Copyright public domain and creative commons for educators

Taking mobile photography to the next

level: Apps & Tips

Bite sized learning from the CTL at Athens Technical College – Robin Fay, Portal Manager, CTL

Basic photography tips

• Cropping, composition, natural lighting

• Editing

• Apps

• Effects & black and white

• Social photography

• Hashtags

• Tagging

• Location/checkin

Agenda

Basic photography – composition

Photography follows many art and design rules

• Think about the arrangement of objects

and/or people

• Generally, the closest item to the camera

(viewer) will appear bigger

• Models know how to position their bodies

to change how they appear – you can learn

these tricks, too

• Color often hides bad photography

1. “Soft” lighting (but not flat light) is the typically

best for photographing people – this can

mean using a fill flash to even out differences

between people and the background,

shooting in shade or on a semi-cloudy day

2. Natural light shifts in color over the seasons

and at the time of the day

3. Flat lighting is when there is little

distinguishing contrast between objects and

background – often characterized by a lack of

shadows and highlights

Basic photography - lighting

1. Scope out/plan the photograph – review

lighting and backgrounds prior to adding the

subject

2. Take practice shots without subjects

3. If you are photographing people, plan

wardrobes accordingly (are you

photographing on green grass? Do you really

want everyone wearing green?)

Basic photography – planning

1. Develop a rapport before shooting

2. Make sure the person being photographed is

physically comfortable HOWEVER…. Be

aware of adjustments that may need to

happen – avoid “wardrobe malfunctions”

3. The more people in a group photo, the more

shots you should take

4. Tell them when you are going to shoot the

photo

5. Do not have them look directly into the

camera – unless that is the affect you want

Basic photography – planning

Basic photography – looking good 1. “Skinny” arm on hip

2. Create gaps between within

the space of your body

3. Make yourself appear smaller

(turn from camera)

4. Stick your chin out slightly

5. Avoid direct sunlight

photography

6. Well fitting clothes & hair

styling

7. Emphasize the good

Helping others look their best1. Position them if needed

2. Straighten clothes, hair, etc.

3. Shoot slightly above to create smaller

bodies

4. Think about composition and lighting

5. Judicious cropping!

Composition rulesThe rule of thirds – subject/interest at intersections

Leading linesFraming

Other rules1. Symmetry and

patterns

2. Balancing

elements

3. Diagonals/Horizon

tals/Verticals

4. Filling the frame

(no empty space,

think macro,

closeups)

Where to crop

Image Editing & More Tools• Aviary – robust image editing and social sharing from Adobe –

mobile -- https://www.aviary.com/

• BeFunky – online tool & mobile app to edit and design (freemum)

https://www.befunky.com/

• Flickr – web based photo galleries and basic image editing from

Yahoo – mobile and online - https://www.flickr.com/

• Fotoflexer http://fotoflexer.com/

• GIMP (Desktop) – robust image editing (like Photoshop) -

http://www.gimp.org/

• iPiccy http://ipiccy.com/

• LunaPic http://www120.lunapic.com/editor

• Picasa – web based photo galleries and basic image editing from Google --

http://picasa.google.com/

• Pixlr – robust online and mobile image editing – crop, effects, adjust color,

down images - https://pixlr.com/

• PiZap http://www.pizap.com/pizap

• Snaggy – online tool to use print screen to capture anything on your monitor,

paste into snaggy for simple edits (crop, highlight, etc.) - http://snag.gy/

(Also flickr, Google photos, facebook, etc. all have some image editing)

Instagrammers• Instagram – basic image editing and social sharing – mobile –

http://instagram.com

• Gramblr - Instagram for desktop http://gramblr.com/uploader/#home

• Snapseed :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.niksoftware.snapseed&

hl=en or https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapseed/id439438619?mt=8

• PhotoWonder: Portraits, Watermark & much more

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cn.jingling.motu.photowond

er&hl=en OR https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-

wonder/id501945443?mt=8

• InstaQuote :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redcactus.instaquote&h

l=en or https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instaquote-add-text-

captions/id551012097?mt=8

• Iconosquare: statistics, and more for Instagrammers (!)

http://iconosquare.com/ - desktop

Instagram 1011. Accounts are private or public

2. You can message photos to people privately even

if your account is public

3. You can block people

4. Hashtags are used to connect others and the

community (but really for searching and

organizing!) Instagram has its own vocabulary.

5. You can leave comments and answer comments

@

6. You can search for photos or users

7. You can push your photos to social media using

built in tools or IFTTT

8. Iconosquare is a useful management tool

Effects and black and white

Don’t go overboard

Effects and black and white

1. Basics – color, saturation, exposure

2. Cropping and focus – blur or darken edges,

etc.

Instagram filters – the mega listNormal: No filter applied

1977: The increased exposure with a red tint gives the photograph a rosy, brighter, faded look.

Amaro: Adds light to an image, with the focus on the centre.[90]

Brannan: Increases contrast and exposure and adds a metallic tint.

Earlybird: Gives photographs an older look with a sepia tint and warm temperature.

Hefe: Hight contrast and saturation, with a similar effect to Lo-Fi but not quite as dramatic.

Hudson: Creates an "icy" illusion with heightened shadows, cool tint and dodged center.[91]

Inkwell: Direct shift to black and white - no extra editing.

Kelvin: Increases saturation and temperature to give it a radiant "glow".[92]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram

Instagram filters – the mega listLo-fi: Enriches color and adds strong shadows through the use of saturation

and "warming" the temperature.

Mayfair: Applies a warm pink tone, subtle vignetting to brighten the photograph center and a thin black border[93]

Nashville: Warms the temperature, lowers contrast and increases exposure to give a light "pink" tint - making it feel "nostalgic".

Rise: Adds a "glow" to the image, with softer lighting of the subject.

Sierra: Gives a faded, softer look.

Sutro: Burns photo edges, increases highlights and shadows dramatically with a focus on purple and brown colors.

Toaster: Ages the image by "burning" the centre and adds a dramatic vignette.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram

Instagram filters – the listValencia: Fades the image by increasing exposure and warming the colors, to

give it an antique feel

Walden: Increases exposure and adds a yellow tint.

Willow: A monochromatic filter with subtle purple tones and a translucent white border.[94]

X-Pro II: Increases color vibrance with a golden tint, high contrast and slight vignette added to the edges.

Slumber: Desaturates the image as well as adds haze for a retro, dreamy look - with an emphasis on blacks and blues.

Cream: Adds a creamy look that both warms and cools the image.

Ludwig: A slight hint of desaturation that also enhances light.

Aden: This filter gives a blue/green natural look.

Perpetua: Adding a pastel look, this filter is ideal for portraits

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram

Getting socialInstagram (and snapchat/vine for video) are increasingly being used as

my corporations

A few marketing ideas: contests (usually involving photography and tagging or checking in), cross promote partners, take advantage of trending hashtags if applicable (#selfiesunday #throwbackthursday), use Instagram as a gateway to other content, sponsored ads

Educational uses: treasure hunts, as part of an assignment

Cautionary tales

Mobile cameras are getting better every day; however, they still can’t really compete with a good DSLR. Generally, they are not going to shoot a raw format, nor will their flash, digital processor, and other components be as a good as a digital camera. However, we do have them with us all of the time (or almost all of the time) and they are seen as less invasive by many.

Archive your photographs someplace besides your phone and Facebook (please).

Consider location services such as tagging place or checking in carefully. It can reveal where you are in real time (or just #latergram).

The same rules apply for taking photographs of people and private spaces. Now your photography rights.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram

Robin Fay

rfay@athenstech.edu

Thank you! More at ctlblog.athenstech.edu