Better Photos for Gearheads

A meadow among the vineyards of Cariñena, Spain

Gear: Canon 7D with a Canon 17-40mm f4L Lens, shutter pressed by Lyn Farmer

The other day someone tried to compliment me (I think) on a photograph in my galleries. They ended up complimenting my gear when they said, "That's a wonderful photo -- you must have a great camera." For a moment I wracked my brain trying to remember if I'd ever told one of my chef friends that their food was so good, they must have great pans. No, I don't think so. A camera takes a picture, but a photographer makes a picture.

And yet... I do love the gear. I can't help it. I'm a guy, and by definition I'm geeky about gear.  Any photographer (or blogger) will tell you the best camera in the world is the one you have with you. The camera I always have with me is my iPhone. No one says, "I love that photo, you must have a great phone," but I have been asked what app I use, so now both my phone and I are offended. 

Rosé Champagne taken on an iPhone 5 using the ProHDR app

But since you asked, I like the app Camera+ partly because it has very good metering and autofocus and partly because it has great post-processing capability. In situations where the lighting varies within a single photograph so you have rather extreme light and dark areas, Pro HDR is a great app: it takes two photographs, one exposed for the bright areas and one properly exposed for darker areas, and merges them.

I was entranced this morning when I discovered there are several ways to improve the photos I take with my phone without adding yet another app (or, horrors!, another phone) to the mix. Since I know you have great gear as well (you do have a phone, right?), this may be of interest to you as well. The guy in the video (who has great gear but a lousy haircut) uses an iPhone 5s, but these tricks will work for any current smartphone. Want to shoot a photo half underwater? You can do it. Want to show up four times in one photo for a quadro-portrait? Yeah, you can do that too. These tricks are so cool.....

I was entranced this morning when I discovered there are several ways to improve the photos I take with my phone without adding yet another app (or, horrors!, another phone) to the mix. Since I know you have great gear as well (you do have a phone, right?), this may be of interest to you as well. The guy in the video (who has great gear but a lousy haircut) uses an iPhone 5s, but these tricks will work for any current smartphone. Want to shoot a photo half underwater? You can do it. Want to show up four times in one photo for a quadro-portrait? Yeah, you can do that too. These tricks are so cool.....

Watch photographer Lorenz Holder of Cooperative of Photography demonstrate some creative smartphone photography tips & tricks using an iPhone 5S! 

These tips (especially that cool tripod idea, will definitely give some new range to my photos, including all those shots I take...er, make... at restaurants. Now, I just need to find another chef with great pans.....

 Enjoy, and share your photos!