Android's Photography Apps - Photo Tools

While I'm shopping in Android market, this apps caught my attention. I read the review, four our of five. Hmm... not bad... So I give it a try and install it to my phone. Since it is a free apps, why not? haha, I can just uninstall it if it is not nice. After installing it, I feel it is kinda fun, some functions seems to be useful, but I cant find a place to use it wisely yet.

This contains quite a numbers of tools in it, as shown below:


-DOF & Hyperfocal Distance Calculator
-Field Of View Calculator
-Exposure Reciprocation Calculator
-Flash Exposure Calculator
-Multiple Exposure Compensation
-Minimal Shutter speed Calculator Calculator
-Sunny 16 (EV) Calculator
-Blue & Golden Hour Calculator
-Moon Phase & Exposure calculator
-Location info
-Weather Forecast
-Graycard
-Colour Wheel
-Colour Temperature Chart
-Image histogram Viewer
-Photo Enlargement Calculator
-Sharpening Radius Calculator
-Level Indicator
-Check List
-Note pad
-Grid Overlay Camera
-Gallery For Inspiration
-Simple Touch Paint
-And some website link


For a newbie like me, I would say this is a fun apps. The first thing came out in my mind when I open the apps for the first time was "What the hack is this? How do I use this?". Slowly, after spending sometime google-ing it, I manage to understand how it works and how to apply this apps to real life shooting. In the same time I've learn more about my camera, lens, and some photography calculations. 


There are a few calculators are fun. Especially the Hyperfocal Distance Calculator, Flash Exposure Calculator and the multiple exposure compensation calculator. It makes me google every doubt, just to fill in requested value. I gain knowledge from there, as well as the progress google-ing it. 


Beside that, it can locate your location by activating your GPS. With the GPS and location, it can calculate sunrise/sunset timing, moon phase & exposure and weather forecast. 


This apps come along with some diagram such as the colour wheel and colour temperature chart. This seems to be useful to me, as I always forget the colour wheel. I can just refer here when ever I need it. 


It has a checklist in it. So you can check what you have to do before you go out for shooting. You also can make a note with this apps. There is also a link to show you some inspiring photos through internet connection. Some of the photos are great, totally inspiring. 


Below are some screen shot taken from android market webpage. 

Personally feel this is more useful for landscapers. To rate this apps, I will rate it 4/5. Some of the tools are nice. Some are kind of useless to me and some are just a reference. If you had understand it, you don't need this apps. Anyway, it is just a phone apps, and it is FREE! What else do you expect from it?


Since it is a FREE apps, why not give a try, download it, and play with it. You can uninstall it anytime after you get bored with it, master everything in it or you found that it is not useful to you. It all depends on you.


You can visit here for more info or download it to your android phone. And here to understand more detail about this apps. 



Lu Ting Jieh

Is DSLR a trend?

There are more and more people getting a DSLR. In the same time, there are more and more people talking around, asking around, having a topic about DSLR , some are saying DSLR is a trend.

"Everyone is getting an DSLR because everyone is getting one."

But I think in the other way round. Is it true that everyone is getting a DSLR because everyone is getting one? Why isn't that they are getting a DSLR because they want to take a good or better pictures? I do feel like, more and more people getting to understand the important of keeping their daily live photos or the fun of sharing their photos.

Photo sharing is getting more and more common now a days. We can easily share our photos online and we can easily view others people's photos. On the other hand, digital technologies are also getting more and more common in our daily life. It is very normal that everyone have a digital camera. A very easy example to tell how common is a digital camera now a days. Just compare how a person fake pose a "shooting-a-photo" pose. When I was a kid, I put my hands right in front of my face and pose like I'm shooting with a Kodak film camera. Now, people will use their thumbs and index finger to make a frame and pose like they are using a digital live view camera. No one ask to pose like that. It just came up into their mind when you ask someone to pose a "shooting-a-photo" pose.

With a more advance photo sharing website now a days, photos can be uploaded and shared easily. The most important is, it can be view by anyone easily. Just like Facebook, it can auto resize and upload your photos. Then all of your friends can view the photos, even non friends accounts!!

On the other hand, the price of getting a DSLR is being more affordable comparing to 5 years back. Today, people are getting a DSLR because of everyone having one or people want to get a DLSR because they want to get a better picture to share/keep?



