We’re all aware that technology is changing how we live our everyday lives. Laptops, Digital Cameras, Smartphones – these once-novel tools are becoming day-to-day necessities. I realize the iPad is no longer shockingly novel either but this tool has combined the three most frequently used pieces of technology into one supertool. Its capabilities are seemingly endless and new applications are created daily. Now I know what all you skeptics are saying – it’s just a glorified iPhone with maybe a few more apps. But look again – the iPad may be transforming the art of photography.
Built-in Benefits
Not only is the iPad an image processing platform that is light and compact enough to carry with you wherever you go, it contains hundreds of apps to assist in your photography endeavors. With a 9.7” Backlit display, photos look fabulous – unlike the quality that some Smartphones deliver. The iPad also allows you to manage all your online photo libraries from one place without searching for a wi-fi connection or turning on your computer. Additionally, you can download images directly from your digital camera or SD card (or any other photo-taking device) onto your iPad with the the iPad Connection Kit. Other adapters can be used to connect the iPad directly to TVs, computers, and projectors.
Beyond connecting and organizing, the iPad offers several Apps for photo editing and imaging viewing that allow you to do several things with your photos from one platform. Here are a few of the favorites:
Editing/Organizing Apps:
While there are too many photo editing apps to name, I will describe a few of the most common:
Adobe Photoshop Express: Probably the most popular editing App because it resembles the layout of Adobe Photoshop with which most photographers are familiar. However, this is best used for small edits.
Photogene for iPad: For more complex projects, many users like Photogene. This App has all the expected capabilities (crop, straighten, sharpen, resize, add effects, etc.), while additionally allowing you to output you edited photos directly to your e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, and iPad photo library.
Photosmith App: A new App that allows you to review images and organize them into collections and add data, rate and share each image.
More Cool Stuff
For Professional Photographers:
iPad Portfolio: Most professional photographers with an iPad have discovered its incredible capabilities as a professional portfolio. Easy to maneuver with great viewing quality, the iPad has become a portable portfolio that photographers can display at a moment’s notice.
Photo Releases: Two different Apps provide both Model and Property release forms that you can substitute for those outdated paper forms. Easy Release is a generic form to which you can add your company’s information. Contract Maker Pro assists in making custom releases by providing a common template in which you can adapt custom fields to fit your unique needs.
For Recreational Photographers:
Artify: Do you like both photography and painting? This App transforms any image you choose into impressionistic artwork, later allowing you to sharpen details of faces or objects. Or you can customize your image by using your
finger as a small, medium or large brush to alter the look of your photo.
Airplay: Allows you to stream images wirelessly from your iPad to HDTV.
Airprint: Wireless printing straight from your iPad.
Clearly this is not an exhaustive description of the possibilities that the iPad can bring to the world of Photography, but it demonstrates the basic benefits. While the iPad may not replace traditional forms or photography development, it is clearly learning the tricks of the trade. And who knows? Maybe someday the camera will be a thing of the past.
Last month, we offered a few summer travel photo tips to keep you organized and prepared to capture those unforgettable moments. Here’s Part 2 showcasing tips on how to turn a mundane moment into a praiseworthy picture.
Don't forget to put yourself in the photo!
- GROUP SHOT. In the spirit of “no family member left behind,” it’s important to get at least one group shot while on vacation together. So whether you use a tripod or ask a total stranger to help out, it’s never too early to get your holiday card shot while the whole gang’s together.
- BLINKING IS BAD, BUT NOT LOOKING IS GOOD. On vacations, kids have the tendency to get wrapped up in many new experiences. Don’t forget to take pictures of them exploring even if they don’t know it. Some of the best pictures are the candid action shots.
- EVERY MOMENT, NOT JUST THE SCENIC ONES. Everyone loves a beautiful sunset or the iconic shot of the Empire State Building. But don’t forget to capture the less thrilling moments too, like getting packed, being in the plane or goofing off at a hotel or campsite.
- TAKE TIME TO REFLECT. At the end of each busy day, spend some time talking about each family member’s favorite moments. Add these thoughts and anecdotes to the pictures from that day to create a rich, integrated story of your special time together as a family.
- IT’S OK TO BE CLICHÉD. As photographers, we tend to want to take a photo that’s different. However, trying to frame every one of your travel photos to be ‘unique’ will either get you extremely frustrated, have you snapping up only 30 photos, or both. It’s fine to take a photo of the Eiffel Tower front-on, or the illusion that your friend’s pushing the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
- IT WON’T BE MUNDANE ONE YEAR FROM NOW. Like cliched photos, it’s also fine to take less than stunning subjects. The confusing currencies, the weird and wonderful signs, what you see while staring out the window. Don’t delete the ‘boring’ photos! They might seem mundane a few seconds after you’ve taken them. But you’d look back on them a year from now and realize just how well they’ve documented your travels.
- BE CREATIVE, USE PROPS. The souvenirs and postcards you purchase, use them as props in your next photo. It’s a sure way to get you thinking out of the box and produce some interesting photos.
- TAKE NOTES. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but sometimes it still doesn’t express how you really feel. Excitement? Culture shocked? Home sick? Carry a small notebook around and just jot down a few sentences when you feel over-whelmed to do so, along with the image number.
- PUT YOURSELF IN THE PHOTO. As photographers, we often forget to put ourselves in front of the camera. Don’t just shoot a self-portrait with your arms stretched out in front of you (yes, we’ve all done that plenty of times). Give your camera to a trusting-looking passerby!
