Welcome to my iPhoneography workflow. Here, I'll share the images I create with my iPhone and the hand-picked, trial-and-error methods I use to capture and edit them with.
Hello everyone! Today, I will show you how I photographed this image with my iPhone, and what apps I used to complete this wonderful shot titled, "Warmth."
I started off by getting up nice and early and heading down to my favorite lake. It's always very satisfying to shoot a sunrise or sunset in my opinion. Most of the time, I like to capture another beautiful subject in the foreground. Walking around the lake, I noticed this great-looking weed growing on the edge of the lake. Perfect. It had great shape and character. I started off in my Camera+ ($1.99) app, which I use to take my photos 99 percent of the time.
It's also important to note that the sun had not came up yet. The beautiful light was on the horizon. This is the BEST time to shoot your sunrise/sunset shots. Now, I want to catch this great looking weed, and at the same time catch the beautiful dawn light approaching. Using Camera+, I focus on the weed by touching the screen in the app. This brings up the focus and exposure settings. Slide the focus onto your subject, and slide the exposure adjustment around to catch the lighting to your liking. Always, always, take multiple shots of your subjects to ensure you catch a quality shot with no blur or interference. Finally, I used the Scenes setting in Camera+ and used the Darkened filter. I then saved the photo to Camera Roll.
I then took this photo into Mextures ($1.99). This app has wonderful color settings and an easy-to-use interface. I used the Citrus filter and adjusted it to my liking before saving to Camera Roll.
Next, I brought the photo into LensFlare ($1.99). This app is the best, as well as Lens Light and Alien Sky for adding sun features, stars, lightning, and many, many more awesome effects. I chose Lens Flare for a certain sun effect. I used the Sun Fire effect here. I first placed it just on the horizon to imitate the sun rising. There are adjustments, which I suggest you always use to your liking. I saved the effect I placed on the horizon (in the app), and used the Sun Fire effect again for the reflection off the lake.
After I placed the effect on the lake for a reflection look, I used the brightness adjustment. I brought the brightness down a little to imitate the reflection more realistically and saved to Camera Roll.
Next, I brought the photo into Distressed FX ($0.99). I used the Birds setting here. I chose the Trio of birds to add to this photo and saved to Camera Roll. Since I wanted to erase two of the birds in the trio, but really wanted to keep the one, I brought the photo into iPhoto ($4.99). I really like this app for this type of thing. I opened up the Tool Box setting, then tapped the Paintbrush effect. Then I tapped on the repair brush, and zoomed in on the first bird I wanted to erase. I gently used my fingertip to slide over the bird, and it disappeared. I repeated this step on the second bird, and kept the last one just as I wanted. I must say, iPhoto is great for repairing anything in your photo you wish didn't get in. I actually erased a whole person in one photo, and it still turned out great.
Last, I brought the photo into iWatermark ($1.99) to superimpose my name on the photo. I make it small, and usually put it in the bottom corner of my photos. This helps show ownership. The app has a great variety of fonts to personalize your watermark.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my iPhoneography workflow this week. If you have any questions or tips, please feel free to leave a comment, and I will reply. It's very satisfying to be able to lend my knowledge of iPhoneography to you. Many folks have done this for me, and I feel I must give back. I would suggest taking the tips I have discussed and writing them down in four or five steps to simplify it for you. Now you're ready to put them to use.