Snapjoy Blog

Snapjoy + Dropbox

2012-12-19T00:00:00-08:00

We’re excited to announce that Snapjoy is joining Dropbox!

We built Snapjoy because we wanted a better experience to enjoy our own photos -- we love the product and use it every day. The support we’ve received from people around the world is humbling.

As a fellow Y Combinator company, we’ve always admired Dropbox and loved their product. From the moment we met the founders, it was clear we shared a common goal. By combining forces with their amazing team, we can leverage the technology and scale of their platform and focus on what matters -- delivering an incredible photo experience to over 100 million people.

So what happens next? First and foremost, don’t worry -- your photos are safe! Though we won’t be accepting new signups, existing users can continue to use Snapjoy to share and enjoy photos just as you do now. We’ll be in touch with more information over the coming weeks.

We'd like to thank everyone who trusted us and helped make Snapjoy what it is today. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

-- Michael and JP

How To: Set an Album Key Photo

2012-11-01T00:00:00-07:00

Any album worth sharing should have a key photo that sets the tone for the entire album.

While viewing the photo you'd like to make the key photo for your album, simply click Edit and then Set as Album Key Photo. Head back to your Albums page and you'll find your shiny new key photo waiting for you.

Now when you share an album with friends and family, you have complete control over the first image they see.

Cheers!
-Dustin

Have questions about setting a key photo or new feature requests? Let us know!

New Features: Full Screen + Slideshow

2012-10-30T00:00:00-07:00

We're happy to announce that your entire Snapjoy timeline is now viewable as a beautiful full screen slideshow!

Click anywhere on your photo to enter full screen mode.

In full screen mode, simply press Start Slideshow to begin.

During a slideshow you can quickly jump forward and back using the left and right arrow keys.

Showing your favorite memories to friends and family just got a whole lot easier!

More helpful features to come,
-Dustin

Have questions about full screen, slideshows or new feature requests? Let us know!

Introducing Album Download

2012-10-24T00:00:00-07:00

We're excited to announce that downloading an entire album with one click is now live on all accounts.

Simply click the Download Album button below the album you'd like to download and we'll email you a link to a ZIP file containing all of the photos from that album.

With this update, your data liberation options include downloading individual photos, entire albums or your whole photo library.

Cheers!
-Dustin

Have questions about downloading albums or new feature requests? Let us know!

Snapjoy for iPhone: Now Available for Download!

2012-10-16T00:00:00-07:00

Snapjoy for iPhone makes it easier than ever to find and show off your photos on the go.

This initial release allows you to easily browse your entire Snapjoy library from anywhere.

We're hard at work building seamless uploads from your iPhone camera roll to Snapjoy. Keep an eye on the app store, as more features will be included in updates to come!

Download Snapjoy for iOS now for free!

Cheers,
-Dustin

Have questions about the Snapjoy app or new feature requests? Let us know!

Sharing Photos to Tumblr

2012-10-05T00:00:00-07:00

In an effort to make sharing your photos even simpler, we opened the control panel on the Internet, crawled inside and connected the tubes that allow you to post photos directly from Snapjoy to Tumblr.

Now when you share publicly, you'll see a dedicated option for Tumblr!

Keep on tumbl'in,
-Dustin

Have questions or feature requests? Let us know!

How To: Earn More Free Space

2012-09-28T00:00:00-07:00

Every Snapjoy user now gets 5 GB of free space to play with.

While 5 GB is nice, we're happy to introduce a handful of simple ways to earn even more free space. Check out the screenshot below for all the ways you can earn extra storage.

Earn it up!
-Dustin

Have questions or feature requests? Let us know!

Introducing Copy: A Fun New Way to Experience Photos with Friends

2012-09-25T00:00:00-07:00

Let's say that you go hiking with a group of friends. Everyone brings a camera and takes a bunch of awesome photos, but how do you go about experiencing those photos with your friends after the hike is done?

We've been in this situation, which is why we're very excited to announce our newest feature: Copy

Now, when a friend shares photos with you, you can copy those photos directly into your timeline. Their photos fit perfectly with yours, allowing you to experience events from multiple perspectives.

This new tool will allow your timeline to represent your life even more fully! As always, if you have any feedback or new feature requests, please let us know.

Happy Copying!
-Dustin

Introducing SSL

2012-09-17T00:00:00-07:00

We take your security seriously at Snapjoy, which is why every communication with our servers is now encrypted.

Using https helps keep your data secure while you view photos via public wifi hotspots or anywhere snooping takes place.

Cheers,
-Dustin

Have thoughts on security? Let us know!

Data Liberation

2012-09-11T00:00:00-07:00

Call us crazy, but the team at Snapjoy thinks removing your photos from your account should be just as easy as adding them. Now, with one click your entire library is available for download.

From Your Settings, click the Create Archive button to start the process.

After the barbershop spinny green thing starts, you can go do other stuff like make a sandwich or catch up on Breaking Bad. (or both!)

When your archive is ready for download, you'll receive an email letting you know that it's available for the next seven days.

Easy in, easy out!

Cheers,
-Dustin

Have thoughts on data liberation or ideas for other features you'd love to play with? Let us know!

Introducing View Counts and Social Buttons

2012-09-05T00:00:00-07:00

When you share a photo publicly, it's always nice to see how many people have viewed it. View counts are now visible on all public photos!

Also new on public photo pages - a simple way to Like via Facebook and re-share with Twitter. See a public photo you'd like to show your followers? Tweet it out!

