Tag: Camera+

Valentine’s Day Photography Ideas

How To Make Your Valentine’s Day Photos More Interesting

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us! We’re sure you already have most of the day’s essentials: A great dining destination, a gift, and loved ones to spend the day with.

But wait—you might be forgetting something. Whatever your plans for Valentine’s Day involve, you shouldn’t forget to take pictures! Make sure to have lots of space on your camera or phone, for you’ll surely be capturing so many photos.

But this year, you should strive to make your Valentine’s Day photos more interesting. Here are some easy ways to do so.

Make your flatlays more romantic.

You’ll probably be taking photos of your Valentine’s Day dinner—as you should, on such a special day. Make sure your special meal reflects the romantic air of the holiday by adding heart-shaped elements to your place setting. Consider heart-shaped coasters or placemats, maybe even a heart-shaped plate! You can also sprinkle rose petals or paper heart cutouts on the table.

Capture the tender moments.

Valentine’s Day is all about romance, so take this chance to capture all the precious moments you’ll share with your loved ones. Each stolen gaze, every tender embrace—they all mean so much more on Valentine’s Day. Even the simplest and silliest moments hold more significance on this special day. Go out, be happy, silly, and be yourself with the one you love.

Use props.

Planning a photo shoot? Don’t forget to stash some cute props! Get a bunch of red heart balloons, have a bag of candy hearts on hand, and play around with flowers. It’s easier to relax and act more natural in front of the camera when there are things you can play around with. These add a fun touch to your photos, too!

Use rose-tinted glasses…or rather, filters!

Your photos should evoke the thrilling romance of Valentine’s Day, and an easy way to go achieve this is to stick to a soft pastel-colored palette. Don’t be afraid to be a bit heavy-handed when color-grading your photos, and bathe your images in a rosy glow. If you’re posting on social media, it’s a good time to add filters to your images.

Make heart-shaped bokeh

Feeling a little creative? If you have a DSLR camera, a wide-aperture lens with a lens cap, and a string of lights, you can add cute heart-shaped bokeh to the images you capture. Get dark paper, a cutter or a pair of scissors, and some tape. Lay your lens cap on the paper, draw a circle around it, then cut the circle out. Next, cut out a heart in the middle of the paper, then tape it to the end of the lens. Now, use your camera’s manual mode, and set its aperture to its widest opening. Set your shutter speed to 1/60th, and set your ISO to 400. String up your lights in a darkened room, and focus—every light should produce a heart shape.

Don’t forget to display your images on a Nixplay Frame! Nixplay is having a Valentine’s Day sale, and take our word for this: It’s the best time to get a frame. Take this chance to get the Nixplay Iris at up to 25% off, only until February 14!

how to use a film camera

Tips and Tricks: How to Use a Film Camera

Is film photography dead?

After digital photography skyrocketed some years ago, a very odd thing happened: film became popular again. Maybe it had something to do with the appeal of delayed gratification, or it might have coincided perfectly with the rise of hipster culture.

Endless theories could be drawn around the reason why film photography got a second stab at popularity. Film has a long way to go before dying, and if you’ve already joined the film bandwagon, here are some of our tips and tricks on how to use a film camera and improve your photography skills with film.

Our Top Film Photography Tips for Making the Most of Your Camera

1. Your camera can offer great value

Your film camera has a couple of great benefits that you may be missing right now. It doesn’t matter if it is a 35mm or a medium format camera: They both are highly desired formats in the digital world thanks to these formats’ capabilities.

For a fraction of the monetary investment digital cameras require, you can enter into the exclusive formats that are only reserved for the high pros. Also, you can access some really well-built lenses without going broke.

2. It’s a great tool for improving your photography skills

Using a film camera will eventually make you a better photographer because you’re shooting with a reduced amount of frames. Instead of spraying and praying, film photography can help you develop a more conscientious way of crafting images.

By shooting less you’ll eventually become a better and more discerning photographer. Shooting this way will teach you more than any tutorial out there on the web. You don’t have to be totally loyal to film photography—it’s just a good way of building a mindset that will make you a better photographer no matter if you keep using a digital camera, or even your phone.

3. Score some new film

Kodak recently re-launched its iconic Ektachrome film, which is a great sign. If shooting expired film is good, shooting fresh film is better. Stock up on Ektachrome now!

4. Dig around for expired film

Film has an expiration date, but it is so generous that it doesn’t matter too much for some people. Try to look around in your house for some unexposed film—even 20-year-old rolls will do—and try to develop them. The great charm about film photography is that it will always have unexpected results when shot under such stormy conditions.

