Apple Doesn’t Understand Photography

Megalith

Megalith

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I don’t know why Apple is being singled out here, but the argument is that developers don’t understand how a smartphone camera is typically used. Would you agree that most photos you take are disposable and that photo apps would be a lot more useful if they were better at categorizing images?

The camera in your iPhone is also a mirror. Something to quickly check how you look, how your ass looks (not big at all!) or if you’ve got something stuck in your teeth. The camera is also my financial assistant that keeps track of all my receipts. It is also a living cookbook journals that keeps tracks of the dishes I eat or order in restaurants. It is also a machine I use to show others what I’m doing right now. None of those images are meant to be saved ‘for later’. A year from now nobody will care about what I did at 9:06 AM while waiting in line at the coffee bar. It might be interesting for 1 other person (the person I’m getting coffee for) but it can safely disappear into the void an hour later. No need to make an album out of those photos.
 
This is more of a narcissism issue than anything else. Narcissism got even worse with the ability to take the ever dreaded "selfie". I mean really, do you really need to be taking a picture of every God damn thing you do every day of your life? Nope. Nope. And did I mention... Nope?

I have camera in my phone (obviously, who doesn't these days) but I so rarely use it that I forget that it's there. I do take some pictures but it's very rare that I do.
 
Megalith said:
I don’t know why Apple is being singled out here, but the argument is that developers don’t understand how a smartphone camera is typically used. Would you agree that most photos you take are disposable and that photo apps would be a lot more useful if they were better at categorizing images?

The camera in your iPhone is also a mirror. Something to quickly check how you look, how your ass looks (not big at all!) or if you’ve got something stuck in your teeth. The camera is also my financial assistant that keeps track of all my receipts. It is also a living cookbook journals that keeps tracks of the dishes I eat or order in restaurants. It is also a machine I use to show others what I’m doing right now. None of those images are meant to be saved ‘for later’. A year from now nobody will care about what I did at 9:06 AM while waiting in line at the coffee bar. It might be interesting for 1 other person (the person I’m getting coffee for) but it can safely disappear into the void an hour later. No need to make an album out of those photos.
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I think Apple does it better out of the box but the third party apps give better functionality.
 
trparky said:
This is more of a narcissism issue than anything else. Narcissism got even worse with the ability to take the ever dreaded "selfie". I mean really, do you really need to be taking a picture of every God damn thing you do every day of your life? Nope. Nope. And did I mention... Nope?

I have camera in my phone (obviously, who doesn't these days) but I so rarely use it that I forget that it's there. I do take some pictures but it's very rare that I do.
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Well, if you plan on getting Alzheimer's then maybe you should be taking pics of every moment of your life.

But yeah, Cell phones take horrible quality pictures anyway. If you are going to be taking pictures you actually want to keep, you should be using a real camera. Only time I see for using a cell phone to take pics is when you have nothing else with you.
 
I only take pictures I want to keep. Been that way since forever. I've owned a smart type phone for over a decade and I have never used it as a mirror. Never even thought about til I read this article. Sub professional pictures are all anyone takes except for some pro's and those who think they are pro's cuz they had the cash to blow on a high end camera. Most normal people think a picture is about the moment and not the quality unless it is real bad.
 
I had my most innovative use last week. We were trying to look at a sensor on a machine, but it was in a very cramped area that we could not see while the machine operated. So I facetime'ed my co-worker and sat the phone inside the compartment and we watched the sensor on his phone why we actuated it. Worked out really well and saved us a ton of time to validate the sensor other ways.
 
DrLobotomy said:
I only take pictures I want to keep. Been that way since forever. I've owned a smart type phone for over a decade and I have never used it as a mirror. Never even thought about til I read this article. Sub professional pictures are all anyone takes except for some pro's and those who think they are pro's cuz they had the cash to blow on a high end camera. Most normal people think a picture is about the moment and not the quality unless it is real bad.
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I take picture of all kinds of stuff. Why transcribe something when you can just take a picture of something? Like if I need to write down something at work or someone writes a note. Picture it and then transcribe if needed in the future.
 
I take photos while shopping or just to rather than writing things down. Generally speaking I keep all of my photos across multiple archives, although I do wish I had a better sorting system than just date. Reading that article I just realized I have never used the front facing camera on any of my phones (maybe once to check it out). Using it to check my teeth isn't a bad idea though. But, I guess I have never taken a selfie, then again I actively avoid being photographed in general.
 
Well, I'll buck the trend. My phone is the camera I always have with me and use it for taking pictures of family, kids, etc. We have a much better Canon camera - but its heavier, a lot more of a pain to transport, and honestly (this is probably from our lack of how to use it best, not the Canon) the phone takes nice pictures. I've had some that turned out better on my phone than did on the Canon. (Again, we are not pros and probably aren't using the Canon to capacity).
I love photo albums - Google's does a pretty good job of grouping them together. I will admit that many of the pictures are throw away.
I don't take selfies nor do I take pictures of my rear like the article author (really??).
 
If there is anything to complain about Apple and photos is that the Photo program on OSX puts all the photo's in a database type file. Which makes it a huge pain in the ass just to grab a picture or 2. Microsoft's Live Photo Gallery just puts them in ordered folders.....much easier to pick and choose with (and backup externally).
 
Eh. My phone takes perfectly acceptable photos. Are they 40 megapixel professional quality, of course not. But they're high enough quality that the details I want to capture are captured.
 
I use the camera on my phone to blow up small text and codes on CPUs and other bits of hardware. That's 75% of its use for me. The other 25% is as an 'aide memoir' to refer back and look up later. I'm a 45 year old guy so the selfie is just not happening.

