Teach Yourself VISUALLY iPhoto for iPad (2013)

Chapter 14: Using iPhoto on the iPhone

You can use iPhoto on an iPhone as well as on an iPad. Although the app has similar features on both devices, it is not identical. You can get more from iPhoto on the iPhone by discovering the differences and understanding how some features offer extra possibilities.

Compare Devices

Using the Thumbnail Browser

Access the Edit Tools

Using Settings and Options

Take HDR Photos

Compare Devices

iPhoto on the iPhone is very similar to iPhoto on the iPad, but there are important differences. Although the features in both versions are almost identical, the overall experience is different because the two devices have different strengths and weaknesses.

The devices have obvious hardware differences, but other differences are more subtle. You can get more from iPhoto by making the best use of its possibilities on each device.

Compare Portability

Unlike the iPad, the iPhone is a pocket device: it is easy to carry, easy to hold, and can be easy to hide. You can use it as a convenient pocket camera to snap interesting scenes almost anywhere. This spontaneity can make you more creative. You can easily get into the habit of stopping to capture interesting subjects. You are less likely to take an iPad everywhere with you, and less likely to take photos with it if you do.

Assess Camera Quality

The 8-megapixel camera in the iPhone 4S approaches the quality of a good digital compact camera. The 5-megapixel camera in the iPhone 4 is a step down in quality, but is capable of good results in good light. The camera in the 3rd and 4th generation iPads is comparable to the iPhone 4’s camera but lacks some of its options, including HDR (High Dynamic Range) capture. The older iPad 2 has a relatively poor camera and produces grainy and noisy images in all but the best light.

Using the Flash

The cameras on the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5 include a simple LED (Light Emitting Diode) flash unit. The flash has a limited range of a few yards, and is most effective on close subjects. Although less powerful than the flash of a basic digital compact camera, it is good enough for simple portraits and close-ups. The iPad camera lacks a flash. The camera works best in bright daylight. You cannot create photographic special effects such as fill-in flash.

Using a Smaller Screen

The iPhone has a much smaller screen than the iPad. iPhoto’s designers have done a remarkable job of packing iPhoto’s features into this smaller space. But a few features have been moved or made less obvious — for example, the Editor displays fewer thumbnails. So the app is slightly less intuitive overall. More critically, the small screen cannot reveal the fine detail visible on the iPad. Grain, noise, and other imperfections are easy to miss, even on an iPhone with a retina display. Realistically, the iPhone displays a large thumbnail preview of a photo. To get the best view of a photo, use an iPad, a TV, or an external monitor.

Using the Lock Screen

The iPhone has a useful camera feature on the lock screen. You can drag the lock icon up to reveal the Camera app, even when the phone is locked. This saves time and helps you capture fleeting photos quickly. The iPad has an animated album viewer on its lock screen. There is no quick way to unlock an iPad and take a photo.

Compare Processors and Memory

iPads are designed to be faster than iPhones. iPad models also have more working memory (not to be confused with the 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of storage for data and photos). With the extra speed of the newer A5X and A6X processors, extra memory, and improved graphics, editing and previews are noticeably faster on an iPad.

Compare Overall Ease of Use

Both devices have advantages. The iPhone has a better camera and is more portable. The iPad has a bigger screen and is better for photo viewing and editing. Having both devices is ideal. Apple’s app synchronization installs a single purchase of iPhoto on both so you do not need to buy two copies. Where Wi-Fi is available, you can then use Photo Stream or photo beaming to copy new photos from an iPhone to an iPad for viewing and editing.

Using the Thumbnail Browser

You can use iPhoto on the iPhone to view albums, photos, events, and journals, just as you can on the iPad. Each opens into a smaller version of the iPhoto thumbnail browser. You can view one or two thumbnail columns, drag the thumbnails to the left or right edge of the screen, or tap a disclosure triangle to view different photo sets. There is no way to view three columns.

In portrait mode, you can view a single row of thumbnails. There is no way to view multiple rows, and the photo set disclosure triangle remains hidden.

Using the Thumbnail Browser

Launch iPhoto.

Tap any of the following buttons to open the thumbnail browser: Albums, Photos, Events, or Journals.

iPhoto opens the thumbnail browser.

Drag the thumbnails up and down to select a photo.

Tap a photo to preview it.

Drag the width control left or right to view one or two columns of thumbnails.

Drag the entire thumbnail toolbar to the right to move it to the other side of the screen.

iPhoto moves the thumbnail browser to the other edge of the screen.

A Optionally, tap the Back button to exit the thumbnail browser.

Tap the disclosure triangle to display the thumbnail filter selector.

Note: The disclosure triangle works on either side of the screen.

iPhoto displays the filter selector.

B Optionally, tap one of the four filter types to select it. iPhoto will display a filtered list of thumbnails.

Tap Cancel to leave the current filter unchanged.

TIPS

Can I hide the thumbnails?

You can hide the thumbnails by tapping the grid of nine squares (), just as you can in iPhoto on the iPad. The thumbnails disappear, leaving just the main photo preview. Swipe left or right on the preview to view other photos.