5. Learn how to develop your own film

Some people like to develop their own film, and there’s a good reason why. This gives the photographic experience a completely different spectrum. Seeing your photographs appear in front of you almost out of nowhere is an experience every person should have at least one in their lives.

Now, getting film developed is one thing, but printing it out is another story. Film scanners have become pretty popular these days, and they are extremely powerful too. You can scan out your film, invert it, and display it directly on a Nixplay digital frame. This saves you the effort of printing out your negatives. Your frame can also serve as a portable lightbox where you can see all the negatives before deciding which images are worth printing out.

The Beauty of Film Photography

At the end of the day, what matters most is the beautiful relationship between a person and their photographs. Using a film camera offers you something that you can only dream of achieving through a mobile phone camera. Its timeless beauty with unexpected imperfections and charming effects cannot tryly be replicated with an Instagram filter.

Photography is a popular hobby that is ever-growing with new members, creatives, and ideas. With modern gadgets and devices being brought out frequently to expand the field, more and more people are developing an interest in the topic. If you’re a photography fanatic with all the gadgets, you may want to try a Nixplay digital photo frame—the only one of its kind that can play both video and photos through the display screen. Show off all your favorite memories in ultra-high pixel density with the click of a button on the next-generation smart frame. Find your Nixplay frame today.

Federico is a documentary photographer, writer and educator based in El Salvador. Check out his photography portfolio.

5 Best Photo Filter Apps

Do you enjoy taking photographs with your phone? You love this picture of your mom but it is too dark. You have a nice photo of your dog and would like to add a frame… Are you interested in easy and quick tips to improve them? In this article you will find a selection of the Best Photo Filter Apps for iOS and Android.

1. Snapseed (iOS/Android, Free)

The biggest strength of Snapseed are the 29 tools and filters available to make your pictures more attractive! Professional photo editor developed by Google, with its large choice of features, has absolutely outdone Photoshop. Right at your fingertips, this app makes any photo great with a fun and genuine aspect.

Features:

  • Automatic photo adjustments (color, exposure, sharpening)
  • Personalization effects (Vignette, filters, black and white, Perspective,…)
  • Photo borders (frames)
  • Crop and rotate
  • Selective adjustments (brushes and healing tool)

2. Instagram (iOS/Android, Free)

The benefit of using Instagram photo filter is that you can enhance your photos and post them in couple of seconds. It has been recently updated with a fun feature called “face filters” which is quite similar to Snapchat. You can add nerd glasses, virtual koala ears, a butterfly crown or makeup.

The great advantage of using Instagram also is that you can upload your photos directly to your Nixplay Frame from the Mobile App.

Features:

  • Automatic photo adjustments
  • Personalization effects (face filters, brightness, change saturation, black and white)
  • Crop and rotate

3. AirBrush (iOS/Android, Free)

AirBrush is considered to be one of the best photo editor for selfies. It is very user-friendly and has innovative retouch tools which make any pictures natural with splendid results.

You can find different advanced features for your face such as whiten teeth and brighten eyes.

Features:

  • Blemish and Pimple Remover
  • Whiten Teeth and Brighten Eyes
  • Perfect Skin in Every Photo
  • Automatic photo adjustments
  • Natural, Radiant Filters

4. Camera+ (iOS, $2.99)

Only available for Iphone and request a small fee however it is one of the best App available for making  your photos even more beautiful. Camera+ is much more than a basic photo editor because it includes tools that help you take better and faster photos. The best feature is “Clarity” which analyses your photos and makes automatic adjustments that bring out details

It is the best camera app for iPhone in adding a pro-camera to almost any shots.

Features:

  • Photo borders
  • Automatic photo adjustments
  • Front Flash
  • Custom filters
  • Personalization effects

5. Enlight (iOS, $3.99)

All-in-one iPhone photo editor with a very clear interface. The best tool is the “mixer”which blend pictures together to create unique double exposure images. With the right selection of photos, you can get a very beautiful result. You can adjust how much of the second image you want in the montage thanks to various blend mode settings.

Features:

  • Automatic photo adjustments (color, exposure, details)
  • Personalization effects  (Vignette, gradients, light leaks, filters, black and white, sketch)
  • Selective adjustments (Drawing tools, text)
  • Photo borders (frames)
  • Crop and rotate
  • Photo montages (Double-exposure, tilt-shift)

Bea is Nixplay’s Social Media Manager. She enjoys drinking coffee, reading about wars, and writing stories. Send her a message at beatrice.bisais@nixplay.com.

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