This week our iPhone Photography series is going to be a little different. Instead of exploring a new technique for taking better photos, we're going to dive into the digital darkroom of iPhoto to improve an image we've already taken. It's always worth capturing the best possible photo you can with your camera. Thanks to photo editing apps like iPhoto, however, when and if something goes wrong -- the framing is a little off, the white balance or exposure isn't perfect, the levels just don't look right -- there's a lot you can do to fix it.

Perhaps you recall seeing this image in our lesson about negative space. I admitted to editing it a bit. What I didn't admit to was how much editing I did. Sure, I did crop to a square and apply an Instagram filter like I mentioned, but I also fired up Photoshop to darken parts of the image even more.

Well, this is an iPhoneography series, so instead of using Photoshop for our edits, we're going to use Apple's new iPhoto app for iPhone and iPad. I'm going to use the iPad because I enjoy using the larger screen, but the same process can also be done on the iPhone.

• iPhoto for iPhone and iPad, $4.99 - Download Now

Before we get started, download the full resolution version of the original image so that you can do the edits with me. (Hold down your finger on the image and tap Save Image. This will save it to your Camera Roll.) Here's what it should look like.

Huge difference from the final image I used, isn't it? This is why learning how to edit your photos is also an important part of photography, especially for iPhoneographers who don't have the luxuries and control that come with shooting with a DSLR.

Critique your image

When you decide you want to edit an image, the first thing you should do is sit back and critique it. What do you want it to look like? Why does it even need to be edited in the first place? You don't just want to start blindly editing photos with a "we'll see what happens" approach. This will result in images that look processed and overdone. This shouldn't be your goal. (Side note: that type of look does have its place, but it's not what we're going to focus on and, it too, should also be planned and deliberate).

When I look at my original image, I see a lot of flaws. First, the orientation is wrong. To bring the viewer's attention to the flame, my intended subject, it would be better cropped either horizontally, or as a square. Notice that I said my subject is the flame, not the candle. This is important. Know your subject.

Second, there's a lot of distracting elements in the frame -- especially the people and balloons. Note, however, that I intentionally composed the shot so that the flame, itself, didn't have a person behind it.

Now that we've determined what's wrong with the photo, we know what we want to fix. We need to crop the image with a landscape orientation and get rid of the distracting elements. The most natural way to do that is by darkening those areas.

Crop

We're going to start by cropping the photo so that it has a horizontal orientation. There are many different ratios to choose from, and for this image, the important thing is to make sure that the ratio you choose doesn't cut off the dripping wax as this is an interesting element of the photograph. The best choice for this image was 10x8.

To crop the image, tap the crop icon in the lower left corner. Then tap the settings icon on the bottom right and swipe to the 2nd page to select 10x8. To make sure the image is straight, adjust the dial at the bottom until the grid lines are perfectly lined up with the candle. I went about two degrees in the positive direction.

Adjust contrast and shadows

Next up, we're going to adjust the contrast and shadows. This will darken the background a bit before we jump into using the darken tool.

To adjust the contrast, tap the exposure icon. It's the one directly to the right of the crop icon. This will show you a line with some icons across the bottom of the screen. The first and last icons adjust the shadows and highlights, the middle icon adjusts the exposure, and the other two adjust the contrast.

Now let's make our adjustment. Tap either one of the contrast icons and slide it away from the center. This will increase the contrast. You'll notice that this will darken the background and make the flame and candle "pop" a bit more. Adjust this to taste. I went about a third of the way between the shadows icon and the exposure icon. I recommend moving it to where you think it looks good, then going a little bit less than that.

Finally, we'll adjust the shadows. Again, adjust to to where you think it looks good. I went about halfway between the zone on the left. This edit made my background even darker.

At this point, our image has already greatly improved. Trigger the button next to the Edit button in the upper right hand corner to compare with the original. Already a great improvement! But we can do even better. Specifically, I want to get rid of the remaining evidence of someone sitting on the right and darken that white shirt on the left as much as I can.

Darken

Now we're going to eliminate the remaining distracting elements by darkening those areas of the photo. To do this, select the Darken brush from the Brushes menu (4th icon in the bottom left corner). Next, tap the Settings icon in the lower right corner and toggle Show Strokes to ON. This will allow you to see exactly where you're applying the brush.

Start painting the areas around the flame with your finger. Your strokes will show up in red and you'll notice that the opacity increases the more times you go over an area. Make sure you go over the areas that are far away from the candle as much as possible. Also do your best to blend the opacity level of your strokes as you get closer to the candle. Otherwise, there will be an obvious line where you stopped applying the brush. Be patient. Take your time. Tap the undo button if you make a mistake. You can also use the eraser tool to erase your strokes.

Pay special attention to the area to the left of the candle and pinch to zoom into the photo to make sure you're precise. Also make sure you cover the area with the shirt good since it's so light.

When you're done, trigger Show Strokes to off and take a look at your results. Then adjust the slider all the way to the right to make the area you painted even darker. If you notice any areas that need to be fixed, turn Show Stokes back on and make your adjustments. Turn the stokes back off and compare with the original photo again.

Looking much better! But notice that you can still still the shirt on the left side of the candle and the windows are also a bit distracting. Unfortunately, the Darken tool couldn't completely take care of it. That's why we're going to see if there's a filter that'll help us out.

Filter

Feel free to experiment with the different filters, but I have narrowed it down to the two I think are best.

The third choice in the Artistic category does a great job of dimming the windows without drastically changing the look of the candle. However, the white shirt on the left is still fairly visible.

The third choice in the Vintage category almost eliminates the shirt entirely and also dims the windows a little bit. But it also reddens the already very red candle.

I think both of these filters make very fine choices. However, I wasn't completely satisfied with either, so I went with the one in the Artistic category, saved it to my Camera Roll, then edited the saved image by just darkening the area with the white shirt.

Final result

Look at the difference! To see a larger comparison, just tap/click the image.

Now, that wasn't too hard, was it? Usually, a few small edits can have a major impact on your images.

