Mobile Photography

Since many pros don’t use searchable hashtags, we've compiled a list of 30 professional photographers over ten categories (in no particular order) to highlight the best Instagram has to offer to kick off 2014.

The app lets users create photo ‘stories’ which can be shared with friends private (by default) or publicly using a dedicated Web page. In addition to using existing data from App.net, you can pick photos from Dropbox and your camera roll, make check-ins or import them from Foursquare and snap new photos (and add filters) from your phone.

The latest ad from Apple about the usefulness of their iPads got me thinking, for whatever reason, about cameras, photography, and articles that pop up from time to time to declare ambitious statements about photography.

"If you are a camera buff who is dabbling with iOS 7 for the first time, you may be spending some time in the Camera app, checking out the features available for your mobile photography needs. One feature that is not readily apparent, but important to photographers, is the grid lines."

The advancement in the technologies used in cameras for smartphones and other mobile devices already allows everyone to take photos with great quality, sharpness, vividness, color reproduction, and dynamic range. Some are even capable low light shooters.

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have each released their top posts of 2013, and now Flickr is taking a look back at some of the most beautiful and powerful images from mobile phones uploaded over the past year.

“Smartphones take photography into a whole new world,” says Cédric Tineo. “With a smartphone, you not only have a camera that allows you to capture reality, but you can also add effects. You used to need a computer to do that. It allows you to add style, create an atmosphere in order to tell your story. With just a few clicks on your screen, you can share these photos instantly with hundreds of people."

"As the proto-gentrification musical asks, "How do you measure a year?" How about measuring it in entertainment photography? If each picture says a thousand words, then consider this a 45,000-word review in review."

Holidays provide some of the best opportunities to get great photos, if you remember a few simple tips. Here’s professional photographer Nigel Barker of America’s Next Top Model, with great advice for getting the most out of every photo op.

Mobile photography is on a rise and if you enjoy snapping pictures using your iPhone then this will certainly interest you. It is a new lens adpater which has been created by Olloclip and it provides you with everything you need to take macro photos using your iPhone camera.

The Olloclip 3-in-1 Macro Photography Kit offers 7x Macro, 14x Macro and 21x Macro for super high magnification which focuses in on details and textures not easily seen by the naked eye. It also provides a tighter field of view and a higer degree of bokeh.

Photo editing is quite literally what VSCO does for a living. Specializing in photo editing add-ons for Lightroom and Aperture, VSCO has somehow managed to inject that same formula into a mobile app for your smartphone. When it hits Google Play tomorrow, VSCO Cam will come with 10 Presets (filters), and Tools (photo editing features), with 38 additional custom Presets available via in-app purchases.

The man who made 20fps possible on the iPhone gets picked up by Apple

The camera in your Android device can vary from exceptional to terrible, depending on the model of phone you own, and even the version of Android you’re running. Luckily, there are lots of apps to help you make the most of the camera you have, and even help you take, edit and share better photos. Here are some of the best.

"We’ve known since late 2012 that the Instagram logo lookalike Socialmatic camera would go from concept to reality, and since early 2013 that it would arrive with Polaroid branding, but now Polaroid is giving us specs and announcing that the Socialmatic will arrive in stores this Fall."

Many photographers experimenting with smartphone editing have realized that it's almost impossible to find one single app that does everything you want. Instead, it is more effective to rely on a workflow of multiple apps, selectively using specific tools from each. Be careful though. Too many re-saves and an image can lose quality as it is compressed over and over. Try not to save the image more than twice over if you can help it.

Fans of Sony's QX10 and QX100 lens cameras -- you know, the ones that use your smartphone as a controller/LCD but pack all of the important bits in an external unit - have reason to rejoice today, because it looks like there's a major update coming to both versions. 

The QX10 is the smaller odel, offering 18.2MP of resolution out of 1/2.3-inch sensor packed inside a 10x, f/3.3-5.9 lens.

Managing one’s photo collection completely from an iPad can be a great way to liberate oneself from the computer. The App Store has no shortage of options empowering users to view, edit, and share albums.

OkDoThis is essentially an Instragram-like app with full support for its own social network and a similar sharing function for budding photographers. There are options to find followers, to follow others, and to seek out different types of photography. But it does one thing that its competitors truly lack: It directly inspires you to go out and create more content—and even gives you ideas. Upon booting up the app your first task is to complete a “Do,” or a challenge.

"I know from various conversations that some of you aspire to be photographers. This post is for those of you curious about what a transition to professional photography might hold.

While I love what I do, my schedule is not necessarily what you’d think. Here are three cautionary observations about the not-so-glamorous side of nature photography business from my first two years."

"With Instagram Direct, Instagram is cementing itself as the sole photo sharing solution for smartphones. Systrom revealed that more than half of Instagram’s 150 million monthly active users open up the app daily, which is a shockingly high engagement rate compared to most apps. Now with private messaging, expect that number to climb even higher."

"Collages are a great way to showcase a small group of photos that tell a story in a unique way. Instead of relying on a single iconic image or an album stuffed with similar photos to symbolize a complex thought or event, try a handful of images in a unique arrangement to deliver the big picture.

These nine apps constitute a small percentage of what’s available for the iOS platform, but they represent the best or at least unique examples of the genre and can serve as a starting point for your own explorations."