How to use the iPad to learn more about Photography

A guest post by Aaron Hockley from Picture Pundit.

 IPad has caused quite a bit of a buzz, as people try to figure out how it fits into the world of gadgets. Many photographers are using it for a mobile portfolio entity (and it works really well). Very little has been written on using camera connection kit to look at the photos. I've found another great use for photographers who use the iPad: as a learning tool.

Think about the amount of knowlegde you probably have gained with photography on your computer. You read blogs (or you wouldn't have seen this). You participate probably in photography forums. Sure, you can do these same things on your iPad using your Web browser, but there are some other possibilities to learn as well:
Applications for Learning PhotographyA few applications have arrived that specifically are designed to be instructional tools for photographers. Here are a few that I've used and found interesting:
Guardian eyewitnesses – an application featuring a photo every day, from Guardian News Publisher in the UK in partnership with Canon. In addition to a descriptive caption below each photo, a great learning opportunity with a photography tip is presented, which relates to the specific photo.
Rick Sammon social media for photographers – a good overview of social media opportunities for sharing and marketing one's work. It is full of Ricks tips to get your work out there.
Photo Shootout – a simulator for photography. Yes, you read that correctly. The app allows you to perform tasks by simulating photography conditions with various camera settings (aperture, shutter speed, etc). Based on the settings selected, the user can simulate photographing models to see how the shutter speed, the ISO and aperture affect the image.
E-book-reading functionality of iBooks and Kindle app is pretty good. Apple's e-book store has a whole lot of titles, Amazon's have even more and the reading experience on your device boasts a great amenities that make it a pleasurable experience. In addition to be used in either orientation, can ebooks readers be configured with the user's preferred fonts, backlighting and text size; Users can create electronic bookmarks and add annotations to ebooks.
With a software update that is delivered in June, can iBooks load and read PDFs. This is a great way to save different photography-related texts including camera manuals and PDF ebooks. instead of carrying the manual in your DSLR, strobes or other gear together in its paper format, to save weight and load the PDF version of this manual onto your iPad! I have made my camera bag a bit lighter by removing paper manuals.
I almost did not add this, but I figure, it is worth to mention. You have probably reckoned photos on your iPad as a great way to expose your work, but in addition to wowing friends and strangers with your best images, you can also collaborate with other photographers and talk about the quality of your pictures. The dimension of the iPad screen makes it easy for a couple of people to stand around the device and exchange views about things like composition, exposure and other aesthetic and technical aspects of a photograph.
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Aaron Hockley is a photographer and blogger; read his blog at Picture Pundit or follow him on Twitter.
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