Creating Facebook 360 photos on your iOS devices like your iPhone with either the iPhone Camera app or Google’s Street View app for iOS.
First I will say you can do this on other devices as well such as Android devices via Google Camera, but since I only have access to and iPhone this is all I can show you. I”m sure the steps are similar but the steps in the apps you use will be different.
Both the Google Street View App and the iOS Camera app were tested on an iPhone 6s running iOS 9.3.2. and using Facebook app version 58.
There is an option to embed 360 video as well, but you need a 360 camera to do this and at the moment I do not. So see the Facebook FAQ for more information on video 360.
Creating Facebook 360 Photos on iOS with the iOS Camera App.
Open the Camera app and switch to pano mode. Create your pano making sure it is not too narrow. There is no way to really know, but if you make it to narrow it will not upload in the Facebook 360 format. The wider the panorama is the more movement you will have left and right after you have uploaded it to Facebook. Once you have your panorama created you can now upload it to Facebook.
Uploading your iPhone pano to Facebook.
You can upload your pano photo to Facebook either directly from your iOS device such as and iPhone or you can upload it from your computer.
Uploading from your iOS device such as an iPhone.
Open the Facebook app, create a new post by selecting “Photo”, then select the pano from your camera roll, click done. Add text, description, and tag your friends etc if you wish, then click post. Your photo is uploaded and you are sent to the Facebook 360 post on your feed. Although the text and such is not required it is nice to have a description of what the photo is about.
So you are thinking of creating a website and not sure where to go and how long it will take, I have a quick and easy solution for you with Bluehost, my hosting provider.
These days I think everyone is in the website hosting business and there are many providers you can choose from, but I know Bluehost can can get your website up and online in no time.
Wither you are a techie and like to do everything yourself or someone who just wants to get online and not worry about the details, Bluehost has solutions for you.
So how do you get started…
Before you even go to Bluehost, I would recommend that you do a little pre planning.
Things to think about:
Your domain name. Come up with a list of domain names that you might want to use. I would come up with at least 3 and order them in preferred order. There is always a chance that the name you want is already taken so you want to have your 2nd and 3rd choices ready to go.
Think about the type of site you want to have. This is anything from a blog to a just a e-commerce store. Bluehost has options for any type of site that you want and I believe WordPress can accommodate most types, but if you need a specialized type of site, they have various options for those as well.
Know you budget. Like every hosting site there are a ton of options from the low-end shared hosting to dedicated servers just for you site. You can always start at the shared hosting option and move up the options list to the dedicated server as needed. Also, you can get more for your money using the introductory pricing if you get multiple years of service up front. This is what I did and it has saved me a lot over my initial sign-up period
Think about your content. This mainly comes in for the Basic and Plus shared hosting options as there is a limit on server space. If you site is going to be heavy on images or videos that are stored on your site you may have to go with the Pro shared site option to start as it has unmetered storage space
Knowing these things will help you deciding which of the multitude of services that Bluehost can offer that you will need to start with.
Now that you have done your pre-planned. Lets go through the steps of getting you online and up in running.
I’ll get the basic information out of the way first before getting into my comments and review. First, this is a Mac OS only application. Sorry my Windows followers, but if you are looking for something that does run on Windows, I would check out On1’s Photo 10.5
The Intensify CK System and Software requirements
Mac OS 10.9 and above
iMac/MacBook Pro/ MacBook Air/Mac Pro/Mac Mini late 2009 or later
4GB RAM and more
512 MB Graphic RAM and more
Creative Kit is integrated as plugin with Lightroom 4,5,6 and CC; Photoshop Elements 10-14 (App Store version is not supported due to Apple Sandboxing); Apple Aperture 3.2 or later; Adobe Photoshop CS5, CS6 or CC 2014, СС 2015, СС.
Photos extensions support – for 10.11 only
Intensify CK Pricing
List price is $59.99 for the standalone application. (Look for a special limited time discount at the end of this review) You can also get it as part of the Creative Kit. There is a version of Intensify in the Mac App store, but it is a scaled down version and does not include the Plug-in support as mentioned above. To get the full features of Intensify CK you need to purchase it direct from Macphun.
Intensify CK feature set.
Real-Time Image Processing Engine!
Standalone software & Plug-in Support
Native 16-bit RAW Processing
Social integration: Facebook, Flickr, etc.
