I’ve noticed that I’m often disappointed at first with the pics my iPhone takes in low light. Above are two identical pics taken the other night at Smuggler’s Cove. I wanted a shot I could put on my blog, but you could barely make anything out in the initial incarnation of the picture. Thankfully, there’s 2 solutions: One’s called TrueHDR (link opens iTunes), and I’ve mentioned it before. It’s great when one part of the shot has light that drowns out the rest of your subject (e.g. a sunny window in the background). The other is Photogene (link opens iTunes), which is great for adjusting color, cropping, overlaying text, etc. on the go. Use this to crank up the exposure and white level of shots taken in dark restaurants or outside at night. Each apps cost $2, and it’s money well spent if you take a bunch of iPhone pics. Does the shot on the right still look a little too grainy? Yes, but any camera would struggle in that environment without a flash or tripod and long exposure. I’m just trying to salvage camera-phone pics to preserve memories, not win a Pulitzer :-)

I’ve noticed that I’m often disappointed at first with the pics my iPhone takes in low light.

Above are two identical pics taken the other night at Smuggler’s Cove. I wanted a shot I could put on my blog, but you could barely make anything out in the initial incarnation of the picture.

Thankfully, there’s 2 solutions:

  1. One’s called TrueHDR (link opens iTunes), and I’ve mentioned it before. It’s great when one part of the shot has light that drowns out the rest of your subject (e.g. a sunny window in the background).
  2. The other is Photogene (link opens iTunes), which is great for adjusting color, cropping, overlaying text, etc. on the go. Use this to crank up the exposure and white level of shots taken in dark restaurants or outside at night.

Each apps cost $2, and it’s money well spent if you take a bunch of iPhone pics.

Does the shot on the right still look a little too grainy? Yes, but any camera would struggle in that environment without a flash or tripod and long exposure. I’m just trying to salvage camera-phone pics to preserve memories, not win a Pulitzer :-)

Blog comments powered by Disqus