Book Review: Create Great iPhone iPhotos

Yes it's great that the iPhone gives you a decent still camera in your pocket. And sure, the seemingly endless array of photo apps makes the possibilities limitless. However, humans tend to do better at tasks that are littered with limitless possibilities. Allan Hoffman's book:Create Great iPhone Photos: Apps, Tips, Tricks, and Effects "Create Great iPhone iPhotos" brings the breadth of iPhone photo options down to a manageable scale.

The first chapter reads like the manual Apple would supply for the iPhone camera if Apple still made manuals. It is a sensible, thorough overview of the camera capabilities (and limits) of the iPhone camera and the Apple-supplied Camera app.

The bulk of the book goes on to serve as sort of a series of mini-manuals for some of the most popular iPhone photo apps. Unfortunately, a few of the apps are already gone from the store. Such is life lived at app speed. These chapters serve as a great way to discover app you may not have already been familiar with, and to eliminate some of the trial and error of purchasing photo apps only to be disappointed.

There's a highly enjoyable (and unfortunately, quite short) section of interviews with some of the most successful iPhone photographers.

The focus on apps really sets this books apart, and can bring you newfound joy to using your iPhone camera, whether you're just getting started, or consider yourself an old pro.

Book Review: iPhone Photography & Video For Dummies

If you haven't touched a Dummies book in ten years, a lot has changed. Gone are the phonebook-like black and white pages, and the silly humor. In are full color screenshots, and useful web resource links. With Angelo Micheletti's iPhone Photography and Video For Dummies not only will you pick up a few photo tips, but more importantly, you'll get excited about iPhone video and photos again. 

I know for me, the promise of video on the iPhone 3GS was a huge selling point. After a few test shots though, the feature has gone widely unused here. This book was just enough to remind me how powerful the photo and video capabilities of the iPhone are, and that's especially true of the iPhone 4. The book walks through what might be a refresher for many: "Oh, that's right, I forgot you could do a slideshow on the phone itself!" or "I can see the camera settings for iPhone pic in iPhoto '09?"

The information covered is slightly redundant if you read the book from cover to cover, but it is helpful if you are reading smaller portions or particular chapters.

Speaking of chapters, a personal favorite highlighted available accessories and apps to do more with your iPhone, including Gorillacam, which gives you the ability to take time lapse photos, and adds a self-shot timer. This info is hard to put into a book in a timely manner as apps are always coming and going, but it would've been nice to see a few more highlighted accessories and apps. 

The book covers a lot of ground that you probably already know, or knew and have forgotten, but it does it in a style that gets you excited about taking photos and video with the iPhone again.