Day 1 Spring 2024

We will continue on the path started during our Meet and Greet session. Actually, stop and take a breath. I know that too much info was thrown at you and ... well it felt like you were hit by a rogue wave. Yes, but take a moment to imagine yourself more confident with technology after three more meetings. After seven meetings. I believe you will learn more if you share what you are struggling with and what you are discovering. You know others with iPhones, take one thing you've learned and share the details or the skill or your journey to this moment. Rinse and repeat. 

Keep a journal of your questions for this class. You will save time by telling us the question and details about your device or your approach. Sometimes describing a problem in writing helps you solve it. Or your notes will be helpful when you pull the nuclear option and contact Apple Support. 

The apps to begin with are listed on our Apps page. Use these links to get the specific app used by others in this class: ProCamera, Slow Shutter, Snapseed (free), Metapho and Touch Retouch. 

Review the Cheatsheet page for the apps mentioned (some) and the features available for the apps used by our studio participants. 

Meet and Greet - Spring 2024

Thursday, 2/8/24 @ 10am. We are getting together to kick the tires of Zoom and see how some of our interactions will go this semester. Be sure to have your iPhone fully charged and if possible open the Zoom meeting (link supplied in email) on your computer or tablet. 

• Brief participant introductions (3 things to know about you) 
• Confirm access to Spring 2024 Shared Photo Album (Apple ID email) 
• Confirm availability for meetings and field trip on 2/22 
• Review your big question (answered during the meeting or online) 
• Tour website, links, apps ... Cheatsheet handout (online) 
• ... 
• App Store, Reviews, In-App Purchases, Updates (details)
• Why I avoid Auto Updating Apps 
• … 

Skipped and hope to revisit next week 

• Share techniques to avoid tech overload (there is an emoji for this) 
• Save website to Home Screen
• Share Photos app features and discoveries since iOS 17.3 update 
• What social media platforms are you using? 
• Family Sharing (purchases of apps, music, etc)
• Melissa - show iOS Home Screens < compare to yours | differences 
• Our mantra: "Touch Every Button" 

Notes from our meeting. Some details will be added later (XXXXX or forgotten until you ask the question again): 

Secure your iPhone to your wrist with a strap. Different options abound. One to consider is the BlackRapid WandeR Bundle Smartphone Safety Tether Tab System or the Deluxe version with a neck strap recommended by Cynthia and the link will open to Amazon store. 

Photos app tour on iPhone - Library, For You - Memories iCloud Links etc, Shared Album - how to add a photos? It is not automatic, you have to push pictures to Shared Album. Photos have (i) for details and type a caption. List of Media Types. Utilities with Deleted Items. Search is powerful. Heart for Favorite. (i) can be (i*) if AI has recognized info about the subject. Search practice in Photos. Search practice at Home Screen is known as Spotlight Search. "Ocean" is recognized by the AI in Photos, not all images are Captioned as "ocean." Search will also include a town called "Ocean Beach" or a street location called "Ocean View." 

Caption one photo in a group. View the (i) screen and scroll to the bottom of the page. The link "Show in All Photos" will take you to the Library to see related photos in time. 

FIRST AND FOREMOST - you do not have to update an app unless it is misbehaving or the new version includes a feature you must have. Consider using the app as it is until it breaks. SECOND AND FOREMAX - when you update your iOS from 17.3 to 18.1.x - some apps might require an update. Or they might fail. Chad says "Bummer!" 

App Store but start in Settings > Search > Updates and tap App Store Updates from the list. Turn Auto Updates off. 

Open App Store. Open Profile - top right corner with circle icon. Scroll screen up. Update items not critical to your creative endeavors. Review creative apps for shift to Subscription pricing. New Studio participants might not have as many options here - subscription might be the default now. Tap "More" to read about the update. Tap the app icon to visit the details in the Store. Scroll to Ratings and Reviews, tap See All. Tap Sort by Most Helpful and change to Sort by Most Recent. Exit the Reviews and scroll to see if In-App Purchases are listed. 

Marsha asked "Can we believe the written reviews or star ratings for apps?" Personally, I read several reviews and often wonder "What is the problem with this person?" because the complaint is lacking meaningful details based on my personal experience in computing and mobile use. (Roe! Got any ideas here?) 

Sally is wondering about getting charged for apps or subscriptions. Where to look for purchase details ...  XXXXX  New Studio participants will see purchase options previous (old) Studio participants do not see. UGGH. Consider buying an Apple gift card in the grocery story for purchases of apps, music, books, etc. 

Camera +2 Legacy app for Macro - but current Apple Camera does great for macro. 

FrameGrabber is now subscription - for exporting a frame out of a video clip. 

Anita mentioned the App Stack Frenzy page has videos with 6 apps. This workflow is one way to assess how much space you need on your device to make a final image. Save the photo, process it and export 2nd image. Open again and process in another app, export as 3rd image. So forth. If you are using RAW image format a photo might be 75 MB. With 6 copies that would be just under half a gigabyte of on-board storage needed for one image. Some of our workflow must include moving images off our device to long-term storage and ... trash. Curation of our Photos Library is the activity of a pure heart. 

Organize your Home Screens to be prepared for an unfolding scene in front of you. Colleen on a walk. Anita at farmer's market. Niel in Honolulu during a fireworks display. 