Have feedback or questions? Please let us know.

Cheers!
-Dustin

Automatic Imports for Instagram

2012-08-30T00:00:00-07:00

Connect your Instagram account to Snapjoy and from that moment forward all your new Instagram photos will upload and organize themselves automatically in your Instagram album and throughout your photo library! Pretty neat, eh?

Have feedback or questions? Please let us know.

Auto-awesome!
-Dustin

Introducing Public Sharing, Creative Commons and Profile Pages

2012-08-29T00:00:00-07:00

We're proud to announce three exciting new features.

First: Public Sharing!
Starting today, you have three ways to share your photos. You can share privately, publicly via social networks like Facebook and Twitter, or with a secure link that can be posted anywhere you like!

Second: Creative Commons
When you share your photos with the world, it's important to know what others can and can't do with your work. Creative Commons provides simple licensing options that allow you to be as strict or relaxed as feels comfortable to you. Check out the Your Settings page and click the Licensing tab to choose a CC license.

Third: Customizable Profile Pages
Your profile page is a place to show off your public photos and albums. Finally, your profile picture, brief bio and a link to your personal website are easily customizable.

Give these new features a whirl and show all of your friends and followers what you've been up to all Summer. As always, if you have questions, feedback or a new feature request, please let us know.

Share away!
-Dustin

Introducing Album Reorganization

2012-08-28T00:00:00-07:00

Chronological order is nice, but sometimes you want full control over the order of your photos. To customize the order of your photos within an album, click Select, choose a group of photos and simply drag and drop them wherever you like!

Have thoughts about this process? Please let us know.

Get your re-org on!
-Dustin

Welcome to the Snapjoy Team, Blake Anderson!

2012-08-24T00:00:00-07:00

We’re super pumped to introduce the newest member of the Snapjoy team!

During his pre-Snapjoy days, Blake attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he studied computer science and mathematics. Post-graduation, he made his way to Boulder where he focused on front-end development for his first startup - Snugghome.

At Snapjoy, Blake will be developing native apps, which unfortunately has nothing to do with food.

When he calls in sick, he's probably out for a run, catching air on a snowboard or tasting a flight of local Colorado brews. Blake is also a gnarly huge Nebraska Huskers Football fan, only missing two home games in six years. Laces out!

Welcome to the Snapjoy Team, Dave Pitman!

2012-08-20T00:00:00-07:00

We’re excited to introduce the newest member of the Snapjoy team!

Prior to Snapjoy, Dave was an entrepreneur and research scientist at MIT focusing on human-computer interaction. His research focused on flying small unmanned drones with an iPhone (no, they did not deliver tacos) and scheduling displays for high-speed trains, among other projects. He was also the first UI designer at fellow Y Cominator company - Xobni.

At Snapjoy, Dave will be focusing on UI/UX by giving users a great experience with Snapjoy's web application. Outside of the office, Dave loves cycling, extreme sports, travel and (big surprise) photography. He's even happier when he's doing more than one of these at the same time. It's also important to mention that Dave was a race car mechanic in high school.

Introducing Importers and Windows Shoebox

2012-08-14T00:00:00-07:00

Today we're excited to launch two powerful new features.

First: One click imports for Instagram, Picasa Web and Flickr!

If you're wondering what happens to all of your Picasa and Flickr albums, they'll appear magically on your Albums page!

Instagram users: you'll be happy to discover a new album in your account containing every Instagram photo you've ever taken.

Second: Introducing the Snapjoy Shoebox for Windows

Now our awesome Windows users can effortlessly upload tons of photos. Just drag a folder in and Shoebox will do the rest. Don’t worry, it smartly handles duplicate photos and flakey internet connections.

We hope these new tools allow you to bring your photos together from all corners of the Internet. Have feedback? Don't hesitate to let us know.

Happy Importing!
-Dustin

How To: Change Dates and Times

2012-08-08T00:00:00-07:00

Auto-organization is really helpful, but what happens when the date and time info are wrong or missing from a photo or group of photos? These super short tutorials will help you return those lost moments to their proper home within your timeline.

Lesson 1: Updating the Date and Time for a Single Moment

Lesson 2: Updating the Date and Time for Multiple Moments

Lesson 3: Updating the Date and Time for Unsorted Moments

Hopefully this helps make your timeline as specific and accurate as possible! As always, if you have any feedback about this process, let us know.

Happy Organizing!
-Dustin

Introducing Albums

2012-07-30T00:00:00-07:00

We're extremely excited to introduce albums. With albums, you can easily group photos together, regardless of when they were taken.

Snapjoy automatically organizes your entire library, but what if you want to take the curation of your photos one step further?

This quick tutorial will show you how it's done.

Hopefully this is enough to get you started! We're always happy to hear your feedback about new features, which can be posted here.

Happy Curating!
-Dustin

How To: Privately Share with Friends and Family

2012-07-17T00:00:00-07:00

While it may be tempting to tweet every photo in your library, some moments just aren't meant to be shared with the whole world. For moments like these, we created private sharing.

Private sharing allows you to select recipients individually and share moments only with them. It's the second best thing to sitting around a table and flipping through a photo album together. Just follow the steps below and you'll be sharing memories privately in no time.

To share a single photo privately: Simply click the share button above the photo.

In the dialogue box that appears, enter the email addresses of the people you'd like to share with. Here you can also enter a short personal message if you like. When everything is filled out and ready to rock, click the big blue share button and you're done! A notification email will immediately be sent to the people you've chosen.