Assignment

Your assignment for this week is to edit your photos! Remember, the first thing you want to do is critique your image and decide on the changes that need to be made. If you need help, feel free to ask the iMore community for some suggestions. After you've made your edits, head to the iMore Photography forum and share your results! Make sure to include both the before and after shots!

Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include a Dropbox-based plain text editor, a camera app that's bound to capture any action, a strategy game, a photo editing app, and a couple new Apple devices.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

PlainText - @sethclifford

It's been a while since I've talked about one directly, so yes, it's time for another Dropbox-based plain text editor. This one, appropriately enough, is called PlainText. Currently, this is my go-to text editor on iOS for a very simple reason.

Apple has shown us the value in unifying its multiple platforms visually with the preview release of Mountain Lion, incorporating both aesthetic influences and applications from iOS into OS X. Something I've tried to do for a while, well in advance of the official declaration of this agenda has been to unify my computing experience as seamlessly as possible in all places. On the desktop, I use NValt for writing notes and long form text. In fact I'm using it to write this pick right now ("You're soaking in it"). NValt is a fork of the excellent note program Notational Velocity, and is provided by Brett Terpstra of TUAW fame as well as other cool projects. The reason I like Notational Velocity is because it provides a super-clean and ultra-fast note taking interface. NValt adds some nice tweaks like Markdown support baked right in. It's quick, simple, and highly effective.

I realized I was looking for a similar experience on iOS, and although I've tried many editors, I came back to PlainText because of one major feature that accurately mimicked the most excellent part of NValt and Notational Velocity - a search field that drills through your notes like a bullet. I realized that after all my searching, what I need most on my phone is speedy access to the information I'm looking through, above all else. PlainText has a really cool search UI that works in almost exactly the same fashion, providing an experience that matches the one I like so much on my MBP.

Ultimately, PlainText doesn't have most of the bells and whistles of some of the other text editors we've discussed in the past, but it has the most important one: pure, blistering speed. And a nice, clean UI. Okay, two important ones. It's a great free app, and for two bucks, you can drop the ads and support great development.

Free - Download Now

Fast Camera - @Alli_Flowers

If you ever missed a great action shot because your iPhone camera lens didn't refresh fast enough - this app's for you. According to the iTunes description, you can take up to 800 pictures per minute! I've only taken 178 at a pop, so I can't prove it, but 178 is impressive in a few seconds.

Once you take your series of photos, you can review them and save the ones you want - delete the rest. No need to take up space with what you're not keeping. But what you're keeping are full resolution (can you say 8 megapixels?) photos. This is not like taking a video and then doing a screen capture of the good part.

You can adjust the settings so that your photos are not full resolution, but why would you do that? Settings include starting your series when you open the app for instant picture taking, or letting you press the start button.

This app is worth way more than the $.99 price tag, and should be a must for active people.

$0.99 - Download Now

Hero Academy - @simonsage

I've spent a lot of time playing Hero Academy this week. It's a free turn-based strategy game with a high fantasy theme. Either side is trying to destroy the other's other's crystal placed on a square grid. Each turn consists of five actions, which can involve playing various units, powers and upgrades held in your hand, or moving and attacking with the pieces on the board. The only army available in the free version are the humans, but if you want to give the dark elves or dwarves a shot, they're $1.99 each, and they wipe out the inter-turn ads.

I do have a few niggles. For one, you can only get the new armies through microtransactions - there's no way to unlock them through standard gameplay. Secondly, it feels like the premium armies are a little overpowered; a fully-upgraded dwarven Annihilator doesn't feel remotely equivalent to a tweaked-out Council Ninja. Pay-to-win is never a great policy.

Free - Download Now

iPhoto for iPhone and iPad - @iMuggle

Ever since I have started to take a liking to photography (mostly thanks to our own Leanna and her iPhoneography series), I've been filling up my iPhone and iPad with tons of pictures from both my iPhone 4S and my DSLR.

iPhoto has a lot of really nice editing tools that allows me to make quick edits to photos on the go without having to load them to my computer first. Of course it'll never be a replacement for tools like Photoshop but it's definitely good enough for basic editing.

Paired with a camera kit, I've been bringing both my camera and iPad with me when taking photos and loading them straight into iPhoto to view them with friends, family, and clients.

Let's also not forget the new iPad. I am blown away with how good high quality images look on the retina display. Absolutely amazing. I still wish Apple would sync albums and events back and forth. That is my biggest complaint at this point. If I create an event on my iPad I want it on my iMac too. Hopefully we will see this functionality added in an update. If you're debating picking iPhoto up you can check out our review first.

$4.99 - Download Now

NCAA March Madness Live - @gmazo1

If you are a sports fan like me, March means one thing - March Madness. For those non-sports fans among us, that is the NCAA college basketball tournament.

The Tournament is known for the “Bracket” – the seeding and schedule of the 64-team road to the final four.

This year, there is a great app called NCAA March Madness Live, which lets me follow all the action. I can see the scores and plays in real time, follow tweets about the games, listen to game day audio and watch video highlights.

If that’s not enough, I can pay a once time fee of $3.99 and watch every single second of every game right on my iPad or iPhone. This app is just amazing for the college basketball lover.

The feature I like the best is that when you first set up the app (provided you did it before the tournament started) you can “fill in your bracket” and it keeps track of your winning percentage. So far, I’m doing OK – the four teams I picked for the Final Four are still in the tournament.

I’d be curious to know if you are using this app and how your bracket is doing, so please head to our forums and join in on the discussion!

Free - Download Now

Apple TV 1080p (2012) - Rene Ritchie

Last week I picked the new iPad. This week I'm rounding that pick out with something that combines with it, like Devastator or Voltron, to be more than the sum of its parts. The new Apple TV.

Apple didn't make many changes to the new Apple TV. Design-wise it's the same black, rounded rectangle they released in the fall of 2010. Inside, however, they've made some great changes. RAM is increased, if you follow the tear-downs, but more importantly it now supports 1080p content. While that doesn't sound impressive in a 1080p HDTV and BluRay soaked society, Apple is streaming 1080p content to it, both via AirPlay from the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, and the new iPad, and from iTunes in the cloud.

