The Photographers Iphone

Last week I took a jump into the 21st century an upgraded my cell phone to the Apple Iphone 3g. What is so great about that you might be thinking? It's an expensive upgrade for my small business but it's features far out weigh the cost in my opinion. I'll try to explain my reasoning for a smart phone for a photographer.

Instant Communication:
I now have instant communication with clients and art directors. Today's digital age is cut throat. The competition in photography is intense and you must stay on top of your business. I have the ability to manage all paths of communication for my business be it email, text message, phone/voice mail and website. My entire contact database is at the tip of my fingers and I can schedule a meeting while waiting in line at the post office. I can securely access all of my financial accounts in the flick of a button. It's not a laptop, but a worthy tool for doing business on the go.

Photography Tool:
Yes, the iphone has a camera. I'll probably not use it much except for silly snapshots and taking photos of my lighting setups while on location. I didn't buy it for the camera.
It's built in photo gallery tool is robust enough that I now have a pocket portfolio available to show potential clients. The quality is quite nice.
I installed a photographic calculator, called PhotoBuddy, that offers Depth of Field (DOF) calculations, exposure values, flash guide numbers etc... One of the coolest features of the PhotoBuddy is the sunrise and sunset calendar based on your GPS location. That is very handy for location shooting!
I installed a program called Clinometer that gives you a level and incline meter. The incline meter will be useful for shots (product work) where I want to keep a consistent angle for the lens and the lights.

Let's not forget the fun factor either:
There are some pretty slick applications for this phone that make life on the go easier. Having a built in MP3 player eliminated one gadget from my bag. I can listen to the Lightsource podcast anytime I please! Listening to photography podcasts has been an invaluable tool for learning the business of photography.

YouTube? Yep. I use it to watch Adobe Lightroom tutorials and inspirational tutorials from photographers like Joe McNally and Chase Jarvis.

I use the Google Reader to keep up with all the photography blogs and food styling trends.

The GPS function that works with Google Maps makes finding my client locations a snap.

Need a default price list? No problem because I can email it from my phone.

Need to translate an email to a Spanish speaking client? No problem using the free translator tool I downloaded from iTunes.

Need something to keep your kid from going crazy? I installed several games that even I enjoy.

Need to check the forecast? No problem there because I have instant access to The Weather Channel.

Voice activated Google Search? Yep. The Google Mobile app is incredible. Just speak your search term and it leads you to Google page. Although not perfect, it's pretty darn good.

Hear a song on the radio, but don't know the author? Shazam it.

One very useful tool is JOTT. I can call myself and leave an email. Sounds crazy right? It's perfect for saving photo ideas when I'm driving or mountain biking. For example, I may be driving down a country road and see a cool location for a photo. Call JOTT and leave myself a quick note with the idea and location. The next time I check my email, the message is there. I then add this idea to a photo idea list I keep on my laptop.

With over 10,000 applications available for this tool, the productivity options are endless. I'm very impressed with the iPhone. It's been very stable with good signal availability. The operating system is very easy to figure out and oozes with common sense. If only it would trigger Pocket Wizards and measure the ambient exposure!

I am not endorsed by Apple or anything listed in this post. I'm just a happy customer who is looking forward to overwhelming increased productivity.