To privately share multiple photos: Begin by selecting the photos you'd like to share.

Click the Edit button to enter edit mode.

In edit mode, click on photos to select them. A check mark indicates that a photo has been selected.

When all the photos you'd like to share are selected, click the share button to continue.

Last step! Just like sharing a single photo, enter the email addresses of the people you'd like to share with and click the big blue share button! A notification email will immediately be sent and before you know it, the folks you've selected will be digitally flipping through your photos.

We all love gathering around a photo book to share our favorite memories, but for those far away friends or family members, we hope Snapjoy's private sharing feature makes the distance disappear.

Travel Photography Tips

2012-07-11T00:00:00-07:00

Today's guest post comes to you from Brett Harkness. Brett has been a professional photographer in the UK for over 10 years, previously working in the USA. He and his wife Kristie run a successful studio & photography training business. Brett balances all of that while still shooting for commercials, travel assignments and fashion campaigns. Take it away, Brett!

Brett on a shoot in Varanasi, India, with his Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III + 50mm f/1.2L.

As a photographer, I have been fortunate enough to travel a great deal. I've visited some amazing places, from New Zealand to Cuba to Hong Kong to the United States.

In fact, I've captured a good deal of the world and there's nothing quite like reliving it later on through a photo album. That said, you don't need to be a professional to take great pictures while traveling. Photographs are some of the greatest (and cheapest!) souvenirs you can take home from a vacation and here's how to get them.

What to bring with you:
• Let's start with what to pack. Whether you're going backpacking, heading to a luxury beach resort or documenting a remote part of the world, chances are you won't want to carry heavy equipment everywhere you go - not to mention you won't want to make yourself a target for thieves! To stay light, I like to take a 50mm Prime f/1.2L lens when I'm traveling.

• Good photography equipment is becoming more readily available, particularly in terms of cost. You can get a lot more for your money compared to several years ago. Make sure to learn how to use your gear before jetting off. An SLR can have a lot more settings than your point and shoot or old disposable.

Things to keep in mind:
• Remember the unique things that made you want to visit this location in the first place and make shooting them a priority. Take some great pictures of these elements and move on. If you don't mix up your photographs, you'll regret returning home to a one-dimensional photo album.

This image was taken in Trafalgar Square, London. I sat and just waited for the right moment. It was a great exercise in patience! The guy running is what it's all about. Waiting for him to hit the perfect stride.

• Flash can often leave some images looking garish and untidy. Unless you really need it, turn your automatic flash setting off. For tourist-heavy locations such as museums and shows, flash photography is prohibited anyway. Look for natural light and make the most of opportunities at sunrise and sunset, no matter where you are. The light during these times can give such lovely warm hues and colours to transform a photograph. Note: A fast lens will help in low light situations.

This shot was taken with a little on camera flash, with a Canon 16-35mm 2.8L & 1ds Mark III body. Underexposing the scene a little and punching in with more flash.

• Frame your images properly. You shouldn't have to explain what the focus of your photograph is. When taking photos of people or animals, get some background in the image. Use your judgement to determine the depth of field and what you want the focus to be but it's absolutely no good photographing your partner if that picture could have easily been taken in your kitchen at home. Show off any beautiful or interesting backdrop that may be there.

Taken with a 50mm 1.2L , my perfect travel lens. I love shooting people's shapes and loved the way the light was hitting this guy.

• Make it obvious that what you're going for is travel photography. Snap pictures of foreign signage, different customs and crowds of people - anything to distinguish the area from home. Character is hugely important when photographing architecture and other countries in general. Travel doesn't have to be touristy if you don't want it to be. Don't be afraid to get lost, explore where the locals go and find hidden treasures. This is the best way to meet some fantastic people and get images that others miss.

Taken in the Meat Packing District of New York. Some very eye-catching graffiti on the wall.

• Lastly, don't forget why you're taking the pictures in the first place - for memories. Try not to spend too much time standing miles away and photographing monumental buildings and great structures. You can get some fantastic shots focusing on the photography itself but sometims it's better not to plan what you want to photograph. Get really stuck in, go on an adventure, try something new and meet new people. These will be the things you remember and want to reminisce about for years to come.

You can stay up to date with Brett's work on Facebook and Twitter!

Terminal Velocity!

2012-06-18T00:00:00-07:00

If you're in or around Denver this Saturday, come say hey and see if you can photo-scavenge your way into a Snapjoy Plus account!

For more info, check out AIGA Colordado's website.

We hope to see you there!

Happy Hunting!

Welcome to the Snapjoy Team, Kyle Banker!

2012-06-07T00:00:00-07:00

We’re very excited to announce the newest addition to the Snapjoy team!

Kyle sporting the comfiest tee around.

Kyle (@hwaet) joins us from 10gen, makers of MongoDB, where he wore many hats, most notably writing a book while maintaining drivers for Ruby and C. At Snapjoy, Kyle will focus on back-end infrastructure.

Though he loves writing code, there's more to Kyle than bits and bytes. He has a degree in Philosophy, has run the Boston Marathon, and can belt out an operatic rendition of Sto Lat when called upon. He's also a husband and proud dad.

Kyle is thrilled to help create the best photo experience on the web, and we heartily welcome him to the team.

Kyle will be working from NYC for a short time before moving to Boulder. If you’re in the New York City area and want to chat about Snapjoy, give him a shout!

