Digital photography

Lock up your photos on iOS

Now that just about everyone has high-quality cameras on their phones, people's smartphones have become the main repository for all their photos. This can be great for showing off photos of your kids or reminiscing about an event in the past. But what about when you leave your phone on your desk or coffee table--do you really want people to have access to all your pictures?

This week's iOS app collection provides a way to create a locked folder on your phone. The first is free and offers just the basics for added security. The second adds a few more features for managing photos. The third snaps a picture of would-be intruders in addition to having a secure folder.… Read more

Aperture 3.2 update adds iCloud and Photo Stream support

Today Apple issued an update for its iPhoto consumer photo management tool that provides support for iCloud. In addition, Apple has updated its Aperture photo management tool for professionals and enthusiasts to support the same new features, bringing the latest version to 3.2.

In addition to the new features, the Aperture 3.2 update includes bug fixes and stability enhancements that, according to the information page on the update, include the following:

Resolves an issue that could cause the "Loading" indicator to reappear in the Viewer when cropping a photo. Aperture now automatically relaunches into Full Screen … Read more

Apple issues iPhoto update to support iCloud, more

Along with today's release of the iCloud service and OS X 10.7.2, Apple has issued an update to iPhoto '11 (version 9) that incorporates support for iCloud and devices running iOS 5, in addition to fixing a number of bugs, and performance and compatibility issues that have cropped up for users. According to the update, the following features have been added or fixed in the update:

Left and right swipe gestures can now be used to navigate between photos in Magnify (1-up) view. Previously imported photos are now displayed in a separate section of the Import window. … Read more

Photo editing for nondesigners

Not every shot is perfect, but most are worth salvaging. Sadly, for most of us, image-editing software can be too intimidating or frustrating to use. Even GIMP, the open-source image-editing software, isn't immediately intuitive.

A Canadian usability research team has released AdaptableGIMP, which lets users search for tools based on what they want to do. It makes life much easier for nondesigners. Here's how to use it:

Download and install AdaptableGIMP. Page through the intro screens and agree to take part in the research. (It will record some usability data.) Set up an account, if you'd like. … Read more

Lightroom 3.5 supports high-end compact cameras

Adobe Systems has updated Lightroom and Photoshop to support a number of new small, higher-end cameras from Sony, Panasonic, Olympus, and Pentax.

The software packages handle the raw photos that higher-end cameras can produce, offering higher image quality and better flexibility at the expense of convenience. And as new cameras arrive, Adobe must build support for the new models proprietary formats.

Lightroom 3.5 of and version 6.5 of Photoshop's raw-image plug-in (available on Adobe's download site) now can support a host of new compact interchangeable-lens cameras (ILCs) that lack the bulk-inducing reflex mirror of SLRs. In addition, it supports high-end medium-format cameras from Hasselblad, Phase One, and Phase One's Leaf subsidiary. The full list: … Read more

Instagram updates with new camera features

Today, the developers of popular photo-sharing app Instagram announced a big update. Calling it the largest revamp since Instagram launched almost a year ago, the company is introducing a complete upgrade to Instagram's camera with a "brand-new technology layer."

Instagram had already become a big hit for photo enthusiasts by adding a simple filter effect to photos, which could then be uploaded and shared with friends. But now, the app offers live filters so you can see your chosen effects before you snap a photo. Instagram says the filters have been rewritten to be 200 times faster, allowing you to switch between filters after you've taken your shot with almost instantaneous results.

The app now comes with four new filters: Amaro, Rise, Hudson, and Valencia. Instagram says it took cues from popular Instagram user @colerise to produce the new effects.

In addition to new filters that add variation to your snapshots, Instagram handles tilt-shift shots better as well. You can select blur, pinch, and pan tilt-shift effects, and see the results in an included live preview.… Read more

Adobe's Elements turn 10

It doesn't seem all that long ago that Adobe trotted out its first consumer image-editing application, but Photoshop Elements seems to have aged fairly well over the past 10 years. It hasn't changed that much--it still has a task-based interface and modular architecture--though it's gotten a bit glitzier looking and, as it continually absorbs new technology and features from its big sister Photoshop, has gotten a lot more powerful as well.

Along the way, Adobe paired it up with a consumer version of its Premiere video-editing software. Though not 10 years old, it carries the same version … Read more

360 panoramas and 3D image apps on iOS

We've all been there at one time or another. You're looking at a beautiful landscape and you want to capture it, but the view is simply too wide to capture it all with your iPhone camera. Or maybe you're selling something on the Web, but taking a flat photograph of the object just doesn't seem to do it justice.

Fortunately, with the enormous abundance of photography apps in the iTunes App Store, there are apps for these specific purposes. These apps go beyond retro images and sketch-drawn re-creations and attempt to offer three dimensions.

This week's collection of iOS apps make 360-degree images. The first creates step-by-step panoramas; the second lets you make panoramas and 360-degree views in one fluid motion; and the third helps you make 360-degree animations.… Read more

Adobe Carousel photo sharing spins only for Apple fans

Updated September 9, 2011 with comment from Adobe.

When Adobe asked users about their photo sharing-pain points, it generated some buzz about an expected cloud solution. And today it delivered. Adobe Carousel automatically uploads, stores, and syncs photos from all your devices--as long as they're from Apple--and lets you create shareable galleries (Carousels). When shared, you and they can edit and apply special effects to the photos nondestructively.

(Aside: Adobe PR denies that the name Carousel was inspired by the Kodak Carousel slide projector.)

It sounds neat on the surface, and it's based around solid goals--"People want ubiquitous access to photo libraries; to browse, adjust, and share all their photos from anywhere; to share a photo library with friends and family; and simple, easy-to-live-with setup."

But I think there's an unstated goal here as well. Photoshop.com already meets a lot of these needs and the company could likely have been extended the back end with the syncing technology; unfortunately, Adobe can't leverage the site because it's completely partly Flash based, so it can't run on the iPad or iPhone. Thus, Adobe's need to start from scratch. Adobe comments: "The team did not start from scratch to build Carousel. The backend of Photoshop.com provides some of the infrastructure that supports the digital imaging mesh that Adobe Carousel uses. There are also some things that Photoshop.com can't do which is why we developed the DI mesh platform."… Read more