01.
Goal
As a landscape photographer myself, I wanted a polished, top-notch and easy-to-use tool for calculating exposure times under different conditions.
Together with an iOS developer, we created an application that has been in the App Store for 12 years and has built a strong user base with over 11.000 installations. Over this time we received numerous feedbacks and feature requests from the users.
The app UI was changed a few times to keep up with the latest trends. Many of its visual elements were adopted by competitor apps.
The Manual Exposure app is available in Apple App Store.
02.
Key features
The app calculates exposure times in situations where the camera’s light meter is useless, such as shooting in complete darkness with a long exposure or using a very dense ND filter, or capturing star trails.
The app features a unified calculator interface that differs only in input parameters. The result can be saved for later or can be used to schedule a timer right away.
03.
Sets and equipment
One of the key features of the app is the ability to create user sets and reuse them in calculations. This saves time and adds a personal touch to the app.
Users appreciate this feature so much that some even use the app only as a database of their equipment.
04.
Themes
Dark theme support is something standard nowadays, but for Manual exposure it was introduced before Apple introduced it in iOS.
It was added after receiving some user feedback and was ahead of the mobile market at the time.
05.
App evolution
Since the first version was released on September 24, 2013, the app was modernized several times. We introduced support for new screen sizes and resolutions, features like 3D Touch, widgets, and Apple Watch support.
The app has continuously evolved to stay relevant and up to date while remaining recognizable.
You can see the evolution of visual trends: skeuomorphism in the first version of the app, transitioning to a flatter design in the second, and following modern design patterns in the third.
Over the years, the app has set a trend for photography apps, influencing even major developers, who have adopted and reused the design patterns I originally introduced.
06.
Visual language
One of the most recognizable and original features is the horizontal value selector.
This control has also been widely adopted by other designers, and today, many apps (especially apps for photographers) in the App Store use a similar value selection mechanism.
I have also designed a detailed set of icons for the app, which evolves with each version.
07.
Equipment database
One of the key features of the app was a database of camera’s and lenses with pictures and some technical details.
The guidelines for adding new items were set up 12 years ago and are still relevant and allow to keep data quality on a very high standard.
The database currently consists of over a thousand items of 15 different brands, each with unique detailed characteristics.
08.
Outcome
The Manual Exposure app that has been in the App Store for 12 years and has built a strong user base with over 11.000 installations. Over this time we received numerous feedbacks and feature requests from the users.
The Manual Exposure app is available in Apple App Store.
