Laura, the iPad is not capable of running the applications you would need as a photographer… unless you merely want it to show off your portfolio. It is the best thing out there for a portable portfolio.

You need a MacBook or MacBook Pro (both support an external display) so you can run Lightroom and Photoshop.

Laura – you’ll regret it if you do. The iPad is great for reading newspapers and magazines, surfing the web, looking at photo galleries, emailing and more, but you really need the MacBook for any serious “creating” and that includes the kinds of tasks you’ll need from a computer. All the great photography software resides on computer platforms, not the iPad. For some people an iPad may well replace their laptop – not for professional photographers, though.

hi there wade, i’m a student looking to study fashion photography at university and I do a lot of photography in my spare time. I was hoping to buy a macbook as i thought that would be best for photography but since reading your article i’m starting to think the Ipad would be better.
I need it for uploading and editing as well as storing my images.
Would the ipad be a good choice for me? or should i look into a macbook instead?

It’s unlikely that it’s ever going to happen. To be honest I would be more interested in a personalised raw converter calibrated for my cameras, that could be interesting

We have a similar situation in the UK, but one factor that needs to be taken into account is taxation. Here in the UK, prices include VAT, but when you see US online prices, they often don’t include taxes, as they vary from state to state.

I often find I can import a lens from Hong Kong for a considerable saving. I think that Canon lenses are covered by a worldwide warranty, while bodies aren’t. I don’t have an explanation for that, though.

That’s interesting. I am currently checking out Taskpaper, Things and Omnifocus on the iPad for a review I am writing. I’ve yet to tackle Omnifocus, but the geo-location feature makes it unique.

I struggled with Omnifocus on the Mac – it always felt very powerful, yet quite complex. The complexity seemed to take time away from the tasks I was trying to get done, which was a problem for me.

Putting my photographer’s hat on, I find these types of programs invaluable to keep notes on future locations and ideas.

Thanks for the tip!

Hi Nick.

Easy – here’s how. Email me if you need more help.

Wade.

Hey wade. Excellent article, all of these are apps I use on my iPad daily for photography. I do have one question though. How did you get the strobist stencil into omingraffle on the iPad? For the life of me I can’t figure out how to get it to work.

That’s some serious cynicism. Pete Souza might be a Presidential Photographer but here are one hundred equally fine examples by Callie Shell who is not. Press Gallery photographers as co-conspirators? Hear what Andrew Meares has to say about that. And assign as many extra people as you will to cover a campaign and they’ll only end up tripping over one another while no more doors are opened, no fewer babies are pre-positioned along the way, and authenticity is just as challenging to find. This is not about budgets, it’s about political will, that’s all.

It was President Kennedy who first appointed an official White House photographer because he saw the electoral value of engaging the media. But lets not get too misty-eyed about the US example. The photographer is not a member of the press but is a member of the President’s staff and the images are released as pool images via agencies, and only if approved.
Australian editors, picture editors, reporters and photographers all go along for the ride [literally on the campaign bus] and are complicit in the major parties efforts to stage-manage the campaign.
Less worry about the budget would mean more photographers being on the campaign trail seeking out the unscripted moments.
But it seams to be easier to moan about the politicians and blame the party machines for what is really a lack of effort to genuinely prosecute the campaign by the daily papers.
Frankly, the voters deserve more from the media, but the media don’t deserve more from the parties.