In this video I go through a complete Portrait Retouching Workflow in Lightroom on my iPad …
Taking Photos with my iPhone and taking TIme Out
This past couple of weeks have been quite eventful to say the least and with all that’s happened I’ve found myself even more grateful than ever that I live near the coast.
For me, being able to take some ‘time out’ and slow down whilst looking at and listening to the waves crashing against the shore is medicine … pure and simple, and this past week it was much needed.
Here’s some pictures that I took this past week when I took some ‘time out’ just down the road at Lyme Regis using my iPhone and edited in Lightroom on my iPad.
Each of these pictures I’ve also added to my Lightroom Community Profile Page wheere you can see all of the retoching steps and also download them as a Preset to use on your own images ( LINK )
Handheld 1 second Long. Exposure using the ReeHeld App
Photographing Storm Agnes with my iPhone 15 Pro Max
So although in the South West we didn’t get the full force of Storm Agness last week (unlike Ireland and parts of Wales) , what we did get still caused some pretty impressive scenes.
Timing couldn’t have been better on Thursday last week as the tail-end of the storm also coincided with a high tide of 4.5 metres at Lyme Regis Sea Front.
This was also to be my first time out ‘in anger’ with my new iPhone 15 Pro Max which I used to photograph the storm along with the ReeXpose App from ReeFlex.
I only had a few mintes to capture whatever I could before the heavens opened and heavy rain joined the party, but here’s the results …
Both results are a blend of several long exposures ( 0.5 seconds and 1 seconds ) taken with my new iPhone 15 Pro Max and the ReeXpose App from ReeFlex and edited in Lightroom Mobile / Cloud and Photoshop.
One of the BEST pieces of advice I was given when starting out as a Portrait Photographer was to move around ... don't take photographs from one spot ... look how the light changes as you take a step to the left or a step to the right.
Since the Covid Pandemic when I first ventured out into landscape and seascape photography as a means of keeping active and keeping creative, one of the most important things I've learned is ... when you find a composition make sure to LOOK BEHIND YOU
This is how the 2nd results came about with the tail-end of Storm Agnes and was what was happening behind me whilst I captured the first.
Lightroom Mobile iOS gets a July 2023 UPDATE
Adobe have just released an update to Lightroom Mobile iOS taking it from version 8.4.0 to 8.4.1 , and this brings with it ‘Early Access Preview’
Check out the 54 second video below to find out more …
Photographing a Storm with my iPhone
One of the results I captured yesterday with my iPhone during the storm down at Lyme Regis.
I love how photographs instantly transport you back to the where, when, what and who.
Taken with my iPhone 14 Pro Max
This one will always remind me of the two of us laughing like excited children as the waves from the incoming tide pounded against The Cobb wall and then towered above us and crashed down. Yes we got soaked (one of us more than the other) but it was so much fun.
Dedication … right there! Strong winds, big waves on the incoming tide and this one was giggling like a good ‘un as a BIGGIE came crashing over The Cobb and swallowed her up … and all to help me take some photographs 😍
*Taken with my iPhone 14 Pro Max using the ReeXpose App by REEFLEX set to a 0.5 second exposure.
Edited in Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop Beta.
*If you’re interested, I have the kit I use (which in this case addition to my iPhone was a tripod and the BEST Mobile Phone Grip I’ve ever used) over on my GEAR / KIT PAGE
LIGHTROOM UPDATE (June 2023)
It’s June 2023 and Adobe have just added some updates into Lightroom Classic and Lightroom Cloud which includes Lightroom Mobile.
So, here’s a quick run through of the main bits 👍🏻
Here too is a link to the Official Adobe Lightroom Website giving full detail including all the mior updates including new cameras and lenses added …
I PRINTED a 72" iPhone Photo and you WON'T BELIEVE THE RESULT !!!
Yes you read thar right … a 72” print of an iPhone photograph!
In this video I not only show ther print but also give you a look at the kit I used along with my favourite iPhone App for creating Long Exposure Photographs.
