It’s said, “The best camera is the one you have with you.” And for many people, that turns out to be their smartphone. With cellphone photography reaching new heights, one can’t possibly ignore the cultural and technological footprint it has left behind. To help photographers who still rely on their smartphones, VSCO, a popular platform for photo editing, has announced a standalone app that take one’s journey a step further. How? Well, you’ll find out.
VSCO Capture Could be The Ultimate Answer
After VSCO Canvas and VSCO Sites, VSCO has just launched a new app for content creators and photographers, VSCO Capture. What makes this different is that this is the first time in a decade that the company has launched a standalone smartphone camera app, which helps one to capture their day-to-day surroundings with ease. How is it different from your phone’s native camera app? Here is a quick look at its features:
- New 50 real-time VSCO presets, including the latest We The Creator presets, launched in collaboration with renowned VSCO photographers
- Non-destructive presets and edits that retain the original image for further modification
- RAW and ProRAW format options for increased editing flexibility
- Real-time Bloom and Halation effects
- Manual controls, such as shutter speed and exposure compensation, are for the user experience
- Instant sync with VSCO to easily import images, make additional edits, and share
As Feroz Khan, our Gear Editor, said in his previous article about VSCO Capture, it’s designed to help you get images right in-camera. “It’s clear that this app is to help you get away from that clinically clean digital photo type that you’re so used to seeing from your phone,” he said in the article. “The design is meant to make you shoot slower and with more intent. Rather than shooting a wondering what feel to apply to the resulting image, you now get to pick the feel before clicking it.”
Eric Wittman, the CEO of the company, also added that VSCO Capture has been designed as a “direct response” to image-makers using the portal. In fact, in his interview with The Phoblographer, the CEO mentioned how the company has been trying to work with film to give better presets to its users. “We have a freezer filled with, like, old film, and we shoot it, and then we basically do a digital recreation of that,” he had revealed. This proves VSCO’s commitment to creating a product that can be included in one’s daily tasks.
A New Portal for Change
In addition to VSCO Capture, the company has also acquired a new platform, which will help bridge the gap between the business and technical sides of photography. Called The Freelance Photographer, this portal offers education, mentorship, and a community for photographers to grow. According to Wittman, this platform will serve as “a long-term career partner to creatives, offering a comprehensive education, a supportive community, as well as the tools and insight they need to turn their craft into a career.”
The portal has a business curriculum designed to help commercial photographers. This includes helping them with everything from pitching a project to figuring out pricing for the client. These sessions will be conducted through webinars, workshops, and coaching programmes. In a way, a portal like this can open a door for budding commercial photographers, allowing them to find new ways to build up their careers. Having peers in the same boat could further boost one’s confidence and enable them to try new things, coming out of their comfort zone.
If you are keen on trying out VSCO Capture, head to their website. For more information about The Freelance Photographer, please have a look at their webpage.
