Kat Eye Studio

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Impressions of the iPhone 6s

I’ve had my new iPhone 6s for a little over two weeks now, so it’s time to share my impressions. Was it worth it to upgrade?  Let’s see…

  
The Device

First, let’s talk about the device itself. Wow, is it fast! Everything is faster to respond… Touch ID, opening an app, focusing in the camera, booting the device… Everything. There is a noticeable difference between my old device, the 5s, and this one. Just in daily interaction, that’s a great overall improvement.

The 3D Touch is very cool. It takes some getting used to, getting the press right to get the quick menu. The device gives a little “click” vibrate when you get it right, a nice little piece of feedback, and the background blurs as the quick menu comes up with four shortcuts. Do a quick tap on your selection, and bam, the app is opening to just the right place.

  
These short cuts combined with the overall speed of the device make a big difference in how quickly you can get in and begin using an app. Unfortunately not all apps are using 3D Touch yet, but hopefully this will be adopted broadly soon. I can see that I’m going to quickly get used to 3D Touch; I’ve already tried to use it on my iPad Air without thinking. 

(One future improvement: It would be nice to be able to program your own menus. I’d love to program different modes on my camera app for even quicker access. Maybe someday!)

The Hey Siri feature, which allows you to use voice to access Siri when the device is locked without pressing the home button, is useful too. It was added for all devices in iOS 9, but for the 6s you don’t have to be connected to a power source in order to use it. I’ve been driving and used Hey Siri to read me texts, without ever touching the phone. Cool.

Finally, coming from the 5s, I’m finding the larger screen of the 6s nicer than I thought. It was especially helpful at my last art fair, when people were signing for credit cards – more space for that awkward fingertip signature. It’s still small enough to fit in my pocket or the palm of my hand, so the larger size is an improvement and not a detriment. The 6s Plus would definitely be too big for me.

Other than that, no real observations on the device itself. Battery life seems fine. I’m having no problem with overheating, like some people are experiencing. I’ve had a couple of instances where it’s gone into a deep sleep mode for apparently no reason, and I have to reboot to get it out. I’ll be watching that closely.

The Camera

Oh, but you wanted to know about the camera, right? Well, for starters it’s twelve glorious Megapixels and you notice it! The sensor size is 4032 x 3024 pixels, giving me just a bit more detail in every photograph and a little more room to crop of I need to. The aperture remains the same at f/2.2 and field of view is 29mm, so no real changes from the 5s there. Minimum focal distance seems about the same, at 2-3 inches. (I didn’t do any scientific tests here.)

Like everything on the 6s, the camera is fast. It’s quicker to focus and expose for each frame. Between that and opening the device and apps quicker, it means I can start taking photographs faster when I see something interesting. Very nice.

Detail, color, and sharpness of the images are all very good. Here’s an unedited JPEG, full resolution and straight out of the camera, to give you a better idea. The largest branch in the lower right of the frame is where I set my focus point. Zoom in to see the details.

  
I haven’t tried out any photographs in low light to see the performance there, but will let you know when I do.

That’s all about the back camera, and there are improvements in the front camera too. It’s now 5MP, up from 2MP on the 5s. I don’t use the front camera a lot, but I’m sure the family selfies I take on vacation will see some improvements. Woohoo.

The Verdict

Overall, the iPhone 6s is a noticeable improvement over the 5s, both as a camera and a general purpose device. The upgrade was worth it for me!

The only problem… All of my aftermarket lenses and cases no longer fit! I’m trying to decide what to do with them. Stay tuned, I may give them away here! 

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When to Buy new Camera Gear

Like many people across the US, I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of a new iPhone 6s today. Exciting! I’ve been hoping Apple would increase the resolution on the cameras, and they finally did with these latest devices. 

It’s highly unusual for me to be one of the first people to get a new device. Technology for technology’s sake doesn’t excite me. Over time, I have developed some personal guidelines I follow around upgrading gear, which keeps me from running out and getting every new device or lens or widget that comes along. My philosophy is not going to win me any friends in the camera hardware industry, but it has served me well over the years, ensuring a good return on investment.

  
Today I’ll share my thoughts with you on how to cut through the marketing hype and figure out when it’s the right time to upgrade your camera gear. This applies to all camera gear, whether we are talking about an iPhone, dSLR camera bodies and lenses, or accessories.