They've improved the look of the video without excessive file size increases by supporting higher quality H.264 encoding, but that's just a technical detail. They've made a peripheral that lets you take the absolutely stunning looking video the new iPad can play natively and beam it right to your 1080p TV to share with friends, families, or colleagues.

Apple also released an updated interface for both the new and the previous Apple TV, which I like in concept if not in individual icon-level rendering or organization. There's a lot of content there now though, and you can subscribe to Netflix or MLB right on the Apple TV, right with your iTunes account.

We're not there yet, not to where Apple TV can replace cable television for most people, most of the time, but we're getting closer.

iPad - @llofte

Turning on my new iPad for the first time was just like turning on my iPhone 4 for the first time. A-mazing. Those claiming that the new iPad is only a incremental upgrade from the iPad 2 clearly haven't actually looked at the screen on the new iPad. I literally can't stop staring at it.

I can rant and rave all night about the new iPad, but I'm sure you'll just roll your eyes at me and scream "fangirl", so instead, I'm just going to answer the question that I'm repeatedly being asked on Twitter -- yes, the new iPad is worth it.

Tell us your pick!

Those were our picks, iMore Nation, so now it's your turn! Tell us your pick of the week below. Give us the name of your favorite app, site, or accessory, and tell us why it made your life more productive, more informed, more entertaining, or just plain more fun. Jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This weeks selections includes a musical game, a jailbreak tweak, an accessory and app to accept credit card payments, a music identifier, a news readers, and a photo editor.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Guess Your Songs - @Alli_Flowers

Remember the old game show "Name that tune?" Remember how if they told you enough about the song, you could guess it in a single note? Well what if you only had a single note and no background information? What if that tune came from your own iTunes library?

Guess Your Songs is a great new game that you can play on your iPhone, iPad, Facebook, or directly through www.guessyoursongs.com. It uses your iTunes library, and plays you a snippet of a song. It could be a single note, it could be 10 notes - depends on the song - whatever fits into the two seconds you get to listen. Oh, and it's not the beginning of the song, either. This can be a challenge.

Once you listen to your two seconds of music, you get three choices. Guess Your Songs will display the album art (if you have it), and give you three song titles. All you have to do is tap the correct song. This can sometimes be tricky. For instance, I played one round, where I got two seconds of silence. When I looked at my choices, two were classical pieces, and the third had a lengthy bridge with spots that were so quiet they could have been silence. Very difficult to make that call!

The more eclectic your collection, the easier it is to guess correctly. If you have a large collection of music from the same genre, it could prove very challenging!

So challenge yourself to see how well you know your own music collection, and give this a try!

Free - Download Now

Zeppelin (jailbreak) - @JorjLim

Zeppelin is a very simple jailbreak tweak that allows you to change your carrier icon. Instead of reading "O2" or "AT&T" you can actually customise it to show the actual logo of the company, or even something completely different like the batman symbol, the Apple logo, or even the logo of your favourite sporting team.

When you initially download it it comes with some basic icons; from popular sci-fi series, video games as well as popular brands. However there are endless numbers of bonus packs to download in the Cydia store for free. (It even has their own category in Cydia)

If you want to really have simplicity, you can even set it to "none" to have nothing there at all.

One of the good things about this tweak is that you don't even have to respring when you change an icon, so you can switch between them on the fly without having to worry respringing your phone.

You can download this fun little tweak from Cydia for free.

Square Register for iPad - @iMuggle

I've been using Square as the main method for taking credit card payments for PXLFIX since last summer. I love the ease of use, idiot proof interface, and low fees. As much as I've always enjoyed being able to take a credit card wherever I was, whether in the office or on a consult, I've felt like Square could add a bit more customization.

Square Register is exactly what I'd been wanting to see them do. I can now have a beautiful virtual shelf showing all our services and repairs, I can favorite certain items that get used more than others, and add photos for each item. I also like the fact that I can choose whether or not an item is taxable. In the state where my business is located, we don't yet have to charge tax on labor so we have to break that out on invoices. Square makes it easier than ever. Just toggle tax on or off for any individual item.

I've been playing around with Square Register since it came out and I have to say that it's one of the best options for small businesses that don't want to be anchored to one point of sale or commit to several monthly fees. You can sign up for Square for free and receive a reader for free as well. Square Register is also a free download via the App Store.

Free - Download Now

USA Today - @Gmazo1

I'm a News junkie - I always have been. First thing in the morning - after I read my emails and check tweets from the night, i fire up two or three news apps to see what's going on in the world. I have vacillated between my iPad and iPhone - but usually turn to the iPad for one app - USA Today. AFter checking the front page of the New York Times, this has been my go to app.

Now, USA Today has been updated for the iPhone and it is awesome. They did a complete redesign of the iPhone app; the sections are in big, bold colorful letters on the left hand side. In each "category" you can choose from lots of options. Being a sports nut, I really appreciate the ability to see Top Stories, Scores and each sporting league right there for easy perusal.

I also like that the settings menu is built into the app. I can manage my alerts, choose display options and get support via email or twitter. There is even a handy weather widget on the front page that can be set to multiple locations. All in all, this is a great upgrade and has made this my new "go to" news app when I am just looking for quick stories - not in depth analysis.

Free - Download Now

Shazam - @Bla1ze

I'm getting old. My memory for the names of songs and tunes I like is no longer as good as it once used to be. For example, watching the iPad announcement I sat there wondering what the name of the song they played while showing off the new stores was pretty much for hours, even though I knew I had heard it before. I gave up though, and headed off to the app store to find an app that would know instantly. I found Shazam, played a few seconds of the song, Shazam sent it to the cloud and immediately gave me the answer I was looking for -- We are young by Fun featuring Janelle Monae. Shazam is free and available in the app store, right now.