Pet Photography Tips

2012-05-23T00:00:00-07:00

Our very first guest post comes to you all the way from Australia. Lisa Diederich is an expat photographer currently residing and shooting in Sydney. I hope you're ready, because she's about to drop some knowledge about photographing your pets!

Hi Snapjoyers! I’m Lisa, a photographer and total animal lover. Dogs are my weakness, but I would never turn down a cat cuddle or farmyard friend. Combining my passion for photography and my love of pets has become a career dream for me and my perfect day is spent with a camera in hand, surrounded by happy pups.

One of the reasons I love photographing pets is the honesty and personality you capture through the lens. Animals are so candid, and if you’re quick enough, you can freeze their happiness, craziness or thoughtfulness in a photo.

50mm prime lens at f/5.6

There are definitely challenges when it comes to shooting pets though. You have to be fast because perfect animal moments come and go so quickly. It can also be difficult to compose a shot when your subjects are always on the move.

Much like photographing kids, you will need to be flexible and adapt to the environment so the pet’s personality shines. Using a fast prime lens, like the 50mm f/1.4 or 35mm f/1.4, can help. They're sharp and great in low-light. To compliment the 50mm prime, you may also want to try an 85mm prime lens for action shots.

Husky eyes seen through a 50mm prime lens.

Aside from shooting with prime lenses, here are a few other tips to help get the best results from your pet photo sessions:

Bond with the pet: Pets can tell whether you love them or not, so you have to establish a friendly bond early on. Patting, belly rubbing and ear scratching are all highly encouraged! If the shoot is forced or rushed, the pet will feel that anxiety so take some time at the beginning of your session (without your camera) to introduce yourself.

Find their comfort zone: This may mean going to the park with a Golden Retriever or just relaxing around the house with a lazy cat. Animals can be unpredictable, especially if they aren’t comfortable in their surroundings. You’re photos will be better and more true to the pet’s personality if they are happy, confident and doing what they love. So play fetch, lounge on the couch or roll around in the grass. Do whatever it takes to get on their level.

Getting down on the pet's level.

Go easy on the depth of field: Unless you want a really abstract photo of your cat’s whiskers, be careful with a shallow depth of field. As with people, you want to focus on the eyes, but remember that a dog’s nose could be much longer - making the tip out of focus if you are too close or too shallow with your DoF.

A bit too shallow on the depth of field. Notice the nose is sharp but the eyes are not.

You can, of course, always get creative.

Artistic depth of field.

Consider composition: Simple backgrounds work well with pets, but including other elements in the picture can help with perspective. A tiny puppy will look even smaller and more adorable if you include an element of comparison (an owner’s hand, a shoe, or even another pet!) You could also include people in your photos to capture interactions and looks of love between pets and their owners.

A different take on the family photo.

Capturing the love between owners and their pets.

Use natural light: Flash is not an animal’s best friend. It can cause odd coloring on their fur, glare in their eyes and could also really scare them! It’s best to either go outside, find a bright, sunlit room or play with low-lighting rather than use your flash.

Even natural light can be pretty bright for a pup.

So grab some treats and a furry friend to see what you can capture. I’d love to see the results, so share with Snapjoy here on the blog, or over on Facebook or Twitter!

Happy Shooting!
-Lisa

Lenses referenced:
50mm Prime f/1.4 from Canon and Nikon
35mm Prime f/1.4L from Canon and Nikon
85mm Prime from Canon and Nikon

Exploring In-Camera HDR

2012-05-16T00:00:00-07:00

If you have a new-ish iPhone or DSLR, in-camera HDR is now at your fingertips.

Left: iPhone 4 non-HDR. Right: iPhone 4 HDR. Notice how the sky is actually blue in the HDR image?

Left: Canon 5D Mark III HDR menu. Right: iPhone 4 HDR menu.

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. Put simply, it's a processing technique that combines an underexposed photo, overexposed photo and acceptably exposed photo into one image. This combined image has brighter brights and darker darks than could normally be captured in one exposure alone.

Back in the day, HDR photographers had to combine these images using software. With in-camera HDR, the work is done for you, instantly.

The photos below were not manipulated in any way. They are shown exactly as the camera produced them.

Non-HDR Single image shot with Canon 16-35mm L f/2.8 + Canon 5D Mark III

Brights are tamed and shadows are lighter, but the image doesn't appear noticeably altered.'>

In-Camera HDR with Natural setting.
Brights are tamed and shadows are lighter, but the image doesn't appear noticeably altered.

The shadows are drastically reduced and the rock edge has a slight halo effect.'>

In-Camera HDR with Art Standard setting.
The shadows are drastically reduced and the rock edge has a slight halo effect.

All of the colors appear more saturated and lush.'>

In-Camera HDR with Art Vivid setting.
All of the colors appear more saturated and lush.

The contrast is maxed and the image looks noticeably altered.'>

In-Camera HDR with Art Bold setting.
The contrast is maxed and the image looks noticeably altered.

This looks more like a Photoshop filter and is a very intense edit to the image.'>

In-Camera HDR with Art Embossed setting.
This looks more like a Photoshop filter and is a very intense edit to the image.

In-Camera HDR with +/- 3EV setting

If you shoot in full sun a tripod isn't necessary. With less light, however, you'll need to keep the camera extremely still. Occasionally, you will be still but your subject is moving. This is not an ideal situation for HDR.

Here is an example of what happens when your subject moves while you're shooting in-camera HDR.

