Snapseed: Getting the most out of your camera phone

Introduction

"The best camera is the one you have with you". That has to be one of the most popular quotes online when it comes to photography. As far as I can tell, it is usually attributed to Barry Staver, but then again looking at his site implies he is paraphrasing somebody else! Still, in these days of camera phones, it has truly taken on new significance.

The camera always with you

Being a technology geek, I've always been interested in camera phones. I can remember buying a phone attachment for a Nokia phone 10 years ago, which plugged in the bottom and offered something like 1MP, which I thought was amazing. At the same time, the phone didn't have internet, cost a fortune to picture message people and the photos were, unsurprisingly, rubbish. In comparison, I had a 3MP compact at the time which could take much better photos.

Over the years, I gradually got used to using camera phones for some photos, but have never been too much of a fan of them. They always seemed perfect for recording something quickly (like a funny sign or quick shot on a night out), but most certainly inferior to a compact or a DSLR. This isn't a surprise, but I always found it odd how people seemed so happy to give up all other cameras simply because they had a camera on their phone.

Filters: making your state of the art look old

Then...Instagram happened. Hipstamatic had already popularised the use of filters in photos, but Instagram really brought it to the masses. With a few quick clicks, you could make your dull, flat photos appear artier or like they were taken with an old camera. The effect quickly got overused, but when used correctly it could enhance the photo in question. 

It also helped to get around the limitations of a camera phone (such as no true zoom, no control over the photo, lower quality etc). What it did make me realise is that camera phones could potentially take photos which, whilst not necessarily going to be works of art, could take photos that could hold their own.

Snapseed: letting you edit photos properly on the go 

Snapseed is an app acquired by Google and available for free, which found a lot of people rushing to download it following the Instagram Terms of Reference debacle. It doesn't have a share facility, but it does have the ability to edit photos in a simple manner. This covers things like cropping, tilting, adjusting contrast and so on. 

For example, the photo above was taken on a recent trip to Lloyd's of London from a lift. It's the sort of shot I'd love to take properly with my DSLR, but funnily enough didn't have that with me. It's also the sort of shot I'd previously have dismissed taking with my camera phone, for that very reason. However, I gave it a shot, knowing I could try out using Snapseed. The result surprised me; the original photo was okay but a little drab, whereas this ended up a nicely framed and dynamic photo!

Snapseed also has the option to use filters, much like Instagram and its ilk. I decided to try that out on this shot of the lift shaft at Lloyd's. The lift roof wasn't the clearest and it was a dull day, so again this is a photo I'd usually have avoided. The filter may not have been the best choice, but I liked the fact it added interest to an otherwise average shot. 

Some general tips

Snapseed has limitations

One of the problems with something like Snapseed is it is a victim of its own success. Namely, the features it have are so well implemented, that it makes you wish it could do more. For example, the ability to do some repair/clone type things would be great. It also can be a little too easy to fall into the filter trap (which I kinda did with the lift photo); rather than planning a photo in advance and thinking about the sort of effect to add, you end up taking a photo then cycling through all filters until you find one you like.

This isn't a problem that befalls just camera phones to be fair; all too often, you see DSLR shots that are black and white where it is obvious the photographer didn't plan that, they just decided black and white would make the photo interesting. 

Camera phones have lots of limitations

Camera phones are slowly killing the compact camera market, but that isn't because camera phones take better photos. Indeed, people who state that haven't seen the sort of photos digital compacts can take these days. The one advantage they have (which is why they win out overall) is convenience. That said, the limitations do mean you have to put more thought into your photos than sometimes people realise. For example:

• Don't use zoom (it is just fancy cropping) - move closer or further away as needed
• Think about lighting - you can't change ISO, so you'll have to go with the camera decision
• You may be able to select the focal point, but you can't change the exposure length
• There's usually a delay between snapping and recording, so try to keep still!

Think what subject suits it best

The convenience factor means that camera phones do lend themselves to some photos more than others. It is a way of capturing photos that you don't have time to setup for, that you would otherwise miss with an unwieldy camera. Don't simply use it to replace a compact or a DSLR!

Summary

Using Snapseed has been a fun experience and has encouraged me to play with my camera phone some more. It won't replace my trusty 60D, but then that would be asking a lot. What I do intend to use it for is to see if I can think about my photos in more detail and get used to working with (rather than against) the limitations in place. DSLRs are great, but their power can make it too easy to take photos. Camera phones mean you have to work a little harder to take truly great photos, which will hopefully mean better photos from my DSLR as well!

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Beaulieu Classic Cars - shooting automobiles

Introduction

The recent wet weather of late meant that we needed to find someplace dry to visit at the weekend. Beaulieu Car Museum has been on our todo list ever since we moved to Hampshire, so we decided this was the perfect opportunity! It also gave me the chance to have a go at shooting cars; as much as I love my Ford Focus, it isn't the most photogenic of cars, especially when compared to the well polished, beautiful cars on display at Beaulieu! As usual, I thought I'd share some tips I found after yesterday, including some I'd consider for next time.

