iPhone Photography - Lesson 1

Learn to Master the Photographic Device

That’s Always in Your Pocket.

Welcome to the first lesson of our

iPhone Photography Class. Each
week you will receive a PDF with the
week’s lesson and you will be able to
read through the text and
photographic examples to learn the
week’s concepts.

You will be given an assignment

each week to complete by uploading
your best images to the Image Zone.

Technical Info:
In the first part of the class, we will
be talking about composition and
light. For the first assignment, you can use the native camera app that
came with your iPhone. Throughout the class, I will be introducing other
apps to you. These range in price from $.99 to $2.99 and can be
purchased through the Apple App Store online. There are lens attachments
for the phone that I will introduce you to as well, but they are not necessary
to get the most out of this class. Keep in mind, this is a beginner class to
get you thinking more creatively about your iphoneography. There are so
many concepts to cover, but we will keep it basic for this class.

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com

 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 2

So what do you think about the iPhone vs. a digital SLR? If you are a good
photographer, you can take a picture with a pinhole camera and come out
with interesting and compelling results. Think about how you will be using
the images you are taking. If you think you might want to blow up the
picture to cover your living room wall, the iPhone resolution won’t be
sufficient. But if you want to use the pictures for Facebook, Instagram,
email, or other online portfolios, then perfect! We want you to become a
stellar iPhoneographer!

You will find that images of people taken with your iPhone may have a
more candid and relaxed feel than those taken with a DSLR because
people are more used to having a Smartphone pointed at them than a large
DSLR. In some cases, your subjects may not even be aware that you are
taking a picture allowing you to create more impromptu and beautiful
imagery.

We will talk about sharing and uploading images to the internet in the 4th
week of this class. Also, there are some really fun apps out there that add
cool and interesting effects to your pictures. But, keep in mind, those fun
and interesting effects might make a good picture better, but won’t make a
bad picture good. Don’t get seduced by those cool apps and effects just
quite yet. We will work on your basic skills first, and then move on to some
of the more interesting effects.

Photo Comments:
After each assignment has been completed, I will make comments on the
work and how to improve it. This community has been created so
everyone can see each other’s work and learn from each other. Please
take advantage of this learning environment. Know that I will be there, and
encourage you every step of the way. Please feel free to comment on the
other student’s work as well. This is a fun interactive experience, so let’s
keep it upbeat and fun! I look forward to going on this journey with you!

Week 1: Introduction to the iPhone Camera and Apps

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com

 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 3

In the first week you will learn how to use the native iPhone camera and
download the various camera and processing apps to learn the basics of
iPhone Photography. We will talk about the native camera app, and
introduce you to a couple of my favorite apps to enhance, crop, and frame
your images. We will discuss the various capabilities of the apps and when
to use them. In further lessons, I will introduce you to additional apps that
you will need to download.

The iPhone Camera Basics

Wondering how to take better pictures

with your iPhone camera? Ever found
yourself taking a picture with your
iPhone only to discover the photo came
out less than perfect? Sometimes you
only have one opportunity to capture a
moment, so you want to ensure
everything is right and your photo
doesn't come out looking like it was
taken with a cheap and flimsy point and
shoot camera.

Phone cameras have come a long way

since the original iPhone in 2007. The new iphone 6 currently sports an 8
megapixel sensor with an f2.2 aperture and an advanced flash, but basic
photography skills and some minor editing will help make sure you're
getting the best shots possible. If you don’t have the latest model iPhone,
you are still going to be able to produce amazing images, but the newest
phone is just that much better.

First Things First…

The first thing you should know about iPhone cameras is that they’re
compositionally based and highly creative and fun tools when used with the
apps and filters I will introduce to you. They are easy to use, with no
traditional camera settings or knowledge. Just point and shoot. They do
have limitations though, and won’t take the place of the traditional

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 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 4

sharpness and quality of Nikon, Canon or other name brand digital

cameras with interchangeable lenses known as DSLR’s. Optical quality,
exposure control, low light sensitivity and high resolution for optimum print
quality are the results you get with a high end camera. They also have a
long learning curve that must be achieved before they produce the
expected results. They far exceed Smart Phones in quality reproduction for
the traditional and professional photographic services they are intended for.

