Combo Apps/Dream in Noir

History of Noir

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood’s classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression.

Tonight’s Combo App is about “Dream in Noir”. I will talk about a new app called Noir tonight. You can buy it at the App Store for $2.99. I know a lot of people are complaining about the price of the app and what it can do compared to other apps. In my opinion I really love this app a lot, there are a couple of reason why this apps is great. One once you buy this app you have purchased the iPad version too. Now I know not everyone has an iPad, but I’ve heard the complaints of buying two versions of the same app. Second reason is it’s one of the best Black & White/Monotone app I’ve seen. It’s only one of the few I’ve seen that get really nice blacks because of the controls dials. Most black and white apps I’ve seen always look muddy and lost in the mid tones. This app you can get really black, blacks and white, whites and still keep up the details in highlights and shadows. It does a very good job of giving you that low key effect. Everything looks really dramatic, so this app does exactly what it says it does. Let’s get started with the lesson…

I’m going to use this shot I took at Balboa Park today for a photo shoot.

This is the load up screen for the app Noir.

This was the last image I was editing in the app.

If you tap on the button that looks like two pieces of paper, that’s how you load your imaged from your photo library.

Each time you choose the button below is how your vignettes circle is going to be for editing. So think of it as like the Tilt Shift tool or app, it’s where your outside areas of the circle are going to be darkened out. You can also adjust the size of the circle with your finger too and move the circle to where you want to bring out your details in your picture/image. Oh and one last thing if you tap on the button ton top for vingettes, you’re not stuck with that tint or tone. You can pick the four different tones in right middle of the screen. You can also used the dials in the middle left to adjust your tones to bring out details in your photo/image.

How you save is you tap on the button between the two pieces of paper button and the “i” (info) button.

You can tap on the “i” button to learn how to use the app.

This is my finished edited photo/image from Noir. Now let me show you two of the same image that looks a little dreamier.

This was edited with Dynamic Light using Orton. Orton makes it look soft and glowing.

This was edited with Focal Lab using the Dream Blur.

There is not right or wrong way in making your Dream Noir. It’s all subjective like everything else in art and photography. This ends tonight blog and if have any questions please leave comments on the blog or e-mail me ashcroft54@yahoo.com. You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr @ashcroft54. The link below is for the Combo Apps Group on Flickr. There are also Noir Film groups on Flickr you can check out too.

Combo Apps, a group on Flickr.