Tag Archives: iPhone

How to Take Great Food Photos with Your iPhone

29 Jan

Food photography and restaurant reactions are an on-going news topic, but most recently there has been extra attention from the New York Times, followed by responses from blogs like Bon Appetit, Eatocracy, and Epicurious. We’ve talked to restaurateurs and chefs worldwide and have found that the range of opinions are mostly rooted around technology at the table and maintaining excellent dining experiences. There are ways to work with both of these while simultaneously enjoying your own dining experience and taking the best possible photographs to capture it. Take a look…

Tip 1: Composition is key

Have you noticed the best photos are those with a full frame? Fill your frame and try shooting at a 45 degree angle or straight down on the dish or drink. You’ll be amazed by the difference these small changes make.

Forkly Food Photography: Composition

Tip 2: Light is important

Often you don’t have much control over restaurant lighting but if possible, shoot in natural light from a nearby window. Avoid shooting directly into the light, too.

Tip 3: Resist the urge to use flash, keep it steady, and be respectful

When using a flash for food photography, impressive results are rare. The iPhone 5′s low light mode is tremendously helpful for avoiding flash use. For those with an older model, the Forkly camera filters will help you brighten darker images. Plus, when you keep the camera steady, it allows more light in (hence less of a need for the flash); rest your hand on the table if needed.

We strongly encourage Forkly friends to take shots that don’t disrupt fellow diners or draw negative attention from the chef and restaurant. The meal is yours to savor, of course, but the tips here should help you take great food photographs with little attention from others.

Tip 4: Resist vintage or artsy filters

Our filters were designed specifically for food photography. If you use filters from other apps that put an artistic spin on the image as a whole, it typically takes away from the food itself–which is what Forkly is all about!

forkly-iphone-photo-filters

Tip 5: Inspiration from Forkly friends

There’s an abundance of great food photographers on Forkly! We share as many excellent food shots as possible through our Featured Users within the app and profiling dishes & drinks on our blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages. Here are some fellow friends to inspire you!

And if you discover some new food photography stars on Forkly that we’ve yet to spotlight, or if you keep working on your own shots, let us know! Always happy to hear from you all.

App Update, Forkly 2.1: New Food Photo Filters, Tastemaker Features, Wine.com & More

20 Jun

Forkly friends, get excited… the newest version of Forkly is now available to download! Forkly 2.1 includes a series of updates for users and food & drink businesses alike. What’s included?

✓ Photo filters specifically designed for food (candlelit dinners included!)
✓ Photo effects: Tilt-shift and enhance images
✓ Auto-focus and exposure camera controls
✓ Invite friends
✓ Settings: Save photos to albums
✓ Share Tastemaker status on Twitter & Facebook
✓ View places where you’re the Tastemaker
✓ Wine.com integration: Buy wine you find on Forkly
✓ Improved Featured Users section
✓ Enhancements: User interface & speed

Below are some of the details…

Photo Filters Designed for Food & Drink

With the newly added photo filters and special effects, you can now shoot photos like a pro when dining out—think Instagram, but designed specifically for food, drinks, and those beloved dark, candlelit establishments. Mmmm tasty lookin’ photos.

Get your shots perfect with focus and exposure controls. Tap with two fingers to get the controls, drag them to the desired locations and take the photo. You can also double tap to autofocus.

New Improved Tastemaker features

Our point-loving users (or super competitive users…you know who you are…) should get a kick out of the new and improved Tastemaker features. As most of you know, a Tastemaker is the most influential Forkly user at an establishment (determined by points within the app). With Forkly 2.1, Tastemakers can announce your status through social media accounts (Twitter & Facebook friends, get ready!), see where you’re most influential, and later this summer, you’ll be rewarded with “Tastemaker Perks” too (Patience folks, patience).

Wine.com – Buy wine you find on Forkly directly from your iPhone

Forkly 2.1 also includes the integration of Wine.com, which allows users to discover wines on Forkly and buy them directly from your phone. How many times have you tried a great wine when dining out–and then tried to remember the name next time you were on the hunt for a good wine? Now you can record the names and buy them as needed. Done and done.

Invite Friends

You can now invite all your friends to join Forkly too, hooray! We’ve had so many requests from users who want to spread the word to family and friends, you can now do so with a few taps within the app. So, share away–and keep us in the loop. You know we love to hear from you on Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest (and follow or LIKE us while you’re at it!). And you know we’ll spread the word about fun food-related events you and friends are attending.

Thanks for Spreading the Love!

All of these changes are great for local food & drink businesses too–so thanks for doing your part. The better images look, the more new and repeat customers an establishment will get. The more you compete to become a Tastemaker and invite friends to join, the more word-of-mouth publicity for the restaurants or bars you’re frequenting. The more wine/food pairings posted, the more sommeliers and wineries have to work with–and to teach us all about great new wines (or ones we haven’t tried yet). All in all, everybody wins!

Forkly 2.1 can be downloaded for free from Apple’s app store (or just updated on your phone). Enjoy!

