Windows only: Adebis Photo Sorter digs through all of your messy photos from eons ago, sorting them by date, groups and type. Because sorting through 16 GB worth of photos is everybody’s idea of fun. More »
Blog Archives
Adebis Photo Sorter Organizes Unmanageable Photo Collections [Download]
Posted on April 14, 2010
Understand Your Camera’s Histogram to Take More Balanced Pictures [Photography Tip]
Posted on March 31, 2010
Whether you’ve got a DSLR or you’ve turned your point-and-shoot into a super camera, those fancy features are useless if you don’t understand them. Want to capture a perfectly exposed picture? Learning to use your histogram is a good starting point. More »
Don’t Be Afraid to Shoot in Low Light Without a Flash [Quotables]
Posted on February 24, 2010
Scottish photojournalist Harry Benson, who’s captured some amazing frames of The Beatles, world leaders, and historic events, gives the New York Times his best tip for shooting at night or in low natural light.
He doesn’t lighten or otherwise touch his photos with image editors, and his secret to shooting in low light is simple:
Don’t be afraid. You’ll be surprised just how good your photos will be. Make sure there is some light on your subject’s face. But be brave about it. The thing about [it] is that I’ve been awakened to see just what digital cameras can do in low-light situations. It digs right into spaces that I never thought a camera could penetrate.
The post offers a few nitty-gritty details for manual-settings types, but he's right—the best photographs I've seen from parties, weddings, and news events come from shooters who simply stand steady, shoot what they can frame, and shoot a lot.
How to Take Better Low-Light Photos [Gadgetwise Blog/NYTimes.com]
Gorillacam Brings Timers, Burst, and More Extra Features to Your iPhone’s Camera [Downloads]
Posted on December 30, 2009
iPhone only: The iPhone’s built-in camera is capable, but its features (or lack thereof) aren’t exactly electrifying. Gorillacam adds all the tools you wish the default Camera app had and then some, including timed shots, time-lapse, burst mode, and more.
If you've ever watched the perfect shot pass you by because you're stuck waiting for the last photo you took to save to the Camera Roll, then you'll love Gorillacam's Auto-Save—it works in the background to save pictures while you keep taking more. If you want to take your pics at set intervals anywhere from one second to two minutes apart, then fire up the Time-Lapse feature. Alternatively, you could use 3-Shot Burst to take three rapid-fire pics in succession.
Gorillacam’s got enough features right there to make this free app well worth the download, but Gorillacam does even more. A countdown timer lets you take self-portraits, and Grid Overlay helps you line up and compose shots like a pro. Add to that a shot-leveler and a toggle that turns the whole screen into a shutter button and you’ve got yourself a must-have app to enhance your iPhone’s camera.
Gorillacam comes from the same company that brought you this awesome mobile phone tripod and the classic Gorillapod, and the app really goes to the heart of several missing features in the iPhone’s camera app. What dream feature would make your phone’s camera perfect? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Gorillacam [Joby]
Take Great Panoramic Pictures with Any Camera [Panoramic]
Posted on May 23, 2009
Panoramic software has come a long way toward making panoramic images child’s work. Great software or not, there’s no substitution for good source material. Take better panoramic pictures with these tips. Photo by Diego_3336.
Taking an awesome panoramic photograph isn’t as daunting a task as it once was, but there are still basic guidelines to follow for optimum results. One of the crucial elements to a natural-looking panorama is even exposure. If the exposure is different in each frame, your panoramic will end up with with a bizarre-looking skyline and an unnatural mixture of highlights and shadows. If your point-and-shoot has a panoramic mode, use it. On your DSLR, pick an average setting for the scene and set your exposure manually to that setting.
Exposure isn’t everything, though. Equally important is overlapping your images:
Overlapping is one of the important areas in creating a panoramic image. Just one slip with not enough overlap can ruin an attempt at the grandest of wide angle shots. No one wants to see pictures of the Grand Canyon with a bar of white down the middle because of the failure to overlap properly. I overlap by 30% each time. Sometimes more. Most people say 15% works just fine. Experiment with your particular camera to find the sweet spot of overlap.
For more excellent tips on creating beautiful panoramic photos, make sure to check out the link below. If you’re particularly pleased with your creation, previously mentioned viewAT is a service dedicated to sharing panoramic photos. Have a tried and true tip of your own for awesome panoramic photos? Share it in the comments below.
8 Guidelines To Taking Panoramic Photos With Any Camera [Digital Photography School]