on apps to control their hardware at the expense of dedicated physical controls — and it’s a practice that must stop.

Who out there captured the eclipse this week? Did you plan ahead, travel hundreds of miles, purchase the right gear, and capture the phenomenon that is a total solar eclipse for that perfect shot? The photos are coming in by the thousands and each seems to be better than the last. Here is my photo capturing 90 percent coverage of the moon over the sun and also a little behind-the-scenes on how I shot and edited it completely with my phone.

Instagram has been a strong tool for many photographers and creatives around the world for nearly seven years, but many still get confused by all the small details you sign yourself up for. The terms of service for many social platforms are a daunting and simple to bypass when clicking to sign on for the first time. Take this as a simple reminder: you want to make sure to at least read through the major bullet points before joining any social platform, as you are signing yourself up for a lot more than you think. Control of who you follow and unfollow could be one of those things you bypass.

Facebook has put a fresh coat of paint on its app with an overhaul to some of the graphical elements. One major change of note for photographers is that profile photos that appear alongside comments and in the newsfeed will now be circles instead of squares.

If you've ever been swiping through Instagram and noticed that certain black and white images had a particularly dramatic, vintage, or even sharp look to it, chances are there was a bit more going on than simply selecting a basic filter. In this in-depth video walkthrough, Sean Tucker shows several techniques he uses to really pull the most out of Instagram images in black and white.

When buying a quadcopter, it’s hard to know where to draw the line on what accessories you should be buying with it. It’s already an expensive investment independent of all of the extras you’ll practically need. It’s even more painful to consider how a simple, inexpensive component can keep you from flying successfully. After adding a DJI Phantom 4 Pro + to my lineup, I complied a list of all of the hardware I found most valuable to help you get the greatest return on your investment.

Gunther Wegner, creator of the LRTimelapse software, reveals a major issue affecting all the latest Nikon cameras compatible with the SnapBridge wireless app. For some reason, the Nikon engineers linked the camera’s Wi-Fi feature to the use of the app. When switching to a third-party app, the SnapBridge-capable cameras disable Wi-Fi, completely making the use of third-party apps over Wi-Fi impossible. Hence, photographers who rely on specialized apps for their work such as time-lapse or macro photography are stuck and cannot use these cameras anymore.

This is not your typical list of must have photography apps — no Snapchat, Instagram, or Photoshop here. Although you might not have heard of many of the names I'm about to recommend to you, each one has earned its place on my phone because it plays a part in making my life as a photographer much easier.

A few weeks ago I shared my review of Alien Skin Exposure X2, and I was amazed by how efficient it is. Not only is it an amazingly powerful tool when used as a plugin for Photoshop or Lightroom, but it’s also very convincing as a raw processing software. Until the 24th of July, the app is becoming even more attractive as it’s now available with a 40% discount!

A scammer is using the highly popular funds sharing app Venmo to steal thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment. It appears that the thief operates inside of Facebook Marketplaces and seems to be targeting videography professionals in the Los Angeles area.

Today Picr is joining ranks in the photography community with a bold statement: Picr does it all. The U.S.-only Picr Beta will aim to be your one-stop shop for everything you need to run the business end of your photography. From lead generation, client management, and financial earnings reports, to hosting your website, delivering your completed photo projects via client galleries, and re-generating follow-up repeat client work.

Ah, Casey Neistat. If you're on the internet, you've heard of him and are most likely in one of two camps: "Neistat fan camp," or "vehemently angry how did this guy get famous camp." A couple of months ago he told everyone that news giant CNN bought Beme, his failed app, but it seems that there is more to the story.

Instagram Stories have quickly become a popular way for photographers, videographers, and other creatives to share real-time work, behind the scenes clips, and other interesting miscellany with their audiences. As their popularity continues to grow, here's how to to make your Stories stand out amongst the crowd.

"Could you Photoshop this for me?" I'm pretty sure that's something every photographer hears on a far more regular basis than any of us would like. I get it, people want better photos. Maybe they didn't see that trash can in the background, or they couldn't get everyone with their eyes open at once, or they didn't like the color of shirt they were wearing in the photo. Whatever it is, chances are you've been asked to fix it at one point or another. Well now you don't have to, now you can just refer your friends to Mendr.

You might say they are late to the pack, and it's quite ironic. One of the largest photography communities in the world and Adobe Lightroom, the software many photographers use to make the photos look the way they do. I'm glad they are doing it, but why now? I mean, Fstoppers has over 325,000 followers on Instagram. It's because of the love of photography and the community that we form part of. And I am not sure I can say the same thing for Adobe Lightroom starting up their profile now. Instagram just became a very viable marketing platform too, so it makes sense for brands to come into the fray, especially brands who make products for the photographic market.

Within the framework of the WWDC conference, held in June 5-9 in San Jose, California, Apple introduced an advertisement video called Appocalypse, showing the consequences of the sudden removal of mobile applications from users' devices around the world.

Apple started the WWDC17 event yesterday which is used to introduce the new features to the developer community, for them to use and create new apps with. So here we take a look at what Apple has introduced and what we can expect from our devices in the following months once they launch it.

Today Serif released their fully featured photo editing app Affinity Photo for iPad on the App Store. The new app uses the same backend engine used in the desktop version while also focusing its capabilities for the iPad’s hardware, touchscreen, and Apple Pencil. “The result,” said Serif’s Managing Director Ashley Hewson, “is a genuinely unique new way to interact with your images and your iPad.”