All this said, the one thing you will soon discover is that compelling and
striking images can trump the device used to capture it, regardless of the
end quality. Remember, a camera is a box that captures light and records
it, that’s all. It won’t make you an instant fine art photographer just because
you capture an image with it. What and how you choose to control, direct,
change and alter that light before and after you capture it will clearly define
you as a photographer.

The end quality is not as

important with iPhone
photography as the
sheer joy of instant
creativity at your
fingertips 24/7, and all at
a minimal investment in
time and money. Be
aware, if you do catch
the creative iPhone
photography bug, it may
lead you into a realm of
traditional DSLR
photography with it’s
endless levels and
areas of creativity.
Come on back to us, and we’ll show you how to use that too!

Rule of Thirds Grid

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com

 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 5

Before we jump into this amazing and creative tool, I want you learn how to
see the world is a different way. A very basic rule in photography that you
should always keep in
mind when using any
type of camera is the
“The Rule Of Thirds
Grid”.

Most of the camera

apps within the iPhone
will give you an option to
open a rule of thirds
grid. Make sure you
have that grid turned on.
You can access the grid
control either by going
into the camera settings with your iphone, or within the individual app. It
varies by phone model and app. The grid is used as a compositional
guideline which can apply to most all of the pictures you take. Basically,
the strongest elements in an image will fall into the intersection of the rule
of third grid. As you can see in the image above, the oak tree falls in the
strongest area of the image.

The rule of thirds is one of the most important aspects of photography

composition. After being a photographer for 45 years, I still use this rule as
my main go-to tool when composing a photograph. The cross hairs on this
grid are the most powerful places to locate a subject. Your subject can be
one object at the cross hairs of this grid, or several objects causing your
eye to move around the picture to each important point in the picture. The
rule of thirds also applies when shooting horizons. The most powerful point
for a horizon is either ⅓ up from the bottom or ⅓ down from the top. In
other words, make a commitment, don’t leave your horizon in the middle of
an image.
The iPhone native camera app (the one that comes with the iPhone) has a
setting to turn on the grid. In order to enable the camera grid lines In the
iPhone 5 and the iPhone 6, the grid is turned on within the settings of the

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 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 6

phone under Photos and Camera / Grid.

Go To
Settings
Grid

Photos &
Camera

Ready, Steady, Go!

I've been in situations where I've wanted to quickly whip out my Phone in
order to snap a photo on the go, but I wasn't keeping my hand steady
enough. One thing you can do is use a small tripod for more creative pre-

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 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 7

visualized or “selfie” moments. Many types of

tripods are available for the iPhone. For that
quick handheld snap, the app, Camera+
helps by including an image stabilizer option,
monitoring how steady your hand is and
taking the photo only when you're making the
least amount of movement. However, if
you're using the default Camera app, there is
optical image stabilization available on the
iPhone 6 Plus. As such, keeping your Phone
as steady as you can is a good way to make
sure you're getting the sharpest image
possible, especially in low light conditions. No drive by photography!

This Week’s Apps for Still Photography

All of the apps listed in this class can be purchased through the App
store on on your iPhone. Make sure when you download the app, the
picture icon and the name EXACTLY matches the ones listed here. All
of them are very inexpensive, and these are the best ones I have
found to date, although that’s changing daily! I will introduce new
apps in each lesson, so please download them as we go through each
class.

The two apps I am introducing in this class allow you to maximize your
mobile images by separating the functions of focus and exposure. It’s
important to place the exposure point over the area that you feel is most
important in your image. Watch out for areas that could “blow out” (become
pure white) or are clipped (become pure black.) Use the focus point to
define the area of sharpest focus.

Camara+ Camara+ is my go to app when I take any

pictures with my iPhone. This app has the ability to
separate exposure and focus points. You will have editing
capabilities as well as multiple frames and filters.

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com

 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 8

VSCO Cam VSCO Cam is my other favorite app when I

take any pictures with my iPhone. This app has very
clear image resolution and has the ability to separate
exposure and focus points which is vital in creating
optimal imagery.

Motion Photography

We won’t be discussing motion photography specifically in this

course but video and motion photography in the iPhone native app is
amazing. Now with the quality the iPhone is producing it’s more fun than
ever. Be sure to check out these features.

