All things iPhone

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I’m sure you have all heard people rant & rave about this device – but after today’s post, I think you’ll look at this phone in a new way.  I hope you’ll look at it as more of a useful tool than ever before…because it has certainly made my life a whole lot easier!  This wont be your standard post telling you about apps like “Bump” or “AroundMe” – I’m going to let you in on some really cool stuff that you probably didn’t realize this phone could do.  I’ll go in 3 sections today:

1.  For the non-photographer “novice”

2.  For the photographer

3.  Xzibit-status “pimp-my-iphone”

So let’s get started!

1.  For the average person – here’s a rapid-fire list of cool tricks updated with the latest iOS 5 that I’m betting most of these you didn’t know!

 

2.  For the photographer - How to utilize for marketing!

The main draw of your phone is going to be to get people looking at your photos, and eventually talking about your work, thinking about how you might fit in well for their upcoming wedding, event, etc – so I’ll go through how I go about making it fun.

The first and foremost important idea is having a portfolio on your phone.  Yeah, I know it’s just a mobile device & the photos are small – but sometimes you only get just a few minutes to make an impression on someone!  It’s a simple thing to do, but I don’t know very many photographers doing this and it could REALLY help your game out when you’re talking to potential clients.

 

I have sample shots for just about every type of client, but two main sections I wanted to make note of are weddings & travel.  There’s no way I’m “not” going to have my weddings ready to show for a potential client, in any way/shape/form.  Talking about traveling is one of my favorite ways to get to know my clients better, and in case we’ve both been to the same places – I have my favorite photos arranged in albums as well. To do this, import each album into iPhoto and sync with itunes while your phone is connected to your computer. It makes it easier to “select all” from last import on your phone if you do each album individually. To save on space, make the photos 72 dpi and a smaller resolution before the iphoto import.

 

 

A secondary route of getting my work in front of people’s eyes is through mobile uploads.  While the photos aren’t always directly-related to work, I think it’s really important to keep yourself in the forefront of potential clients minds as being a “great photographer” no matter how you do it.  It’s not the camera, but what’s “behind it” that’s important.  In order to create photos that are going to appear better than the “average” person’s mobile uploads, I’d suggest getting some editing apps.  If you want to know what I use, send me an email at tim@timkingblog.com and I’ll share the details, OR – you can check out tomorrow’s iPhonography workshop with CreativeLive.  Here are some of my favorite mobile uploads from the year that have sparked quite a bit of conversation (often times clients):

The metro station in Moscow

 

 

Grand Central Station in New York City

 

 

Arriving in Thailand

 

 

Cabo San Lucas Mexico and Colorado

 

 

Snapped this just after a sunset

 

 

 

 

 

Somtimes you’ve got to get the shot in a moments notice.  If I didn’t have my phone rigged (will tell you how below), I wouldn’t have captured this sight of San Diego before the stuardess told me to put away my phone, and I wouldn’t have had evidence of the San Diego dog sledder that randomly came by during an early-morning kayak session.

 

 

And sometimes when you’re enjoying yourself out on the water, the phone is all you have.

 

 

3.  Pimp my i’

The main idea I’ll be discussing here is jailbreaking.  This software integration allows your iPhone access to a huge database of apps geared to customize your phone to personalized settings.  (Along with some really useful apps)  While it’s about as “street legal” as one of Xzibit’s cars he has built in “Pimp My Ride”, I’ll guess that the biggest risk you’ll probably face is a voided warranty on your phone. Here are some of the most useful tweaks I’ve discovered that are available by jailbreaking your device:

-MyWi & Wi-fi booster:  MyWi is an application that turns your phone into a mobile modem.  I’ve transferred documents from my laptop to clients during multi-hour car rides, and it has saved me quite a few times on time-sensitive jobs!  It costs a one-time fee of $19.99, but it’s worth it in its entirety.  (I think cell phone companies charge you about $20/month for this kind of thing!)  The WiFi booster is a great add-on that shows you how close you are to a certain connection.  Definitely helpful over-seas when you’re on airplane mode & just using WiFi for communications.  (PS – the battery lasts forever if you do it this way)

 

-Android security:  Instead of the number combination lock, you can do a motion pattern to lock your device – and even adjust the opacity so others can’t tell the path as easily.  Great for paranoid people, like myself.  Also, you can customize the little greeting on the slider!  (PS – do not forget your password/pathway to get back into your phone.  It’s a b*tch to get back in, trust me.)

 

 

-Customize-able interfaces:  This new app called SBSettings allows you to add personalized pull-down items to your notification center.  Makes turning on MyWi, Wifi, and Airplane mode a lot easier.  It also makes it quicker to adjust the brightness settings than having to figure your way through the actual icon menu built in the operating system.  On the right, you can customize the keyboard to appear black.  CAPS lock is enabled by tapping the ‘up’ arrow twice in a row.

 

 

Another key function I’ve discovered is the tweak known as “activator”.  This allows me to set the “home” button to a custom function to bring up camera mode right away – especially useful in times like “dog-sled surprise” above.  As you’ll notice below, I set my home-screen to contain zero icons, leaving me with a phone image of the beach staring back at me.  The little skull in the bottom left corner kills all inactive applications.  Like I said, it’s all about making things easier!  Also wanted to mention – you can have 5 icons on your bottom ‘dock’, you can customize your carrier name, and feature the date up top along with the time.

 

 

-Themes.  How badass are these?

 

 

 

 

I hope you got a lot out of this post!  If you did, I’d appreciate it if you would share on facebook via the button below, and if you have any questions please drop me a line in the comment field – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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