Rick Sammon’s Light It Light! is an iPhone app that’s designed to help you make professional-quality digital SLR people pictures – without spending a small fortune on professional lighting accessories. Important note: requires iOS 4.1 or later.
You can download the app by clicking here. Best to first download to your home computer, due to the size of the info-packed app, and then transfer to your iPhone.
It’s called Light It Light! because the iPhone version does not have the extensive photo gallery and Library Section that is in the iPad version, Light It! All the video lessons are the same.
Please make sure you are ordering the correct version: iPhone or iPad.
The app (packed with 572MB of info) includes video lessons with photographs embedded in the lessons.
I took the illustrative photographs with a range of digital SLR cameras – from entry-level to top-of-the-line models. While watching the video lessons, you’ll learn how pros photograph people indoors and outdoors, in bright light and in low light, at home and on location, and even in a studio. In looking at the photographs, you’ll see the effects of my recommended techniques.
In the easy-to-follow and fun video lessons, some of which were originally shot for our Wiley Publishing DVDs, I’ll show you how to use reflectors, diffusers, a flash, flash accessories, basic strobe kits, basic hot-light kits and more. I also cover camera settings, as well as some of my photo philosophies. Although I often refer to specific cameras, the basic camera settings can be applied to any digital SLR.
Two of the videos in this app – Top 21 People Photography Tips and Top Ten Digital Photography Tips – feature some of my favorite digital SLR pictures from around the world, accompanied with how-to tips, of course!
This is a basic, or starter, app about lighting. However, as you will see, pros use many of these techniques and accessories to get great shots. (Yes, we are already working on Light It II! for the iPhone and iPad!)
The movies, shot by Emmy-award winner David Leveen, are divided into five sections:
Basics: 33 Minutes
Outdoors: 15 Minutes
In Your Home: 16 Minutes
On-Location: 12 Minutes
Studio Shooting: 23 Minutes
The total viewing time is about 1.5 hours.What’s more, I have included more than100 end-result pictures in the app to illustrate the techniques I discuss in the lessons. So in effect, the app is taking a private lesson with me – but only at your own pace.
The app was developed by Craig Ellis of Great Oak Software. In discussing the app, Craig said, “My goal with the design of Light It Light! was to make it an intuitive yet rich learning experience that showcases Rick’s favorite lessons that are embodied in beautiful videos and before/after photographs. His lessons are fun and easy to follow where he makes learning fast – so user experience supports that flow. I am especially proud of look and feel where iPhone users should be immediately familiar, comfortable, and productive using the app to become seasoned photographers in taking better people pictures by learning from the teachings of Rick Sammon.”
My other apps: Rick Sammon’s 24/7 Photo Buffet, co-developed with Dr. Dave Wilson; Rick Sammon’s Social Media Marketing for Photographers, co-developed by Juan Pons, my business partner in the Digital Photo Experience (www.dpexperience.com); Life Lessons We Can Learn From Mother Nature, also developed by Juan Pons, and Butterfly Wonders, another Pons/Sammon app.
I hope you enjoy this app. Let me know by shooting me an email at ricksammon at mac.com.
Explore the Light – and explore the joy of people photography.
Rick