Time-Lapse This one really opens one’s eyes to the world around us in a
special way, one frame at a time. It’s essential to secure your iPhone in
one position for a period of time for this app to work. I recommend a small
tripod device for this or setting the camera down on a flat secured space.
You’ll be taking 100’s of images and playing them back. This will reveal a
new world to you you’ve never known. Caution! This app is highly
addictive.

Slo-Mo Slo motion is fascinating. This app explores its possibilities without
end. I recommend some kind of tripod for both this app as well. With Slo-
Mo on the iPhone 6, you will capture video at 240 frames-per-second. On
the iPhone 5, you can record at 120 frames-per-second. When played
back at real time, the magic begins and the world of slow motion is

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com

 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 9

revealed. There is endless creative fun with

this feature.

Light is Your New Best Friend

Light is a big factor in taking great pictures,

and it's important to understand the basics
when using your iPhone camera under
certain lighting conditions.

Taking photos where there isn't enough

light can heavily impact the overall picture
quality, so make sure there is as much light
as possible. Although the cameras and
sensors baked into the newer smart
Phones are better these days, you'll still
notice some digital noise in low light
conditions which will affect the overall
quality and clarity of your image.

The iPhone excels in many areas, but In dark environments, it does not. It
has a built in flash, but I would still recommend to avoid shooting with it. Be
cautious when using the flash. The flash has improved significantly, but it
can create obvious over lit or blown out conditions. So, just test it out. Do
one picture with the flash and one without. With some of the editing
programs that we will be talking about in this class, you may be able to pull
photo information out of the shadows and avoid the over exposed look of
the flash.

To Zoom, or Not to Zoom

Most point-and-shoot cameras feature an optical zoom of around 3x-5x,

which is great for shooting at a distance. However this unfortunately isn't so
with the iPhone (and all smart phone cameras, for that matter). When Apple
released iOS 4 they threw in a digital zoom feature for the Camera app, but
I've never found myself actually using it due to how pixelated the pictures

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 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 10

usually turn out. When you use the digital zoom feature you'll be losing a
significant amount of quality, so unless it's absolutely necessary, try to stay
away from using digital zoom as much as you can. Zoom with your feet!

Later in this course we will talk about some optical lens attachments
available for zooming. These are a better option.

Native Camera App Panorama

The iPhone native

app comes with a
great panorama
feature. When you
use the panorama,
use it by holding the
camera vertically and
tap the shutter button,
then simply glide the
phone continuously
through the scene
until you are ready to
stop following the
direction of the arrow.
Then tap the shutter
button again to

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com

 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 11

complete the image.

The fun thing about this panorama app is that

you create a tall narrow panorama by holding the
phone vertically. Turn the camera on its side and
follow the arrow pointing up. Start with a palm
tree, or something tall and skinny, and pan all the
way up and over your head to get this effect.

As far as the native camera app is concerned, I

really don’t use it very often. I use it mainly for this
panorama feature and occasionally for the video
capabilities. The other apps that I have mentioned
do a much better job, so let’s jump in, and learn
about a few of these apps.

Camera+

When you first open up an app, it’s important to have

the settings set up correctly. The settings screen in
Camera+ can be accessed on the right side of the
screen at the bottom.

With all of these apps, I always have my pictures sent

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com

 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 12

to the camera roll within the iPhone. The reason for this is so you can
easily find your images. If each app you used saved your images for you in
the app itself, you’d have a lot of lost images. Here are the settings I
prefer, play with them to see if they work for you.

Camera+ is one of my favorite camera apps on the iPhone mainly because

it gives you easy to use exposure and focus capabilities. When you open
the Camera+ (camera icon) you will see the image capture area. Tap on
the screen and a square will appear with a + in the top right corner. The
square is your focus point. You can move that square around your image,
and tap on it to focus on a certain area. If you tap on the + in the top right
hand corner of the focus square, it will open an exposure ring. Move the
exposure ring out of the focus square and around the image and you will

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 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 13

see the light exposure change. Move it until the exposure is correct for
your situation.

Tap on + Brings up the Focus Square and Exposure Ring

Notice the palette below the image area, you see you have the ability to
make adjustments to your image while you are shooting. The first icon
allows you to turn on or off the Auto settings, the second setting lets you
change the exposure globally in the picture with an exposure
compensation slider. The last icon allows you to set your white balance
depending on the light conditions.

