Apollo: Immersive illumination 4+

Amazing at editing lighting on portrait photos

I think the app description makes it clear, but seems like quite a few reviewers have not understood that this only works on photos taken in portrait mode on iPhones that are capable of doing that.

If you have Portrait mode photo’s though this is really neat and is a interesting insight into where “computational photography” is taking us.

To be able to edit the 3D lighting of an image after it was taken (this is not a filter, or effect, it is using the depth data provided by Portrait mode to alter the image in a 3D way) is something that was not even thought of back in the days of my original 35mm SLR! As you drag a light source around you can literally see it impact of it on the face in the image for example, and you can impact the background of the image, removing it, adding fog etc.

The help mode is nice too and get’s you started. There seems to be a lot in here, and I have only just started playing with it.

Developer Response ,

Thank you very much. We are more than happy you enjoy using Apollo.

Amazing BUT........

Please check the spec of phone you need BEFORE you purchase. Personally don’t think some people will realise a couple of things:

1. 7+, 8+ as stated in description (Currently) is referring specifically to 7 Plus, 8 Plus.
It won’t work on a none Plus model.
2. Portrait ORIENTATION is NOT the same as Portrait MODE - it’s would be easy to assume all photos take in the former ‘should’ be turning up in the App when they won’t.
Only if you know how to get the camera into (and take pics in) Portrait MODE will u see your photos in the app.

My suggestions would be to change the wording slightly so phone compatibility is clear and put a photo in of how to get camera into Portrait MODE. I suspect this would reduce negative reviews and people yelling at support.

So many apps for photography do the same old thing. This one however mixes things up in a whole new unique way and really makes you think about the photos you’ve taken and what you can do to them (and why). And inspire you to go out and take photos specifically to add these effects too.
Giving five stars as just so kool (equivalent effects in full blown photoshop type programs are available, but need quite a lot of know how, time and effort, to get what you’ve got here).
It’s not perfect, application of effects isn’t via a particularly intuitive system, which may frustrate some, but overall best photo app have come across in a long long time.
Thoroughly recommended.

Developer Response ,

We are going to edit the wording regarding compatibility, the reason we state e.g. 7+ instead of 7 Plus, is that we do not have room for writing the whole word in the specific description field.
We are working on the user experience and how to make easier for someone to perform actions.
Thank you very much for the thorough review and great feedback!

Excellent application

Exceptional application. It works like a charm. After using the application for a few minutes I made a hasty judgment and gave a 3 stars rating as it could not process some of my photos taken in portrait mode. I then found out that not all pictures taken in portrait mode have depth of field data. Pictures without the Portrait icon on the top left corner of picture cannot be processed. I also found out that one could have upto 20 light sources which was not so evident at the beginning. With this app you don't need a studio - just amazing!