Have thoughts about in-camera HDR? Let us know in the comments below, or over on Facebook or Twitter! Stay tuned for more on HDR in an upcoming post.

Cheers,
-Dustin

So you're going on holiday?

2012-05-04T00:00:00-07:00

Let's pretend for a moment that you're finally cashing in some of your vacation days this Summer. You have a great camera, but what lenses should you pack for your trip? The easiest way to narrow down your options is to focus on what you'll be shooting the most.

A People Lens: Even if you're traveling alone, you'll want a people-friendly lens that's lightweight, fast and effective in low light. The 50mm Prime f/1.4 is a great choice, regardless of which brand you're loyal to. With an aperture of f/1.4, you'll need little more than candlelight to capture impressive shallow depth of field images.
Note: Prime lenses don't zoom!

A Cityscape Lens: For those expansive landscapes, ancient cathedrals and beach sunsets, you'll want a wide-angle lens that performs well in low light. The 24-70mm f/2.8 is perfect for when you step into the Pantheon in Rome and want to photograph the incredible ceiling. The field of view is wide enough to capture your landscape shot, but not so wide that your image is overly stretched or distorted. An aperture of f/2.8 will also allow you to continue shooting long after the sun goes down.

Canon and Nikon.
Right: 24-70mm f/2.8 Zoom Lenses from Canon and Nikon'>

Left: 50mm f/1.4 Prime Lenses from Canon and Nikon.
Right: 24-70mm f/2.8 Zoom Lenses from Canon and Nikon

Hey! Why No Telephoto Lens? Unless you are a wildlife photographer and your vacation will call for shooting beasts (with a camera!), a telephoto lens will probably not be your first choice. They tend to be big, bulky and have a long minimum focal distance, which means you have to be fairly far away from your subject in order to shoot it. If you know you'll be hunting animals with your lens and are cool with the extra heft, I would suggest a 70-200mm f/2.8 Telephoto Zoom Lens.

Canon (left) and Nikon (right)'>

70-200mm f/2.8 Telephoto Lenses from Canon (left) and Nikon (right)

There are tons of options out there when it comes to lenses, but the one thing that all of these have in common is excellent low-light performance. If you have any suggestions for awesome travel gear, let us know in the comments below, or over on Facebook or Twitter!

Safe Travels,
-Dustin

An Intro to Depth of Field

2012-04-27T00:00:00-07:00

People often ask, "How do I keep my subject in focus while allowing the rest of the image to be blurry?"

To answer this question, depth of field must first be explained. Depth of Field (DoF) is described as the area within an image where acceptable focus is found.

Here is a quick rule you can follow to control the depth of field in your photos: A wider aperture, or lower f-number, will yield a shallower depth of field.

If your lens doesn't have a wide aperture, you have a few other options. You can either be quite close to your subject with a wide angle lens or far away from it with a telephoto lens. Both options will result in a shallower depth of field. See the examples below for a visual explanation.

50mm f/1.4 lens.
Notice how the center of the image is in focus but the surrounding areas are quite blurry.'>

Above: Shallow depth of field: Full frame camera set to f/1.4 with a 50mm f/1.4 lens.
Notice how the center of the image is in focus but the surrounding areas are quite blurry.

The opposite of shallow DoF is deep focus. Deep focus refers to an image that is completely in focus. To achieve deep focus, you'll need to use a much narrower aperture. Slower shutter speeds are also required due to the fact that less light is reaching your sensor. In situations where there is less light available, grab a dang tripod.

The entire image is in acceptable focus.'>

Above: Deep focus: Full frame camera set to f/22 with a 50mm f/1.4 lens.
The entire image is in acceptable focus.

Look closely at the rock in the foreground of both images. The difference in sharpness between f/1.4 and f/22 is extremely noticeable. Every f-stop between these two extremes gradually effects DoF.

You can also see a bit of vignetting in the shallow DoF image. This can be corrected easily in post production or by increasing the f-number a few stops.

I hope this very simple overview has been helpful, and stay tuned for more fun techniques to beef up your photographic bag of tricks!

Cheers,
-Dustin

You should probably also play with this nifty DoF calculator from the folks over at Cambridge in Colour.

Refining Your Focus

2012-04-20T00:00:00-07:00

Your camera's autofocus is pretty smart, but it's not nearly as creative as you are. This post will show you how to manually select autofocus points for laser-specific creative control.

Why manually select your autofocus points? If you leave the focusing decision up to your camera, it's unlikely that it will choose the exact same subject that you would. Focusing more precisely also allows you to direct the viewer's eye via shallow depth of field. (more on depth of field this week)

See the examples below for the visual difference between full autofocus mode and choosing a custom autofocus point.

This photo was captured using full-on autofocus with a Canon 5D + 50mm f/1.4 lens. Notice how almost the entire frame is in focus, leaving your eye to wander from rock pile to rock pile.

Here, the center autofocus point was chosen and the rocks on the left were the subject.

To frame the photo the same way as the full-on autofocus image at the top of the page, aim your manually-selected autofocus point at your desired subject and half-depress the shutter. Once the focal distance is locked-in, frame the image however you like but don't release the shutter. When the image is framed properly, fully depress the shutter and the focal distance will remain as you intended. Boom! Same image, but with much greater creative control.

Same method, but this time the middle pile of rocks was chosen as the subject.

In this example, the furthest pile of rocks was chosen as the subject.

Notice how your eye is drawn to the subject quickly in these examples?