Free - Download Now

iPhoto for iPhone and iPad - @llofte

One of the announcements during Apple's iPad event was iPhoto for iPhone and Mac. When rumors first started surfacing about this, I'll admit that I wasn't too thrilled because I've never been a fan of iPhoto for Mac. I'm happy to report that I'm actually very impressed with iPhoto for iPhone and iPad.

I don't want to repeat myself, so please take a look at my full review.

$4.99 - Download Now

The new iPad - @reneritchie

What? Stop looking at me like that. It had to be done! The new iPad packs an ridiculous amount of technology into a sleek, sexy package for an unbelievably low price. It's such a design, engineering, and logistical achievement that I'm guessing Apple's competitors likely went into collective apoplexy after watching the event on Wednesday and are probably still on pure oxygen.

2048x1536 Retina display pixels in a 9.7-inch display is crazy. It's more than your 1080p television at a tiny fraction of the size. 4G LTE networking is fantastic for those with coverage, and the Apple A5X chipset looks to be quad-core graphical monster. It's even got a 5mp version of the iPhone 4S' fantastic iSight camera built in.

And it's almost the same size as the iPad 2, and the same price. If you haven't gotten a tablet yet, it's a great time to start. If you have an original iPad, it's a great time to upgrade. If you have an iPad 2, it's a good upgrade provided one or more of the features fixes a real problem you've been having.

I'll be lining up to get the fully loaded version on launch day, but if you haven't made up your mind yet, we've got everything you need to help you decide right here:

• 2012 iPad buyers guide

Tell us your pick!

Those were our picks, iMore Nation, so now it's your turn! Tell us your pick of the week below. Give us the name of your favorite app, site, or accessory, and tell us why it made your life more productive, more informed, more entertaining, or just plain more fun. Jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

It looks like Apple's new iPhoto for iOS app isn't pulling data from the tradition source, Google Maps, but is using custom Apple made tiles informed by OpenStreetMaps. 512 Pixels' Stephen Hackett noticed the difference almost immediately, as did The Next Web's Matthew Panzarino. OpenStreetMap later confirmed it on their own blog:

Yesterday Apple launched iPhoto, its photo management app, for the iPad and iPhone… and we’re rather pleased to find they’re the latest to switch to OpenStreetMap. [...] The new iPhoto for iOS, however, uses Apple’s own map tiles – made from OpenStreetMap data (outside the US).

The OSM data that Apple is using is rather old (start of April 2010) so don’t expect to see your latest and greatest updates on there. It’s also missing the necessary credit to OpenStreetMap’s contributors; we look forward to working with Apple to get that on there.

Given the strains in the Apple/Google relationship as of late, it's really shocking to see them putting something like this together.

Apple has also acquired numerous mapping solution companies such as PlaceBase, Google Earth competitor Poly9 along with a 3D mapping company called C3 Technologies, so it's not hard to imagine we'll see more custom maps from Apple in the future.

Source: 512 Pixels, TNW, OpenStreetMap

iPhoto is a fantastic photo editing tool, in some ways better than it is on the Mac, but suffers from an inexplicable lack of useful sync.

Apple has brought iPhoto to iOS. Announced alongside the new iPad, but available as a universal app for the iPhone as well, iPhoto completes Apple's mobile iLife suite and once again challenges the misconception that multitouch is better geared for content consumption than creation. iPhoto took the longest to arrive on iOS, despite being the most popular of the iLife apps. So... was it worth the wait?

Photo Editing

I'm am very impressed with the editing power of iPhoto. It's better then iPhoto for the Mac, that's for sure. It's jam packed with options, so it's nice that Apple included an info button that pops up a bunch of helpful notes about what each button does and what each filter or brush is named. (Not as nice as if they'd made the user interface more intuitive, but nicer than having to poke around and get frustrated.) If you tap the arrow on one of these tabs, a help screen will pop up with more info on the specific feature.

Color adjustments

The basic editing tools include cropping, auto enhance, and exposure. Included in the color adjustments tab is options to adjust saturation, white balance, and skin tones as well as smarter adjustments for blue skies and greenery. Be careful with these two, though. If you don't have greenery or blue skies in your photo, it produces horrific results.

This is the perfect time to mention that iPhoto does not support layers or masking, so you cannot exclude a portion of your photo from an effect or adjustment taking place. There is an option to preserve skin tones when making color adjustments, but it's mediocre at best.

To make color adjustments, you can move sliders provided at the bottom of the editing screen, or you can just drag your finger directly on the parts of the photo that correspond wit the color type. For example, holding your finger on the sky will pop up the Blue Skies tool and sliding your finger left or right will adjust the slider. Doing the same thing anywhere on your photo, but vertically, will adjust the saturation.

You can also adjust white balance with the typical presets that come with most apps and cameras: sun, cloudy, flash, shade, incandescent, and fluorescent. There is also a Face Balance tool that lets you choose a person's face and iPhoto will automatically choose a good white balance for the skin tone. Lastly, you can make select a white point on your photo with the custom white balance tool.

Brushes

The best editing feature of iPhoto is the brushes. There are 8 of them: Repair, Red Eye, Saturate, Desaturate, Lighten, Darken, Sharpen, and Soften. The Repair brush will removes things like blemishes, dust marks, and scratches. The other Brushes are self explanatory.

To use a brush, you simply use your finger to "paint" the areas of your photo you the affect applied to. My biggest complaint is that iPhoto doesn't use a circle to show where you're touching -- the only visual cue is to see the results of the brush. But if you're making subtle changes, it's very hard to notice. However, the alternative that's available is the option to show your strokes. Turning this on displays all your strokes in red. When you're done applying the brush, just turn the strokes off to see the results.

My other gripe with brushes is that you cannot adjust the brush size - well, not directly anyway. The brush size is always the size of your fingertip, so to adjust it, you need to zoom in and out of the photo. This is just terrible. It's hard to be precise.

Now, I started out by saying that the brushes are the best editing feature of iPhoto, but have done nothing but complain about it. That's because, despite these two flaws, brushes are actually very powerful tools. The opacity of the brushes are fairly light, so you have control over how drastic you want the change to be -- just paint multiple strokes over one spot to create a thicker layer, so to speak. Showing your strokes is very helpful in this regard.

