Tuesdays With Nate | How Creative Businesses can Utilize the iPad
I’m back! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been able to write a full bodied TWN post but I’m excited to be back and I’ve got some cool stuff to talk about. Hope you don’t mind geeking out with me for the next few minutes. If you know us (or have ever read our blog before) you know that we (or at least I) are complete fanboys of Apple, not to mention how grateful I am that for so long the company has taken care of us. People ask us all the time about our iPad (most people ask us before asking if we bought one, just assuming we would, and we did… so I guess they assumed correctly). We’ve had it for about a month now, and it’s about time I shared with you my thoughts on it. However, there are thousands of reviews out there about this thing, so I’m just going to highlight how we, as photographers make the most of it.
It’s a beautiful mobile portfolio
We love to be able to show our work to people we meet, but it’s so impersonal to hand someone a card and hope they remember to come by your site later. The quality of the pictures on the iPad is amazing. And it’s a huge visual difference from viewing them on an iPhone. We set up a few albums of our favorites (wedding favs, details, photo booths, getting ready etc…) and two complete weddings to show potential new friendclients what we give back. We also use the photo frame feature to play through our favorites as a slideshow when we are in meetings.
Great mobile email
We both love the email on our iPhones, but when it comes to longer correspondence, having a larger keyboard is great. The email interface is beautiful and fast, and after a little getting used to, typing is a breeze.
Documents
Document creation is a simple (after that typing learning curve that I mentioned earlier). The notes app that comes with the iPad is nice and syncs up with your mail app, but two other apps are a MUST for iPad users. One is Pages, the app on which I’m typing this blog entry, which allows for word processing and transfers files back to your computer, or can be exported as a PDF or Microsoft Word doc (if you’re into that sort of thing). Another crucial app is called Goodreader, which allows you to save documents locally and browse and organize them on your device. It also allows you to save from mail or transfer via USB.
Entertainment
Ok, not a professional use maybe, but busy photographers also need to be able to lay back and enjoy their “free time”. ;) The best example of this for me is the Netflix app, and a close second is Stumbleupon. Both apps are free, and provide hours of entertainment, or are handy if you throw your back out and just need to lay down and watch Arrested Development for a couple hours. It’s also much easier to watch movies and TV shoes on the iPad than the iPhone. Bigger screen, and you can set it to sit up on it’s own. We have yet to take it on a plane but we’re really excited about using it while we travel! The battery life is much better than the iPhone so you can actually watch movie after movie without worrying about needing to recharge.
Potential ideas
There are lots of people talking about what the iPad might do for them, I’ve heard everything from album design and proofing to new apps for studio management. Perhaps some are more practical than others. One idea I’ve been toying with is using the iPad to control your Mac via a program like Mobile Mouse, and creating hotkey shortcuts to quickly edit and sort pictures in a program like Aperture. (See video below.) Another thing we’re looking forward to is using the camera connection kit to quickly import some of our favorite pictures for a same-day preview for our couples at wedding receptions. Not only will the camera connection kit allow you to individually select the images you want to import, but it also imports RAW and video files directly to the iPad. If you want to get really fancy you can even run them through an editor like Photogene or Photoshop Mobile. Some other things we’re excited about include digital versions of our client’s wedding albums pre-sized for the iPad so our clients can have a complete mobile version of their album to show to friends and family. (Clients, this service is now included with our largest album and available with any album. Ask us about it if you’re interested.) If you’ve got any other ideas, suggestions, or recommendations please let me know!
Final thoughts
It is not a replacement for your main computer, but it is much more than “glorified” iPod touch. It won’t replace your Macbook Pro. It is easy to use, and amazingly powerful, but the thing that really makes me excited is its potential. The first iPhone blew me away, even before the app store, before the ability to send mms, and before the screen would rotate in every app. This is the first implementation of an amazing device. There will be lots of new apps, new changes, and we will find new uses. For now, don’t sell your computer and try to run your business with an iPad, but if you can get your hands on one, try it and enjoy it!
Watch below…. the iPad as a control board for Adobe Lightroom…
A New Idea for the iPad from Studio222Photography on Vimeo.
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