Point & Shoot cameras, as well as DSLRs, offer the ability to choose a specific autofocus point. See the photos below for a few examples of what this looks like in-camera. If you're not sure how to go about this with your camera, consult your instruction book.

Left: All AF sensors selected (default) on a DSLR - Right: Manually selecting only the center autofocus point

Left: Full-on autofocus mode on a point & shoot camera - Right: Only the center focus point selected

Depth of field, mentioned above, plays a large role in this technique. Stay tuned for more info about how that works later this week!

If you have any additional questions, feel free to post them in the comments on this blog, or over on Facebook or Twitter.

Cheers!
-Dustin

Simple Tricks for Conquering Glare

2012-04-06T00:00:00-07:00

Ever taken a photo on a sunny day and been disappointed by how much the sun's glare washed out your image? Whether you're shooting with a smartphone, point and shoot or DSLR, these simple tricks will help you capture the image you're after.

1. The Sunglass Filter Method

Grab your smartphone or point and shoot and a pair of polarized sunglasses. Simply place one of the sunglass lenses in front of your camera's lens to significantly reduce glare. You might feel a bit silly doing this in public, but the results should speak for themselves.

Please Note: The tint of your sunglasses will effect the image. A pair of brown polarized sunglasses were used in this example and the photo on the right shows a noticeable tint.

Brown polarized sunglass lens'>

Left: iPhone 4 camera. - Right: iPhone 4 camera + Brown polarized sunglass lens

Pretty neat, eh?

2. The Circular Polarizer Method

If you own a camera with interchangeable lenses, a circular polarizer can do incredible things for your images. Unlike the sunglass option above, circular polarizers kick glare to the curb without profound color changes.

Right: Exact same shot + B+W 58mm Circular Polarizer'>

Left: Storefront window shot with Canon 5D + 50mm f/1.4 lens
Right: Exact same shot + B+W 58mm Circular Polarizer

Circular polarizers screw onto the end of your lens and rotate to adjust the amount of light allowed through the filter. Check out the image below to see a mashup of all the different options you see when you rotate the polarizing filter.

Shot with Canon 5D + 50mm f/1.4 lens + B+W 58mm Circular Polarizer'>

The various options presented by rotating a circular polarizer.
Shot with Canon 5D + 50mm f/1.4 lens + B+W 58mm Circular Polarizer

Hopefully this post is enough to get you started, but if you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments below. I'll do my best to answer quickly!

If you're out this weekend and try either of these methods, we'd love to see the photos via this blog or on Facebook or Twitter!

Glare shmare,
-Dustin

If you're curious about how the filters actually work, check out this great article from photo tuts plus.

New Tees, Just in Time for Spring!

2012-03-20T00:00:00-07:00

Threadbird (American Apparel Tri-Blend)'>

Swanky new Snapjoy tees. Printed by our friends at Threadbird (American Apparel Tri-Blend)

It's the first day of Spring, which means it's time to usher in the season of the tee!

If you fancy the idea of owning one of these ultra-comfy torso covers, just tell us which color is your favorite and why in the comments below. Options are cranberry, indigo and evergreen.

You have until noon on Friday, March 23rd, which is when we'll randomly pick a handful of winners! Tee winners will be announced on Friday afternoon via the comments below.

Extra credit: If you're chosen and happen to also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, you'll score a tee for you and one for a friend. That's literally twice as many tees!

Spring forward,
-Dustin

Nostalgia

2012-03-06T00:00:00-08:00

It's hard to describe the feeling you get when you come across an old photograph. It's different for every photo, and unique to each of us. Photos are our way of stopping time, perhaps so we don't have to rely on our own memories to keep everything straight. The more photos you have, the more people, places and moments you've frozen into visual bookmarks throughout your lifetime.

From several external drives and multiple laptops, I uploaded over 21,000 photos to Snapjoy.

That's when the magic happened.

My mom as a tot ~1955

My 21,000+ photos were chronologically organized and put into a timeline. I could pick any year from my photographic life and dive in. I spent hours reliving the past through my photos, rediscovering moments I'd long forgotten.

While reminiscing, I found these amazing old photos of my family from long before I was born. It's strange how valuable these images become, especially if they're all you have of the people in them.

My dad with my grandmother ~1969

I had never experienced this sort of interaction with my photos, and it's one of the main reasons why I was so excited to join the team at Snapjoy.

If you're interested in experiencing this for yourself, just create an account at Snapjoy.com and upload some photos. Once everything is organized you'll get an email letting you know that your timeline is ready for you to explore.

We're working diligently on some really exciting features, but even at this most basic organizational level, connecting with your past in such a simple and beautiful way feels a lot like stepping into a time machine.

Long ago it must be, I have a photograph...
-Dustin

As always, we welcome any and all feedback in our forum, located here!

Looking Back: 1950's Kodak Photographic Notebook

2012-02-28T00:00:00-08:00

With so much emphasis placed on new and emerging technology, it's important to look back occasionally to see how far we've come. My wife and I recently stumbled upon an early 1950's Kodak Photographic Notebook at an antique shop in Lyons, CO. It's awesome to flip through the pages and see gear that was new and exciting back in the day.

The Kodak Photographic Notebook

Pro Tips from the Past:

Notes for the Photo Traveler. "Do not hesitate to shoot in color even if it is new to you. Many beginners make beautiful color pictures just by following the directions packed with the film."

Weather-beaten Film (how to avoid it). "When you are traveling by automobile, the best place to keep the film is on the floor behind the front seat, on the side opposite the exhaust, where it will be out of the sun and away from the heat of the motor."