Effects

iPhoto has a set of filters that Apple calls Effects. The categories are Artistic, Vintage, Aura, Black & White, Duotone, and Warm & Cool. Honestly, there isn't really anything special about them in comparison to other apps, they're filters that change the look of your photos. End of story. Well, I guess the fact that you can adjust the vignetting intensity makes it a little bit more interesting?

Example of final edit

Here's the before and after comparison of a photo that I edited fairly quickly. I think it's a great example of a nice edit job that isn't overdone. I cropped and rotated, used the Face Balance tool, increased the Greenery slider, applied the repair, sharpen, and soften brushes, and added the Saturated Film filter from the Vintage category.

You can see a larger version here.

Sharing , Beaming, and syncing (or lack thereof)

You can share you photo from iPhoto directly to your Camera Roll, iTunes, email, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, and an AirPrint compatible printer. There is also a new feature called Beam that lets you share photos from one device running iPhoto to another device on the same Wifi network also running iPhoto. It's really easy to use and a great way to share photos between devices. Unfortunately, it's also the easiest way to share photos between even your own devices.

I was really hoping that with the introduction of iPhoto on the iPhone and iPad that my iPhoto libraries would stay in sync between iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but this is not the case. It's not even the case within iOS. Each devices has their own library. Having photos and the non-destructive edits that go with them seamlessly sync between all devices would have been the single most useful feature a platform owner like Apple could implement. I expected more from the maker's of iCloud. Maybe in a future update.

Journals

iPhoto has this fun new way to display your photos called Journals. It's basically a collage of your photos with the ability of adding captions, blocks of text, notes, map, weather widgets to your collage. You can resize your photos and drag and drop them to place them exactly how you wish. Unfortunately, you cannot adjust the size of the widgets, so even if your sticky note only has one small phrase, it must still take up just as much space as four small photos.

Journals are pretty fun to play with and can be shared online through iCloud. This will give your Journal its own web address that can be shared with whoever you want. All your photos are also downloadable from your online journal - a "feature" that cannot be disabled.

I was very disappointed to learn that this was the only real way to share a Journal. I was really hoping for an export that would allow me to then share my Journal to my personal blog.

You can see an example of a journal that I shared through iCloud here.

The good

• Very powerful editing tools
• Journals are pretty cool
• Easy to use
• Integrated user manual is awesome
• Beam is a great and easy way to share to other iOS devices

The bad

• iPhoto libraries don't sync
• Brushes don't have visual indication of brush size
• Must zoom in and out of photo to adjust brush size, which isn't very precise
• No support for layers
• Can't adjust size of inserted widgets in a Journal
• Can only share Journals online through iCloud

The conclusion

iPhoto is a fantastic addition to the iLife family on iOS with very powerful editing tools. Sure, there are some things that could be changed to make it better, but at just $4.99, it's quite a steal. Minus the creation of books, cards, and calendars, it's better than iPhoto on the Mac.

$4.99 - Download Now

Brand new today is the introduction of iPhoto, which will be coming to iPad along with updates to iMovie and GarageBand to complete the rest of the iLife suite for iOS. It will come with many new features including new gestures, effects, multi-touch editing and the ability to send images wirelessly between devices.

Randy Ubillos, chief architect of photo and video applications, announced the addition of iPhoto for iOS at Apple's iPad event today and has this to say -

"If you're someone, like many of us are, who truly love the photos they take with family and friends​ and want to do even more with their photos, that is what iPhoto is for."

Better photo management and editing has been a much desired feature for iOS devices. No word yet on whether or not you'll be able to organize photos into albums or events yet. iPhoto for iOS should should be a large improvement and will come with the following features -

• Smart browsing
• Multi-touch editing
• Professional quality effects
• Brushes
• Photo beaming
• Photo journals

iPhoto for iOS will be available starting today for $4.99.

Complete rumor rundown of Apple's upcoming iPad 3 event, from release date to hardware hopes and software speculation

Apple's next generation iPad 3 will almost certainly be announced on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, California. Everything else about it, however, is still up in the air. That's nothing new. The road to every Apple product release is paved and pot-holed with rumors true and fake - and this one is no different.

Still, while Apple is secretive they do tend to follow patterns. What they've done in the past can indicate what they may do in the future. That's what we're going to look at here -- sift through all the recent rumors and try to figure out what makes sense.

Name

Product names are ultimately marketing decisions and regardless of specs, chronological or model generation, or any other factor, Apple can call any of their products anything they like, whenever they like. The 2010 iPad was simply "iPad" and the 2011 iPad was simply "iPad 2", so there's a good chance the next one will be simply "iPad 3".

The internal Apple model number seems to be iPad 3,1, but that doesn't always translate to marketing name. (iPhone 1,2 was released as iPhone 3G, and iPhone 2,1 was released as iPhone 3GS). Could Apple go with an iPad 2S name like iPhone 4S? Given the presumed Retina display (see below) and processor bump, it seems unlikely. So do things like iPad Pro or iPad HD. The former seems more fitting of the Mac line, the latter unlike anything Apple has used for a flagship products in the past.

So, for purposes of this article, we'll stick with iPad 3.

Release date

Apple will no doubt announce the release date for the iPad 3 during the March 7, 2012 event. We've heard a couple of dates, the most frequent of which is Friday, March 30, 2012.

That fits with previous releases, which were also on Fridays. It is a long time between announcement and release, however. If they go earlier, March 16 or March 23 are both good targets.

Until we hear otherwise, however, March 30 is likely.

Hardware features

Because Apple doesn't manufacture their own hardware, there are often leaks that come from the factories that do the assembly, or accessory makers who manage to sneak a peak at the assembly. However, Apple also tests and produces different prototypes, so leaks might not always be for the final production model.

When looking at rumors, one thing to consider is component availability and costs. Apple will need to keep component costs down to maintain price points and margins. They're in the hardware business and they don't price their products to be at or near the break-even price point.  The iPad 3 has to make money, and that helps reduce the likelihood of some of the more extravagant possibilities.