Understand your current gear

The first step before upgrading is to really understand your current gear. Have you taken the time to learn the ins and outs of what you already have? Have you pushed it to its limits? Have you played with every feature, read the manual, watched the tutorials? There is often more capability in your current gear then you realize.

When you dig in and really learn to use what you have, you have a better understanding of what an upgrade might bring you. For example, if you have a new lens, use it exclusively for a period of time to see how it performs in a range of situations. See where you feel limited, where it surprises you with its capabilities; where you surprise yourself by using it creatively. It’s not until you understand the current capabilities of what you own that you can understand what the increased capabilities of an upgrade might bring you.

When you do spend this kind of quality time understanding your gear, you learn what matters to you. It’s the limitations you discover and the frustrations you encounter which tell you where you might want to make your next purchase. But you have to invest the time and energy to use the gear you have and really learn why it’s limiting you, or you may be throwing good money away for capability you already have or will never use. 

Know your style

As you learn more about photography and the gear you have, you will also learn things about your personal style that affect your gear purchases. When you know your style — the type of photographs you like to make, the way you like to make them — you can filter through the sales messages to get to what will truly work for you. 

For example, unlike many women, I am a minimalist when it comes to what I carry around with me. I always have been, long before becoming a photographer. I don’t like to carry a bag or a purse if I can help it. So those cute designer camera bags which allow you to “carry it all” are not going to work for me, no matter how gorgeous or functional they are.

The same principle applies to gear of all types… Just because it’s the most popular, whizzy thing out on the market doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you. When spend some time to think through and factor your personal style into your evaluation of a purchase — asking, “Knowing what I know about myself, will I really use this?” — you will find you make better decisions. Maybe fewer investments in gear, too.

Experiment before purchase

Of course, if you want to move in a completely new direction, it can be hard to know whether it’s worthwhile to buy the gear until you have some experience. Rather than go directly with a purchase, look for ways to experiment with the gear you are interested in. Borrow, rent, or take a class where you can try the gear out. Talk to others with that area of interest and listen closely to their recommendations, tempering them with an understanding of your style and experience as compared to theirs. 

It’s amazing how a little first-hand research can seal the deal on whether or not to make a purchase. In the past, holding a camera body has told me it was not the right weight or fit for my hand. Borrowing a LensBaby taught me that it frustrated the heck out of me, and I probably wouldn’t use it much. Experimenting with mobile photography using an old iPod Touch, which had a terrible VGA camera, quickly showed me the potential of this kind of device. I confidently upgraded to my first iPhone.

Money doesn’t grow on trees, so a big investment might be best served with a small investment first to try it out. Having some hands-on experience can make a big difference in purchasing gear you will use instead of gear that will sit on a shelf, gathering dust.

(Side note: That doesn’t mean I recommend buying a cheap version of something, to make a decision whether to invest in more expensive version. I believe in doing my research in advance, and then buying quality gear, once.) 

 Purchase only when it makes a difference — for you

The underpinning of my philosophy is to buy new gear when it’s really going to make a difference in my photography. When I’ve run up against a limitation in my current gear, when it will solve a problem, make my life easier, or allow me to explore a new creative direction are the key factors in the decision. Framing that with what I know about my style and how I’ve used (or not used) past purchases helps too.

Just getting the newest thing because it is touted as “better” is a waste of money if it doesn’t change anything for me. The camera improvements in my last upgrade, the iPhone 5 to the 5s, were minimal. It was a scratched camera lens which drove me to get a new device. Funnily enough, it turned out the Touch ID new to the 5s had a much bigger impact on my photography than the camera, by enabling me to get into my camera apps quicker. 

So why am I getting the iPhone 6s? What great things will it bring to my photography? The increased sensor resolution is not going to substantially change the images I make, but it will improve the quality of my images straight out of the camera, requiring less in the way of upsizing and resolution management as I edit. That will be nice efficiency improvement.

Beyond that, whether the new device brings any other improvements to my photography or editing processes will remain to be seen. I will keep you posted!

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Registration is Open!

Registration is now open for a new mobile photography workshop series I’m doing in the spring. Take a look and register soon, because there are already people signing up and last fall these classes filled up to capacity.