Photograms: How to Make Them. "A very simple type of photogram may be made by merely placing objects - keys, combs, or even your hand - directly on a piece of photographic paper and turning on the room lights for a few seconds."

The History of Eastman Kodak. "In 1896 the 100,000th Kodak camera was manufactured, and film and photographic paper were being made at the rate of about four hundred miles monthly. This was indeed large-scale production at a low cost for the world market."

Some gear highlights.

LL-The Kodak Flurolite Camera Combination; LR-The Cine-Kodak Magazine 16 Camera on a homemade gunstock. ©Eastman Kodak Company'>

UL-Kodak Pony 828 Camera; UR-Kodak Stereo Camera
LL-The Kodak Flurolite Camera Combination; LR-The Cine-Kodak Magazine 16 Camera on a homemade gunstock. ©Eastman Kodak Company

The book is full of gems and tutorials for darkroom developing, macro shooting and much more. If you'd like to take a look, we've got it on hand in our office in Boulder, CO. Just come on in and give it a read. If you have a copy of this book, or one like it, don't hesitate to share it with us on facebook!

Back to the future,
-Dustin

*Images from the book photographed with iPhone 4 and combined/edited with Grid Lens for iPhone.

The Long Exposure Series: Star Trails

2012-02-20T00:00:00-08:00

A few years ago I saw a photograph of star trails swirling over mountains. It was such a mesmerizing shot that I had to learn how to do it myself. This tutorial will teach you the basic steps, but getting out there and learning from experience is always the best way to master the process for yourself.

Stuff to bring:

Camera capable of long exposures. (Bulb Mode)
Sturdy tripod
A wide lens that allows you to compose your shot in the dark. A few examples: 16-35mm f/2.8; 24-70mm f/2.8; 35mm f/1.4; 50mm f/1.4
A shutter release cable or remote trigger. Most cameras only allow timed exposures of 30 seconds max, so you'll need the ability to customize the exposure time to fit your needs.
Warm batteries. Cold batteries don’t last nearly as long as warm ones, so keep those puppies toasty until you’re ready to shoot. (An A/C adapter can also be helpful if you’re near a power source)
A Jacket. It gets chilly at night!

Step 1: Go where the stars shine. Get as far away from people and light as you can. If you live in a big city, this can be tough due to high levels of light pollution. My favorite place to shoot stars is in a little Colorado town called Oak Creek. It’s so dark there on a clear night that you can see the Milky Way with your naked eye.

Step 2: Keep the moon in mind. The moon is brighter than you think. If you don’t plan accordingly, an overly bright moon phase can ruin your exposure. There are a few cool apps out there to help you schedule your star trail shot. Star Walk is probably my favorite, as it’s for both the iPhone and iPad and is crazy fun to use outside in the dark. If apps aren’t your thing, you can look up the moonrise and moonset times for your area here. A full moon will be way too bright, while a new moon may not provide enough light for the foreground of your image.

Step 3: Wait out the red eyes. Most commercial flights are safely on the ground by 11:30PM, but as a rule I like to wait until 1:00AM to start shooting. If a plane does fly through your shot, you’ll see a super-noticeable straight streak that can be annoyingly tedious to remove.

Step 4: Prep your camera. Remove anything extra from your camera’s body, such as straps that can catch the wind.

Step 5: Format. Shoot star trails in RAW. It’s the easiest and most forgiving format when it comes to correcting levels and tweaking the white balance. If you’re not super familiar with RAW, shoot in RAW + JPG, as you’ll always have the RAW as a digital negative in case you want to go back later and tweak things a bit.

Step 6: Camera Settings and Focal Distance In general, shooting at ISO 200 with an aperture of f/4.0 or f/4.5 will do nicely. When focusing, it’s safe to set your focal distance at infinity, but if you’re not sure how to do that, you can auto-focus on the moon and then toggle your focus setting to manual.

Step 7: Exposure Time. Don't attempt to capture star trails if the moon is more than half full. It's just too bright. When there is a half moon, you’ll want to shoot for up to 25 minutes. When there is a new moon and the sky is completely dark, you can leave the shutter open for up to 125 minutes without over-exposing. Reminder: Leaving the shutter open longer is almost always better than ending the shot prematurely, so don’t sweat it if you go slightly beyond these benchmarks.

Step 8: Hunting Polaris. If you want your image to show complete circular trails, you’ll need to find Polaris, the North Star. To find Polaris, just draw a straight line up from the ladle-edge of the Big Dipper and you’ll see it as the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. Having Polaris in the frame gives the shot a neat sense of the Earth spinning like a top. If you need extra help finding Polaris, check out this site.

Step 9: Stay dark and go away. Unless you are painting the foreground with light to compensate for a new moon, keep all flashlights away from your camera. Accidentally flashing a bright light at or near the camera can ruin your shot. Also, stay away from your setup, as the likelihood that you’ll bump the camera is quite small if you’re physically not near it. There is nothing worse than bumping your tripod and having to start over.

I hope this gives you enough to play with, and please share your experimental star trail shots with us on facebook!

Happy shooting,
-Dustin

Welcome to the Snapjoy Team, Dustin Henderlong!

2012-01-30T00:00:00-08:00

We’re very excited to announce our first addition to the Snapjoy team! Dustin Henderlong is joining us as a forward-facing, socially focused, builder of relationships.