Processor

Rumors about the iPad 3 processor are split right down the middle. iMore heard Apple is going quad-core with the iPad 3. Others have heard they're sticking with dual-core, albeit supercharging it with much better graphics. 9to5Mac discovered references to both a quad-core and a dual-core chipset in the iOS software, so it's possible Apple is testing both and will decide based on factors like battery life. It's also possible dual-core and quad-core will each be deployed in different devices, an Apple A6 quad-core processor for the iPad 3 and an Apple A5X processor for something with lower requirements, like an Apple TV 3.

For the most part , it won't matter much. Since Apple controls the iPad 3 from atoms to bits, they can optimize dual-core to do specific tasks better and smoother than many non-integrated quad-core devices. And either way, it sounds like iPad 3 will be a monster gaming machine.

While there haven't been many specific RAM rumors about the iPad 3, BGR obtained an alleged iPad 3 iBoot log, and developer Will Strafach spotted a reference in it that suggests there will be 1GB will be on board.

Again, because Apple can optimize iOS for the exact hardware they're releasing, they can usually get by with less RAM than competitors. More pixels (in a presumed Retina display, see below), and more power might just demand more memory, however.

Storage rumors have been all but non-existant this time around. iPad 2 came in 16, 32, and 64GB models, as did the iPhone 4S. 24nm NAND Flash chips have been announced, making 128GB a technical possibility. Whether it's a cost-effective one remains the question.

If 1080p content becomes a reality (see below), the extra storage will certainly come in handy, but if iCloud really is Apple's future, they may consider streaming far more important than storage. Apple can buy in flabbergasting volumes, but even at iPad numbers, 128GB still seems like a very expensive option.

Quad-core Apple A6 with 1GB of RAM and 16, 32, and 64GB of storage sound most likely at this point.

Radios and 4G LTE

We heard that Apple was going 4G LTE this year, but weren't certain if it would start with the iPad 3. The WSJ claims it will. What we're still not certain about, however, is where LTE will be available.

LTE isn't a standard and different carriers around the world use a wide range of different bands to support it. There are so many variations, in fact, our friend and LTE expert, Mickey Papillon thinks Apple would need two different LTE models -- one to support North American, and another to support Europe, Australia, and Asia.

It's possible Apple restricts LTE to North America only, or to the U.S. only for AT&T and Verizon. Verizon needs it the most -- their current CDMA/EVDO Rev. A iPads are almost crippled at 2-3mbps.

There are also newer, faster and more flexible Wi-Fi technologies on the horizon, and Apple was an early adopter of 802.11n. Is it possible Apple will add 802.11ac Gigabit Wi-Fi, or Wi-Fi Direct to the iPad 3? 802.11ac may still be a ways off, and AirPlay and AirPrint are doing a lot of direct Wi-Fi transfers now, though not via Wi-Fi Direct. So neither seem imminent at this point.

Both the iPhone and Mac have gone Bluetooth 4.0 however, and it makes sense for the iPad to follow suit. That will allow for low-power accessories, and likely speed up the iPad (and other iOS devices) becoming interfaces for all sorts of accessories, from household appliances to cars to healthcare products and everything in between.

So LTE, but perhaps North America only, and Bluetooth 4.0 are good bets, but 802.11ac and Wi-Fi direct probably aren't.

Cameras

The iPad 2 cameras are... terrible. There are reports from NextMedia that we might see a better rear camera in the iPad 3, anywhere from 5 to 8 megapixels, the latter of which would match the excellent iPhone 4S camera. The size and quality of the lens, however, is limited by the depth of the device, so a better camera would either need a slightly thicker device or be positioned at a thicker point in the device. Both are possibilities, given other rumors.

Likewise, Apple has introduced "FaceTime HD" cameras in the Mac, but not in the iPhone 4S. With a Retina display rumored for iPad 3 (see below), the current, incredibly low resolution front facing camera in iOS devices would make my eyes bleed. It seems logical Apple would give it a bump, even if only into the very low megapixel range.

Frankly, any camera improvement would be welcome at this point, so anything 5mp or above on the rear, and FaceTime HD on the front would be huge wins.

Dock connector and speakers

While iMore did hear Apple was getting ready to ditch the traditional dock port for something smaller, it sounds like that's on more of an iPhone 5 timeline than the iPad 3 timeline.

As for speakers, Apple hasn't shown any interest to date in augmenting them for their iOS devices. They let the headphones handle the heavy listening. Even though competitors have implemented technology like Beats, there have been no rumors suggesting a speaker improvement is in the cards.

Screen size, aspect ratio, and Retina display

Apple has said they don't think smaller tablets are as usable or allow for the quality of apps they want on the iPad. However, Apple has famously derided products and features they later went on to release themselves. Even so, and even though rumors of iPads in sizes from 7- to 8-inches have floated around for a while, there's absolutely no reason to think the iPad 3 will change screen sizes any time soon. Especially not with so many apps in the App Store designed for the current screen size. (Shrinking apps, even if you keep the same resolution, makes touch targets small and hurts usability.)

Likewise, while 16:9 aspect ratio tablets are better for 16:9 video (which is mostly HDTV -- movies tend to vary more), they're terrible for portrait use. Apple needs a device that's okay for both landscape and portrait, and that means sticking with 4:3.

A 2048x1536 Retina display seems like the closest thing to a sure bet. Apple has reportedly been working on it since before the iPad 2 launch, and if parts leaks from MacRumors are to be believed, they can finally produce them cheaply enough, and in sufficient quantities to make them affordable and viable.

To put the display in context, 2048x1536 (and it really couldn't be anything else without trashing existing apps) is a higher resolution than many computer displays, and higher than a 1080p television (1920x1080) -- in a 9.7-inch screen.

The idea is that it makes pixels so small they disappear - all you notice is the content. Everything from ebooks to web pages to videos should look almost as good as they do on the iPhone 4S. The density isn't quite as high, but since the screen is bigger you'll probably hold it slightly further away, making the relative quality close to the same.