I’ve been loving the half day workshops, where you get enough information to go off and play but not enough to be overwhelmed. This series builds from basic photography to artistic edits to advanced techniques, giving you a few weeks in between workshops to practice with the material so you can absorb it better. There is something new for everyone in this series, even if you’ve taken one of my Intro or Smartphone Art workshops before.

If you don’t live close enough to take advantage of the series, never fear! All of this content will be in my book (coming out next year!) and I’d love to teach the 1 or 2-day versions of the series, known as Smartphone Art, in a town near you. Drop me a note!

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Mobile Photography 1: Introduction
Corvallis, Oregon
March 7, 2015
1pm to 4pm

Learn to capture great photographs with your smartphone or tablet. You always have your mobile device with you, right? Why not make it your primary camera! In this half-day course, you’ll learn how to get the most out of your device’s camera along with the basics of creative photo editing. The class will be taught for both iOS and Android devices, and no prior photography experience is necessary. (Note: This is the same class as Intro to Mobile Photography, offered last fall at The Arts Center, and Intro to iPhoneography, offered through Corvallis Parks and Rec.)

Cost is $40+apps. Register through The Arts Center.

Mobile Photography 2: Artistic Alterations
Corvallis, Oregon
April 11, 2015
1pm to 4pm

Explore the possibilities of creating interesting and unique art by altering photographs on your iPhone or iPad. In this half-day workshop you will learn the secrets of sequencing and blending apps to create art with depth and interest from your photographs. The class will be taught for iOS devices running the latest version of iOS.

Prerequisite: Mobile Photography 1, Intro to Mobile Photography or Intro to iPhoneography

Cost is $40+apps. Register through The Arts Center.

Mobile Photography 3: Advanced Blending
Corvallis, Oregon
May 9, 2015
1pm to 4pm

Blending is where the magic happens! This half-day workshop will dive deep into the methods and sequences to create incredibly interesting effects through blending multiple photographs, backgrounds and textures. The class will be taught for iOS devices running the latest version of iOS.

Prerequisite: Mobile Photography 1 & 2 or Smartphone Art

Cost is $40+apps. Register through The Arts Center.

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Is it Photography or Not?

The Philomath Open Studios Tour wrapped up on Sunday, and participating as a studio this year was both fun and challenging. Talking to so many people as they came through, I got some interesting questions and comments. The only comment that really stopped me in my tracks came from a couple of other artists participating in the event. We do an artist “pre-tour” of all of the studios, so we can see each other’s work and be able to refer people to the right studios if they are looking for something specific. It’s one of the most fun parts of the whole event, and for me it’s been the way I really get to know the other artists.

“You should call your work something other than photography,” they said, “Your work doesn’t look like any photography I’ve ever seen.” They went on to explain: People may skip my studio because they have an impression of what photography is, and they aren’t interested. I’m losing the chance to get my work in front of them by calling it photography.

I found myself with a pretty strong internal reaction to their suggestion. As I tried to explain my feelings about this as photography, I struggled to find the words. My immediate reaction and inadequate explanation left me uncomfortable. Was there something to what they were saying I should listen to? These folks are my artist friends and peers, and they have my best interests at heart. They respect my work and want to see me succeed.

So, for the last couple of weeks, I’ve had a renewed internal dialogue around this question: Is it photography or not? Should I change the way I position and market my work? I’ve answered this question before. But I needed to answer the question for myself, again, in a way I could confidently explain it to others, especially artists in other mediums.

My answer?

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Yes, my work is photography. I will continue to call it photography, even if there is some fallout along with that. Here’s why…

My work starts as a photograph. The seeing and framing through the lens of the camera is vitally important. My art wouldn’t exist without the starting photograph, and the capture of the starting image is one of my favorite parts of my process of creating in this medium. I spent years and years learning to coax beautiful images out of the camera, from the technical expertise of exposure to the creative expertise of composition, and I use that experience every time I take a new photograph. Even if I’m altering it significantly, it starts with the photograph. I want to honor that.