Dustin in action

Dustin (@DHendy) comes to us from our favorite t-shirt design community, Threadless, where he was focused on partnerships, design challenges and many fun projects in between.

Photography has been in Dustin’s family for over 80 years. “I grew up with a camera in my hand, as my family has owned a photography business since the 1920’s. Joining the Snapjoy team will allow me to help usher in a new era in photography, one of cloud-based storage and photo interaction. My grandfather would be proud, and probably super confused.”

When Dustin isn’t building relationships, he’s an avid hiker, amateur home-brewer, grill master and husband.

We’re happy to be bringing Dustin into the fold and can’t wait to see his passion for photography and photo sharing impact our team and product.

Rediscover your favorite memories

2011-11-08T00:00:00-08:00

Remember that feeling of wonder? You randomly stumble upon a photo from your distant past that you thought you had lost forever. For brief moment, you're taken back to a simpler time in a familiar place, surrounded by friendly faces.

We love this feeling too! Now Snapjoy takes the serendipity of rediscovering that forgotten memory up a notch.

When you sign in to Snapjoy today, you'll be greeted by a freshly redesigned homepage that puts your photos front-and-center.

New homepage

Every few seconds, we'll randomly show you a new photo from your vast photo library. Click on a photo, and you can instantly explore the entire set of photos from that time and place. Give it a try -- and let us know what you think!

More pixels, bigger pictures

2011-10-12T00:00:00-07:00

Today, we rolled out a design refresh for our single photo gallery pages.

Your photos now appear at least 12% larger than before -- across screens of all sizes.

To make more room for your photos to shine, we eliminated all unnecessary black margins framing the photo. On larger monitors, your photos now render edge-to-edge.

See for yourself how the new layout compares:

Before

After

100 hours, 1,000,000 photos

2011-08-16T00:00:00-07:00

The days since our launch last Monday have been incredible. Almost immediately, photos were being uploaded at an astonishing pace. We processed 1 million photos in just over 100 hours. The volume of uploads was so great that we had to close signups to keep our servers happy. Having spent the past week beefing up our system, we're almost ready to open signups again!

So what does 1,000,000 photos mean? Here's a few fun graphs that explore the metadata. Enjoy!

Number of photos by date taken

Number of photos by camera maker

Top 10 camera brands

Public Beta, Y Combinator

2011-08-08T00:00:00-07:00

Today marks an enormous milestone for us — the public availability of Snapjoy. Starting today, anyone can join Snapjoy and participate in our public beta. We are also honored to reveal that we are part of the current batch of Y Combinator (summer 2011).

Snapjoy at Y Combinator

What began two years ago as a project to automatically organize photos has changed, we believe, the way photos were ment to be enjoyed. We’d like to thank everyone who trusted us with hundreds of thousands of precious photos and provided invaluable feedback. Snapjoy is awesome because of you.

Enough time spent reflecting on the past, we’ve got to get back to inventing the future!

Launch!

Snapjoy Shoebox for Mac

2011-08-07T00:00:00-07:00

Browsing photos on Snapjoy is fun -- uploading photos isn't. That's why we're pleased release Snapjoy Shoebox for Mac. This simple little app makes it easy to teleport tons of photos to snapjoy.com. It's pretty smart too -- it won't upload photos you've already uploaded.

Meet Snapjoy Shoebox

Got a folder of photos to upload? Drop it in!

How about a memory card full of photos? Plug it in!

Got some photos in iPhoto? Drag them in!

Want your entire iPhoto library uploaded? Import it!

We hope you enjoy the Snapjoy Shoebox!

Share your memories

2011-04-07T00:00:00-07:00

Your precious memories aren't as much fun when kept to yourself. That's why we're proud to release sharing, the most requested feature yet.

Starting today, you can share moments to anyone with an email address and revoke access at any time, all without leaving Snapjoy.

Check out this video for a quick look. Enjoy!

Sharing Demo from Snapjoy on Vimeo.

I'm feeling nostalgic

2011-03-23T00:00:00-07:00

We've released two new features to help you discover long forgotten memories.

Remember When

Your home page now contains a section filled with random moments from your library. Clicking on a thumbnail will take you to a larger view where you can see the other moments from the same time. These moments will periodically change, so check back often.

I'm feeling nostalgic

The second feature randomly pulls back a single moment from your library. Clicking the big blue button will show you another random moment.

Beware - this feature is addicting!

Click "I'm feeling nostalgic" on your home page to get started.

We hope these new features help you discover some long lost memories.

Enjoy!

Duplicate photos are no fun

2011-03-17T00:00:00-07:00

When dealing with a large number of photos, duplicates always seem to pop up regardless of how careful you are. We get feedback all the time from users who noticed a few duplicates after uploading several thousand photos. We hear you and don't like them either.

Today, we take a big step towards eliminating the issue all together by discarding duplicates when importing.

What if I upload the same file several times?

We skip any photos already saved to your account.

What if I upload the same photo several times but with different names?

No problem, we ensure photos are unique by scanning the contents.

What if I already have duplicates in my account?

Over the coming weeks, we'll identify existing duplicates and move 'em to a trash area. You can then either recover them or remove them when you're comfortable.

Enjoy!

First!

2011-01-24T00:00:00-08:00

Hello and welcome to the Snapjoy blog! We'll be using this space to talk about product updates, getting the most out of Snapjoy, and photography. We'll also be throwing in some behind-the-scenes stuff for geeks and startup fans. So keep an eye out, this will be a lot of fun!

Anyway, welcome and happy snapping!