Jordana Wright
Chicago, Illinois | @jordanawright on Instagram
What is your favorite thing about the GripTight?  

The GripTight is super helpful, wonderfully compact, and totally versatile. I can really punch up my mobile photography by positioning my phone literally anywhere. Google hangouts and video chats are so much easier to do on-the-go, now that they can be TOTALLY hands free. When I’m shooting with my DSLR, the GripTight lets me pull up a shot list or other important information that I can easily display without fumbling with my phone.

What is your best tip for getting great photos from a smartphone? 

My best tip is that it’s not always about the app! The angle, lighting, and subject matter can make or break a cellphone photo—just like every other type of photography. Play around because you never know what sorts of AWESOME you may capture. One of my favorite tricks is putting a piece of colored gel in front of my phone’s camera for a moody, colorized photo.

What are your favorite apps?  

My favorite apps are Instagram and Pudding Camera. Sometimes I shoot in one camera app, then open the photo and process it with another. In airplane mode, you can process photos through Instagram as many times as you want to get a unique look.

Have you found any alternative uses for your GripTight?

I’ve used the GripTight to keep my phone safe and in sight on my desk and on the kitchen counter. It makes my cell phone into a lovely bedside alarm clock, and it even came in handy for my husband who works in theatre. He borrowed it to more easily film actors auditioning for a show. In a pinch, you can even use your cellphone (when the screen is dark) to touch up your hair or make-up. The GripTight lets you angle it however you may need!

Can you tell us about a time the GripTight really saved the day? 

I was driving using Google Maps on my phone, and the phone kept falling over in the car. At a red light, I realized I could use the GripTight Micro Stand to keep the phone exactly where I needed it on the dashboard for easier navigation. Fewer fumbles + knowing where I’m going = the happiest photographer.

Eric Wood
Hoosick, NY | @snaplove on Instagram

What is your best advice for using the GripTight? 

The GripTight is awesome for holding my Galaxy SIII nice and still while I fire off a couple shots. One of the most valuable tips for succeeding with the GripTight has to do with your phone. Set your phone’s camera to fire using a timer. That way you can trigger the timer and wait for the shutter to fire without actually touching the phone. The result: super sharp photos!

Can you share a time when the GripTight came in handy recently? 

Last weekend, I was walking around a New England church and there was the first red leaf of fall on the ground. I didn’t have my DSLR with me but I had my phone and GripTight. I set it up on the ground and got a great shot of the leaf.

What is your best advice for new photographers? 

My best tip is to just shoot. I think lots of people have a belief that you need a big, bulky DSLR to take amazing photos. Any photographer will tell you the best camera you could have is the camera you have with you! In lots of cases that is going to be your phone. Don’t hesitate to use it.

What are your favorite apps for shooting? For editing?

If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop, Instagram is awesome. It’s quality, fun and social. If you prefer to break it up a little, grab Adobe Photoshop Express and use the sharing platform within. I love it! The new mobile Flickr app has some potential too.

Have you found any fun or unique uses for the GripTight? 

When I am on the road, I usually wrap my GorillaPod around my rearview mirror and put my phone in the GripTight so I can see the navigation in my view. Works awesome!

Jay and Varina Patel
Twinsburg, Ohio 

What is the best part about using the GripTight? 

We’ve been really happy with the tiny combination of the Grip Tight Mount with the Micro. They fold up small enough to stick in a pocket or attach to a keychain, so I don’t have to carry around bulky gear. When I want to get some video of my kids when we go swimming in the river or hang out at the park, I can set up my phone quickly and grab a fun video of the kids having fun.

When have you found the GripTight particularly useful? 

As landscape photographers, we often produce short, on-location educational videos with our mobile phones. The GripTight Mount and GripTight GorillaPod Stand provide a perfect lightweight solution that we can use to produce smooth videos with our mobile phones. We secure the GorillaPod stand on a tripod or stand it up on a rock, and we are good to go!

The Making of an Instructional Tutorial with Photographer Varina Patel from JOBY Inc on Vimeo.

Can you share a time when the GripTight really saved the shoot?

