Controlling or manipulating White Blance in Your iPhone Images Camera+ ~ Snapseed ~ Hipstamatic

Well when it snows all colors of snow images appear on social media, as folks post snaps. It kind of makes me crazy when I see dingy grey snow or blue snow in pics ....... as snow is white! So how do you get your iPhone pics in snow to look white??? Easy!! Post process your Camera+ images in Snapseed or choose a Lens/Film combo in Hipstamatic.

Image 1: Camera+ shot using the square format option unprocessed. (Notice the the blue color cast to the snow?) That is a result of the algorithms in the app and the environmental light.

Image :2 Camera+ shot using Snapseed "Tune Image" filter adjusting the  "Warmth" slider then using the black and white filter.

 

 

So here are a few screen shots showing the adjustment menus in Snapseed.

Image 3: Color Screen shot of Camera+ (Image 1) being processed in Snapseed using the "Tune Image" filter and adjusting the warmth slider to +37, which will vary depending on your taste and the tone of the original image. Substantially different then the first image Titled Image 1. (the blue cast is gone by adding warmth, which is yellow color balancing)

Image 4: Screen shot of "Warmth Adjusted" image now converted to monochrome in Snapseed using the filter "Black and White"

Another way is to choose a combination of filters in Hipstamatic which will brighten snow and whiten your image while delivering a Monochrome image.
The shot below was made using the Hipstamatic App and the lens choice of Lucas AB2 and BlacKeys Extra Fine film.
When I teach "Getting Started" in iPhone Photography students often ask why I would use Hipstamatic...well here is an example of why. I like the square format, I like white snow and I like black and white imagery! And no further processing was needed.

Hipstamatic unprocessed shot.

My next "Getting Started" in iPhone Photography is March 8 in Washington, DC at the Renwick Gallery and DAR. Hope to see some of you there! Please feel free to comment or ask questions!
As with all digital photography there are many other Apps you can use to color correct!

True HDR: Hampton Mansion

True HDR Capture: Photocopier App Turner: Rain, Steam and Speed for developing: Filterstorm for border: Impression for signature

Today was really a test for the True HDR app in the iPhone. It was also a test for me! In the bright snow my photo gray glasses really got dark making the icons and menu options very hard to see. I tried out my new little Joby SLR Zoom Tripod with a mini-ball head wrapped around my regular tripod. I also used the Glif mounted to the Joby Tripod. It worked just fine and is pretty portable and stable.
These shots were made in manual mode of the True HDR app selecting the brightest point on the image and making a shot then selecting the darkest point and making a second shot. I was also tested by this as I had to take my gloves off to make it work. It was also a little difficult hitting the exact right spot. But all in all it is a pretty amazing app.