Photography

How to find the RGB or Hexadecimal value of any pixel on Mac

Digital Color Meter New Icon Mac

RGB, otherwise known as red/green/blue, is a color identification method used by digital computer monitors. Every color gets its own RGB value, and this is because a mixture of those three colors makes up the color you're looking at.

RGB values may be used for a variety of reasons, but mostly for those that do a lot of photo editing or who may be tinkering with graphics or web design.

A little-known feature of your Mac is that its operating system comes with a meter that can identify the RGB color of any single pixel on your screen, and in this tutorial, we'll show you just how that's done.

Give your photos a vintage look with Tonality

We are back with more photo tips today, so if you missed our first two articles, be sure to go back and read them. We covered creating a stunning HDR in under 3 minutes as well as 3 tips for creating eye-popping photos.

If you are like me, you like to experiment with different looks in your photos. That’s part of the beauty of digital photography - you can quickly and easily try out new ideas and processing styles, without permanently altering your original image. While you probably have a “go-to” style, it’s always rewarding when you step outside the lines a little bit and try something new.

I tend to be drawn to bold and expressive colors, so for me, experimenting with muted colors and vintage effects is kind of like a science experiment - it’s not my natural state, but it’s sure fun to mix things up in the digital lab and see what I come up with. I’m often surprised at the results, and I always learn something new.

Today, we will explore using Tonality from Macphun to quickly and easily add a vintage effect to your photos. You can download a free trial of Tonality and follow along with us. Like all Macphun products, the interface is simple and easy to use, yet there is a lot of power underneath the hood. This means you can go as deep as you like and make some significant changes to your photo, or you can do something a little less involved and create a masterpiece in just a few clicks. It’s really up to you.

That’s what we are doing today. We will walk you through some basic edits in Tonality, but just keep in mind that the end result is always wide open, limited only by your interest in experimenting and your own creativity. You can use Tonality as a one-click solution, or you can delve a little bit deeper and customize the look of your photos.

We will start with a one-click solution, and then make a few minor changes to demonstrate how powerful this product really is. Let’s get started!

3 simple tips for eye-popping photos

We are back with another installment in our photo education series. Today we will share an easy tip for making your photos really pop. If you missed the first in this series, you can catch up and find out how to create beautiful HDR photos in under 3 minutes.

Do you ever take a photo of something, only to show it to your friends later and have to add “Well, you had to see it for yourself. It looked better than that.” I think we have all been there. Our photos don’t always accurately represent what we saw, and certainly they can’t represent how we felt at that moment, which in my opinion is intricately tied to the final image.

While there are countless apps available that allow you to make minor adjustments to your iPhone photos, I like to adjust mine with the many tools available in the Creative Kit by Macphun. It’s super-easy to use Creative Kit on your iPhone photos by running them inside of Photos for Mac; you’ll be creating your own masterpieces in no time.

Today, I share the first of three tips you can use on your photos for quick and effective enhancements. Each can give your photo a bit more punch, or add some artistic flair, and it only takes you a couple of minutes to do it. Follow along!

How to take a timed screenshot on Mac

Chances are, you're probably so accustomed to taking screenshots on your Mac with the stroke of a few keyboard keys that you didn't even know you could take a timed screenshot. In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can set your Mac up to take a timed screenshot, which depending on the situation, can be very useful.

How to create stunning HDR photos in under 3 minutes

Do you take a lot of photos with your iPhone? Yep, I do too. I am often shooting with it even as I am capturing a scene with my professional camera. I find that I capture different views on a subject when doing so. For me, shooting with my iPhone is all about the fun, ease and whimsy of mobile photography. Plus, it’s always with you, right?

But do you ever capture photos that look great compositionally, but feel like they are just lacking a little something extra? You know, maybe they need a color boost to bring them up a little, or perhaps the shadows are too dark, or worse yet, there is a lot of digital noise in what should be a smooth sky?

It does happen, because despite being very convenient and a capable little camera, it can only do so much. There are many iPhone apps that people have turned to in order to make edits to their iPhone photos (myself included), but using professional software to make those adjustments can usually offer amazing results.

While we often think of making photo adjustments on the fly for a quick upload somewhere, consider how much more beautiful your shots will be if you exert a bit more fine-tuned control over the final image.

Today, we will take a look at doing just that, and help you create a stunning HDR image in just a couple of minutes, using Aurora HDR from Macphun.

Fun with iPhone: how to swap two faces in a photo with FacePlant

Sometimes there's no greater humor than that of which you can dish out by way of photo editing.

If you've ever wanted to swap two faces in a photograph for the giggles you know it's going to bring to the table between yourself and other people, then you've come to the right place.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can use a simple and free iPhone app to quickly swap two faces in a photograph right from your device.

Deal: get 93% off the new MacPhun photo creativity bundle

After delighting iPhone photography fans with free high-quality filters for Photos for Mac, California-based developer MacPhun is back with a very tempting offer in the form of a photo creativity bundle “unlike any other”. They're calling it the Creative Kit XXL and let me tell you something—“XXL” is used there for a very good reason.

Not only do you get six premium photo-editing applications for your Mac in this bundle, but a ton of other goodies.

Some of the bonus content ad benefits you get with Creative Kit XXL: 40+ guides from leading photographers, 1200+ creative presets, six additional Mac apps for watermarking and resizing images and deep partner discounts.

And all of these perks can be yours in exchange for just $129, a cool 93 percent discount over the combined $2,000+ price for the included apps, tools and materials. Yup, that's a massive savings of $1,871.

Google Photos rolls out smarter albums with text, maps and locations

Google has been rolling out new features to its Photos mobile and web app at a rapid clip. And now, the Internet giant has introduced smarter albums in Google Photos that can be customized with text, maps and locations. “After an event or trip, Google Photos will now suggest a new album curated with your best shots and the locations of where you've been,” said the search giant on Tuesday.

This tweak supercharges your Instagram app with new features

Instagram lovers, if you've also got a jailbreak at your fingertips, then you won't want to miss out on a chance to download a new free jailbreak tweak called Rocket for Instagram from Cydia's BigBoss repository.

Rocket for Instagram provides Instagram users with a slew of new features that Instagram themselves have failed to provide for years. In this piece, we'll briefly go over some of the new features with you.

Common camera problems on iPhone and how to fix them

The iPhone's camera may have gotten a lot of upgrades over the years, and it may be one of the most popular point-and-shoot cameras in the world, but that's not to say it's perfect. Just like any other camera, it can be subject to hardware issues and software bugs.

In this piece, we'll go over some of the most common issues related to problems with the camera on your iOS device, whether it's an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, and we'll explain some ways to troubleshoot those problems.