Many of us, make good use of our intelligent phones while on a shoot. Several apps are made available to ease our task while on a project.
Whether it be to help us with the position of the sun at a certain location at a precise moment, Pose examples, Depth of field calculator, or simply a list of shots we want to make sure we get at a certain time, such as weddings, our phones come in handy.
Here are some of the Apps I use on my phone...
Simple DOF
If I'm shooting a portrait with a preferred lens that has a large aperture, and wish to take advantage of that lens quality and create a soft feel to the photo, I'll use a DOF calculator. There's a very fine difference in setting, when you wish to obtain a very short depth of field, while making sure the models eyes are tack sharp, even though he/she might not be facing you squarely.
For example, if I use a 135mm F2.0 lens mounted on a full frame camera body, and I'm 9' from the model at F2, my depth of field will be 1.85". There's no way of knowing that, unless you have a DOF calculator.
LightTrac
This app uses your position along with the current sunrise/sunset information, so you can use the lighting to your advantage and select the best time of day, based on the decor you've chosen to use as a background.
To me, this is one of the best tools for a photographer that shoots urban, outdoor portraits, weddings, etc... It takes the guesswork out of the equation, and you can better prepare for your shoot, well in advance.
Checklist
This doesn't have to be an App. Some use their Notepad to make a list of images to be shot throughout the day. One thing's for sure, it beats lugging an old wooden clipboard around or a folded up piece of paper in your pocket. The key, is to not forget a single moment. Comes in really handy for wedding, when you're more than one photog, so you and your assistant can split the shot list, while making sure it's taken care of.
All this is nice and dandy, but how is this perceived
by the client, who's not a photographer? Does he/she understand that
we're actually working while we've got out eyes on our phones, and not
texting our friends or loved-one, or posting on our preferred social media? I
once had a client ask me if I was really interested in doing the
shoot, because I was apparently sending lots of time looking at my
phone. And, until I showed them what I was doing, they of course had no
idea, that we were using various apps, to their advantage.
Since then, I've been voicing out my actions, while using my phone, and the clients seem to appreciate it.
So, to all potential clients reading this, remember, don't to be too quick to judge. If a photographer is spending time on his/her cell phone while working on your project, chances are there might be more than meets to eye. They're most likely making sure you get the best image possible.
