Photography

When Instagram finally arrived on Android, it was missing a major photo effect that iOS users had been enjoying for some time: tilt shift. Just over a month after its release, Instagram for Android has been updated to finally include tilt shift. It's a fun little effects tool that can make subjects in your photos appear miniature or to create a shallow depth of field.

Here's how to use tilt shift:

1. After choosing a photo, tap the new teardrop icon in the effects toolbar and choose whether you want a radial or linear tilt shift.

2. By … Read more

Three-legged tripods are the go-to accessory for steadying shots. Whether you're trying to achieve a high exposure or need to work with a shaky hand, propping your camera on a tripod is crucial to producing a clear image, especially in low light.

Thing is, tripods are bulky, making it difficult to carry them while you travel. So, how do you get steady shots without a tripod? With the stringpod, of course.

An old photographer's trick, the stringpod isn't exactly a tripod replacement, but it gets pretty close when you need to steady your camera in a pinch. Here's how it works:… Read more

Dropbox users who find it a hassle getting photos off their camera and onto their online storage site now have a way to avoid the middleman.

The new Dropbox 1.4 software for Windows, OS X, or Linux can automatically upload photos not just from a camera, but from a smartphone, tablet, SD card, and just about any other gadget that houses your images.

How can Dropbox users set this up? Here's how it works in Windows:

First, install the new version of Dropbox. Then right-click the Dropbox icon in the System tray and select Preferences. You should see … Read more

Are your friends always asking you to share those photos and videos you took last year? I know I'm guilty of this crime as well, but there are tools out there to help you create an awesome slideshow that sums up your camping trip, a birthday party, or just a casual night out. Whatever it may be, you can create a professional-level slideshow with this slideshow creator - Wondershare DVD Slideshow Builder Deluxe.

Wondershare DVD Slideshow Builder Deluxe is the easy-to-use yet powerful DVD photo slideshow maker. With it, you can combine photos and video clips into DVD slideshow … Read more

Odds are you are satisfied with the photos you snap with a late-model iPhone. My iPhone 4S, for instance, captures higher-resolution photos (8 megapixels) than my old 6-megapixel Nikon D50. The thing is, iPhone camera apps compress images, losing much of an image's data in the process. The 645 Pro app intersects the iPhone's development process prior to the JPEG compression step, spitting out high-quality JPEGs and TIFFs. The developer, Jag.gr, calls these TIFFs developed raw or dRAW files.

The app's layout has you hold your iPhone in landscape mode, with the rear-facing camera in the … Read more

Even the uninitiated can identify HDR photos--their striking appearance often pops with high contrast, saturated colors, and an unmistakable surreal look. These photos seem like a lot of work, but when you examine the process of creating HDR photos, you'll find that it's much easier than it looks.

HDR, or "high dynamic range," photography is simple: a photo is shot three times, at three different exposures--low, regular, and high--and then stacked to create one image. In doing so, you create a sharp image that looks closer to what the human eye sees, as the varying highlights … Read more

The plug gets pulled tomorrow on popular Web image editor PicNik, but do not despair. An intrepid band of PicNik engineers started up a new Web image editor, PicMonkey, which is free and easy to use. It doesn't require you to register -- just drag an image into PicMonkey to start using its wide array of image-editing tools.

After you drag a photo into PicMonkey.com, the image editor opens with your image on the right and the tools on the right. There are seven groups of tools: Basic Edits, Effects, Touch Up, Text, Overlays, Frames, and Textures.

In … Read more

With Facebook's Instagram acquisition grabbing headlines and the photo-editing app finally being available for Android, millions of people have started using Instagram in just the past few weeks.

It doesn't take much to get started, and the interface is pretty straightforward, but without a proper guide, you might have missed some of the essential tools that make an Instagram experience that much better. Check them out:

1. Double-tap to like. As you scroll through the Instagram feed, you can quickly "like" a photo by double-tapping it. A white heart will pop up to let you know … Read more

Instagram created a social-media uproar last night when it changed its terms of service to state that it could license user photos for display by advertisers without consent and without compensation. Granted, Instagram isn't the first social-networking service to claim the right to use uploaded content, but the broad language with phrases like "without any compensation to you" spurred a quick and vocal backlash. And rightly so.

Fortunately, it took less than a day before Instagram began to realize its mistake. As rivals began to pounce on its fumble and users threatened to leave, CEO Kevin Systrom … Read more