App Tip: How to Manage your Forkly Notifications

15 May

We know that the large volume of email traffic can be a major headache these days. In particular, the slew of social media alerts, breaking news stories, and daily deals– and that’s in addition to your normal work and play emails! For this reason, you have the option to make your preferences clear in the Forkly settings–both within the app and on the web.

To Change your Preferences within the App

Go to your “Profile” page and tap “Settings” in the top left hand corner:

Tap on “Notifications,” the second tab down.

Various options will then appear, with push notification options on the left column and email notifications on the right column. Check off your preferences:

Tap “Save” and you’re all set!

To Change your Preferences on the Web

To get to your Forkly account on the web, enter forkly.com/USERNAME e.g. forkly.com/jswauer

Your tastes page will appear. Click on “Log in” in the upper right hand corner and sign in with your Forkly account information. Then, click on “Settings,” also in upper right hand corner of the webpage:

You’ll then land on your Account Settings page:

Scroll down to the bottom and check each box according to which email or push notifications you’d like to receive:

Et voila! Don’t forget to save any changes. You can change these settings at any time, both on the web and within the app. And as always, feel free let us know if you have questions in the comments section below or at team@forkly.com.

App Tip: How to Rate your Favorite Forkly Photos

17 Apr

Did you know that you can put in your two cents about the best food photographs on Forkly?! Well, you can.

When you see a photo that you think is the best, tap on it. Then you’ll be given options to want it, to taste & rate, and there’ll be a white thumbs-up in the bottom left corner. If there are other photos of the same dish, you can scroll through to the left to see those.

When you’ve decided on your favorite shot, just tap the thumbs-up (it’ll change from white to orange, as shown below).

Happy rating!

 

 

App Tip: How to Add a Venue Photo

5 Apr

Did you know you can add photos of the venues you visit? It’s quick and easy–and will give your Forkly friends a better idea of the atmosphere of a restaurant, beyond the tasty dishes you photograph. The first photo uploaded can be seen right away, the others will be submitted for review and Forkly will post the best one. Take a look…

STEP 1: Go to the venue’s page and tap the button in the top right corner of the screen.

STEP 2: Click “Add venue photo” and upload your photo of the venue.

STEP 3: Et voila! There it is!

Introducing Forkly 2.0.6: Camera+ Integration, Local Food Friends, and more…

27 Mar

Great news! Only a month after the release of 2.0 we have another round of major updates for you: Forkly 2.0.6 for iPhone. Take a look at some of the great features available to you with this update.

Get Forkly 2.0.6 now:

Camera+ Integration

If you have Camera+ (version 3+) installed, you can now use it when taking a photo directly from the app. Food photography can be a challenge, Camera+ is a great tool for making your shots look as tasty as ever!

We find using the “Clarity” or “Food” filters, in addition to the “Miniaturize” effect, produces some great results when taking pictures of food.

Try it for yourself: get the Camera+ update.

OpenTable Integration

Days of the two-step process—Forkly restaurant searches followed by booking OpenTable reservations—are long gone! We’ve added the ability to reserve a table directly from within the Forkly app. It couldn’t be easier: Discover, reserve, taste, and rate. The “Reserve now” button will appear on the venue screen if OpenTable is available at that place.

Browse Multiple Photos & Added Photo Credit
You can now browse through multiple photos on food pages and vote for the best one. The photo with the best votes will be used as the featured photo when rating an item. Additionally when using somebody else’s photo, we’ve added photo credit—get to know your Forkly community!
Local Featured Users
We’ve added the ability to discover and follow featured local users. This is a great way to see “what’s good” and keep up with new Forkly friends in your area.
So what are you waiting for?! Update to the newest version for fab Camera+ food photos, easy restaurant reservations, new photo rating options, and the ability to meet local food friends.
Have questions or suggestions? Feel free to be in touch with us below or at team@forkly.com.

Forkly’s Privacy Policies in a Letter to Congress

27 Mar

Last week we received a joint letter from House representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC). The U.S. Congress selected a total of 34 iOS developers to respond to a questionnaire that aimed to better understand privacy, information collection, and the best practices for Apple mobile devices.

Privacy practices were recently brought to the forefront when somebody discovered that Path and other mobile apps upload their users’ entire address book contents without asking their permission. We previously discussed best practices around this here.

It’s important to note that Congress selected Forkly based on being associated with the App Store’s “iPhone Essentials” list, not based on questionable privacy practices. In full disclosure of our privacy practices—and because we’re proud of our track record—we’ve posted our responses to Congress below.

The letter begins with the following statement followed by the questions and our responses:  

We are writing to you because we want to better understand the information collection and use policies and practices of apps for Apple’s mobile devices with a social element. We request that you respond to the following questions regarding the Forkly app:
  1. Question: Through the end of February 2012, how many times was your iOS app downloaded from Apple’s App Store? 

