How To: Use A DSLR & An iPad To Take Great Instagram Photos

At the risk of angering the iPhoneography police, I recently started using my DSLR to improve the quality of my Instagram photos. Don’t get me wrong. I love the camera that comes with my iPhone 4s with its wide aperture and low light response, and I use it a lot, even when I have my DSLR with me.

I owned an iPhone 3GS before this, so the difference in quality between the two was dramatic to me. In fact, the camera was the main reason I upgraded to the 4s to begin with. It’s just a matter of time before the phone camera gives the point-and-shoot a run for its money.

With all the amazing apps available for iPhoneography, you can do some truly amazing work. With ProCamera and Camera+ for example, you can control exposure and focus separately, and shoot several frames in rapid succession. But there’s only so much a tiny camera in a phone can do. There are times when I need manual control over the aperture, shutter speed and ISO, or a low-noise sensor that shoots at high ISOs, or a fast lens with a good deal of reach. Someday perhaps, the camera in my pocket will do everything I need, but we’re not there yet.

The workflow for this is actually quite simple, but it requires a little thought and a few pieces of gear.

What You Need:

A DSLR with a versatile lens that has a decent zoom range, preferably something like an 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 or equivalent.
An Apple iPad with enough storage to hold all the photographs you’ll be taking.
An Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit.
A card reader to use with the iPad Camera USB connector if your camera doesn’t use SD cards.
Alternatively, you can use an Eye-Fi with the iPad app, but it may be less reliable or convenient, depending on the availability or quality of your wifi connection.
Some iPad apps to tweak your photos if necessary, such as Photogene, Snapseed or Adobe Photoshop Express.
Instagram installed on your iPad.
Internet connectivity, either built into the iPad, or something like a Verizon Mifi.

What You Do:

Shoot with your DSLR.
Import your photos into your iPad using the Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit.
Retouch your photos as necessary on your iPad.
Start Instagram, choose the photos you want to share from your photo library, add effects as your heart desires.
Share. That’s it!

Some Tips:

Shoot right the first time. Be mindful of your exposure and composition. If you have to edit or retouch, it will slow you down.
Remember that if you want to fill an Instagram frame, you will most likely have to crop the photo within the app, so plan your composition with that in mind.
Do not erase the card after importing! Accidents can happen. You don’t want to lose any of those precious photos. Wait until you’re in a quiet place where you can organize all your images and be sure you haven’t left anything behind on the card.