Tag Archives: fine tuning

Fine Tuning Now For Tiny Planet Creations

If it has been a while since you took a look at Tiny Planet, you may want to update and get in to play a bit. The latest update has brought a slew of new fine tuning options. All of these are considered as ‘Live Editing’ tool as you can see what you will get as you make the changes. The tuning options include: Edge Alignment, Latitude, Longitude, Zoom, Horizontal Offset, Vertical Offset, and Duration of the Video if you choose to share the creating of your Tiny Planet.

Improvements to previously available tools is also included for the Edge Blur and Rotation.

Using either a photo from your iPhone’s library or taking a new, choose if you want the wrap to globe or tunnel effect. You can change your mind if you don’t like the direction a picture is going. During this process is when you can also choose the video options.

Following the globe or tunnel effect application, a row of fine tuning adjustments appear. Each of these can be selected, then a dial like slider is provided below to tune the image.

All of these options allow for a less random final Tiny Planet photo.

The Free iPhone Photo Editor Inside of Google+ App

Google+, the social sharing service from Google, has its lovers and haters. Google has tweaked it from time to time to get it to match a plan they have. While I post there and enjoy viewing many photographers work, it has never caught on as my first social solution when I want to get the word out. That is just me, your milage will vary.

Many updates appear to be to tie Google+ more directly into Google’s other services, and in some cases for enhancements to replace the need of those other services. One area of enhancements has been the improvements to the photo editing features. There is still the ‘quick filters’ for effect, but now there are other enhancements in the area of pinpointing photo turning.

The photo editing features are available on either the iPhone or iPad via the free Google+ app. It does require you have a Google+ account, but you are not forced to ever post any of your images to Google+. That said, inside of Google+ is the feature to auto sync all of your photos to the Google online storage if you would rather use another service than the iCloud/iPhoto builtin option.

Starting off, the app lets you take a photo or edit one you took previously. Across the top is a Cancel (exit without saving any edits), an undo, a mirror flip and ‘Done’. After you complete your edits, the photo can be saved to the iPhone’s photo library or shared for others to see on Google+. Across the bottom of the first screen is Google’s Auto Enhancement too (it does allow a slight bit of control over the amount of ‘auto’ applied), then the Crop and Rotate tools. I’m amazed at how few photo editing apps do not include a ‘rotate’. A quick win for Google+ photo editor.

Swipe across the bottom of the screen’s menu to go to the pre-configured filters.

Choosing a Google+ photo editor effect filter opens to a group of finer detailed options in that area of filters. Generally, these can be selected to fine tune the amount of the effect applied too.

The pinpoint editing option allows for taping a location, adjusting the size of the area to be impacted, then swipe left/right for the amount of the effect. A swipe up/down offers more options for the tuning. The app allows for multiple points to be selected and tuned (individually) without having to exit and return to the photo like other pinpoint solutions do.

Yahoo buys GhostBird Software which means no more KitCam and PhotoForge2

A quiet announcement happened today that many iPhone photographers may have missed. On GhostBird Software’s Web site is a page of text explaining that the development team has joined Yahoo to work with the Flickr team. The company is best known for PhotoForge, PhotoForge2 and KitCam. The last two has gotten a lot of press as well I covered it in the past. The apps all had lost of power for editing iPhone photos. More than just filters (arranged as ‘lenses’ and ‘film’), there was also fine tuning adjusters too.

The majority of the filters where an extra charge. The app as it was initially loaded onto your iPhone did a few things, but to get the full potential realized, a person had to spend some bucks for the extra bits.

From the GhostBird Software site, you can continue to use the software but the team will not be working on it anymore so it will interesting to see how the apps fit into the future iOS7 world. While people new to the apps wont be able to purchase, current owners can always reload the last copy they had updated to via iTunes unless deleted from there too.

“If you already have the KitCam or PhotoForge2 apps on your devices, you will be able to continue to use them in their current versions. However, we will not continue to update the apps as future versions of iOS are released. Anyone who previously purchased GhostBird Software’s apps, including KitCam and PhotoForge2, will be able to re-download those apps through iCloud. As of today, KitCam and PhotoForge2 are no longer available for download from the App Store.”

A few screen shots from KitCam as a reminder of the apps capabilities. How much of this will appear in a future Flickr iPhone app?

Using the iPhone for Long Exposure photography with LongExpo

I have covered a few Long Exposure photography solutions over the last couple years. The camera on the iPhone is quite capable but you have to have more power over the exposure length which is possible with apps like LongExpo. There is actually more to long exposure photography then just holding the shutter open longer. It depends on what the end result is needing to be… a streak of light behind cars zooming by, blur of moving objects like water over a waterfall and low light. Each of those can require a different set up and tuning to the environment around the photographer. Usually, this means a lot of adjustment behind naming from film photography counterparts.