So yeah, 9.7-inch, 3:4 Retina display at 2048x1536.

Home button

Apple's iPad event invitation (see above) didn't show a Home button, leading to rampant speculation that Apple might be ditching the click and going exclusively to multitouch gestures, as introduced in iOS 5.

Gestures aren't as discoverable as buttons, however, and the iPad is a decidedly mainstream device. The introduction of the Fast App Switcher has put more strain on the Home button than ever before, but with the iPhone 4S Apple has begun making them stronger and longer lasting.

There have been rumors from Boy Genius Report about Apple dumping the Home button in the past. There have also been parts leaks showing an unchanged front-panel layout, including the Home button spot.

It could be something Apple's working on obsoleting, but not any time soon.

Miscellaneous

No glowing Apple logo. No additional hardware buttons. No AMOLED screen, super or otherwise.

Software features

Software is harder to predict than hardware. With the exception of the beta process for developers, and carrier testing for network compatibility, Apple gets to keep it completely in house. Leaks happen when people discover hidden strings and images, but Apple almost always keeps the most exciting, most demonstrable new features completely out of the software until event day. That makes new apps and many new functions much harder to guess before hand. Still, there are some things to consider.

iOS 5.1

New versions of iOS have traditionally come with new models of iPhone, and while the incremental x.1 version of iOS has traditionally come with new models of iPod touch, there wasn't one last year (not really) and so iOS 5.1 falls to the iPad 3.

iOS 3.2 was a major new version, bringing iOS to the big screen, tablet style user interface for the first time. iOS 4.2 was fairly big, re-unifying the platform and bringing all the iOS 4 features like multitasking and folders to the iPad for the first time.

The iPad got iOS 5 day and date with the iPhone back in October, however, so we're probably not looking at anything nearly as profound as the last two years.

iOS 5.1 has yet to go Gold Master (GM), but that will probably happen at the March 7 iPad event, with release to follow a couple of days before the iPad 3 hits stores.

In addition to some small changes already seen in the iOS 5.1 betas, like the ability to delete Photo Stream photos, faster fast camera access, and fixes to some privacy bugs, there are still a few cards left for Apple to play.

Siri

Apple's intelligent virtual assistant, Siri is the headline feature of the iPhone 4S and hasn't been made available to any previous iOS devices. Apple was also careful to point out that Siri is still in beta, with limited language support for now. The beta was, in part, to allow Siri access to far more voice data than it could ever get locked up inside Apple’s private test bubble.   Although Siri was plagued with server problems early on, it's largely more stable  (though certainly not perfect) now.

If Apple really wants to push Siri as part of their user interface going forward, they'll have to bring it to more devices... eventually. iPads aren't as mobile as iPhones, however. They aren't as ubiquitously connected to the internet either (there are Wi-Fi only models, after all). You likely won't need to dictate iMessage replies on your iPad while driving.

But even now, when I'm using my iPad 2, I keep trying to hit the Dictate button so I can use Siri.

It will likely require better mics, like the iPhone 4S has, but Siri seems like a good bet for iPad 3. If it's not there, the absence will be notable.

1080p

With a Retina display screen, the iPad 3 will have a higher pixel count than a 1080p television -- 2048x1536 vs. 1920x1080. With a faster processor, regardless of whether it's dual- or quad-core, it'll be able to handle video better than ever before. 1080p content just seems like a natural fit, and a great way for Apple to show off that new display and all that new power.

Whether iTunes begins to offer 1080p content, and how much they can offer, how soon, and in how many regions is another question. In some areas, ISP bandwidth caps may prove prohibitive even to an average amount of 1080p content. Likewise, even with 4G LTE, the ability to stream 1080p would likely be extremely limited if not blocked outright.

But having even simple support for local 1080p -- however you get it on the device -- sounds absolutely reasonable.

iMovie HD/Final Cut Pro X for iPad

Apple launched iMovie for iPad alongside the iPad 2, but it's since been overtaken by Avid Studio which offers better support and more features. Again, given the Retina display, it feels like Apple is going to want to show off a little and give iMovie an update.

Given the recent iMovie-style makeover of Final Cut Pro X, there's been some speculation Apple may start porting their pro apps to iPad, but that seems less likely. There are still limitations to mobile devices and multitouch that professional level software doesn't face on the desktop.

If Apple goes back to video for the iPad 3 launch, a version of iMovie that supports 1080p and overtakes Avid Studio in features seems more likely.

iPhoto/Aperture

iOS 5 added rudimentary retouching tools to the Photos app, but it's nowhere near the desktop iPhoto in feature set or functionality, never mind the professional power of Aperture. Again, a Retina display seems to demand great Apple software to go along with it, and iPhoto feels like it fits that bill.

Aperture, like FCPX, is a pro tool and probably wouldn't fit with demands of mobile and multitouch, but iPhoto would. Photography professionals are already drooling over the idea of a Retina iPad for carrying around their portfolios. Give them -- and us -- even good quality consumer tools for editing them, and it will be a huge win. (Especially if, given the native code and Apple UI acumen, it proves more useful than the often-frustrating Adobe Photoshop Touch.

FaceTime conference calls

If Apple goes with a FaceTime HD camera in front, an better chipset inside, and a Retina display on the panel,

one of the best demos they could do alongside it would be a  A FaceTime conference. Showing gandma the grandkids and talking to a colleague across country is one thing, connecting several members of a family or a team scattered across the globe is quite another.

It would make for a great commercial. Allowing it to work over 4G LTE, if available, would just be a bonus.

Miscellaneous

Given the recent developer preview of OS X Mountain Lion, it's obvious that there a lot of other interesting stuff Apple's working on. And as much as iPad interface an experience elements have been brought "Back to the Mac", it'd be great to see some of the Mountain Lion stuff brought Back to the iPad as well. But that's probably more likely in iOS 6 than it is for the iPad 3.

One more things...

