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Wednesday 13 August 2014

Photo Apps on iPad, Tablets or Phones

I was asked the other day to give a short course for a group of ladies about using photo apps on an iPad or Tablet. Photoshop Touch came with my Samsung Galaxy Tab and I thought this might be worth teaching so I set about teaching myself the app in earnest.

Actually, there is very little out there on it and I eventually got quite proficient but it is honestly not an easy app to use if you haven't used Photoshop or Photoshop Elements and certainly not an app you could teach to a group of ladies who haven't used a photo editor before.

I wanted to find a app that worked on both iPad and other tablets and possibly a phone too. I also wanted an app that had funky filters so that people could have fun changing their photographs. Well, I came across some great options and I am still in the process of trying them out but the one I tried today was Snapseed and I have to say I like it immensely. The great thing is that it's free! I might see if I can get a video together to show you how it works if there is some interest.

I used photos that had something wrong with them so that I could fully test the features of the app. Here is my first example:


I honestly thought this photograph was a lost cause but I had great fun messing about with it in Snapseed and was delighted with the result:


If I was to do it again I would cut the chap off on the right which I think spoils the composition and the texture that was applied makes the neck of the young lady on the right look dirty so I would try a different texture.

The app takes a little getting used to until you realise how to swipe the tablet properly. When you are within an adjustment panel dragging your finger left and right lowers or increases the intensity of the adjustment such as brightness. Dragging your finger up and down gives you different kinds of adjustments such as saturation or contrast. It took me a while to discover the second option.

The main adjustment I used here was the Selective Adjust and to start off with it seems impossible to use but when you get the hang of it, it is an extremely powerful tool. I was able to add a 'control point' to highlight myself on the left and up the brightness, then add one to the young lady on the left to do the same. I could control the area which was effected by the adjustment. Finally I could up the contrast of the buildings in the distance.

I then added an HDR Scape which made it really pop. I think I then I added a Retrolux and finally a Frame. I have to say I can't quite remember the steps as I was so engrossed in trying out different options.

Here is my next example with two completely different sets of effects.  I have reduced the quality of the images for the internet but both the original and result were good quality:




With this third example I tried all sorts of effects on the same photo so it became a bit of a mish-mash of adjustments and the final result not quite what I wanted but an interesting exercise:



My final example took less than 5 minutes to produce!

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