68 Professional Presets
Advanced Structure and Micro Structure controls
Layers & Masking
Proprietary Technology for Revealing Details
Vignette with Custom Center
Proprietary Technology for Pro Contrast
Powerful Macro Sharpness
Built-in Macphun Print Lab
Now on to the review and my comments on Intensify CK
Adobe has a special Creative Cloud set just for photographers for just $9.99/month
So to get Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CC click on the image below.
They do offer Educational pricing on the full Creative Cloud set of applications, but for Photography Creative Cloud the pricing is the same for everyone. If you are interested in the full Creative Cloud set of applications, click the image above, then click on the Student and Teachers tab to see how to get All the Apps at Educational pricing.
The Creative Cloud subscriptions include all application updates as long as your subscription is active.
First I must say I do my best to be unbiased in all my reviews, but in this case I must disclose that I’ve been following Trey Ratcliff for years and as such I”m am a big fan so this review might be a little unintentionally biased. I’ve followed him for so long that I seen changes in his website, changes in his photography equipment, and the ever evolving changes and improvements in his photography. I’ve seen him go from a one person show to a multi artist show, to a worldwide show, and now to Facebook live. I’ve seen his business constantly expanding with new and exciting products and adventures. I also had the pleasure of meeting him in person on a photo walk he and the Stuck in Customs crew did last year in Philadelphia and Washington DC. If you want to see what that was like visit tour.treyratcliff.com
That said, let’s get to the review.
Becoming an Artist Series 1 is comprised of 15 episodes. Each episode is about 30 mins long and divided into two sections. In the first section of each episode you hear Trey tell personal stories such as a bit of his life history, how he became a photographer in his 30’s, and some of the things that inspire him in his photography and art. I believe he does this to give you a sense of where he’s coming from, how he sees the world, and what affects this has on his photography. There is some dialog just about art in general and how other art can help influence or inspire your photography. He will discuss the picture(s) he is taking at that time, why he choose to take that picture, and some tips about the picture including composition, color, light, and inspiration.
In the second section of each episode you get transported to Trey’s Studio in Queenstown New Zealand, where he will show you his editing techniques on some of the photos he took during the previous section using various tools from PhotoMatix, Lightroom, Photoshop, and other tools like Autopano Giga for his panorama’s. He shows you basic techniques up to some very advanced techniques.
Episodes have interesting titles like
Episode 1 – The Accidental Creation of Me
Episode 6 – Writing a Failed Novel
Episode 10 – A Reccy to Chernobyl
Episode 14 – A Street Fight in Morocco
So you can see this is not your typical tutorial series.
This series was created before Aurora HDR came out, so for this season he doesn’t use his new tool, Aurora HDR Pro, which he co-developed with Macphun software.
Dont’ forget you can get 10% off of most products at the Stuck in Customs store using the Coupon Code: MDP10. Since this product was just released I’m not sure if the code works yet for this product, but it is good for many of the other items in the Stuck in Customs store. Best advise is to pick what you would like, add it to your cart, and enter the Coupon Code: MDP10 and the site will let you know.
Here is his quick tutorial/intro to the Expansion pack.
A recent purchase of a 30.000″ x 13.750″ print of Balloon Glow by a buyer from Baltimore, MD reminded me that the Maryland Preakness Hot Air Balloon Festival is just around the corner.
First, I want to thank them for their purchase and I’m always grateful to anyone for purchasing my work.
The above picture is the one they selected. A wide shot of the Balloon Glow that they hold on 2 nights of the festival.
If you have never been to the Preakness Hot Air Balloon Festival I would recommend going. It is a fun event and is family-friendly. You can get Balloon rides and walk inside one of the balloons. If you can only go one day, I would go on one of the days that they do the Balloon Glow, pictured above. It is rather amazing to see all the Balloons lit up. Be aware that when they are all firing their flames to illuminate their balloon it is rather loud
Here is a small selection of photographs I’ve taken at this festival in earlier years.
ON1 is announcing ON1 Photo RAW – Coming Fall 2016
ON1 Announces ON1 Photo RAW the Future of RAW Photo Editing and includes support for over 800 cameras. Described as the first all-new RAW processor and non-destructive photo editor to be release in years.
There will be two ways you can get this new and exciting program.
The first method is to sign up for their On Plus Pro program now. You will get the current version of ON1 Photo 10.5 today and will be the first to get ON1 Photo Raw when released in the fall.
The second is to sign up to get notified when pre-orders begin being accepted for upgrade or new purchase.
Since this product is still in the works it is best to check out their ON1 Photo Raw Announcement Page for the latest information.
If you follow my Facebook page, hopefully you have viewed and subscribed to one of my live feeds on Facebook when I’m out and photographing and am able to do a live feed.
