Interviews

Exclusive iPad Interview With Sort Shots Developer, Christa Taylor

We recently reviewed this iPad app, Sort Shots and are very fond of it here link. We thought we have a chat with the developer to find out a little more about the background of Sort Shots. Read this fascinating interview here…

The Beginning

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Can you tell our readers how your iPad app was originally thought of, what were your thoughts behind the marketplace, specifically?

The moment Steve Jobs introduced the iPad to the world; we knew we had the perfect medium for Sort Shots. Not only could a user view their images on an amazing display but the limitations of the iPhone version were also eliminated which got us really excited. ‘Bigger is better’ is particularly true when viewing photographs but the quality of the display and its portability is perfect for photo sharing. So we took our original vision of providing users with a quick and efficient method of sharing their images and added a whole new level of functions and features.

Sort Shots initial inspiration originated from my own anguish of friends stopping mid-sentence to find an image relating to a story they were telling. A picture may be worth a thousand words but doesn’t add a lot of benefit when the receiver can’t remember the story because it took so long to find an image so I figured there had to be a better way.

 

 

Design

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Can you tell us how you came up with the colors and themes ideas, design?

We did not want the design of the app to interfere with the images themselves so we wanted a neutral, clean and simple design.

 

Target Market

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Who do you see as the main target market for this iPad app, in terms of genre, age?

Anyone who loves photography – young or old and wants to efficiently share their images.

 

Production Process

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How long did it take from the original planning to the production process of your iPad app?

It took us approx a week to determine the key features we wanted to include in the first iPad Edition with the intent that we would add on additional features once we were approved. We did get the features approved and in for opening day but a lot of endless nights and never-ending workweeks were required to accomplish this. Apple’s turnaround time was really amazing.

Sales Market

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How do you predict sales to be, is there a good solid market for this style of app?

The iPad app is perfect for Sort Shots due to its increased screen size – it’s perfect for sharing images.

 

Obstacles

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What has been the hardest obstacle you have had to overcome regarding this iPad app development?

Implementing Folders on the iPad was a bit of a challenge followed by image quality and size. Working within Apple’s limitations on compressing and accessing photos data have been our biggest challenges since then.

Third Parties

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Would you consider developing iPad apps for third parties?

No

App Store

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What have you learnt from the App Store?

You are just one little fish in a great big sea, you need to be persistent and listen to the users. The number of iPad users who have e-mailed us with their feedback and ideas has been a great motivation.

 

The Future

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What next, are you developing another iPad app? Would you go for the same genre again, if not which?

Continually improving and implementing various functions within Sort Shots – iPad Edition is our current focus. A lot of users wanted the ability to be able to put their images in a custom sequence so we just finished an update with this functionality. Now, we are focusing on the integration of keywords that will be imported into other photo programs is our next big hurdle.

Sort Shots – iPad vs iPhone

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How do you think the iPad version differs from the iPhone version?

The iPad version is completely different from the iPhone version of Sort Shots. First, we made an entirely new interface that would utilize the larger display. Implementing ‘Folders’ allowed users to import hundreds of photographs from iTunes in just a few minutes. Popular social media sites including Flickr and Picasa were added. Sequencing slideshows for custom sharing of images was also implemented. The iPad app is has an entirely different feel and functionality over the iPhone version.

Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]