iPhone Photography

iPhone Photography apps

There is a saying that goes “the best camera is the one that’s with you,” and I think this is more true today than it was yesterday. You can have the best camera in the world, but if it’s too big to carry with on a daily basis, then you’re probably missing out on some amazing shots. The iPhone, on the other hand, is something that you carry with you at all time.

Ever since I got my first iPhone back in 2007, I started developing a taste for photography. I always loved taking pictures, but I also always disliked having to carry a camera with me. The iPhone, and other smartphones, solved this problem.

Fast forward a few years, and the iPhone is currently the most popular camera on Flickr. It’s the most popular camera because it’s the one that’s with people at any time of the day or night.

This being said, there is much more to taking a picture than just clicking a button. There are certain concepts and rules, that, when applied, help create an even more beautiful picture. These rules usually beg to be broken, and that’s fine, because iPhone photography, and photography in general, is more about your creativity than your technique. The way I see it, technique teaches you the basics of iPhoneography, while creativity unleashes the real potential of your photographs.

If you’re here to learn about iPhoneography, then you came to the right place. Whether you are an experienced photographer or a beginner, you will find this page to be a real wealth of information. From iPhone photography tutorials, to the best apps for iPhone photography, we cover a wide range of topics to help you become a better photographer.

Make sure to come back often as this page will be periodically updated with new tutorials and apps.

What’s iPhoneography?

As you might have guessed by its name, iPhoneography is the contraction of “iPhone photography” into one word. iPhoneography is the art of taking and editing photos with an iPhone, or, to a larger extent, with an iOS device such as an iPod touch or an iPad.

There actually seems to be a bit of controversy about the editing part. Some would argue that iPhoneography is the art of taking photos with an iPhone and edit them the way you want, including using professional software such as the desktop version of Photoshop. Others, including myself, believe that iPhoneography should be entirely done on an iOS device, from shooting to editing, and that one shall not use a PC or a Mac to post process the photos. In the end, it’s you to decide, as again, there is no rule that must be followed.

With the fantastic evolution of the iPhone camera, more and more professional photographers are actually venturing into this new world. And with the development of some amazing iPhone photography apps, this art has become more and more accessible to the public, to the point that nowadays, virtually everyone can be an artist and create amazing photographs with just an iPhone.

iPhone Photography Tutorial

Whether you want to learn about iPhone photography or take your skills set to the next level, you will find something to fit your needs here. These iPhone photography tutorials will teach you some basic techniques of photography, but also some tips and tricks gathered from years of iPhoneography experience. Finally, we’ll share with you a few photo apps tutorials as well as some ideas to boost your creativity.

Technique

Tip and Tricks

Apps & Tutorials

Creativity Boost

iPhone Photography Apps

The App Store contains thousands of apps for shooting, editing, and sharing your photos directly from your iPhone or iPad. Because there are so many options, finding the iPhone photography apps that work best for you will completely depend on what you’re looking for.

While there are some apps that might work well for you, these same apps might not be the right fit for me. Again, it’s all about what you want to accomplish with your photos. I know I like simple and straightforward apps, but if you’re a technical kind of guy, you might like apps that offer more advanced features. It’s all up to you and your creative needs.

There are a few apps that we can all agree are some of the best iPhone photography apps out there:

Camera+: This is my go-to app when it comes to shooting photos with my iPhone. Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or someone who’s barely touched a camera, Camera+ will make you love taking photos. Camera+ is what the stock Camera app should be.

Snapseed: Snapseed makes any photograph extraordinary with a fun, high-quality photo experience right at your fingertips. Anyone can enhance, transform, and share their photos with ease using incredibly advanced features. If you don’t have Snapseed yet, make sure to download it now.

Big Lens: This app gives you a way to be creative with depth of field, which is otherwise impossible with the iPhone camera. Snap a picture and then edit it like magic by setting the aperture, changing blur levels, and adjusting background light to create a depth of field effect with just a few gestures.

Noir Photo: This is my favorite app for turning photos into beautiful black and white. Noir Photo lets you transform your photos with beautiful, dramatic lighting and instant results. Peel away the color to a cinematic black and white, apply a lovely tint, and then light up your subject.

Pro HDR: Bringing automatic high dynamic range photography to your iPhone, Pro HDR captures an image exposed for the highlights and another exposed for the shadows. It then aligns and merges the images, giving you a gorgeous HDR image at native resolution. Read our Pro HDR tutorial.

FX Photo Studio: This app comes with 194 high quality photo effects, created in cooperation with pro photographers and graphic designers. Mix and match them on your photos for exceptional results. FX Photo Studio is definitely on my short list of best iPhone photo apps for iPhone.

Photo fx: Photo fx brings professional effects to your iPhone. It gives you the tools to edit, control and correct your images as well as create interesting effects with 878 presets, including digital optical filter equivalents for your iPhone or iPod touch images.

Diptic: Diptic helps you easily combine multiple photos and apply artistic effects to create exceptional photo collages. With 14 filters, rounded borders and 52 customizable layouts, there are unlimited options to create unique images.

Photo Transfer App: Photo Transfer App allows you to easily download photos from your iPhone or iPad to your computer as well as exchange photos from and to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. The app lets you transfer photos in full resolution.

CameraBag: Dramatically enhance your photos using the many classic camera and film simulations in CameraBag. It’s like having a dozen unique cameras all in one app. It focuses on emulating styles and processes from some of the most interesting cameras of the past to enhance the mood.

Slow Shutter Cam: Slow Shutter Cam brings new life into your device’s photo toolbox by letting you capture a variety of amazing slow shutter speed effects that you only thought you could get with a DSLR. It’s the perfect app to shoot light trail photographs.

Hueless: Hueless helps you to take better black & white photographs with pioneering Live B&W Preview, Exposure & Contrast Adjustments and Color Filters. The image you see in the viewfinder is the image you see in the Photo Roll. Full-resolution, no post-processing required.

TouchRetouch: TouchRetouch is an application that lets you remove unwanted content or objects from your photos, using just your finger and iPhone or iPod Touch. Mark the items you want taken out of the snapshot and hit ‘Go’. That’s all there is to it.

Camera Awesome: Camera Awesome takes your photos to the next level by shooting fast and taking sharper, better-exposed shots. I mostly use it for its “Awesomize” feature which instantly makes any picture a better one. It also comes with various controls, filters, and much more. Give it a try.

Instagram: Do we even need to introduce Instagram? It is one of the most, if not the most popular app for sharing your best iPhoneography. Recently acquired by Facebook, Instagram one app I use every day. Find me there @SebastienPage.

PhotoMojo: Plenty of photo editors span the App Store but few are as holistic as PhotoMojo. Boasting a clever assortment of photo editing tools that easily surpass Instagram, PhotoMojo is a crafty and fun attempt to shoulder onto a much larger stage. Read our PhotoMojo review.

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