A Day In The Life Of Jeanette Serrat – An Incredibly Talented iPhone Photographer – One Of The Best!

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Withering Beauty’ – Snapseed, Pixlromatic, Photoforge2, King Camera

JC – Let’s start at the beginning of the day, how does your day start?

JS – I drag myself out of bed around 7am, usually after the 4^th snooze or when my hubby calls “you gotta get up, honey”. He’s the early bird, I’m definitely not! I proceed to the kitchen where I grab my obligatory cup of coffee and sit down in my office/creative space/music studio (yeah, it’s a mess) to read my email and browse FB and maybe iPhoneart.com. I’ll check a horoscope site or two for suggested “colors of the day”, so I can decide what the heck to wear, lol. Then, a quick a shower and it’s off to work. That’s pretty much my routine Monday through Friday.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Twentythree’ – Snapseed, Jazz

JC – When is your favorite part of the day for taking photographs, do you hanker for the magic hour or shoot whenever the opportunity arises?

JS – Since I’m not a morning person, I tend to do most of my shoots at lunch time during the week and late afternoon until dusk on the weekends. I love the early light though, it’s really ideal….I wish I would take advantage of it more often!

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Alternate reality’ – Snapseed, Dynamic Light, Pixlromatic

JC – How did the transition from traditional photographer to iPhone photographer develop? (pardon the pun).

JS – Puns are all good 🙂 For me, iPhone photography actually became a catalyst for my photography hobby. I’ve always had the interest, but it really took off when I got my iPhone. It’s now my favorite creative tool. It’s always with me and I can do editing on the go…but I also now own a DSLR, so I’m simultaneously exploring both worlds. Trying to comprehend the technical aspects of photography is somewhat overwhelming but worth a shot (here we go..another pun).

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Colorful Solo’ – Snapseed, Dynamic Light, Arista, Old Photo Pro

JC – Do you like to download new iPhone photography apps regularly?

JS – So many apps, so little memory! I don’t download new apps as often as I did in the past. My phone is a 16GB iPhone4 and I have over 80 photo apps installed on it. Then there’s all the songs, videos, recording apps etc. Music is also very important to me. I’m looking forward to upgrading to a larger capacity model in the future.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Decay City’ – Snapseed, HDR FX, Photowizard

JC – How often do you update your existing apps?

JS – Regularly and as soon as I see the notifications on the App Store app.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Delicate Beauty’ – 6×6, Pixlromatic

JC – Where’s your favorite place in the world for a shoot?

JS – I have always dreamed of going to Tuscany, Italy….ka-ching! It may remain a fantasy, lol. Puerto Rico is a place I would love to re-visit. There’s so much beauty and diversity…a really exciting location for photography. Last time we were there, my only camera was a point-and-shoot. With new gear comes new experiences! This summer, we’re taking a trip to New Orleans…never been there before so I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll probably end up with hundreds, if not thousands of pictures!

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Feng Shui’ – Snapseed, Modern Grunge, FX Photostudio, Jazz, Photowizard

JC – Do you also use iPhone photography tool apps, such as The Photographer’s Ephemeris?

JS – No, I didn’t even know about that app. I have something called the Blue Hour App, it’s useful for timing evening shots.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘iMoney’ – Touch Retouch, Snapseed, Photowizard

JC – What are your favorite, at the moment, iPhone photography apps?

JS – I have a lot of favorites, but I’ll try to narrow it down. Snapseed is probably my number one, because it’s always my go-to app for the initial editing stage. The ambiance setting and the selective tuning are really great features. For shooting, I use Camera +, Classic Pan, Hipstamatic (for B&W shots especially), 6×6 and 6×7. Some of my favorite processing apps are Photo Wizard, King Camera, Pic Grunger, Vintage Scene, Pixlromatic, Modern Grunge, Color Blast, ScratchCam and a more recent one called Jazz.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Junk in trunk’ – Snapseed, King Camera, Photowizard, FX Photostudio

JC – Where do you like to upload your photographs? Flickr, Instagram?

JS – I upload most of my work to iPhoneart.com, but I also use Flickr and FB for that purpose. Even though the Instagram app served as an introduction to iPhoneography for me, I’ve never got involved in the IM community. I only used it to shoot pictures that I later shared on FB. There’s so many sites…it would be a full-time job trying to keep up with them all!

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Passage’ – 6×6, Snapseed, Photowizard

JC – Do you take photographs with your iPhone every day?

JS – Not necessarily, but I try to do it as often as I can.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Personally Potted Palm’ – Perfect P.M., Phosphorescence, Hipstamatic,

JC – What are your favorite subjects?

JS – I’m all over the place regarding subjects. The beauty of nature, sunsets, birds, flowers and such is something I treasure, but I’m also very fascinated by ugliness…old buildings, junk cars…things in decay. More recently, I’ve also tried to do some street photography. Being a rather timid person, it kind of scares me. I’m afraid of getting caught! Lol. But it is fun.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Philly scene’ – 6×6

JC – What are you top five tips for iPhone photography?

JS – Try to use apps like Camera + or similar that allow you to control exposure…it’s hard to fix a heavily over or underexposed image. When you’re in a hurry and trying to capture the moment, use 6×6 or 6×7, they are faster than most other shooting apps. Composition is crucial, but don’t think about it for too long, or you might miss the opportunity. Don’t stick to one style experiment! My last tip would be to invest in a couple of inexpensive gadgets that would make life easier: A tripod attachment in low light situations you will most likely need it. A external power pack so you can shoot for hours without worries!

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Rainy morning at Rittenhouse’ – Snapseed

JC – Do you edit images on your iPhone or do you prefer to do that on a desktop/laptop?

JS – I edit all my images on the iPhone. When I want to print my work, I bring it in to Lightroom, where I also can up-size it, if needed.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Sorry we’re closed’ – Touch Retouch, Snapseed, Photowizard, Scratchcam

JC – Do you enjoy videography with your iPhone?

JS – I haven’t really done any, except for some silly clip of my cat, lol. I like the vintage feel you get from the 8mm and iSuper8 apps, but high definition video can really hog the memory, so I’ll have to wait until I get a new phone before I can really explore videography.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘The river was still’ – FX PhotoStudio, King Camera

JC – Where do you see the future of iPhone photography?

JS – It’s a new and exciting movement, and I really hope it will become more and more accepted and appreciated as an art form outside of the iPhoneography community. I’m hoping to see more exhibits and contests, both here in the US and internationally, to help the art reach a wider audience.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘The secret garden’ – Photo Toaster, Pic Grunger

JC – What do you think is the most popular area of iPhone photography?

JS – I see a lot of collages, “selfies” and street photography.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Three in flight’ – Snapseed, Photo Wizard, Foto Muse

JC – Do you think it’s country specific, are some nations more clued up?

JS – Aside from the US, there’s a lot of great iPhoneography work coming from Europe.

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Until spring dawns’ – Snapseed, Artista Haiku, King Camera, Photo Toaster, Pic Grunger, Pixlromatic

JC – What do you hope for in the iPhone 5?

JS – An improved camera with a better lens and more megapixels. Something else I would love to see…don’t know if it’s possible but..if there was a way to assign the quick access button on the lock screen to any camera app of your choice…Now that would be awesome!

Copyright Image, Jeanette Serrat – ‘Watching’ – Snapseed, Percolator

JC – What do you think of Joanne and theappwhisperer.com?

JS -Great site for everything mobile app related…I’m glad I discovered it. Thanks so much Joanne for this opportunity, it was a great joy and I’m really honored to be included in this line-up of such talented iPhoneographers!