40 years of marriage celebrated…now it’s 10 years later and they’re still going strong! 10 years ago, one of our clients created a slideshow on VHS as a gift for her parents 40th wedding anniversary. Currently, she is updating this slideshow (on to DVD) to include the most recent 10 years of their marriage. Additionally (as technological innovations have expanded our digital creation possibilities) she is substituting parts of the original audio with music, and may even choose to add some narration. After 50 years, I’m sure there are plenty of stories to be told!One client made the trek from Vail down to our Denver store to update her memory books (after laying idle in her attic for way too long. She brought in armload after armload of boxes full of scrapbooks and loose photos then left her memories for us to consolidate and modernize. We are currently working to meticulously remove all photos and memorabilia from the scrapbooks, scan everything, and compile on to one disk for her viewing convenience.
We all think our dads are the best, right? Well what if the entire city of Denver agreed with you? One of our clients’ dads was such a notable figure in Denver’s history that the Denver
Public Library asked to commemorate him by displaying his scrapbook in one of their libraries. Hesitant to give away such a precious keepsake, he has asked us to transfer the treasure to a digital format that he can cherish forever. We have scanned everything from the scrapbook to an online format and currently he is using our compatible software to proof the working draft from home. As soon as he gives us the final edits, we will print and bind the photobook which will include an attached sleeve for the DVD version. Then finally the Denver Public Library can celebrate in knowing that they possess such an important piece of history.
If you are traveling this summer, you’ll want to bring your camera with you. Here are some quick tips to help make your summer travel photo experience trouble-free:
- BRING EXTRA PHOTO CARDS. If you are traveling by plane, take your camera with you on the plane. Carry at least two photo cards, or whatever you feel you will need based on the number of pictures you expect to take. Buying additional cards may be difficult, inconvenient or expensive, depending on where you are traveling.
- TO SAVE SPACE, review your photos in your camera along the way and delete any you won’t want, or bring a portable storage device so you can offload the cards and free up space.
- FOR A BACKUP in case your camera and photo cards get lost or stolen—if you have Internet access—upload your photos to a photo sharing/storage site (it’s free, you just need to sign up for a free account). You can even e-mail images to your friends and family back home.
- BRING AT LEAST ONE EXTRA BATTERY, so one battery can be charging while you are using the other one. If you are traveling overseas, try to get a dual voltage charger to avoid needing a separate voltage transformer. It is not fun to be caught with insufficient or the wrong power and miss photo ops.
- KEEP YOUR CAMERA EQUIPMENT ORGANIZED. Band the charger cords and cables with Velcro or elastic bands so they are not a jumbled mess and put them in a plastic bag with your charger and other essentials.
- BRING YOUR CAMERA WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO. You never know when a great photo op may arise.
- READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. If you just bought a new camera, familiarize yourself with the features before your trip. If you don’t want to drag the manual with you, you can probably look it up on line in a pinch. Since many camera manufacturers put manuals on their web site, it can’t hurt to take note of the web address so if you get stuck you can look up your camera’s features online at a cyber café.
- OUTDOOR SHOTS. When traveling you are likely to be taking a lot of outdoor shots. When taking photos in the shade or bright sunlight, use your camera’s fill flash. This will help fix contrast and dark shadows. Read your camera’s manual to learn how to use this feature on your camera.
- GETTING THERE IS HALF THE FUN. You begin traveling the moment you step out that door. So start snapping away your journey to the airport; touching down at your destination and being utterly confused; being tightly packed on a bumpy bus ride; the disappointment when your hotel doesn’t look like the picture on the brochure. Don’t forget to document the journey – the destination is only half the fun!
Leave A Legacy is one of the few companies primarily built for our local customers who wish to transfer their old memories and convert them to a more modern format, such as VHS to DVD, slide scanning to DVD and transfer 8mm film to DVD. Images, such as photographs, slides, and negatives have been around for decades as a means for people to capture special moments. Often times, as we collect and take new pictures over the years, these images can begin to take up all sorts of space! In this new technological era, many of us would find it much easier to digitize the images onto a computer, and load them all onto a DVD or a hard drive. However, many people do not have the time to do this themselves, and instead opt to use a transfer or scanning service to accomplish it for them. Usually you would box your photos up, and ship them off to destinations unknown, and pray you get everything back. However, have you looked to see if there are more convenient local options available? Here are some of the benefits of keeping your media local.
Peace of Mind – Keeping your images local, and close to you will ensure that your media will not get lost in transit, or misplaced at any point during the shipping process. Since we, at Leave A Legacy, handle all of our orders directly in our offices, you’ll know where your precious media is at all times. Once you leave your memories in our hands, they will remain safe until you come in to pick up your new DVDs.
Customer Experience – Leave A Legacy is set up to allow one on one interactions with the image scanning technician working on your order. This starts with the initial order-taking process. If at all possible, we will match your image scanning order with the technician who will be doing the bulk of the work on the order. This same technician will also be contacting you throughout the transfer process to indicate when the order had been completed, or if any additional information is required. In turn, our customers are encouraged to contact their technicians through phone or email, if they think of anything else they’d like to add or otherwise change their initial order. This will help ensure that your order is processed to your exact specifications and details.
Fast Turnaround – When dealing with local companies, you will often get a much faster turnaround than if you were to mail it off to a processing facility. Depending on how much media you bring in, we can sometimes have your order finished within 24 hours. This alone will save you not only time, but massive shipping and handling costs.
Competitive Costs – While you may not find the extreme low costs you’d see from businesses employing the use of document scanners or third-world labor, Leave A Legacy has a competitive pricing structure, with nice discounts applied if you bring in more and more media.
Courtesy of: Alan Chase
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