I also want to honor the medium. Photography has a rich and interesting history. It is a wider and deeper medium than the general public understands. Most people’s interaction with photography is from what they see in the media — photojournalism and commercial photography — or their own experience with snapshots. Mobile photography is even less understood. Most people haven’t necessarily seen or explored fine art photography. They don’t know the range of art that the term “photography” truly covers. Why not help educate them, just a little bit? Why not expand their definition? We are never going to get past the limited perception of what a photograph is “allowed” to look like, if some of us don’t stand out there and push those boundaries.

This is where I had to stop and examine myself closely. Am I hurting myself, my ability to get my work in front of people to connect with them through my art, through taking on some one-woman crusade to expand the definition of photography? Am I hurting my sales by sticking with the “photography” moniker? I don’t think so. I’ve had many photographers tell me in the past that you can’t sell photography. People don’t want photographs. Given my results as I ventured into art fairs this year, I’ve not found that to be universally true.

But that fundamental belief — people don’t want to buy photographs — must be a driving factor behind some of the practices I’ve seen a few photographers use. I’ve witnessed people who are using altered photography techniques selling their work as nebulous “fine art prints.” No acknowledgement of the starting photograph. It’s not a lie, per se, because they truly are fine art prints, but it’s an omission that leaves the medium up to the imagination of the viewer. Let the viewer think it’s a reproduction of an original in another medium; what they don’t know doesn’t hurt them. That may be ok for other artists, but it would feel dishonest for me. Almost self-negating, as if I need to hide my medium in order for the work I produce to have value. And also not respectful of the artists who have spent years to hone their craft in other mediums. My work may end up looking a bit like a watercolor or some other medium, but it’s not. I don’t want to claim it is.

I want my work to stand on its own, for what it is. A photograph. An altered photograph, sure. But it starts as a photograph.

My art is a piece of me that I put out in the world. So when I make a sale, I want it to be an honest and heartfelt transaction. How I put my work and myself out there really matters to me. I want to connect with people openly and with integrity. I want to have a dialogue about what I’m creating, how I’m creating and why. I want to hear what the viewer has to say, how my work makes them feel. I want to honor all of those who came before me, who taught me, who paved the way for me to create in this medium, too.

So I will continue to call my work and my medium photography. I’m a photographer, and I’m proud of it. I’m happy to have the dialogue about what makes it photography. I relish a good discussion about the art of photography, and like the idea of opening some minds to new ideas about what a photograph can be.

And the folks who aren’t interested, who chose not to come to my studio because of their preconceived notions of what photography will look like? It’s their loss, not mine. They don’t know what they are missing.

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Let’s Talk Mobile Photography

When you are in the middle of something, you don’t always notice how it looks from the outside. I have to keep reminding myself of this fact, as I talk to people about the possibilities of mobile photography in conjunction with the Expanding Vision exhibition. Most people don’t know that you can make art with a smartphone. Most people don’t realize that they have this amazing creative device in their pockets. We get so wrapped up in our little world, talking and working with others doing the same thing, that we forget that most people don’t know what we are doing in this mobile phtoography world.

And so it’s fun, really fun, to get to be part of showing them.

Tree Corvallis Oregon Kat Sloma Mobile Photography

Yesterday I was interviewed by the Corvallis Gazette-Times newspaper as part of a story on the exhibition and mobile photography. I got to talk about my experience with mobile photography, how the idea for the exhibition came about and what I learned from my view from the “inside” of an exhibition. Even though almost none of that was part of it in the end, it was a fun experience and a very nice article! You can read it here.

Oregon Art Beat also came to Corvallis to film a piece on the exhibition. Unfortunately I didn’t get to meet them – I couldn’t get away from my day job – but I look forward to seeing the piece. I’ll post that link when it’s available, too.

AND… we’ve added another date for the Intro to Mobile Photography workshop in conjunction with the exhibition. It will be on Saturday, September 20 and registration is here. The first class was last Saturday and I had 12 lovely participants, who are all taking the excitement for mobile photography back home with them! This three-hour class is a great way to get started playing around with your mobile device camera.

Finally, today is the Brown Bag Art Talk for the Expanding Vision exhibition at The Arts Center, 700 SW Madison in Corvallis. I’ll be there! Come and talk mobile photography with a number of the artists in the show. It should be fun!

