One of the fabulous things about social media is the way information  can stumble into your newsfeed and share something you really wanted to know.  A few weeks back, Monica Hamburg (@MonicaHamburg) tweeted Kris Krug’s (@kk) new book called Killer Photos With  Your iPhone which he co-wrote with Matthew Bamberg and Greg Ketchum. 

 Having finally divorced myself from my beloved 12 year relationship with Palm, I’ve spent the last few months embracing the iPhone and loving every minute of tech heaven with my new toy… um, tool … ok, playful tool?!   The ability to take great pictures was eluding me so I knew I needed a copy of this book. 

So, here are seven things I learned about iPhone photography with a little help from Kris, Matthew & Greg:

1. You need apps.  ProCamera, Brushes, Adobe Photoshop Express and Flickr are my favourites.
2. Apps don’t have to cost the earth.  I spent $2.99 on ProCamera,  $4.99 on Brushes and Adobe Photoshop Express and Flickr were free. I spent a few bucks on other apps, like the popular Hipstamatic, but I didn’t break the bank trying to figure out which ones worked best for me.
3. Film and digital camera rules still apply.  Composition, lighting, contrast are all elements of any great photo. The first half of this book is all about camera technique. A great refresher course.
4. I need a camera app with a grid.  After  years of using the heft of a camera to find the centre of gravity, I find it useful to use a grid as I compose my pictures.  ProCamera gives me an 8 x 10 grid to work with.
5. I do better with the touch anywhere on the screen shutter release. With a busy four-year-old as my frequent subject,  it’s hard enough to get him in the frame, let alone spending time fumbling for a tiny shutter button.  Again, ProCamera gives me this option.
6. The camera you have with you is the camera you’ll use.  As much as I love my husband’s Nikon D90 and it’s ability to take multiple pictures fast, optical zoom and flash, the reality is I have my iPhone with me all the time.
7. The iPhone takes print quality images.  With lots of  elders in the family living an analog life, having prints made to send by snail-mail is essential.

I used ProCamera to take the photo above then used Photoshop Express to crop the image, apply the ‘pop’ effect and the flip feature to make my in-the-mirror self-portrait legible.