Monochrome Photo Editing Techniques for Android

It can be hard to give up beautiful colors in a picture, but a bw can take your picture to another level. Stripping it of colors will make the viewer focus on other things in your image.

Making a picture bw is not hard at all. The most basic method is to just drag down saturation to zero. But one can easily use different apps to work with a bw image to change the mood and enhance what you want the focus to be on, or give it a mood with a monochrome effect.

Check out the FULL ARTICLE where @DroidEdit member Pernille Scheele gives Android users some great tips for getting started with black & white and monochrome edits.

AMPt and DroidEdit will be collaborating on Darkroom Tutorials the entire month of December so check back for both Android and iPhone related articles every Monday & Tuesday @ ampteam.org/darkroom.

Achieving Rich Color and Faded Tones Using PhotoEditor for Android
 

When Instagram launched for Android, I quickly learned that most of the iphone apps I was seeing used weren’t available in the Android market. There was one iOS app in particular that was delivering a fast and easy way to achieve rich faded tones. That app was VSCO Cam. I was immediately on a mission to replicate the faded tones and ease of use that this app offered iPhone users.

Check out the FULL ARTICLE where @DroidEdit member Josh St. Germain shows us how to turn PhotoEditor’s color curves function into a quick and effective tool to get rich faded color tones in your images.
 

AMPt and DroidEdit will be collaborating on Darkroom Tutorials the entire month of December so check back for both Android and iPhone related articles every Monday & Tuesday @ ampteam.org/darkroom.

Top 10 Professional Image Editing Apps for Android (and 10 worthy mentions)
 

If you’ve looked for a list of the top image editing apps for Android lately you’ve probably been disappointed. Fact is, most of these lists are outdated (literally years old) or crowd sourced and feature mediocre apps at best. Well today’s Darkroom Tutorial aims to change that.

DroidEdit member/writer Jacob Dix has compiled a comprehensive list of 10 “must have” Android editing apps as well as 10 “worthy mentions”.

So how is this list different than the rest? Jacob is an active Mobile Photographer who has selected these apps with a focus on their professional editing tools, output resolution and overall quality. This list is compiled from the perspective of a mobile artist…not a blogger.
 

Read the FULL TUTORIAL where Jacob (@jacob606) shares his top 10 MUST HAVE image editing apps for Android.
 

AMPt and DroidEdit will be collaborating on Darkroom Tutorials the entire month of December so check back for both Android and iPhone related articles every Monday & Tuesday @ ampteam.org/darkroom.

F500 submitted by Atle Rønningen @atler

Description:
This scene consists of two images. The main photo is taken at sunrise outside the door of our family cabin up in the Norwegian mountains one foggy morning at 7AM. The second image is my 9 years old daughter.

Process:
First of all. I’m an Androider. So most of the apps I see the inspiring artists around me are using is not available for me.

1. All photos taken with native camera on Samsung Galaxy S3.

2. Opened main image in PicSay Pro. Added my daughter from a other picture and used the “cut out” function. Saved.

3. Still in PicSay Pro. Contrast increased (+20), saturation decreased (-40) followed by smooth (1,00). Saved.

4. I wanted a darker atmosphere and applied the filter “Bob” in Pixlr-o-matic. Done

Bio:
I’m 35, based in Oslo, Norway. Got a lovely wife and daughter. For me photography is all about having fun and capturing moments. I like having people (or animals) in them and my most featured model is of course my daughter. I got seriously into mobile photography 7-8 weeks ago caused by IG and my new Samsung. I nearly used my SLR this summer.
Feel free to ask questions and I also would love to connect with more Android users to share experience.

AMPT selections photo by Kerry Koo @kooconcept

Description: ”What does it mean to be Samurai? To devote yourself utterly to a set of moral principles. To seek a stillness of your mind. And to master the way of the sword.” #namethatm0vie.

A quote taken from one of my favourite films. The image is mimicking the infamous scene where Tom Cruise’s character is wielding his sword in the sunset.

Process: First off I have to thank my baby bro, @koorunked for being such a great sport and willing to climb the rooftops (literally) to help me accomplish this insta project for AMPt. We were having a BBQ in the backyard and I looked up at the rooftop of my garage and noticed the cloudless clear skies. I thought it would be a pretty nice shot if I could have some sort of silhouette standing on top of the roof…and this is the result.