How to shoot cars, some tips

Location matters

VW Beetle, click the image to visit my website

Funnily enough, this was something I didn't have much control over at Beaulieu, but the location matters as much as the car itself. You don't want to have your nice, shiny car stuck in a car park in your photos, and you should give some consideration to what is going on in the back as much as the front.

So how do you get around that at somewhere like Beaulieu? Choose your angles carefully. Try to find a way to minimise background distractions like people, signage or other cars. If you can't avoid people being in the background, WAIT. sometimes, only a few seconds of patience can result in the background suddenly becoming clear. Alternatively, a long exposure could help to blur out people (if they're moving), further reducing distractions

Little details can be just as fulfilling

Mercedes Benz, click the image to visit my website

When photographing cars, the temptation is to try and fill the frame with the whole car. However, things like badges, decal and wheels can be just as iconic to photograph. In the example above, I didn't get the whole car in, but you know instantly it is a Mercedes Benz from the badge. If you have the time, a series of photos of a car could be especially nice, encorporating a full view plus closeups of little features like badges.

Wide angles and tripods

Bond's Aston Martin, please click the image to visit my website

If you do choose to go for a full view of the car, you're going to need a wide angle shot. Try to pick an angle different to the sort you'd normally see. Here, I tried a low angle, which also helped exaggerate the curves of the car.

The second point, as shouldn't be a surprise, is a tripod is essential. The lighting indoors will be enough to photograph with, but without a tripod you'll find yourself having to up the ISO, which will do these cars no favours. Get your tripod setup, get the remote out and get snapping!

Summary

I had a great time at Beaulieu, despite not being that much of a petrolhead. From a photographic perspective, it wasn't the ideal settings for shooting cars (no control over lighting, positioning or backgrounds), but in some ways that can be a more fun challenge. I'm some way off times when I'm going to have access to an Aston Martin to photograph as I see fit, so going to museums like this represents a great chance!

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Winchester at Night: Shooting in low light

Introduction

On the last day of my holiday, I decided to have a go at shooting some night shots. Ideally, this would be around sunset (e.g. the 'golden hour'), but having a toddler around means by the time he's played with, fed, bathed and put to bed, it's getting dark! That can be a summer project; in the meantime, it's pure daytime or nighttime shots for me.

Living not far from Winchester, this is an ideal candidate for night shots. The gothic design of Winchester Cathedral gives it an eerie feeling at night, plus the traffic mixed with old architecture often gives the opportunity for interesting light trails. As it happens, this time around I didn't get any light trails I was happy with, but I still managed to capture a couple of photos of the city in general.

I like shooting later in the day, because things tend to be quieter. This allows you to find a spot you're happy with, get setup and take it without having to contend with crowds etc. The need for a long shutter speed also means you tend to blur out people or cars that cross your photo, giving you clear shots of areas you may not have been able to take during the day.

Low light tips

Low light doesn't usually mean night

It's a mistake I've made numerous times in the past, but the best time to shoot low light photos is not actually at night. Instead, it is around the golden hour periods, such as around sunrise or sunset. This is because the sun's first/last rays of the day result in interesting colours, as well as contrasting with artificial lights just starting to switch on. If you're going to shoot in the golden hour, make sure you are in place in advance of it; it will disappear rapidly and you won't have time to start scouting around for new locations!

Tripod and Remote Release are musts

Needless to say, the low light means your shutter speed will be too slow to hand hold. Therefore, you're going to have to invest in a tripod. Prices for tripods vary greatly, and whilst it is worth investing in a decent one, you'll most likely need to make a tradeoff around things like weight and sturdiness. 

A remote release is another must, because even the click of the shutter button will result in shake. If you don't have a release, you can reduce the chance of this through using the timer, but if you're trying to get something like light trails that may mean missing a shot. A wired remote release will not set you back much, and means you can focus and shoot without being pressed to the camera (allowing you to use live view).

Another benefit of a remote release is when it comes to bulb mode. Bulb mode allows you to shoot for longer than the maximum shutter speed of other modes (30 seconds), but requires you to hold down the shutter button. With a remote, you can lock it in place, leaving you free to let go, walk around, whatever.

Get used to calculating long exposures

If light is so low that you need to go into bulb mode, you're going to need to work out a way to time the exposure accurately. Apps such as LongTime for your phone can help with this, but I find using ISOs is a simple and quick method. The way it works is as follows:

• You should be using ISO 100 for your night shots, so in Aperture Priority mode, set this to the desired aperture.
• If this is less than 30 seconds, then you've nothing to worry about, just fire away
• If it is more than 30 seconds, put the ISO up to 200 and see what the shutter speed now is. Let's say for arguments sake it is exactly 30 seconds.
• Every time you increase the ISO by a full stop (e.g. double it), you halve the shutter speed needed for a given aperture. Therefore, 30 seconds at ISO 200 = 1 minute at ISO 100
• Noting your aperture value, set your camera to bulb, set the aperture to the value from before and the ISO back to 100, and then open the shutter for 1 minute (timing however you like)
• If at ISO 200 you still weren't able to get the shutter speed under 30 seconds, try at ISO 400. If you manage at that, then you'd need to double the time then double it again (e.g. 2 minutes at ISO 100). If needs be, keep doubling the ISO, just remember that also means doubling the time further at ISO 100!

Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral is one of the largest in the UK, and the gothic front is a great candidate for low light! Whilst usually the barrel effect of wide angle is seen as detrimental, I think it adds to the eerie nature of the Cathedral in this case, as it helps to emphasis how imposing it really is. One of the benefits of the long exposure is also evident; there's no people in the shot, despite various people walking in front of me at the time!

I'd like to return and shoot at the golden hour to try and get some life in the sky behind. Whilst the black is imposing, I think detail from clouds would really make the Cathedral stand out. As I said earlier, one for next time!

The River Itchen

This was my favourite shot of the night, of the river Itchen flowing from Winchester Mill. Again, the benefits of low light photography come into play:

1. There's no people in the shot (despite being next to the popular pub, the Bishop on the Bridge)
2. There's no cars in the shot (though some light trails remain)
3. The water has been rendered smooth, rather than choppy

This is a shot that could have been taken earlier in the day, but I don't think would have been as atmospheric. The shutter speed would have been faster (unless I used ND filters), meaning the water would have had more movement and therefore been more distracting. Instead, I've gotten a shot which offers a relatively different perspective to what people would see during the day!

Summary

Low light/night photography offers a chance to take a step back and slow down your photography, something that gets overlooked in the digital age by many (due to the instant feedback provided). Instead of being able to shoot in burst and end up with hundreds of shots, you're time is spent setting up, waiting for a long exposure to complete and then seeing if it worked. I'm not saying that burst mode means you shouldn't do all the setting up, just that it is a step we often forget to do these days!

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Red Arrows: The joys of photographing fast planes

Red Arrows

The Red Arrows are the RAF display team for the UK, and their red jets have become an iconic symbol to see at major events. They are based out of RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, and on a recent visit to family, I was fortunate enough to get the chance to see them practising overhead. Of course, this wasn't without it's difficulties, which I'll go into in a minute!

Photographing planes (and fast ones at that!): Some tips

Telephoto is your friend

Funnily enough, even when they're flying low, planes will still be quite small to photograph unless you have your telephoto zoom handy. I was using my Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II Lens, which taking into account the crop factor on my 60D meant I could zoom to about 400mm. As you can see from the photos below, that meant I could just about fill the frame when the planes were up close.

High Shutter speed and AI-Servo are your other friends

As I was trying to capture the detail of the planes, I wanted as high a shutter speed as I could. This also ensured things like smoke trails were frozen in time, rather than becoming too streaky. Of course, you may want to have some blur if you want to show how fast the planes are going; as always, it's up to you! This is especially true of propellors; a fast shutter speed can result in propellors being stationary, which can ruin the flight illusion slightly.

The second thing needed, given the planes are in motion, was the switching of Autofocus from 'One Shot' to 'AI Servo'. These may be called something different on your camera, but a general summary is:

• One Shot - focussing on stationary objects. This is the normal mode, whereby you focus on on object and retain that focus only. If said object subsequently moves around (such as closer or further away), then they may move out of focus and would require you to refocus
• AI Servo - for action shots. Here, you select the object to focus on, and the camera will try and retain the focus on that object as it moves. Certainly not foolproof, but it will at least try and keep focussing as whatever you are trying to photograph moves around

(Note: there is a third option typically which attempts to merge these, so that focus locks on something stationary but then switches to servo if it starts moving. This isn't that reliable though, and most people stick the mode they know they want)

Fast planes definitely fit into the category of moving, so AI Servo was the best option. It is also useful when doing panning shots, which would have been an option here had I wanted.

Panning and anticipation

The last tip I'd give would be to try and prepare for the shot in question, rather than just pointing and firing. The process I followed was something like:

1. Work out where the plane would be coming from. This was a mixture of listening to the engine roar and looking for telltale signs like smoke trails.
2. Work out where the plane would be going. Is the plane going overhead or across me? This helps me work out what direction I would be panning
3. Find the plane with lens at minimum zoom. This makes it easier to get the plane in position before then zooming in
4. Once zoomed in, get focus lock on the plane and start panning with it
5. SHOOT PHOTOS!
6. Keep panning in same direction after I stopped

Panning is something that comes with practice, but the aim should be to move in a smooth manner in relation to the object. You don't necessarily shoot for the duration of this, and in reality you should start panning, snap photos, then keep panning. This ensures that the first/last photos aren't too blurry potentially.

Summary

As you'd expect, the tips I listed above were what I learned as I went. I was fortunate to be able to keep getting shots, as they went around similar loops several times. I'm hoping to get to Farnborough Air Show this year, when maybe I'll be able to get some formation shots and be a little more adventurous with my framing.

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