For most people reading this article, the smartphone camera acts purely as a backup. Something that’s convenient to use, given the right conditions, when our primary cameras aren’t on our person. Most stock camera apps are pretty basic, although manual controls have been making their way into some brands over the last few years. It’s fair to say though, that the filters they offer are barely average. Trying to change this in some ways is the upcoming VSCO Capture smartphone camera app, which gives you not just access to their signature filters, but a lot more options to make your smartphone photos look retro.
What happens when a company built on editing with feeling starts building a camera app? Maybe it shifts the way we shoot with our phones altogether. Visual Supply Company, aka VSCO, built its name by crafting some of the most well-known Lightroom presets—the ones that millennials who didn’t have a Fuji mirrorless camera slapped on their edits, the ones that GenZ drools over in TikTok videos. Their digital simulations of classic film stocks (you should check our inhouse ones too) like Fuji Provia, Kodak Portra, Ilford HP5 and more are legendary among photography circles. It didn’t just give you a nostalgic look; their presets made your images emotionally connect with viewers. For many photographers, VSCO presets were the bridge between the convenience of digital imaging and the sentimental appeal of film stock. VSCO did smartphone photographers a great favour when they launched their editing app in 2012, almost a year after the launch of preset sales on their website. With their upcoming Capture app, VSCO hopes to make this two-step nostalgic photography process into a single one.
The new VSCO Capture smartphone camera app is less about editing a photo after it’s taken, and more about allowing you to set the creative tone for the resulting image before you even click it. There are more than a handful of desktop software programs today that can help you post-process an image to perfection. The VSCO camera app however, wants you to dive more deeply into the creative process and refine it before you take the shot. It’s about getting yourself to start visualising the creative result way before those pixels get saved onto your gallery. They’ve already made an impact in the editing world by being the go-to choice for many who want to get a 70s and 80s feel to their photos. Now, VSCO wants to try to be the camera app that you’d pick when you open your phone for a click.
Designed For Shooting With Soul
Camera apps aren’t new of course, but when a company with over a decade of successfully creating images that rekindles nostalgia brings out an app that can make the process quicker, you tend to take notice. There’s no second-guessing what your images will look like. It’s not the manual controls or pro-level histograms you’re downloading this for; it’s the live application of their fine-tuned retro filters that will make you reach out for this app often. The app is free to use, and will come with 50 VSCO presets (including the latest We The Creator presets). In addition to that, you also get access to Bloom and Halation effects. It will allow you to go through multiple filters with a live preview of what your camera is looking at. It’s kind of like giving an analog photography thought process feel to an app. When you’re out shooting with film cameras, as an experienced photographer, you know how the end result will look and feel. The Capture app should help get more photographers feeling that way as they shoot with it.
It’s clear that this app is to help you get away from that clinically clean digital photo type that you’re so used to seeing from your phone. The design is meant to make you shoot slower and with more intent. Rather than shooting a wondering what feel to apply to the resulting image, you now get to pick the feel before clicking it.
Smart Shooting For Smartphone Photographers
There’s no release date just yet, but iPhone users can sign up now to get early access via this page. VSCO has typically been iOS first, but I see no reason for this app to not make its way to Android phones later on. If you’re a photographer who typically shoots RAW images on their smartphone to edit on another smartphone app, then the Capture app could really speed things up for your creative output. It’s so much easier to focus on getting what you want, when the bulk of the requirements for the resulting look and feel as handled earlier on. It’s the main reason why Fujifilm has sold so many mirrorless cameras over the best part of the two decades – less editing, more emotion. Look out for our review in the upcoming months, but based on what we’ve read so far, this could be the next big app for making better memories on your phone.
All media seen in this article was provided for use by our VSCO reps