Anita has discovered that Apple Camera shoots in ProRAW at 48 Megapixels. Yes. Captures a huge file. But RAW images need to be processed to bring out details hiding in the shadows and details missing in the highlights. We don't post RAW images to social media or share with friends. Why do I push you to buy extra camera apps? ProCamera by Cocologics with VividHDR in-app purchase is one example. Slow Shutter is another. As a kid I watched the Gunsmoke tv show. Being a "fast draw" saved Marshal Dillon's life*. As a scene unfolds before you, do you want to unzip your camera bag, choose and mount a lens, set the shutter speed - aperture - ISO and place your eye at the viewfinder and press the shutter button halfway to focus? I never wanted to be a lady marshal in the old west. Cut to the quick: choose the right app for the moment instead of fumbling through Home Screens and in-app settings to get into the proper mode. Find apps that fit your vision (get recommendations from friends) and place them prominently on the first Home Screen, maybe collect apps in a folder. 

* I had to get specifics by asking Siri to remind me of the characters. 

EMAIL - Old Fashion Communication

It has come to my attention that SPAM Filters have captured the emails I’ve sent to some of the waitlisted people. (Probably some of the enrolled people.) What did you miss? Details about the Sampler Share Photo Album and proposed ways we might connect later this semester. 

SPAM could also be capturing other information from seminars, forums and presentations as well as other “old fashion” senders. Yes, there is texting and social media for up-to-the-minute pseudo-news. 

So this is a reminder to me, not everyone uses email. But it is also a reminder to everyone else: Check email when signing up for classes. Check your SPAM folder for missed communiques. Add seminar leaders to your address book. When seminar descriptions include web links - GO THERE! 

I’m signing off now, got to search my spam folder for missed items. 

Social Media resources, anyone?

Where do you find inspiration? How do you record ideas? 

I'm pretty much a "lurker" when it comes to social media, meaning a lookie-loo not a poster. Social media accounts often send emails to alert us to things we want to see (clickbait and algorithms). I'll show you mine and I'd like to add your suggestions here. 

• Pinterest - 101 Things to Photograph (with examples & exercises!) by livesnaplove.com seems right up our alley. 
• Flipboard - with a photography interest displayed You Don't Need to Constantly Change Your Composition by Darren Spoonley on ftoppers.com is a reminder to be-in-one-place and take-it-all-in while keeping your iPhone at the ready. 
• What say you? 

How and where do you keep track of your inspirations? I'm asking for an intervention here! 

Shared Album by Invitation

Just to clarify, for our waitlisted folks. You should have an invitation to the iPhone Photo Studio Sampler shared photo album in either your email, messages or in the Photos app > For You. 

If you are confused ... welcome to our world! Shared Photo Albums live in the Photos app. Apple has detailed instructions for How to use Shared Albums in Photos on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac . You have to turn on the feature. You have to know your Apple ID and the phone number and email address associated with it. 

So don't freak out about missing this invitation. That is one of the topics for our Meet and Greet session on February 8th at 10 am. 

New iOS 17.3 available

A new release this week adds Stolen Devise Protection. Check Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Stolen Device Protection > ON. Because our iPhones are out-and-about with us, protecting your device is priority one. 

General details on iOS 17 features are available as a PDF document. 

Is this the time for a device check and tune-up? The iOS_device_details_ios16.pdf was revised August 2023 and with iOS 17 there could be changes. Right now it still fits on 2 pages but the type is getting smaller. 

Reference Pages - Revised and Old

Let's put our heads together and look at our list of Apps. Identify your favorites and note any that have gone subscription. Some In-App purchases are worth the expense ... We want to put our new participants on the correct path to workflow enlightenment. 

• Day 1 apps: Pro Camera, Slow Shutter, Snapseed, Metapho, MPIX, Touch Retouch, Image Blender
• Day 2 apps: PicCollage, Diptych, Camera+2 Legacy, Waterlogged, Lenka, PhotoScan 
• Day 3 apps: Prism, Painnt, Pixelmator, Brushstroke, Inkwork 
• Day 4 apps: Obscura, Procreate, Distressed FX, Halide, Spectre Camera 
• Day 5 apps: Tangled FX, Toon Camera, SnapDot, Spectral Art, Hydra, Focos 

Please use the links on the App page to get the specific apps we use. Many apps have the same names and it is important to spend your $$ wisely. 

The Cheatsheet page, is an out-dated but slowly-getting-revised review of app settings. A good starting place for making choices on best starting place for apps. Includes list of Image Editing Techniques and the apps that will do the job. Print or Save-to-PDF for reference. Best to use Safari Reader View and print 2-up per page. 

The App Catalog includes the app icons, brief details from the App Store descriptions and a column for your notes. Print or Save-to-PDF at full size. The apps are grouped based on workflow: Catalog, Camera, Editing and Stylizing. For Spring 2024, the App Catalog now includes a worksheet page for apps that have crossed over - iOS/iPadOS apps that can be installed on MacOS if you are on an M1, M2 or M3 Apple Silicon computer. 

New Links to Previous Galleries

I've not created any new studio galleries lately but much of the work we currently do is reflected in past galleries. Images from our Shared Photo Album are presented with photographer credit. Here are a few links to explore for ideas about what we do and why we keep coming together to do it. 

• Fall 2020 
• Fall 2019
• Spring 2018 
• Spring and Fall 2017