Outcome:
By following this short tutorial on image workflow with the iPhone and the “Camera+” app to edit and manipulate images, the learner will practice creating stunning images with minimal investment in time and resources.
If you have purchased a smartphone in the last two or three years you have bought a camera with technology unthought of ten years ago. These are pretty good cameras that can surf the internet and, function as a phone as well.
Take many pictures. Throw many in the trash. Practice, practice, practice.
Brief Overview
I will explain, with visual images and some text, my workflow as I choose an image and work through how I edit each image.
Be sure to study the screen captured images of my work within the Camera+ app (click on them and open). This shows many of the different things to choose from within the app. There are a lot of choices. Explore them.
Please, also realize that there are many other sub-menus to do many other things within this app.
Go. Do. Explore. And, don’t forget add your POSITIVE comments.
My Usual First Step
Be sure to click on, and open, the images below to see the larger rendition.
I preview what is in my “Photos” to choose what I want to work on.
I immediately cull the obvious junk. Look quickly; but look carefully. If you have an image of three people and two of them have their eyes closed, delete it. Unless of course; you planned for it to be that way.
Also review the image for story. What is your story? What are you trying to tell others with this image? How are you going to tell this story, and manipulate the image to that end.
Be sure to click on, and open, the images below to see the larger rendition.
Next I chose an image from my “Photos”
Consider this photo. What can I do with it?
Eh, I don’t like it. 😉 So I’ll move on to another.
Early Morning Float Pond
I like this image. I think it has potential, so I’ll send it from “Photos” to Camera+.
First step is to “pop” it a little using the “Clarity” button. I will often try all of these settings to find one that suits what I think the image should look like.
But I don’t like all of the gravel on the beach showing at the bottom of the screen.
Below, I have done a couple of things at the same time.
One: I’ve changed the “aspect ratio” from 4:3 (think old tube type TV’s) to the “Golden Ratio” of 16:9 (think modern TV).
Two: I cropped the image to what I consider to be a more pleasing composition, and to get rid of some of the gravel beach that didn’t support the story that was in my mind.
And here is the final product below. I added a “Frame”.
Oh and…I tried it in Black and White too. I check many images to see how they look as a Black and White shot. But who could pass up that wonderful sky color and reflection?
180 Cessna on the Juneau float pond
The original Juneau float pond shot; as shot. This is “out of camera”. It’s a good one to start with but needs a little work. I took this from about 6′ off the dock surface so that the view is looking up at the aircraft, not straight on. It is a perspective that I encourage you to pursue. Something different than the normal line-of-sight.
I was displeased with the horizon on the original image. Awkward horizons are a pet peeve of mine, so I correct my mistake first (under “The Lab” and choose “Straighten”). Then I chose the “Clarity” toggle. Finally I added a “Frame”.
Coming home
My story with this image is all about Mt. Baker (located in the circle…drawn in “Photos” with iOS 11), and I wanted to work to make that the focus of my image story.
The process is similar here as well. “Clarity”. Fix the horizon (“The Lab” and “Straighten”). Finally I added a “Frame”.
It was fairly dark when I took this image. I think that it is pretty amazing to pull something like this off using the technology available. Is the image grainy? Of course. But I like the colors and composition, understanding that it was after sundown.
Drama Sky
I like clouds and how one might make them a focus of your image. This one is simple. Obviously the first step is to correct the horizon.
The second step was to turn it into a Black and White, and add a “Frame”.
Drama Sky 2
Pretty much the same workflow here, but I didn’t need to do anything with the horizon. Note the tree for visual reference.
To me this is an example of where Black and White can have quite an artistic impact on the image.
Here is a link to the best of the photos I took on this trip: https://flic.kr/s/aHskpg9QLE
In summary
I rarely spend more than 5 minutes editing an image with this workflow.
Take many pictures.
Throw many, many in the trash.
Practice, practice, practice. Repeat.
Thank you,
And, take more pictures!
In education we ask many questions about outcomes. “What did we learn?”, is a question often posed. The students learned about many things. One example is the controlled climbing and rigging that they recieved instruction on and experienced in a practicum. During this day they learned about working safe in wind turbine towers and what would be expected of them in an emergency situation. All of the students were required to problem solve and work as a team. They also had to work through any language and cultural differences to achieve positive results.
