Photography

Aperture gains iCloud Photo Sharing, SmugMug integration, iOS 7 Camera filters and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Apple's Aperture for Mac continues to give Adobe's Lightroom a run for its money as both programs compete for the title of the best photo manipulation and management software on the Mac. As you know, Apple's long been bundling a free copy of its iPhoto application with every new Mac (and now also with new iOS device purchases). But for photography fans whose needs go beyond the basic set of iPhoto's editing and photo management tools, Aperture is a logical progression.

In its latest 3.5 update, Aperture brings a couple welcomed new features to the table and a host of tweaks and bug fixes. Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...

Pixelmator 3.0 FX now available with Layer Styles, Liquify Tools and new Mavericks features

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2013

My favorite Photoshop Mac replacement, Pixelmator, has just received a massive 3.0 update. Now rechristened as Pixelmator FX to reflect the newly acquired capabilities, it brings the much needed Layer Styles and Liguify Tools, both building on top of the recent 2.2 update which dates back as recently as two weeks ago.

Pixelmator 3.0 also supports new features introduced in OS X Mavericks (a free upgrade) and introduces a new image editing engine which the team claims make Pixelmator "a top-quality, full-featured image editing app for the Mac”...

Vidstitch Pro: create and share your photo + video collages on Instagram

Lory Gil ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Instagram is the biggest social networking sight for photography since Flickr, and it is gaining in popularity every day. Third-party developers are always looking for ways to allow Instagram users to make their pictures and videos more interesting.

Vidstitch Pro for Instagram lets you combine photos and videos onto a single collage so you can share your memories with others, moving or not…

7 tips for taking landscape photos with your iPhone

Emil Pakarklis ∙ Updated March 27, 2023

Have you ever taken a photo of a magnificent vista, only to find out that the image doesn’t look nearly as good as in real life? While all of us have experienced that at some point, there are some tips that can dramatically improve the quality of the landscape photos you take with the iPhone.

The iPhone (or any other smartphone) has a small digital sensor which inevitably leads to poor image quality in low-light conditions. However, landscape photos are almost always taken in abundant light, making them practically indistinguishable from photos taken with an expensive DSLR. If you follow the tips outlined in this article, you will be able to take landscape photos that look just as good, if not better, than the same scene in real life.

Smartphone Spy Lens review: sneak pics and videos without getting caught

Lory Gil ∙ October 18, 2013

Photojojo, for those that may not already know, is a website dedicated to finding the best new stuff for all of your photography needs. The company has dozens of cute, awesome, and creative accessories designed specifically for iOS and other mobile devices.

The Smartphone Spy Lens is one such accessory that mounts to any mobile device with a camera so you can snap pictures of people standing right next to you, without them even knowing…

The best iPhone photography filter and effect apps

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Apple has a “Fun with Filters” section in the App Store now. It is a reminder of how many photo-editing apps there are out there. But, which ones are the best? It mostly depends on what you like to use photo editing apps for.

We’ve taking a close look at Apple’s list and weeded it down to our favorite photo filters and effects applications. Take you iPhone photography a step further with the various effects and textures offered by this selection of apps…

11 tips to get more Instagram followers

Emil Pakarklis ∙ Updated September 10, 2014

Let’s face it. Instagram is only fun if other people are following you. However, when most of us first sign up for Instagram, hardly anyone is following us. In this article you’re going to learn some simple and ethical techniques to build a following on Instagram.

There's a lot of demand for Instagram followers, and different scams and spammy techniques have been created as a consequence. Needless to say, these techniques don't work (and Instagram will likely delete your account if you use them), so this article only focuses on legitimate ways to get more Instagram followers...

Instagram quietly removes option to disable video autoplay

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

Late last month, Facebook-owned Instagram finally received its somewhat dull iOS 7-inspired update. I say dull because the redesign feels a tad rushed out and a bit rough around the edges. More importantly, not many people have noticed that yesterday's minor maintenance update has killed off the tremendously useful video auto-play toggle.

Although iTunes release notes for Instagram 4.2.2 innocently list only "bug fixes and performance improvements," in reality the new build has stealthily removed the useful Instagram > Settings > Auto-Play Videos switch.

This may not seem like a big deal, but consider for a moment the fact that the vast majority of iPhoneography fans turn to Instagram to enjoy beautiful photos.

Conversely, not many people give a heck about video on Instagram. Instagram disappointedly has never provided an option to block all video content from a user's feed so you don't need me to tell you that enforcing auto-play on videos isn't really helping anyone but Instagram itself...

Flickr gains background auto-uploading on iOS 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 9, 2013

Yahoo yesterday issued a major revamp of its Mail service across the web and mobile platforms and today the Internet company pushed a new version of Flickr for iPhone.

In addition to a slightly refined user interface for iOS 7, folks who've upgrade their iDevices to iOS 7 can take advantage of a new Auto Upload feature that will “seamlessly upload and save your photos in full resolution." Other tidbits include fixes for Google sign-in issues and a brand new Auto Straighten feature...

How to photograph silhouettes with your iPhone

Emil Pakarklis ∙ Updated August 22, 2025

Learn how to photograph silhouettes with your iPhone, and discover a few simple tips to make sure that they always look amazing.

Blur transforms ordinary pictures into stunning iOS wallpapers

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

Now that we all have iOS 7 installed on our iPhones, we are frantically looking for wallpapers that compliment the new design. Sure, Apple’s included Dynamic wallpapers are pretty cool with the way they move around, but you only get one style.

Blur turns any image into an iOS 7 style wallpaper with one simple control. Take a picture of your dog and turn it into cool looking wallpaper for your Home screen and it won’t even look like your dog anymore…