In addition to the iPad 3, there are rumors suggesting other products might also make an appearance at the next Apple event on March 7. Some Apple events, like the fall music events, typically showed off numerous iTunes-related products. Apple's famous "One more thing..." has also been used to highlight additional products, including the original MacBook Air, during largely unrelated events.

Apple TV 3

There are rumors, many from 9to5Mac, that Apple's getting ready to announce an updated Apple TV 3 as well. Given the Apple TV wasn't updated last year, it makes sense they'd want to get it on the new hardware platform eventually.

Would they take attention off the iPad 3 launch with an Apple TV 3 introduction? Sure, they split the original iPhone launch with the original Apple TV launch back at Macworld 2007. If the Apple TV 3 is positioned as having cool new features that enhance what Apple shows off for the iPad 3 -- especially 1080p -- then it's easily something we could see.

New iPod touch

Like Apple TV and the rest of the iPod lineup, the iPod touch received no significant update last year, which makes it feel like it's due. However, the lack of any leaks surrounding a new iPod touch make it seem like it's not a priority right now and probably won't happen for a while still.

(Georgia thinks the "And touch." in the iPad event invitation might hint at it.)

Conclusion

It's been roughly a year since Steve Jobs took the stage to launch the iPad 2. This year, Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall, Eddy Cue, Jony Ive, or some combination thereof will show us what Apple has in store for iOS for the first part of 2012.

Regardless of which rumors ultimately prove true, and what surprises may or may not be in store, one thing's for certain -- it'll be one hell of a show.

Join us next Wednesday, March 7, at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm GMT for iMore's usual commentary, color, and analysis. And until then, give us your best predictions in the comments below!

Again, for iOS 5 users who also use Mac OS X, Apple is providing updates to enable iCloud on the desktop, with Photo Stream now up and running in iPhoto 9.2 and Aperture 3.2.

Hit Software Update if you got them the old fashioned way, or head on over to the Mac App Store if you're all new and fancy.

And then come back and let us know how they work for you!

• Complete iOS 5 feature walkthrough
• iOS 5 help forum
• Photography and videography help forum

AppDated.de noticed that Apple was using an odd looking iPhone icon in iPhoto 9.2 beta 3. Was it meant to be a stylized, generic representation of an iOS device, or was it a slip up, revealing the form factor of iPhone 5?

Only Apple knows for sure, but since AppDated sent it to us this morning, you folks have kept sending it to us throughout the day, so as payback we're asking you -- is this iPhone 5 or is an icon sometimes just an icon?

[AppDated.de thank Moritz!]

Both the iPhone and iPad do phenomenal a job of displaying the photos you take with them, but how do you get your existing photos, the ones on your computer, onto your iPhone and iPad? iTunes is the answer, and we'll show you how, after the break!

Syncing with iPhoto on Mac

Using iPhoto is my favorite choice for transferring photos from Mac to iPad because it offers the most options. You have the ability to sync all albums, events (dates), and faces (people based on facial recognition), or individually choose which combination of albums, events, and faces that you want to sync.

1. Organize your photos in iPhoto
2. Plug in your iPad or iPhone into your Mac via the USB to dock cable.
3. Open iTunes (if it doesn't open automatically)
4. Click on the Photos tab
5. Check the box to "Sync Photos From"
6. Choose iPhoto from the drop down menu
7. Select which options you prefer
8. Click sync

Syncing with folders on Mac or Windows

If using you're using Windows, or if you're using a Mac but you prefer not to use iPhoto, you can sync iTunes with a folder on your computer. If you want multiple albums on your iPad, I recommend placing the individual folders into a larger folder. In this folder, you can have more subfolders than you desire to sync with your iPhone and iPad because you can individually select which subfolders you want in iTunes.

1. Organize your photos in iPhoto or folders
2. Plug in your iPad and open iTunes
3. Click the Photos tab
4. Check the box to "Sync Photos From"
5. Select "Choose folder..." from the drop down menu
6. Browse to the desired folder
7. Select which options you prefer
8. Click sync

Depending on how many photos you're syncing, both methods have the potential to take some time.

There you have it! Now you can carry around those thousands of photos you have stored on your computer and show them off on your iPhone or iPad's beautiful display.

If you have any other tips for transferring photos to your iPhone or iPad or have any questions, let us know in the comments below!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

Apple just released iTunes 9.1 with iPad compatibility and iPhoto 8.1.2 which fixes some problems with iPhone, iPod, and Apple TV sync.

iTunes first:

iTunes 9.1 comes with several new features and improvements, including:

• Sync with iPad to enjoy your favorite music, movies, TV shows, books and more on the go

• Organize and sync books you've downloaded from iBooks on iPad or added to your iTunes library

• Rename, rearrange, or remove Genius Mixes

For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

And for iPhoto:

This update addresses minor issues in the area of import and syncing to iPhone, iPod or Apple TV.

The update is recommended for all users of iPhoto ’09.

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4052

If you download it and try it out, let us know if you see any other changes!

Not only did Apple introduce a new version of their flagship iLife 09 (see our MASSIVE Live Blog!), Phil Schiller demonstrated an awesome new feature for iPhone and iPod touch users: direct export of slide shows to iTunes!

Along with some truly gorgeous templates and amazing transitions, the ability to make them mobile -- so you can easily take them to show family and friends -- is killer for iPhone and iPod touch owners.

iPhoto 09, and the rest of iLife including the equally tremendous upgrade to iMovie, ships in late January free on new Macs, $79 for a single user, $99 for a family pack.

MUST HAVE IT NOW!

You saw the epic liveblog, now see the photos.

We have the deets in photo on the new 17" MacBook with the ridiculously large 8 hours of battery life, the fact that iTunes is going 100% DRM-Free, the new iLife with GarageBand Music Lessons, iMovie's stunning upgrades, and iPhoto's geo-tagging and face-recognition, and also the new iWork with Keynote -- which now has an iPhone-based remote for switching slides and reading your notes.

Um, yeah, this was a huge Macworld for Mac people -- and the iTunes DRM news and the Keynote news were incredibly great upgrades for iPhone owners.

Makes you weep that Apple will never go to a Macworld again, don't it?