Now that you have taken the image, we want to pull it back into Camera+
for some editing. See the little star in the bottom left hand corner of your
screen? Click on that and it will open up a lightbox where you can edit the
images you are working on.

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com

 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 14

In the top right hand corner of the light box is another +. Click on this +
and it will bring you to your camera roll where you can import 1 or many
images of your choice. A unique feature of this import box is that it has a
magnifying glass that will let you view the image close up before importing.
Many times I will have several images that are similar, this way you can
zoom in on the image that you want.

Click import and it will bring your image into the Camera+ lightbox. Now
you will have the option to edit this
image. Make sure the image you want
to work on is highlighted, and click on
edit. It will open up editing options.

Once you have the editing palette

open, experiment with the different
options. Clarity is my favorite editing
option here. Once you have used the
clarity editing option, you can save
your image. Then bring the picture that
has just been edited back into Camera
+ and go through the steps again that I
just outlined. Basically, you are
creating a layered photograph by
editing it, then saving it and bringing it
back into Camara +. You will have
many versions of the same picture in
your camera roll. It’s a good idea to go
in and erase some of those when you
are done with your editing. Some of
the results are amazing. Here’s a
series of images that I used just the
clarity editing tool and repeated it
several times to get this effect.

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 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 15

Original Image One pass with Clarity Filter

Here is the same image with Multiple Passes With Clarity Filter and an
Added Border.

Experiment with the different filters

and presets in Camara + and don’t
forget to go through the different
frames. The preset filters are fun to
see the effects, and check out the lab
and see the different options available
there. If you think this app is cool,
this is just the beginning!

See the attached video for a

Camera + tutorial.

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com

 iPhone Photography - Lesson #1 - 16

VSCO Cam

This is my favorite app for clarity and quality of imagery.

It also separates the focus and exposure points similar to
Camera+. You have the ability to edit in this app, use
some of their presets and also participate in their online
community. I find their automatic exposure and focus
features to be very simple and effective.

When you first open the app, it will prompt you with a Get Started Screen
and to create an account. Don’t worry, they won’t bother you or send you
email, but they won’t let you start using it without creating an account.

To start using the app, hit “+” in the top left hand corner, and then “capture
a photo”. The photo screen will come up. In the top left hand corner is a
circle which will let you select a variety of shooting options. You can bring
up a “rule of thirds” grid, a square crop template, a level line, as well as the
ability to use the screen as a shutter, a white balance lock and the ability to
reverse the screen. To activate the focus point, tap once with one finger. To
activate the focus and exposure points, tap once with two fingers. The
focus and exposure points can be moved around to select the appropriate
areas that you want to select.

Watch the video for more detail on VSCO Cam.

Note: The app producers are continually updating these apps by

adding new filters, options and frames. Be sure to keep your apps up
to date when the app store shows they need to be upgraded. It is no
cost to do this and will enhance your iPhoneography experience!

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com

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Assignment for Week One:

1) Practice with the rule of thirds using Camera+, VSCO Cam or the
Panorama app we discussed in this lesson. Upload your best shot that
shows you understand this concept.

2) Bring another one of your favorites from the above exercise into
Camera + and use the Clarity filter 4 times (use the filter, save the picture,
open the edited picture and apply the filter again). See where the picture
looks the best!

3) Practice using the panorama app either in the vertical or horizontal mode
discussed in this lesson. Post your favorite one.

4) Optional Challenge: Place a subject in harsh window light. Use either

Camera + or VSCO cam and practice with separating the focus and
exposure points. Upload to your computer and evaluate the best ones and
post in the Image Zone. Practice this tool, it will help you understand how
the iPhone plays with light.

Upload only the best of the best of your images.

Upload your images from this week's assignment by Sunday evening,
May 17th by 10PM PST.

Please feel free to ask questions in our Image Zone, or send me an email:
hhjphoto@gmail.com Most importantly, Have fun!

Holly
Blog: www.JansenPhotoExplorations.com
Expeditions: www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com
All photo and text is © Holly Higbee-Jansen, all rights reserved worldwide. No form of
reproduction or usage is permitted without the express written permission of Holly Higbee-
Jansen.

Holly Higbee-Jansen www.JansenPhotoExpeditions.com hhjphoto@gmail.com