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Smartphone Art 3: Creative Editing beyond Photography

[This week I am reposting a series of articles originally written for another site, because they are no longer available there. Note that some of the app icons have changed since these original screenshots were created, but functions are located in the same place in the app. Enjoy! –Kat]

It’s time to take your Smartphone Art in a new direction! In Smartphone Art 1, you learned how to get a good photograph with your smartphone camera, and in Smartphone Art 2, you discovered how to make that photograph even better with basic photo editing. In this installment, we’ll look at some creative editing apps that take your images beyond photography, and how you can combine and blend the output of different apps to create unique works of art.

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One of the best things about mobile photography is the proliferation of apps that can quickly and easily take your photograph and transform it into something different.

It can be a painting…IMG_0786

App: Glaze

a drawing…IMG_0788

App: Portray

or something wholly new…IMG_0793

App: decim8

The apps range from simple one-click transformations, such as the Glaze app shared in the painting example above, to effects with multiple setting adjustments to customize the look, such as the Aquarella example below.

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App: Aquarella

The outputs of these apps are fun, but I often find that the look of an image after processing with a single creative app is predictable, especially if it doesn’t allow customization. It doesn’t look like a unique piece of art to me; it looks like a photograph processed with an app. To go beyond the predictable, you can blend app outputs to create something new and interesting.

Blending Apps

A blending app allows you to combine two different starting images in a variety of ways to get an alternate effect. You can blend two different images, adding textures or creating collage effects, or you can blend two of the same image, each image processed by different apps to develop unique looks. This second way, blending the same image processed in many different apps, is typically how I use a blending app to create a finished piece.

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The best blending apps will offer multiple blending modes (like multiply, darken, soft light, etc.), as well as masking and arranging/resizing of one image relative to the other. Image Blender, Juxtaposer, and Superimpose are all examples of iOS apps which have these features. (Note: I have not been able to identify a similar app for Android yet! Please leave a note in the comments if you know of one.)

My favorite app for blending images is Image Blender, so I’ll share a few instructions on this app. When you open the app, you first have to load your images. At the bottom of the screen, tap the empty frame on the left to load your bottom image, and tap the empty frame on the right to load the top image.

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For this example, I’m loading these two images:

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Bottom Image. App: Distressed FX

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Top Image. App: Autopainter II

First, I select a blending mode. When you tap the blending mode icon, the menu shows up. Tap each blending mode to see a preview of the blend. When you find a blending mode you want to play with, tap the blending mode icon again to commit the mode.

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Now, you shift the slider back and forth to change the relative blend of the two images. Some blending modes, like Normal, work the same regardless of which image is on the bottom or top. Other blending modes, such as Lighten, change depending on which image is on top.

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If you have an area where you don’t want to blend the top image with the bottom image, you can mask the top image. Tap the Masking icon, and now you can erase parts of the top image from the blend. If you accidentally take away too much, you can tap the pencil to switch modes and add the pixels back in.

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If you want to change the size of the top image relative to the bottom image, you can do that via the Arrange function. Pinch in or out to change the relative size of the top image, shift left or right, or twist to change the angle.

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You can always reset your mask and arrange settings by tapping on the top image to get to the reset menu.

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When you like the blend, you can save by tapping the Export icon and selecting the “Save to Camera Roll” option. From here, you can either play with more blending modes with the same two images, or you can combine the newly blended image with more processed images. To do this, you need to flatten the two images you’ve blended, which is done by going to the Export menu and selecting the “Flatten” option. After the image is flattened, you can import a new image to the top.

You repeat the same process of importing, blending, saving and flattening with a variety of processed images until you get a finished product you like. Don’t forget, your newly blended image can be processed through other apps and create even more unusual effects.

Variable & Unique

When you use this method of creating altered photographs, you come out with a distinctive image which varies greatly with the starting photograph and the apps used to process, along with the sequence and method of blending.

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This is what makes each final image an inimitable work of art. Even for myself, I couldn’t exactly recreate the output for many of the images I create, because the sequence, blending mode and percentage of blend are not recorded.

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To me, part of the fun is in the serendipity of the process and knowing that each piece I create is truly unique.

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Now it’s your turn! Try editing your images with apps that take them beyond a photograph, and then blending them together to see what you can create. You may be surprised at how addicting this process can be!

If you’d like to learn more about blending apps to create interesting images, you can review the mobile tutorials on my site or take a Smartphone Art workshop with me in the future. I’d love to share more with you!

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