The real kicker that most folks don't realise is that no one really cares about your photos. Yes that includes you pro DSLR folks that that take 3000 40MP shots on a two week vacation. If people do appear interested...well they are not. They are just being polite and wish they were anywhere but having to sit through all those photos. I know you'll deny that's the case but deep deep down you know it's true.

If I go on vacation for three weeks, I now take maybe 10 pics. I prefer to see my vacation through my eyes rather than a viewfinder.
 
daglesj said:
I use the camera on my phone to blow up small text and codes on CPUs and other bits of hardware. That's 75% of its use for me. The other 25% is as an 'aide memoir' to refer back and look up later. I'm a 45 year old guy so the selfie is just not happening.

The real kicker that most folks don't realise is that no one really cares about your photos. Yes that includes you pro DSLR folks that that take 3000 40MP shots on a two week vacation. If people do appear interested...well they are not. They are just being polite and wish they were anywhere but having to sit through all those photos. I know you'll deny that's the case but deep deep down you know it's true.

If I go on vacation for three weeks, I now take maybe 10 pics. I prefer to see my vacation through my eyes rather than a viewfinder.
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There was a recent study that suggests the more time you spend taking photos, the less likely you are to remember what you saw. Had something to do with being in the moment vs divorced from it by the camera.

Why taking photos can actually make your memory worse
 
Todd Walter said:
There was a recent study that suggests the more time you spend taking photos, the less likely you are to remember what you saw. Had something to do with being in the moment vs divorced from it by the camera.

Why taking photos can actually make your memory worse
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I don't fully buy that. When I take photos while traveling, I am very actively observing the environment, composing the shot, finding the best lighting and position. There is a lot of conscious and purposeful thought that goes in to my pictures. I remember my vacations, and especially photography locations, very well now. The other people I travel with, who are not mindful about these things, barely remember where they were and when.
 
I have never understood why phone manufacturers put the good camera on the back. I'll wager that 99% of the photos people take with their camera are selfies.
 
I use the camera in the phone to take pictures of the odometer in the company car, so I can write the travel documents later.
 
daglesj said:
I use the camera on my phone to blow up small text and codes on CPUs and other bits of hardware. That's 75% of its use for me. The other 25% is as an 'aide memoir' to refer back and look up later. I'm a 45 year old guy so the selfie is just not happening.

The real kicker that most folks don't realise is that no one really cares about your photos. Yes that includes you pro DSLR folks that that take 3000 40MP shots on a two week vacation. If people do appear interested...well they are not. They are just being polite and wish they were anywhere but having to sit through all those photos. I know you'll deny that's the case but deep deep down you know it's true.

If I go on vacation for three weeks, I now take maybe 10 pics. I prefer to see my vacation through my eyes rather than a viewfinder.
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My experience is that people demand to show them the photos you took when you were at an interesting place. I travel around the world occasionally for work, and get to places none of my co-workers have been or ever will go to. They'd tear me to pieces if I didn't bring the photos on the first day back at the office. Of course they also want the souvenirs.
 
NeoNemesis said:
I have never understood why phone manufacturers put the good camera on the back. I'll wager that 99% of the photos people take with their camera are selfies.
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I've never taken a selfie with my phone, or a picture using the front camera, but have taken hundreds of pictures using the back camera.
My current phone's camera is good enough for family pictures, and for taking pictures so I don't have to write down information at work or while shopping.
It's also good enough to use as a backup camera while traveling, although I usually get much better pictures with my Sony that has better optics, stabilization and a long optical zoom.
 
M76 said:
My experience is that people demand to show them the photos you took when you were at an interesting place. I travel around the world occasionally for work, and get to places none of my co-workers have been or ever will go to. They'd tear me to pieces if I didn't bring the photos on the first day back at the office. Of course they also want the souvenirs.
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...being polite!
 
I have some nice pictures on my phone. Pics of servers, networking equipment, kids, outdoors, etc.. I maybe have 1 selfie on there.
 
Todd Walter said:
There was a recent study that suggests the more time you spend taking photos, the less likely you are to remember what you saw. Had something to do with being in the moment vs divorced from it by the camera.

Why taking photos can actually make your memory worse
Click to expand...

So true. I'm a semi-pro videographer from time to time and I often remember more watching footage than remembering where I was filming. Sad. These days I don't shoot so much especially on family holidays. Easier to remember the good times :)
 
Dunnlang said:
I don't fully buy that. When I take photos while traveling, I am very actively observing the environment, composing the shot, finding the best lighting and position. There is a lot of conscious and purposeful thought that goes in to my pictures. I remember my vacations, and especially photography locations, very well now. The other people I travel with, who are not mindful about these things, barely remember where they were and when.
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Well, it was only a couple of studies, hardly conclusive. My personal experience is that I remember events better when I am actively participating rather than taking photos.
 
Todd Walter said:
Well, it was only a couple of studies, hardly conclusive. My personal experience is that I remember events better when I am actively participating rather than taking photos.
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I wouldn't be surprised if it was more of a side effect of not "unplugging". If people are spending more time with their phone screens in front of their faces and getting information that way, rather than using their environment to get information, then they won't have actually learned anything from their environment. I'm very conscious of my environment when I travel. A good portion of that consciousness is owing to photography.

I always get the most out of traveling when I am actively working towards goals. If you let things passively slip by, there won't be much to remember.
 
Like most articles now, all problems no solutions.

I can hear it now. Apple's reading your pictures to find out about you. Apple deleted a photo of a selfie I took with a friend minutes before she died. I don't want Apple determining what pictures are important to me.
 
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