I also show what I used to upscale the original image more than 4 times, taking up to the final 72 inches!
The future of mobile photography is VERY exciting 📱😃
My COLOUR GRADING: THE ESSENTIAL FINISHING TOUCH mini course is NOW AVAILABLE
Really excited to let you know that I have a NEW course NOW AVAILABLE …
Colour Grading: The Essential FiNishing Touch
Just as with my other courses, you can stream / download all of the included video tutorials, download work files to follow along step by step, download a PDF of Class Notes ans have Life Time Access. Plus there’s a knowledge check and certificate of completion.
For more information check out the button link below
See you in class 😃
My Mobile Phone / Smartphone Photography Kit
With me doing more and more photography with my Smartphone (iPhone) these days, I often get asked what kit I use with it ... Phone Mount? Tripod? Trigger?
So I thought I’d share it here as well as adding it all into the GEAR Page where you’ll see ALL the kit I use for Photography and Video …
iPhone 14 Pro Max (1TB)
*To use the phone holders on my tripod, I purchased a few extra Arca Plates that screw into them
There’s also various apps I’m using so I’ll make sure to share details of those and any future kit I try out … especially as I intend to be doing some portrits using off-camera lighting triggered by my phone 😃
iPhone Photography: A Misty Morning at Lyme Regis in Dorset
The misty conditions last Wednesday were nothing short of perfect for some minimalist photography, so I popped out early morning and took the short drive to meet up with my friend Steve Healy down at my favourite of all places, Lyme Regis.
True to the weather apps, the conditions were as predicted; a wonderful misty morning, an incoming tide with the surface of the sea as flat as a sheet of glass, hardly a breeze in the air and looking out across the sea, at times it was almost impossible to see the distant horizon line.
Absolutely Perfect!
I should have sent a memo about dress code 🤣
Taking along minimal kit as I did when photographing the Prince of Wales Bridge a couple of weeks back, I stuck with using my iPhone 14 Pro Max, but this time made use of my new JOBY MagSafe Mount ( LINK )
This worked an absolute treat holding my iPhone rock steady and was so incredibly quick and easy to adjust and rotate from portrait orientation to landscape orientation …
Long Exposure Photography was definitely order of the day to enhance the calm, relaxing feeling of the light and the mist, and of course smooth out the water surface even more.
I’ve a few long exposure apps installed on my iPhone at the moment that I’m testing out to see which I prefer, but on this morning I opted again to use EvenLonger …
For the image above, I used a 60 second long exposure.
We then moved along to The Cobb, which looked incredible amongst the mist and surrounded by a glass flat high tide …
The tide was particularly high this morning, meaning the groin at the far end of The Cobb was much less visible.
In this image and the one above, you can really see how the mist made the horizon barely visible, which when combined with a long exposure worked, I feel, so incredibly well …
In each of these images you will have spotted that there were Gulls flying. To include these, once I had taken the long exposure, I then jumped back to the regular camera on my iPhone and waited for the moment when Gulls flew through the frame.
When they did I pressed the shutter a number of times using a Bluetooth Shutter Release which works a treat and only cost £3.99 off Amazon ( LINK )
99% of these images I edited in Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop on my iPad, but to add the Gulls I used Photoshop CC on my desktop as I needed to use a filter and (at the moment) that filter isn’t available in the mobile version of Photoshop.
That said though, the process was so incredibly easy editing on my iPad, and then because everything I do syncs automatically with every device I have Lightroom installed, I could then finish off on my desktop without having to export anything or import from memory cards.
Everything I do on any device be it my iPhone, iPad or Desktop, syncs across each other making it instantly available everywhere.
Oh and the text and graphics were added using Adobe Express …
So another incredibly relaxing morning out taking photographs with my iPhone.
Minimal kit. No swapping out lenses. No attaching filters. No cables.
All of this for me makes for such a wonderful experience, enabling me to relax and just enjoy being where I am and absorb the sights and sounds.
The experience of taking photographs just doesn’t get better!