For awhile, Facebook had limited who could to do this to a small group of users via Facebook Mentions app and then released it to more users on in the Facebook app on iOS devices.
But now, Facebook Live is available to everyone on both iOS and Android devices. Currently only works on the mobile device app and not on the web browser version of Facebook.
When you go to create a post there will be a new icon at the bottom of your post. See the below picture to see what it looks like and where it is on the screen.
If you do not see this icon, chances are you need to update your Facebook app on your mobile device. Once you get the latest version of Facebook installed, this icon should appear.
If you have a Facebook Page or an Event Page, you can do live video there as well.
On the Facebook Page, when you click Publish you should see the icon at the bottom of the Publish Post just like above.
Now when you click the Facebook Live icon….
Your live video screen will open and prompt you to enter a short description of what your video is about. This description will show in the Facebook feed just above the video.
If this is your personal Facebook page, you can limit who will see the live video. To do this click on the “Public” icon and select one of the friends lists you have created to have the live feed just showing to those users. For Facebook Page published posts, it is “Public” only. I haven’t tested an Event page live feed yet, but I’m assuming it is limited to users associated with the event. Note: if you have selected a friends list, the next time you open the app it that friends list is still selected. So just remember that you may need to change who you are broadcasting to the next time you open the Facebook live feature.
Your all set, go ahead and click “Go Live”. You will be given a 3 second countdown and then you are live.
When you are live you will see the below. A few things to know when you are live. By default the app will use your rear camera (the one facing away from you), but you can switch for the forward facing camera by clicking the icon in the top right. Click it again to go back to the rear camera. Below your live video (which is black on the image below as I had my phone on my desk so the camera wasn’t showing anything) you will see who has joined your live feed and any comments or Facebook Reactions they have posted to your live feed.
Facebook has plans to add other features to the live feed screen. On my iOS Facebook app it seems that the filter feature is available now. Try it out to see if you have it by swiping left or right on the video section of the screen. The filters that are showing up for me are; Pop, Classical, Country, Funk, Acid, and the default of No Filter. Each gives your video a different look so give it a try to see if it is working on your Facebook Live feed and to see what each does.
When you are ready to end your Facebook Live feed, click the finish button. After you click finish, you will see the “Ending Live Video” screen where you have a few seconds to cancel the “Ending Live Video” if you clicked it by mistake. (One other note, if you accidentally switch to another app or your devices home screen while doing a live feed, as long as you didn’t close the Facebook app, you can go right back to it as it would have automatically been paused. Just click the pause button to go back to being live)
At the end of the live feed depending upon wither this was a personal Facebook page or a Facebook Page live feed you will see screens shown below that give you details about your live feed. For the Facebook Page live feed you will get stat information about live video. Also at the bottom there is the option to save the live feed video to your device by activating the slider. It is off by default, but in my example images I have turned it on.
Personal Page
Mark Dodd Photography Page
After clicking “Done” you will see your Facebook page and the live feed posting in your Facebook feed as shown below. This is also the same view folks will see in their Facebook feed when you are live. They just click the Play button to view it live when you are live or for playback when you have finished your live feed.
Your followers can subscribe to your live feeds. I can’t say for Android devices, but when I’ve watch other users live feeds on my iOS and Mac, the subscribe button shows up at the end of the live feed that I’m watching. So at the end of your live feed remind your users to click the subscribe button so they can get notified when you do your next live feed.
Now go out there and have fun with this new feature of Facebook that is now available to everyone.
If you want to test things out before going live to your friends or the world there is a way. When you have clicked on the live feed and are on the screen to enter your description and the group you are broadcasting to, click “Public” and select “Only Me”. When you select “Only Me” the Facebook Live post will only show up in your Facebook feed. Once you have completed testing you might want to go to your Facebook Page and delete the testing live video post.
Google announced on March 24th that the Nik Collection of photo editing software is now Free to everyone.
A few years ago,Google purchased Nik Software
Nik software has been highly recommended by many a photographer to me, but that was around the time Google purchased Nik Software so I didn’t buy it as I was waiting to see what Google would do with it.
I have not used the software yet myself so for now I cannot give you my opinion of it, but go ahead and download it and see if it works for you. There is no manual per say, but they do have an extensive help center along with Tutorials under each program tab on the download page.
It supports both Mac and Windows. Review the system requirements at the bottom of the download page to make sure it is compatible with your OS version and hardware before downloading.
Here is a link to the announcement Google made on March 24th.
