The Photographer's Eye iPad App

I'm about as far as it gets from being a professional photographer.  I have an old point and shoot camera but the one I use most is the one in my iPhone.  I've never taken the time to learn how to take better photos and it shows in my results.  I've got loads and loads of mediocre pictures despite the fact that sometimes I'm shooting some pretty breathtaking scenery.

I recently downloaded an iPad app called The Photographer's Eye.  It's the digital edition of one of the better selling photography techniques books.  At $24.99 it's certainly one of the more expensive iPad apps you'll come across.  Trust me when I tell you its worth every penny.

I've seen quite a few print-to-app conversions over the past year or so and they generally either (a) don't even try to take advantage of the digital platform or (b) try way too hard to use the platform and are full of forced video and audio content.  The Photographer's Eye is definitely one of the better conversions I've seen as it features loads of truly valuable content you'd never find in a print book.  None of it feels forced and all of it is well worth checking out.

You can, of course, simply read the written content from front to back as you would the print edition and skip the dozens of enhancements available in the iPad app version.  I guarantee that you'll find the digital enhancements irresistable though.  And unlike a couple of other book apps I've recently tried out (who shall remain nameless), the digital extensions in this one are well integrated; heck, you'd almost think the author built the digital edition first.

Two of my favorite features in The Photographer's Eye are the side-by-side and overlaid visuals.  It's easy to show do's and don'ts in a print book, but The Photographer's Eye makes use of the digital presentation by letting you touch icons next to certain images to see either other ways of capturing them or overlays that help reinforce the accompanying how-to.

The product lends itself to dipping in and out wherever you need help.  Curious about cropping techniques?  There's a highly effective two-page spread in chapter one you can use without having to read all the content that preceded it.  The same goes for pretty much every other topic covered in the app.

In just the first 15 minutes I spent with this app I learned at least 4 or 5 new techniques.  That's why, even though I'm the ultimate app cheapskate, I think $24.99 is a reasonable price for this one.  Look at it another way: The print book itself sells for $29.99, so you get all that content and much more for $5 less when you buy it as an app.  Highly recommended.