Apps for working out the best times to shoot in natural light based on your location are not new, but the GoldenHour.One App by Hana Kusova brings together the perfect ingredient of features to compliment any photographer’s planning process for outdoor photography.

As Instagram continues to evolve as a platform serious photographers use to showcase their work and gain new clients, the app continues to introduce features that make those tasks more easily accomplished. Starting today, users can archive posts, making them viewable only to themselves.

Based on Instagram being so important and popular for photographers at this particular time, and as a follow up on some Instagram tips I wrote about before, we constantly look for ways to stand out and be different or better.

One of the worst gut wrenching feelings any content producer can face is opening up a memory card only to find that a file is corrupt or missing altogether. Recently we sold most of our Nikon gear and switched over to the new Panasonic GH5 cameras because of their better video features, superior image stabilization, and overall smaller size. Unfortunately we have found that unlike our Nikon cameras, the GH5 can corrupt files pretty easily if you are using their battery grip. In this video, I show you how these files can easily corrupt as well as a few software options you can use to recover any files corrupted during a loss of power.

Instagram has all but nailed the coffin shut on their Snapchat world domination. First they copied the user interface, then the disappearing messages, and now face filters. Those famous filters that wrap so neatly against your face and what made Snapchat what it is today is now a thing for anyone and everyone on Instagram as well. Have you deleted Snapchat in favor of Instagram yet? Maybe it's time.

Google’s Pixel has been hailed as one of the best on the market, some even calling it the best. I’m not saying the iPhone’s camera is lackluster, but is there something missing?

Agoraphobia is the extreme or irrational fear of crowded spaces or enclosed public places. I didn't know there was such a fear, or what it was until this video shed some light on it. Jacqui Kenny speaks about how she can't really function in busy places, almost like her imagination will get the better of her. I never thought having super creative imagination could be a burden, now I know it can be. Because of this impediment she explores the world from her living room.

Love it or hate it, social media has taken over many of our lives. And in the case of a photographic life, no social media name reigns more supreme than Instagram. With its photo dependent backbone and emphasis on visuals over verbals, shutterbugs rush to the app either as a means of expression, or a means of impression. It’s the one single place where your posts have an equal opportunity of being seen by a stranger in a small remote village as by a photo editor in the slightly larger village of Manhattan.

Each day there are new ways to accomplish the same task, especially with the ever-evolving social media whirlwind. Today I want to share my favorite two methods I use for sharing to Instagram (or any other social platform, but primarily Instagram since posts need to be made from your mobile device).

Instagram's popularity with photographers is incomparable. What is essentially a free portfolio building app disguises itself as a powerful marketing tool to connect with prospective clients, but it suffers at times due to its sheer size and scope. Maybe you're bored of sieving through lame #goals and #inspiration posts, and want to know what mobile friendly alternatives are out there? Well folks, I'm here to tell you.

Photographers today are the first generation of image makers who are entering an industry completely dominated by social media. Over the course of the last decade, social media has utterly surpassed virtually all other forms of marketing and has quickly become a dominating factor in lives of a huge part of the population, especially photographers. Social media use, however, suffers from some pretty severe implications that can have a limiting factor on the quality of work a photographer creates.

Score one for authentic interaction. Today, Instagress, a prominent Instagram bot service, shut their doors after being "requested" to do so by Instagram.

Most of us use Instagram to display our work. It has a great social aspect to it where people can follow your growth and see what you provide as a style. It's where clients go to see if you have what they want with regards to their brand image or way of portraying themselves. It plays an important role in a photographer's working life. As a social platform, they have copied from Snapchat with their stories and now they've copied Pinterest too. Although I don't like copying, let's see what it will offer.

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.

I never thought I would be in my car so much for work until I started doing photography as a job. As a real estate photographer in New Jersey, I am driving up to 300 miles a day from house to house and back home, shooting photos, videos, and aerials. Within the past six months, I have put just over 10,000 miles on my car and before that, I put 32,000 miles on a car that I was leasing for a year and a half. I was always told to track my miles so I could use that as a tax write off but I would never be sure exactly how far I traveled and I also thought that would be the most annoying thing ever...

As one of the most popular autonomously flying apps on the market, Litchi is taking the complexity out of flying drones. Drone enthusiasts now can easily set waypoints and POI’s in Google Earth, before even leaving home. By using state of the art technology, Litchi is attempting to corner the market, by replicating features which were once only available through more expensive apps and providing them in a simpler and more affordable format.

Everyone wants to make money doing what they love. We love photography, and for many of us, getting paid to take photos is a dream. I never wanted to be a photographer; I liked it, but shooting full-time was never a goal I had early in my career and still isn't. That all changed when Instagram came along, and after a couple years of posting nearly every day and unknowingly honing my skills, people began coming to me specially for posts on Instagram to share about their brands. Here, I explain how that occurred, how you can find clients, know your value, and make money posting on Instagram.

Instagram has been quickly moving its platform to be more than the sharing photos with friends app it started out as. With the news that Instagram has increased its monthly advertisers to one million and plans to increase testing of their Instagram shopping features its obvious where the new direction is heading. Instagram tells Bloomberg that in the next couple months they plan to add an option to book appointments by visiting a company's profile. One of the examples given is being able to click a button and scheduling a haircut through a Salon's profile.