    Response: The number of times that the Forkly iOS app has been downloaded is proprietary company information. The disclosure of such information could cause Forkly a competitive disadvantage. Therefore, we respectfully decline to provide such specific information.

  2. Question: Did you have a privacy policy in place for your iOS app at the end of February 2012? If so, please tell us when your iOS app was first made available in Apple’s App Store and when you first had a privacy policy in place. In addition, please describe how that policy is made available to your app users and please provide a copy of the most recent policy. 

    Response: Yes, we did have a Privacy Policy in place for the Forkly iOS App at the end of February 2012. We’ve had a privacy Policy in place since the launch of the Forkly App in September 2011.  Our privacy policy is available in the application under Profile > Settings > Privacy Policy.
     
  3. Question: Has your iOS app at any time transmitted information from or about a user’s address book? If so, which fields? Also, please describe all measures taken to protect or secure that information during transmission and the periods of time during which those measures were in effect. 

    Response: No

  4. Question: Have you at any time stored information from or about a user’s address book? If so, which field? Also, please describe all measures taken to protect or secure that information during storage and the periods of time during which those measures were in effect. 

    Response: No
     
  5. Question: At any time, has your iOS app transmitted or have you stored any other information from or about a user’s device – including, but not limited to, the user’s phone number, email account information, calendar, photo gallery, WiFi connection log, the Unique Device Identifier (UDID), a Media Access Control (MAC) address, or any other identifier unique to a specific device?

    Response: Forkly transmits and stores push notification device tokens for users in order to support Apple Push Notifications, in accordance with the technical documentation provided by Apple here.

    In order to provide location-relevant information to the user, we transmit the device’s location when needed.

    As part of the Forkly beta program, we indirectly collect a beta tester’s device UDID through TestFlight (http://testflightapp.com).

  6. Question: To the extent you store any address book information or any of the information in question 5, please describe all purposes for which you store or use that information, the length of time for which you keep it, and your policies regarding sharing of that information.

    Response: Forkly does not store any address book information. Forkly stores push notification device tokens to support sending push notifications to users. We keep this information until the user deletes their account, and/or until Apple’s Feedback Service (documented here) notifies us that a device token has had failed delivery attempts (this generally happens when a user uninstalls the app from the device). We do not share this information with third parties.

    We use a device’s location in order to show nearby venues, make nearby restaurant suggestions, show users in the same metro area, and to verify that a user is in the general area of where they are posting a taste. We do not store this information beyond server logs which are used for debugging, and which are expunged every few weeks. We do not share this information with third parties.

    We indirectly store a beta tester’s device UDID through TestFlight (http://testflightapp.com) in order to provide them with an ad-hoc build of our app for testing. We keep this information in TestFlight until the user is no longer part of the Forkly beta program, or they remove the device directly through TestFlight.
  7. Question: To the extent you transmit or store any address book information or any of the information in question 5, please describe all notices delivered to users on the mobile device screen about your collection and use practices both prior to and after February 8, 2012.

    Response: Forkly does not store any address book information. As described in response to Question 5 above, Forkly stores push notification device tokens to support sending push notifications to users. Users must explicitly opt in to receive push notifications when they first open the Forkly app through a pop-up dialogue. This is a built-in feature of iOS, and the Forkly app does not get access to a push notifications device token until after the user opts in.

    Users must explicitly opt in to make their device’s location available to Forkly when they first open the Forkly and/or when they access location-relevant features, whichever comes first. This is a built-in feature of iOS, and the Forkly app does not get access to the device’s location until after the user opts in.
  8. Question: The iOS Developer Program License Agreement detailing the obligations and responsibilities of app developers reportedly states that a developer and its applications “may not collect user or device data without prior user consent, and then only to provide a service or function that is directly relevant to the use of the Application, or to serve advertising.”
     
    (8a) Question: Please describe all data available from Apple mobile devices that you understand to be user data requiring prior consent from the user to be collected.

    Response: Address book data, calendar data, media library data, Twitter account information. None of which are accessed by the Forkly iOS app.
     
    (8b) Question: Please describe all data available from Apple mobile devices that you understand to be device data requiring prior consent from the user to be collected.

    Response: UDID, device location, system log

    (8c) Question: Please describe all services or functions for which user or device data is directly relevant to the use of your application.

    Response: For Forkly, we rely on a push notification device token in order to send push notifications to the user. We also rely on the device’s location information in order to show nearby venues, make nearby restaurant suggestions, show users in the same metro area, and to verify that a user is in the general area of where they are posting a taste.
     
  9. Question: Please list all industry self-regulatory organizations to which you belong.

    Response: None

As evident by our responses above, our goal was to be fully transparent not just with Congress but with Forkly users, the iOS development community, and the general public. We are proud of our practices and wanted to reiterate them publicly: we will continue to respect the privacy of our users as Forkly grows. In posting publicly, we hope that other iOS developers (beyond the 34 selected by Congress) will follow suit and take a moment to answer the same questions—if not for the sake of adhering to privacy practices, then for the sake of their users and online community.