Does using a retina display make a difference?

The standard- and retina-display versions of iPhoto on the iPhone are identical. The same tools and options are available, and they work the same way. The only difference is photo preview quality. With a retina display, the preview is noticeably smoother and more detailed.

Access the Edit Tools

In iPhoto on the iPhone, the edit options are partly hidden. The one-click edit icons — auto-enhance, rotate, flag, favorite, and hide — are included on the bottom toolbar. The more complex image editing options are collected on a separate slide-out toolbar.

You can slide out the image editing tools when you need them, and hide them when you have finished working. The tools themselves are identical. You can use all the tools available on the iPad version.

Access the Edit Tools

Launch iPhoto.

From one of the collections, tap any photo to open the thumbnail browser.

Note the one-click edit tools in the toolbar along the bottom of the window.

Tap the toolbox icon () to view the image editing tools.

The edit tools slide out from the left and cover the one-click editing toolbar.

Tap any image editing tool to use it.

iPhoto displays the settings and options for the selected tool.

Tap the icons in the toolbar to set up and use the editing tool.

Tap the tool’s icon when done.

iPhoto hides the options for the tool.

Tap the close icon () to hide the editing tools.

Note: The brushes and effects tools display extra icons the first time you dismiss their main icons.

TIPS

Why do some tools have extra icons?

The brushes and effects include too many features for a single toolbar, so the tools have been split across two toolbars. You can access them by opening the main set of tools, and then closing them to reveal the second set. Tap the toolbox icon () again to reveal the main editing toolbar.

Do the tools work the same way in portrait mode?

The exposure and color tools work differently. Their sliders do not fit into the small horizontal space in portrait mode, so they are replaced by sets of icons. Tap an icon to reveal the corresponding slider.

Using Settings and Options

iOS on the iPhone does not support popovers. Instead of displaying a floating popover for settings and options, iPhoto slides a sheet up from the bottom of the screen. To dismiss the sheet, tap Done at the top right.

Otherwise, the settings and options for iPhoto on the iPhone are identical to those on the iPad. The settings (gear) icons on each page display the usual features, but the layout of each sheet is slightly different.

Using Settings and Options

Launch iPhoto.

On one of the collections pages, tap the settings (gear) icon ().

iPhoto slides a settings sheet from the bottom of the screen.

Tap the Help button to browse the help pages.

Scroll down to view more settings.

Tap Done when finished.

iPhoto hides the settings sheet.

Open a collection and tap any photo to open the thumbnail browser.

Select any of the editing tools.

Tap the tool’s settings (gear) icon ().

iPhoto displays the settings and options for that tool.

Tap Reset to cancel any pending edits.

Tap the dot selector to view another page of options.

Note: This option is available only for the Crop tool, shown here.

Tap Done when finished to hide the sheet.

TIPS

Why are there no popovers on the iPhone?

The sliding sheets — technically modal views — on the iPhone were added to iOS before the iPad was released. Popovers can be almost any size, and may not fit on the iPhone’s screen. So iOS on the iPhone continues to use the older technology, even though the sheets are less visually polished.

Are there any other important differences?

iPhoto on the iPhone has no help icons; help is available only in one location. You can find the Help button at the top of the main settings page, which appears when you tap the settings (gear) icon () on any of the main collections — Albums, Photos, Events, and Journals.

Take HDR Photos

Conventional cameras find it hard to capture images that combine bright light with deep shadow. HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography attempts to solve this problem by combining multiple exposures in a single image. You can use HDR to reveal shadow or sky detail that would normally be missed, such as a blue sky with clouds instead of an overexposed white area.

The HDR mode on the iPhone takes three photos at once — underexposed, overexposed, and just right. The iPhone combines the exposures automatically to create a single image with extra detail. The effect is subtle but useful.

Take HDR Photos

Launch the Camera app.

Tap the Options button.

A list of camera options appears.

Tap the HDR switch to turn on HDR mode.

Tap Done to hide the options.

A iPhoto displays the HDR On message at the bottom of the screen and enables HDR mode.

Select any scene with bright light and deep shadow.

Tap the camera icon () to snap the scene in the usual way.

Camera takes an HDR photo of the scene.

Note: Creating an HDR photo takes a couple of seconds.

View the photo in the camera roll or in iPhoto.

Note how the HDR label appears automatically on HDR photos.

The photo has extra detail in the shadows and is less overexposed than the preview.

TIPS

Why do iPhone HDR photos look less dramatic than some other HDR photos?

Other cameras and software create HDR images by combining photos with a much wider exposure range. The results can be surreal and garish. (Brooding skies over strangely lit landscapes are very popular.) HDR on the iPhone is more subtle, and usually more useful.

Do I need to keep the camera steady for HDR?

Yes. Because HDR uses multiple exposures, camera shake can create obvious misalignments in the combined image. Take extra care to keep the iPhone steady when shooting HDR images. Use a small tripod if you have one.