I took the photo with my Galaxy S2. Brought it into Photo Editor and changed it to BW and increased the contrast and the brightness. This is usually where my edits end (I like to keep most of my photo edits very simple and clean, no top secret complicated edits or anything), after that, I bring the photo into Instagram, add the Sutro filter (which ive been pretty addicted to recently) and post! However, since this is to be featured in AMPt, I figured I’d do something a little extra. I then took the edited photo into into PicsArt, added the Sun mask, positioned it the way I liked it and then applied yet another BW filter since the Sun mask was in color. Here is the finished piece.

Bio: I’m a full-time multimedia designer from Toronto. My #koozins first introduced me to Instagram in February 2012 but I didn’t really get addicted to it until Instagram finally came out on Android in April 2012. Instagram has easily become integrated into my everyday life. I started out taking random photos of everything but in the recent months, I’ve come up with the #namethatm0vie IG project where I’ve combined my love for film and photography into one. Capturing movie moments and naming the photo with a movie quote, and then asking the viewers to guess which film the photo represents. Where are my fellow movie geeks at?

I only have one personal rule with Instagram and thats to only take photos and edit them with my smartphone. As a graphic designer, I could easily take a photo with a high res SLR, bring it into photoshop and do a bunch of crazy edits but in my opinion that defeats the whole purpose and fun factor of Instagram. I went through the photography phase like a bunch of my friends, buying an SLR, lighting equipment, and lens but after a few weeks I simply got sick of lugging a bag full of equipment everywhere I went. Thus, this is probably the main reason why I absolutely love mobile photography, it’s so convenient, simple and instantaneous.

I usually work with clients who have design standards that I need to follow but with mobile photography, its become my daily creative outlet where I abide to no rules but my own. To take another quote from a great film, for me, mobile photography is simply my way of “…searching for moments.”

AMPt Darkroom - Start Expanding Your Editing Options On Android with “Negative Editing”

In today’s tutorial we’ll be focusing on a technique called “Negative Editing”. Negative editing is unique in that it effectively expands the filters and effects available to you during the editing process. This is especially handy for Android users who are limited to a remarkably small catalog of photography related apps. While much of this lesson will focus on the “Negative Editing” technique, the bigger message here is to “think outside the box” as we encourage you to change how you look at (and use) your existing apps.

Read the FULL TUTORIAL where Jacob shows you how to double the filters and effects available in your editing arsenal without adding a single app. You may never look at editing the same again after reading today’s lesson.

Check back for new Darkroom mobile photography lessons every Monday & Tuesday @ ampteam.org 

AMPt Darkroom - Using Points of View to Create More Interesting Images

Your point of view can either work for or against you while shooting. While there are, of course, many things to take into account when making a photo (placement, lighting, background, etc.) there’s no doubt that point of view can play a huge part in making an image stand out from the rest.


Read the FULL LESSON where Anna shows us some of the ways you can create more interesting images just by changing your point of view.


Check back for new Darkroom mobile photography lessons every Monday & Tuesday @ ampteam.org 

AMPt Darkroom - Tips for Capturing Stunning Night Shots

While some people put their cameras away when the sun goes down…others are just getting started. In this Darkroom lesson we explore the fascinating area of night time shooting. Darren Hudson walks us through what it takes to capture stunning images at night using just your mobile device.

Go check out the FULL TUTORIAL where Darren breaks down his shooting and editing techniques for low-light images.


Check back for new Darkroom mobile photography lessons every Monday & Tuesday @ ampteam.org 

Photo submitted by AMPt Member Jacob Dix (@Jacob606)

Title: No horse ever ran as fast as the money that you bet
- Megadeth

Description: This boy stands gambling on the boat between Stockholm and Helsinki. His leg is bent, animated to stomp at his losses. He spoke to the machine like a long time gambler. Is that his mother beside him? You bet your life

Editing Process: Image taken with the native Galaxy W 5megapixel camera. Light sensitivity was reduced by .5 to dull down the bright ceiling lights

Opened image in PicShop Pro. Raised brightness by 5% and contrast by about 10%. Raised saturation by 10% to enhance the colorful clothing. Cropped the image with a 3:4 ratio, which removed some small but unnecessary machines in the background to the left. I cropped it so the boy’s eye is at the upper third of the image, and his body the left third. Added PicShop’s vignetter at about 65% strength. Saved.

Monday is the start day for our weekly Challenges over on @EyeEm.

To participate, just tag your photos with ‘AMPt - Angles’ and add it to the album.

AMPt is looking for images along the theme of ‘Angles’. What does the word represent for you? Show us through your chosen images.

During the duration of the week AMPt will be highlighting interesting posts on via our website and twitter.

On Wednesday we will show a highlighted selection of entries here on our website and then a winner will selected and featured here on Sunday.