# Sharing some photography tips



## seven (Nov 18, 2015)

I like instant things and couldn't be bothered taking out my slr and the tripod and so on... I also play a lot on instagram, so i prefer click-edit-post...

Investing in a lightbox is quite useful. Mine was a cheap one (40 bucks, 75x75cm, i can even sit in there!).




That was my setup for the lemongrass soap i posted in another thread



Original pic taken with iphone6



If you don't mind spending 6 bucks tadaaslr is a pretty cool app where you can create fake bokeh slr style. Just use your finger to mask the areas you want to stay focused and click NEXT. On the next stage, you can adjust the intensity of the blur, etc...

Alternative option is snapseed. It's free and can pretty much do the same things.



Final pic, after basic editing (lighting, contrast, saturation)

I will share more later on... Hope this helps


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## seven (Nov 19, 2015)

Using snapseed...



My setup, yellow indoor lighting. Ignored the messiness.



Original photo. 



Lens blur feature to create fake bokeh so only the bottle in the front stand out.
Snapseed basically has everything you need to do basic editing. It's free.



Use your finger to surround the areas. You can also do it linear, etc. Adjust the intensity of the blur by sliding your finger right or left.



Final pic.


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## annalee2003 (Nov 19, 2015)

Very nice, and great tips! Thanks for sharing.


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## gigisiguenza (Nov 19, 2015)

TY, these are very useful. I don't have an iPhone but I could probably use a kindle app to do something similar


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## seven (Nov 19, 2015)

Actually, iphone cam is not that good based on reviews. Other android phones are much better (sony experia, samsung). Pretty sure the same apps are also available for android.


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## gigisiguenza (Nov 19, 2015)

seven said:


> Actually, iphone cam is not that good based on reviews. Other android phones are much better (sony experia, samsung). Pretty sure the same apps are also available for android.



Awesome TY


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## mymy (Nov 19, 2015)

thank you for the tips!


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Nov 19, 2015)

Having done some photography work, I just played with snapseed and strongly suggest that anyone who uses a smartphone for pictures downloads this tool right now - it is amazing. Great tips, seven


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## seven (Nov 19, 2015)

Yes, snapseed is one great tool (free too!). There is also vsco, which is another great one and also free.


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## gigisiguenza (Nov 19, 2015)

It wasn't free for the kindle, but it was only 99¢ so I was able to get it. I really like it


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## ngian (Nov 19, 2015)

I have to also agree that snapseed is one of the greatest photography tools available on mobile. But I still prefer using my canon dslr and its bigger lenses compared to mobile phone, and to edit them in Photoshop.

As it concerns the lighbox (I own one too) someone can have the same mini studio much more cheaper:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6fnHEvLyAE[/ame]


ETA:
You have some beautiful soap bars in tokopedia


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## seven (Nov 19, 2015)

gigisiguenza said:


> It wasn't free for the kindle, but it was only 99¢ so I was able to get it. I really like it




Yay! 



ngian said:


> I have to also agree that snapseed is one of the greatest photography tools available on mobile. But I still prefer using my canon dslr and its bigger lenses compared to mobile phone, and to edit them in Photoshop.
> 
> As it concerns the lighbox (I own one too) someone can have the same mini studio much cheaper.
> 
> ...




Thank you 

My canon slr is an old one w/o wifi. It is a pita for me to have to removed the card, edit in my computer, send it cellphone.. Too many steps (read: lazy).

I am eyeing one of those fuji mirrorless though


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Nov 19, 2015)

I have a Nikon D200 and if I was doing shots for print or as actual pictures for items in an online shop then I would consider taking it out and using it.  But for Insta/facebook/Twitter pics, the iPhone 5s coupled with a decent app is actually pretty handy.


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## seven (Nov 19, 2015)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> I have a Nikon D200 and if I was doing shots for print or as actual pictures for items in an online shop then I would consider taking it out and using it.  But for Insta/facebook/Twitter pics, the iPhone 5s coupled with a decent app is actually pretty handy.




I agree.. Last night i tried doing shots for my website front page using camphone, the result wasn't so good. Pics were not clear in big size


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## shunt2011 (Nov 19, 2015)

Thank you for sharing this information.  I stink with my photos most the time.  I am going to check out snapseed and see if I can improve on my photos.   I've been wanting a light  box for them but haven't caved yet.


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## navigator9 (Nov 19, 2015)

Your photos are always striking. Your compositions are so artistic. I'm one of those dinosaurs who doesn't have a smart phone. I know, I know. To my defense, I did have one, hated it, and went back to my flip phone. lol So I do it the old fashioned way, and love to use natural light whenever possible. Keep taking those beautiful photos....nothing better than some artistic soap p*rn!


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## seven (Nov 19, 2015)

shunt2011 said:


> Thank you for sharing this information.  I stink with my photos most the time.  I am going to check out snapseed and see if I can improve on my photos.   I've been wanting a light  box for them but haven't caved yet.




Yer very welcome  photographing next to a window also helps if you don't have a lightbox...


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## seven (Nov 19, 2015)

navigator9 said:


> Your photos are always striking. Your compositions are so artistic. I'm one of those dinosaurs who doesn't have a smart phone. I know, I know. To my defense, I did have one, hated it, and went back to my flip phone. lol So I do it the old fashioned way, and love to use natural light whenever possible. Keep taking those beautiful photos....nothing better than some artistic soap p*rn!




Nothing wrong doing it the old fashioned way. Smartphones do have their limitations. I can't use it to take clear photos for my website... One of these days i'm gonna caved in for an entry level mirrorless coz it's light for my tremored hands


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## annalee2003 (Nov 19, 2015)

Oh, I love snapseed so far! So many editing options. Definitely fun to play around with. At least now my soap photos won't look too horrible, haha


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## seven (Nov 19, 2015)

annalee2003 said:


> Oh, I love snapseed so far! So many editing options. Definitely fun to play around with. At least now my soap photos won't look too horrible, haha




Yay


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## seven (Nov 20, 2015)

Finally caved in and got a fuji mirrorless. Loving it so far, practical too.


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## amd (Nov 20, 2015)

I will be checking out snapseed this weekend! Usually I use my phone, edit in photo editor, and then use instagram for filters. I photograph by a window with overhead light, and one of my kids holding tinfoil... Always wondered what other people think of my pics.... Lol...


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## Arimara (Nov 20, 2015)

I never used Snapseed. Just Photoshop and Elements. I see my phone has an app but some companies don't invest time for us windows phone users to have a decent app to use (by decent I mean up to snuff with android and iphone.)


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## snappyllama (Nov 20, 2015)

Thanks so much for the tips and recommendation. I just got Snapseed... now I have no excuse for taking bad pictures!


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## hmlove1218 (Nov 20, 2015)

Thanks for the recommendation! I've been playing with Snapseed all day now lol


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## JayJay (Nov 20, 2015)

Thank you so much for sharing.  

This is very good information.


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## seven (Dec 15, 2015)

Your very welcome  vsco is also a good tool to play with  there is a lady on instagram (and i'm sure she is one of many) who used iphone only, and her pics are fantastic (really enjoyed her feed).. Sadly, photoshop mobile apps is a , pretty limited with the free version.


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