The rage these days are photo apps for mobile devices. The socialmatic phenomenon has overcome Facebook. Everyone these days seems to be posting photos like the ones that are still in my attic of when I was 5. For some, it is a tool they only know how to press buttons. For others it is an artistic expression. Photography has changed so much for so many. Communication using this medium is booming with the ease of a mobile device that sits in your pocket.
These apps are becoming verbs in my household. I could produce a good size list of worthy apps but the go-to ones are the ones worth posting. Those are Color Splash and Camera Plus.
OMG Color Splash!!
Mobile Tech Dictionary: colorsplash v. applying an effect to a photograph which removes all color except for the selected subject. ex..”colorsplashing it”
Color Splash, available on iTunes, lets you quickly and easily give photos a dramatic look by converting them to black and white, while keeping your chosen details in color. This effect draws the viewers’ attention to the colored areas, creating striking images. You can zoom in very deeply into the photo for detail and my favorite is that it has an undo button.
I’ve spent hours using Photoshop and GIMP trying to do this trick. Perhaps there is an easier way in those tools (anyone?) This app is a great cheat. What’s more, with the photo quality of the iPhone, photos are DSLR awesome!
Here are some examples my friend Jenny and I took and “colorsplashed” recently. Mine were taken with the original Droid. Not too shabby.
Some other examples online http://photobucket.com/images/color%20splash/ .
OMG Camera Plus
Mobile Tech Dictionary: Camera Plus: v. The act of applying a digital filter after effect. ex.. “did you camera plus it?”
Camera Plus is a great tool for providing not only the “Instagram” basics but it offers a heck of a lot more. Taking a photo includes focus and lighting with a gentle slide of the finger. Point the two targets at the place you wish to focus and the place you wish to anchor the light settings. Once you take the shot you bring into its powerful arsenal of digital filters for an experience better than “Instagraming”, if I may.
|
Check out this really cool iPhonography blog by a very close friend of mine. Jenny’s iPhoneography Jenny’s blog features photos using the Camera Plus app on the iPhone 4s. I suggest you subscribe to it using the email subscription option on the right. It is a brand new blog that is about to take off. |
 |
|---|
Blog in the New World 
Kevin,
Thanks for sharing these resources. It is true that for the average Joe these photo tricks are becoming easier and easier. As an avid Photoshop user and teacher, I have to say it’s taken some friends off of my back asking for favors! I do agree that the quality is great especially for instant results. I was recently impressed by some photos a friend sent me- note she is the current photo editor of maxim magazine and an art school trained photographer. I immediately thought she brought all of her old school fancy cameras with her on the trip she sent the pictures of. They were gorgeous and were created from an app on her iPhone. I couldn’t believe it. I seriously thought she had brought a series of vintage cameras with her. Of course her great skills provided awesome compositions but I was still blown away but how fooled I was by an app!
Colleen