A Day In The Life of Tal Shafik – A Very Talented Mobile Photographer From Tel Aviv

© Tal Shafik ‘Aging Hipster’ – ProCamera, VSCO Cam

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

TS – I wake up at 8am and am outside by 8:05. I don’t actually fully wake up until I’m about half way to work. I rarely take many pictures during the morning.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Beetle’ – ProCamera, SnapSeed

JC – Do you like to head out and take photographs early on?

TS – My mornings are pretty hectic. I’m enclosed in an office until my lunch break. I’m not much of a morning person, really. I enjoy the harsh noon light in Tel Aviv, specifically for architecture shots.

© Tal Shafik – ProCamera, VSCO Cam

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

TS – I’ve never considered myself a photographer. I started taking pictures with my Nokia N95, which boasted a pretty powerful 5MP camera back in the day. The transition to the iPhone and the multitude of apps made taking and editing photos a very pleasurable experience. I’ve found post processing to be quite a relaxing hobby, and I can do it anywhere, and and at any time.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Floating Dog’ – ProCamera, Snapseed

JC – Do you like to download new iPhoneography apps regularly?

TS -I do. I regularly browse the Appstore and various apps highlighting price drops and freebies. I always seem to be looking for a single ‘killer app’, but have yet to find one. While I do appreciate the photoshop-esque apps, I believe the iPhone’s design is more favorable toward single action apps.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Leather Jacket’ – Camera+, Snapseed

JC – How often do you update your existing apps?

TS – My basic kit pretty much covers my needs, though I’m always on the lookout for new and innovative apps.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Man And Dog’ – ProCamera, Snapseed

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

TS – I had the best time shooting during a vacation in Berlin, but I love shooting in my native Tel Aviv. I can find anything from modern commercial areas to impoverished and run down apartment buildings. Lawyers in suits and semi naked refugees. High priced suburban homes and graffiti filled artists’ studios. Everything can be found within walking distance.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Old Barn’ – Camera+, VSCO Cam

JC – Do you also use iPhone photography tool apps, such as The Photographer’s Ephemeris and if so do you use it to plan your shoots?

TS – I do not.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Orange Scooter’ – ProCamera, PhotoToaster

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

TS – I upload to flickr and instagram, and backup to Dropbox. I use flickr as my main gallery, mostly because of the community and high resolution images available for redownload. Instagram is used for more day to day shots, mostly of my dog or cat. I don’t consider it a real photo sharing service simply because of the unusable 612*612 resolution. One glance at the Popular page suggests the same.

© Tal Shafik – ‘The Photographer’ – Camera+, PictureShow

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

TS –

ProCamera

645Pro

SnapSeed

VSCOcam

Image Blender

Big Lens

touchRetouch

© Tal Shafik – ‘The Reader’ – Camera+

JC – Do you take photographs with your iPhone everyday?

TS – I really try to. I may not edit or share them that very day, but I will eventually get to them at a later time. The only really way to gain confidence and a photographic eye is by taking a lot of photos and trying new methods, eventually finding a personal style and developing a photographic aesthetic.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Time Dilation’ – ProCamera, Snapseed

JC – What are your favorite subjects to photograph?

TS – People, buildings and architecture, and my dog. I’m starting to really enjoy street photography. I love the contrast the can be captured in the street. I’ve been trying to get closer to people, but haven’t been able to work up the nerve. I love taking photos on the bus, simply because I cant sit and stare into my iPhone while taking as many photos as I want without anyone noticing. A crowded bus is full of closeup subjects.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Underground Love’ – Camera+

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

TS –

1. If possible, lock focus and exposure before capturing.

2. Using ProCamera, try the ‘full-screen shutter’ option and hold your iPhone at your side and snap away. You can capture very interesting angles this way.

3. I try to take at least 2 copies of every photo. I hit the shutter button twice in rapid succession. This somewhat eliminated chances of a badly exposed or focused shot.

4. Don’t delete photos. While some appear to be useless or badly exposed/focused, some may have elements which can be cut/copied to other photos when editing abstractly or surreally.

5. When taking photos of moving objects and people, don’t follow the subject and capture. Instead, anticipate where the subject will be at a given point, holding the camera focused and exposed on that area, and capture when the subject fills the frame.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Untitled’ – Camera+, Noir

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

TS – I only edit on my iPhone. Not for reasons of Mobile Purity, but simply because most edits I require really are simpler to do on my iPhone. Not to mention the ease of sharing them once they’re finished. I’m not opposed to editing on the desktop, but personally never saw the need to. I do, however, oppose sharing DSLR images to mobile-centric services like Instagram.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Untitled’ – ProCamera, Snapseed

JC – Do you enjoy videography with your iPhone?

TS – Haven’t really recorded that much video.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Untitled’ – ProCamera, Snapseed

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

TS – I think Samsung’s new camera is a step in the right direction. The sensors in a mobile phone will continue to get better and smaller, but a full fledged camera with a working OS (Android or iOS) is probably where things are headed. I believe the division between mobile photography and regular photography will eventually blur and fade away. The importance of this trend isn’t the device or OS, but the liberation and democratization of art and creativity.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Untitled’ – ProCamera, Snapseed

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

TS – I know it’s very popular in Indonesia, and also Berlin, Australia and the US, of course. It seems to be growing toward a global trend.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Untitled’ – ProCamera, Snapseed

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

TS – A better camera (obviously), better handling of photo albums and folders, allowing for more intuitive management of multiple copies, unedited and edited photos and photos ready for sharing and archiving. Camera Awesome has such a feature.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Untitled’ – ProCamera, VSCO Cam

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

TS – I love reading about different iPhoneograpers, their methods and inspiration. I also enjoy and learn a lot from the various tutorials posted.

© Tal Shafik – ‘Untitled’ – ProCamera, VSCO Cam

Camera+
ProCamera
645 PRO
Snapseed
VSCO Cam
Image Blender
Big Lens
TouchRetouch
Hipstamatic
Noir Photo
Photo Toaster

© Tal Shafik – ‘Wife’ – Hipstamatic 225

© Tal Shafik – ‘Wife’ – ProCamera, Noir Photo

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