I consider myself fortunate that I get many complements about the photography on the Waste. With a few exceptions, I do it all myself and always with the iPhone. On occasion, I do a little cropping and retouching to the photos. Sometimes I run them through a process to completely change their look. Sometimes the picture itself is taken not with the iPhone's camera app but with a specialized camera app. Either way, I owe it all to the fantastic programmers out there who create amazing apps for the iPhone.
One of the most common questions I get is, "What app are you using to do that?" I thought it was time for me to devote a page to this, so that I could stop answering people one by one.
Here are the apps I use most for the Waste.
For three years and two iPhones, I always used the built-in camera app for photography. Every camera app that I tried was too slow, or crashed, or had features that just were not more useful than the built-in app. Right before the Summer 2011 trip, I took a second look at all the camera apps sitting in a folder on my iPhone and gave them all a second try. And I learned that ProCamera is freaking great. I like nearly all of its features.
Crop+
More than anything, I crop. The hidden secret to iPhone photography is to capture what you need when you take the picture, and improve the image later. And nothing makes you look better than a good crop. And Crop+ is phenomenal. Most importantly, it has a setting to select a fixed aspect ratio. I select 16:9, matching HDTV aspect ratio, and I can get the exact image I want during a little downtime. (I have searched far and wide for an iPhone camera app that will let me shoot 16:9 in the first place, but the few apps I have found that do this do not work well.)
Here are the apps I use most for the Waste.
The arrows and gridlines help you line up shots, and I use the setting that allows me to take the picture by tapping anywhere on the screen. Also, I can drag the yellow diamond to any place on the screen and it sets the exposure to that part of the image, while I can also drag a blue square to any part of the image and that sets the focus to that spot. And that center line with the arrows shows you if have the camera level, which is huge. I hate seeing pictures that are crooked, and with this app, I can avoid it.
The AWB button is about setting the white balance manually, and I have not even started with that must for anyone who wants to take good pics with their iPhone.
Yellow diamond chooses exposure, blue square chooses focus. Central circle uses the internal gyroscope to show if you are level. Love it!
Someday I will do the iPhone screenshot and then a very good shot as an example. For now, this will have to do.
Crop+
More than anything, I crop. The hidden secret to iPhone photography is to capture what you need when you take the picture, and improve the image later. And nothing makes you look better than a good crop. And Crop+ is phenomenal. Most importantly, it has a setting to select a fixed aspect ratio. I select 16:9, matching HDTV aspect ratio, and I can get the exact image I want during a little downtime. (I have searched far and wide for an iPhone camera app that will let me shoot 16:9 in the first place, but the few apps I have found that do this do not work well.)
 |
| This image fits perfectly on our 52" television. And really, is that not what matters? |
 |
| I have been asked, "Do I really need to crop?" Look at the above image. The crop literally works as a 10x zoom. |
Pano
This is definitely my second favorite app. It allows limitless creativity, especially as you learn to combine unrelated images in interesting ways.
This is definitely my second favorite app. It allows limitless creativity, especially as you learn to combine unrelated images in interesting ways.
 |
| Pano allows me to shoot breathtaking panorama shots. |
 |
| Pano does not just help me shoot panoramas; it lets Barbie travel through space and time. |
 |
| Finally, Pano allows me to combine related images into a Panoramic Collage. Cool stuff. |
Halftone
This is an app I downloaded and barely used for months, and then I rediscovered it and cannot stop using it. Literally. I will take a picture for the sole purpose of turning it into a fun HalfTone for someone. (Normally Barbie.)
3D Photo
I have barely gotten started with this app, but I absolutely love it. I just learned that I can touch my finger to the image and change the angle of the mirrors. It is simply remarkable. Expect to see a lot more of these in the future.
This is an app I downloaded and barely used for months, and then I rediscovered it and cannot stop using it. Literally. I will take a picture for the sole purpose of turning it into a fun HalfTone for someone. (Normally Barbie.)
 |
| Halftone allows me to take pictures and convert them to comic book frames, complete with dialog and action effects. |
 |
| Needless to say, you can have serious fun with Halftone. |
3D Photo
I have barely gotten started with this app, but I absolutely love it. I just learned that I can touch my finger to the image and change the angle of the mirrors. It is simply remarkable. Expect to see a lot more of these in the future.
 |
| 3D Photo allows me to shoot crazy pics like this Kaleidoscope shot. |
 |
| I can even use the forward-facing camera with 3D Photo, for artsy self-portraits. |
 |
| 3D Photo has a TON of different settings/images, and you can expect to see more of these in the future. Can you spot barbie in the globe? |
Pro HDR
HDR photography is essential when you're working with an iPhone. Why? Without aperture control, your iPhone's standard camera cannot really deal with a photo that includes very bright and very dark areas. HDR, High Dynamic Range imaging, is a process that allows dark and light areas of an image to be corrected by taking the same picture at different light levels and merging them. Apple added an HDR feature to the built-in camera, but that features simply takes three images at different levels for you to manipulate later on a computer. Pro HDR does the job for you, in your camera, immediately after you take a picture.
I promise to add more apps when I notice myself using them. These are the ones that I use most frequently for the Waste. Enjoy!
HDR photography is essential when you're working with an iPhone. Why? Without aperture control, your iPhone's standard camera cannot really deal with a photo that includes very bright and very dark areas. HDR, High Dynamic Range imaging, is a process that allows dark and light areas of an image to be corrected by taking the same picture at different light levels and merging them. Apple added an HDR feature to the built-in camera, but that features simply takes three images at different levels for you to manipulate later on a computer. Pro HDR does the job for you, in your camera, immediately after you take a picture.
On the left is a standard picture backlit by the sun,
on the right is a picture of the same image with Pro HDR.
When you shoot with an iPhone, you often have to choose between the shot to the far left or the shot in the middle, basically trying to get an exposure based on one area of the field of view. The shot to the far right shows how Pro HDR merges the extremes into one shot, allowing both the coffee cup and the sky in the background to come through at the right exposure. That shot is impossible without HDR, and Pro HDR does it perfectly.
Slow Shutter Cam allows you to use your iPhone as if it were, well, a real camera and leave that shutter open. If you have a way to keep the iPhone still for a good 5 to 10 seconds, you can get an amazing shot where the parts of the image are blurred by motion while others are still and clear.
Just look at this picture of the Colosseum. How can you not buy this app?
Here is a SlowShutter shot of monks in Luang Prabang, Laos, accepting alms. That orange streak is the monks, and the yellow is their rice bowls.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