Lu Ting Jieh

First DIY Product Shooting!!

Finally I got my chance to play with my new toys as I had posted previously. I made two stupid mistakes, did not plan on how to set things up and did not bring my external flash. So I ended up spending more than half and hour to do the set up and make a instant bouncer for my pop up flash.

As you can see from the image below, this is the setup for my product photography shooting.
***Hopefully you can see the words in the picture***

I use a box as the backdrop support and a few pieces of A3 papers as backdrop. So it is does not show any transparentness.Then 2 main lights with diffuser at the side. At first, I thought of shooting with only 2 main lights and that is just not working. Without any choice, I had to use my pop up flash to add in more lights from the top. So I cut down the diffuser, and put an A3 paper on top as a reflector. As shown in the picture. 

In order to avoid direct flash, I instantly make a bouncer for it. So the light can bounce to the A3 reflector and flash on top of the product. It do helps!! A LOT!!!! Here is another two pictures showing the left and right side of the set up and another one when I turn on the main lights with the room lights off.

I started to shot with my prime lens, 50mm f1.8 which I can't really handle it for this shooting. So I change back to my kit lens 18-55mm which has a the shortest minimum focus distance, 0.18m among all my lenses.  Where I can place my camera real close to the object.

I tried to shoot at f8, where more people recommend to use. But I feel that f14 gives a sharper image when I zoom into the picture from my camera. Perhaps I should have shoot in both aperture and view it in PC. Never mind, I'll compare it again on the next shooting.

Finally, I set my camera to settings to ISO 100, f14, shutter speed at 1/6sec with pop up flash. And these are the results I've got! Not perfect , but I feel satisfy for my first product shooting. No serious image editing, only cropping, adding text and white balance to 5500k.

Will try different items in the future. Perhaps something much bigger or something that reflects light, such as glasses. Anyway, feel free to comments.

Cheers!

Lu Ting Jieh

New Toys for product photography

Recently I get attracted to product photography and DIY photography equipments. Combining these two interests it become DIY product photography.

You can find a lot of video or articles from internet. There are DIY photography websites such as : http://www.diyphotography.net/ or http://news.deviantart.com/article/55003/ . Of course there are more website sharing their ideas and concepts. Beside that, people who upload their video on youtube do help a lot and it inspire me.

During this weekend, I get myself shopping around to see what I can get for my product photography accessories.

2 light bulbs - 5500k temperature color.
2 clips or light bulb holder.
2 sets of cables
2 Pringles
1 cotton made oil filter net

The light bulbs is a bit expensive for a DIY mission, but I got no choice. I can only find this temperature color from one shop. According to my research, 5500k temperature color will be the best for photography.

I had change the original socket and cables from the clips. It just looks bad and I don't dare to use it. The cable they used is just too thin and the plug don't really fit in. So I changed it with new cables and socket where I bought it separately from another hardware shop. And the Pringles will become the snoot and/or reflector. Finally, the oil filter net will become the diffuser. Hopefully it will give good result.

Well, I got everything done but not starting to shoot yet, because my house don't have a good place for me to set up everything. There are just too many housemate and I will not have any chance to have a dark room. So , I planned to bring everything over my office and do the shooting after office hour.

Cant wait to test all the equipment!!! Hopefully it brings good results.



Lu Ting Jieh

Project Photo-sharing-graphy on the move!!!!

During my university time in Multimedia University, my friend Justine Goh bought a DLSR. As we hanging out to trips or any outings, we took a lot of photos and I like them very much. Time passes by, I bough my very first camera, Nikon D40x as my very own 21st birthday present. I start shooting and learning photography. Very soon, it become my very top ranked, #1 hobby.

After my graduation, I'm now having my career in Singapore. Time become more more valuable since ever after. I don't have as much personal time as I have during University time. Yet I'm still shooting and learning. So I intended to blog everything I've learn for photography, as a record for myself as well as sharing out all my ideas, knowledge and experiences. Although is not a professional level, but I can have a view of me improving or staying at the same level in the future.

Hopefully I'll learn more and my photography life will become more interesting after I sharing it out. Looking forward for comments, suggestion and advise from all of you all.

Feel free to join me~ =]

Lu Ting Jieh