Achieving an HDR look Step by Step by Steven Savy

Steven Savy (Instagrammer @stevenyvas) was generous enough to share his process for creating HDR-like images using his iPhone!  I’ve been drawn to his gallery since I first stumbled across it and was thrilled to have a peek behind the scenes. 
Please visit Steven’s gallery to see more of his work. 

Apps Required:  Snapseed, iCamera HDR, Photo FX, Iris Photo Suite, PS Express, Squaready, Filterstorm, Lenslight

Step 1 – Open image in Squaready and size to your preference (below)

Step 2 – Load image in Snapseed.  Select Details then Structure and adjust to 100 and save. (below)

Step 3 – Load image in iCamera HDR as a single photo.  Make adjustments to your personal liking and save. (below)

Step 4 – Open image in Iris Photo Suite, then in Filters add Retro, 3-Strip Technicolor, Diffused Glow and Polarizer.  Again, this is all personal preference as far as adjustments.  Save. (below)

Step 5 – Load image into Photo FX and under Light add Halo at 10 and save. (below)

Step 6 – Load image in PS Express and sharpen and reduce noise for clarity and smoothness. Save.  (below)

Step 7 – Now load image in Snapseed again.  Click Tune Image and adjust to preference.  Save.  (below)

Step 8 – Load image in Filterstorm.  Select Vignette under Filters and set radius to 0% then brightness between 70-80%.  This give you the dark look.  Click the check mark and go to Curves.  Adjust Curves to as light as you want the highlights to be and then click Mask.  Mask the areas you want highlighted.  In this case, I wanted the railing and building to show more.  Save.  (below)

Step 9 – Load image in Lenslight and add your sun and the light for the light pole and save. (below)

Congrats!  You’ve just created a like HDR image!  (below)

Thank you again Steve for sharing your expertise!

Apps for Beginners

The app store can be overwhelming – so many photography apps and the descriptions all sound wonderful!  Confused?  Where do you begin?
I am just a babe myself in the world of iphoneography, but I’ve already noticed there are several apps I go to again and again.
As mentioned before, I use the Procamera app for shooting my photos for 3 reasons

• You can set the exposure and focus points separately
• Rapid fire Mode for continuous shots
• Tap anywhere on the screen to take photo

SlowShutter is another camera app that gives great results. 

Photo below taken with SlowShutter

For my second choice it’s a tie between Snapseed and PerfectPhoto for basic editing functions like cropping, rotating, exposure, color balance, sharpen, etc.  One more app in this category (FREE as of this post date) is Easy Photo Editor Pro which has a great user interface.

For adding filters and effects, FX Photo Studio makes it easy to switch from one application to the next with a simple swipe.  There are a few corny effects like adding cupids and hearts to your photo, but you can hide them from your choice list.  PhotoCopier allows you to capture the look of the coloring/lighting of movies, paintings, photos and processes.  There’s a lot to work with in this app and I’ve only begun to tap into it’s capabilities.  If you’d like to blend one image with another, Image Blender is simple to use and does the job well.  If you already have an app that allows you to add layers and change blend modes like , you won’t need a separate image blending app. 

I have 3 favorite Painterly effects apps (at least at the moment – that could change when I discover the next amazing one!)  Glaze is a new discovery that is quickly become an app I use often.  Painteresque, a one-trick pony that does what it does very well.  Foolproof Art Studio has so much potential - I just downloaded it but my first try had me hooked!

Photo edited with Glaze

Same photo edited in Painteresque


and finally in Foolproof

For adding light to your photo, Lenslight is my favorite app.

Here’s the Foolproof image with some rays added from Lenslight

One app that has made my life easier is the Photo Transfer App which allows me to easily transfer selected photos from my iPhone to my iPad and even to my PC (also possible to transfer to a MAC).  I find it easier to work on the photos with my iPad than to strain my eyes with my phone.

This is just a glimpse into the wonderful world of creative apps.  I’m sure you have your favorites and go-to apps.  Please join in the conversation by leaving a comment with a few of your top choices not mentioned here.  I’m sure readers will enjoy seeing your picks!