Tinderbox
In days past, I’ve previously written about taking photos on my iPhone as a hobby. Applications such as mood.camera, NoFusion, Halide, Kino, Blackmagic Camera, Final Cut Camera, and just the regular ol’ default camera on my iPhone get regular use. Albeit, in waves.
I do this a lot: I’ll find something that feels fresh or new, and it sticks with me for a few weeks or even months. I’ll go hard on it. This doesn’t really have any limitations as to what it could be; the obsessions tend to be purely related to my enjoyment of interacting or using it. “It” could be a video game, a song/album, a book/series, movie, software, etc.
This time, it’s a photo-editing application on the iPhone. Liit.
I do not know why it’s called that, nor do I like the name. But of course, I do like what it does, and what it does, it does well. The last couple years or so, I’ve been really interested in media that is either from the early 2000s or emulates the look/feel of that era. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve already written about it before. Deja vu?
Unlike mood.camera, Liit isn’t a camera application. It does not capture a photo and then apply post-processing effects to achieve a film-like result. It gives you tools for editing a captured image that are directly related to achieving a film-like result. This is a key difference because you are given slightly more control. In some circumstances, pointing and shooting are all I want to do. Other times, I want to alter a photo afterward.
I’m certain that all of Liit’s capabilities are do-able in something like Lightroom, but Lightroom has many tools that get in the way because it’s so feature-rich.
Matchbox
Liit excels in its simplicity. Lightroom can be used to make simple adjustments, but can be overwhelming to someone who is just beginning their journey with photo editing. Liit, on the other hand, starts out with the user picking a style that they like and then given the option to tweak the edits. It provides a much more experimental feeling to the editing process rather than something formulaic or “perfect”.
Liit almost encourages you to destroy your digital photos by downgrading their color accuracy, white balance, exposure, detail, etc. to achieve a nostalgic film-like look. Again, these types of edits are very possible in Lightroom and other applications, but the presentation of Lightroom can make these purposeful degradations feel like you’re doing something wrong. You’re using a professional piece of software! Don’t destroy your photos!
As you can see in the unflattering photo of me above, the photo edited with Liit appears softer, warmer, and faded when compared to the original on the right. This was completed just by experimenting with the settings and making slight tweaks to different settings that simply do not exist directly within Lightroom.
Sure, Lightroom allows you to add blur to your photos, but there are certain blurs in Liit that are tailored toward the nostalgic, film-like look.
Okay, I guess at this point, I feel as though I am just repeating myself over and over. The application is quite fun to see the photo “develop” into something more interesting, more nostalgic. The photos provide a sense of calm and longing for a time when everyone wasn’t online or competing for the next viral tweet or video.
Simplicity is best. Slowing down is good.
Take your time.