5 Possible Uses for Notography iOS

As I've said before, it is sometimes hard to sum up what "Notography" does easily but I can definitely tell you some potential ways that it could become an essential tool on your iOS device which you can't live without!

1) Building Inspections - If you work in the property market or are a real-estate agent then you will need to take a lot of photos. Sometimes it may be hard relating all of these pictures back to their respective properties, especially if you are giving them to someone else to document. Notography can record the date / time and geocode an accurate address and print it directly on the photo, so all the proof is right there.

2) Live Blogging an Event - If you are at an important event or function as a journalist you need a way to get your content out there and fast, what you don't want is someone else to rip off your content or to post something which looks unprofessional. With Notography you can have your presets set up the day before so that all you have to do is snap and share instantly. It will put your companies copyright information or watermark on the images before sending them, it is quick so you aren't taking your eyes off the action and can auto-enhance the images so they look great and professional.

3) Photo Diary for Holidays - The quick snap and share is great for capturing your adventure without being taken out of the adventure, the different filters and date/time stamps, location details, etc can really help you recall where a photo was taken later and make it look like you are having a great time! Custom text means you can set up titles like "Canda 2014" so you can remember exactly which holiday you were on.

4) Water / Power Meter Inspections - This may seem like an odd item to have on the list but being able to have a static inspection number and automatically geocoded address means its very easy for those back in the office to process.

5) Concept Design Artist - Easily watermark every image you photograph, you can also choose the save the original image on your phone so it is maintained without layered text or filters. This gives you a sharable copy and safe original for later use. 

Any occasion where you want to prepare templates for your photos before hand so that you can instantly automate the process and choose to share via social media, email, airdrop, etc. 

Any occasion where you need to automate useful text to remember where and when the photo was taken.

Any occasion where you want to protect your copyright and/or produce a professional looking image every time you take a photo.

Notography Updated for iOS7

"Notography" breaks my rule, when designing iOS apps I try to stick to the simple rule of:

"If you can't sum it up in one sentence, it's too complicated"

That said, it is the app I am most excited about. It is artistic, it has flair and it is unique in a way that even if someone tried to copy it, they will probably misinterpret what it is and botch their design.

Notography can't be summed up in one sentence but it is definitely something special and those who understand it, love it.

I feel like I've let a few fans down with the delayed release of patch 2.01, when iOS7 was released it came with unexpected challenges. While it is yet to be confirmed I believe there is a bug in iOS7's AVfoundation framework (the tools used to directly control the camera), specifically it caused memory issues when repeatedly opening the camera, which is a fundamental part of my apps design.

It took a long time and a lot of trial and error to come up with an effective work around for the problem. I am very pleased with the solution I came up with and Notography users can enjoy a faster and more robust experience than ever before.

I'm really excited to share version 2.01 with you, it has been submitted to Apple for review and hopefully will be available sometime within the next week. Thank you for your continued support and my apologies for any issues the delayed release of this patch has caused.

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The quiet part of the year

I don't like keeping users of my products in the dark but there really hasn't been too much to share in the last few months, partly because I needed a break and also because I wanted to concentrate on my day job. I haven't given up on making products though and have been working hard with what time I have to be able to provide you with great products!

Here is an update on where I am at with each product:

Defects Collector - I would love to increase the rate additional features are added to this product but if i was going to do that then I'd have to change it to a subscription based model. Which I don't want to do because there are already products like fulcrum which offer fantastic subscription services and I want this app to stay in the domain of a "pay once" product for easy and fast inspections.

Notography - Big update coming soon, plenty of improvements to take advantage of iOS7. 

 Flood Damage Assessment - This product is now fully owned by Shepherd Services Pty Ltd and it's development can be followed on their website.

My list of outstanding projects hasn't been updated in a while, a few things have changed but I am committed to delivering on schedule.

Priority shift

With "Notography" (My latest photography app)​ we have now reached a stage of doing the final polishing and preparing promotional material for launch, which means I now have time to move back on to updating my previous projects. I don't plan to pick up a new project until "Defects Collector" reaches a point where I am happy with it.

I have a list containing 27 features I want to implement, which is huge! I also want to implement them within the next 2 months, also big. I think I can make this happen though, I really want "Defects Collector" to be a flagship app for our Asset Management section and I believe it has unlimited potential. I believe it can do things that other copycat apps cannot.​

Thank you to everyone who has sent me suggestions and comments on this product, now I promise you I will deliver.​

Polish and promotion

I'm very happy to say "Notography" is in it's final stages of development, the stage where the app receives a very thorough ​testing and the promotional material is produced. This time for the App Store art I wanted to enhance the quality of the image layout so I am using a local design studio to come up with the images. 

Marketing was never one of my strong suits but when you are in this market place, it is a learn, adapt or die situation. I've learnt a lot from previous releases and hopefully this product launch will go as planned.​

The next thing on my list is a major update to "Defects Collector" which will receive a functionality it and aesthetic ​overhaul to improve the overall flow, performance and give users what they have been requesting.

In other news, I'm getting equipment and software to be able to start doing a weekly YouTube show on iOS development. This is something I've wanted to do for ages but just haven't had time. This project isn't for financial gain, just something I believe to be fun and also to help the community grow.​

Not enough hours in a day

​So I recently changed day jobs in hope that it would give me more flexibility to pursue my own endeavours without bootstrapping me financially while also helping out a great friend who has a great business. So far I love the move, the new team and work environment is great and it looks like in the coming months I will have some of the flexibility I crave.

For now though, I've never been busier and I'm finding a lot of projects getting pushed back in time and prioritised differently. This is sad and not the experience I want for my customers but please, bear with me.​

The main reason I decided my iOS software and tutorials have to be part of a business model is so that I would be able to offer this level of support. I love the open source environment but "you get what you paid for", even the most dedicated developer gets tired when the experience isn't making them income. I don't want that, I want to keep making good products and doing everything that comes through the suggestion box.

Enough about me... what's happening with the business?

Lots of stuff is happening!

  • ​I have ordered the first (of possibly many) web servers so that I can provide a much better experience for users of "Defects Collector" and it's upcoming improvements.
  • "Notography" is a few weeks from completion. The main functionality is built and we are in the refining, testing and UI beautification stages.​
  • Business and updates plan is being put in place so all supported apps receive regular updates. This is important to me, technology changes and no app should be left behind.

Thank you for all your support, the emails I receive are wonderful and full of great ideas! Keep them coming please!​