LongExpo attempts to give the options needed for all of the different long exposure via plain english options. Then, add on specialized editing tools to get the final photo closer to what was hoped for when the shot was imagined.

Choosing a different different photo type as seen above allows for access to different tools via the shutter setting button. I like the ‘keep it simple’ both in the options and the text used to describe the feature settings.

After a photo is taken, general fine tuning is possible via a set of sliders. The camera icon returns you to the camera and deletes the photo just taken.

Images managed through LongExpo can be shared or saved at full resolution. I have found most editing apps like to downsize the output to help manage memory usage and the speed of the app. From the ‘Next’ button you can save to your iPhone photo library, create a project so you can edit that photo more later and access to the ‘Magic’ tool set.

“Magic Sharpener” isn’t just a sharpening tool. The area of LongExpo is where you will find the ability to fine tune the image. The tuning is for sharpening and blurring. Paint an area, then choose which your trying to do. Also, the strength of the adjustments. Notice the image in the upper left corner, via this you can choose a photo within the time lapse photography in case an individual photo is better than the mix of the many used to create the long exposure. LongExpo attempts to keep the process easy to start, then more enhanced for those photos needing that extra touch for maximum effect.

All-in-one iPhone camera app ProCamera on sale for 99 cents today…

I have covered ProCamera a few times in the past, running through features and their updates. The app is one of a couple ‘pro’ camera apps I use on my iPhone when shooting around town since it is so quick to adjust the settings to zero in on the shot I’m looking for.

ProCamera lets you fine tune just about every feature: Stability, self timer, expert mode (focus/exposure separate, RapidFire, HighSpeed mode, enhanced photo zoom, Date stamp, Auto Save, Fullscreen Trigger, video focus, video zoom, video preview, use the volume as trigger, geo tagging, system sounds, quick flick album…. wait, there is more… there is ‘Advanced Options’ too!! Green mode, Direct Photo/Video Toggle, Calibrate Virtual Horizon and Copyright exif. ProCamera, it’s all about taking photos with your iPhone your way… and it’s on sale!

InFrame Foto – the iPhone multi photo framed image builder – with enhancements

I know, I know… another iPhone app that lets you put multiple photos into individual boxes on a big frame that you can then create a single image from. True, InFrame Foto is that, but it offers just enough extra included features that I thought it was worth a mention. That, and it’s today’s Free iPhone app.

The first thing to notice in InFrame Foto is that there four screens of nine options each for frame layouts. Only the first page is what I would think of as ‘standard’ layouts, the rest are much more creative.

Frames in InFrame Foto can be adjusted for line width, roundness of corners and coloring.

Tap a box to be taken to your iPhone’s photo library, choose and image and it is brought into that part of the frame. The photos can be pinch/expanded and moved around to best match the area chosen. Tap again to choose a different picture for that area if you change your mind.

A tap and hold on a photo in InFrame Foto opens the image into a photo editor. A nice enhancement to the multi image framing apps as now it is possible to get the photos closer to each other in brightness and contrast where with others you can easily get photos conflicting with each other.

The photo enhancement area continues via a swipe, offering more ways to clean up and customize each of the photos in the frames.

‘Effects’ in the editing area is InFrame Foto’s filter group. While not very large compared to other app that specialize in filters, the ones that are available are so much more than other multi image framing apps offer.

Adjustments are made through dials and sliders. Everything is temporary till you select the ‘Apply’.

I was actually pretty excited about the Text feature in InFrame Foto. Not only is the color adjustable, you can also resize and twist with the white do in the corner. Until you select the ‘Apply’ button, you can tap on the text and edit it too.

Saving to your iPhone photo library and sharing the last option on the work area screen. The image can be exported in two sizes, with the ultra-res producing an image that is 1350 x 1800. InFrame Foto also supports sharing through Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter… and there is a ‘more’ button too.

Another iPhone HDR photo app, this one with a ton of fine tuning tools

I have covered several HDR photos apps for the iPhone. Some create a HDR like photos by applying filters to lighten the dark areas and push the bright colors with a bit of a boost. Then, there are a few that take actual HDR photos which is to say they take multiple images and merge them together.

A new option (to me) is iCamera HDR. The developer claims it is the first true HDR photo app in the iTunes store… I’m not sure about that claim since I have been using a few options for years now. What intrigued me about iCamera HDR was all of the fine tuning that app lets you do to the images. After you snap the photos (manual or automatic) and the pictures are made into one, there is a long list of adjuster sliders to tweak your iPhone photos to really bring out the strong parts.

The settings area is pretty extensive too if you want to get defaults set up. Then, when getting ready to take the image, there are last second options through the buttons around the camera button for stabilization and auto/manual.

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