We planned to do a quick series of videos in a beautiful park several miles from our home, but we forgot our Grip Tight Mount. All our attempts to stabilize the mobile phone using our tripods or hands were unsuccessful. We shot a video anyway—but it’s completely unusable. The camera shake is pretty annoying! The following week, we took our cameras to the soccer fields to shoot another video. This time, we used a tripod topped with the GripTight GorillaPod Stand and the finished video is smooth and steady.

What are your favorite apps? 

We use SmugMug’s Camera Awesome app. Camera Awesome allows for independent control of focus point and exposure. It’s great for macro shots and producing on-location videos. We edit our movies with iMovie, which allows us to put clips together quickly, add audio and music, and create a decent finished product. We love Snapseed for processing photos. This app has “U-Point” technology that allows us to make selective adjustment to our photographs.

Allan Hinton
London, England | @chaiwalla 

What is your best tip for using the GripTight?  

My biggest tip is to always have the GripTight in your possession, in your bag or chained to your key ring.  It is portable enough to not take up too much room in your pocket. Most of my photographs are spontaneous while I am on the go and I’m often inspired by moments in time that I cannot plan for.

Tell us about a time that you really stretched yourself creatively because of the GripTight?

I haven’t done this yet but I was thinking the GripTight would be perfect for taking photographs at my local swimming pool. I have a bulky waterproof case for my phone and the GripTight would have no problem in gripping around my iPhone and its case. I could then place the phone steadily at the edge of the pool and get creative with multiple exposure shots!

What are your favorite apps for shooting? For editing? 

My favorite app to edit photos are Snapseed, PicFx and Blender. Blender this is a great way to blend two of the same image together if you can’t pick which edit you prefer – sometimes a slight blend of the two can result in a perfect finish.

What is your advice for someone just starting out as as photographer? 

Be brave enough to try something new and enjoy being a beginner and making early mistakes. You will feel proud when looking back at early photos and seeing how far you’ve come. It’s very easy to feel insecure when comparing your photos to someone with many followers on Instagram. It’s likely that they’ve been photographing for years and have had their own time to grow.

Here’s our first attempt at doing a Vine video:

Not a lot of shake, right? That’s because we’re using our GripTight tripods to capture the shot. Our GripTight mount holds any iPhone, and you don’t even have to remove your case. It also allows you to use accessories like the awesome Olloclip iPhone lens for even more unique Vine videos. Plus, they are tiny —you can easily fit them in your pocket or your bag—and easy to set up. Taking a minute to set up your tripod will save tons of time by eliminating the hassle of retakes because of annoying camera shake.

But, which GripTight should you use for your Vine videos? Well, it depends on the equipment that you have and how you think you’ll shoot.

Want to shoot shake-free Vine videos with any camera tripod?

Use our GripTight Mount which can attach your iPhone to any tripod uses a common ¼-20” screw mount (which means it also fits on any GorillaPod that you have!) They fold up nicely and won’t snag on anything in your pocket or backpack.

Need an iPhone tripod for Vine that’ll always be with you?

There’s this saying that the best camera is the one you have and that’s definitely true with iPhone tripods too. Maybe even more so because people don’t really associate tripods as something you’ll always have with you. But part of the fun of Vine videos are the spontaneity of it so you really need a tripod that’s small enough to take with you automatically. Our GripTight Micro stand is the iPhone tripod you’ll never leave home without. It folds up nicely to fit in your pocket which makes it the most compact iPhone tripod out there (and tough too with its aluminum legs!).

GripTight Mount + GorillaPod flexible legs = iPhone Vine domination

The GripTight GorillaPod iPhone stand is easily our best-selling GripTight product out there because it lets you attach your iPhone to branches, rocks, pipes, etc. and lets you stabilize your iPhone on almost any uneven surface. Shoot your Vine videos in portrait, landscape, or any angle you want.

You can also use our GripTight GorillaPod Magnetic for a flexible iPhone stand that now has magnetic feet! Why would you want magnetic feet for your iPhone? We’ll let Safe Solvent demonstrate:

Joby GripTight Demo 4 from *safe solvent™ on Vimeo.

Want to do a lot of smooth panning Vine videos?

That would be our GripTight GorillaPod Video. Now you can pan and tilt seamlessly thanks to a mini ballhead and guide stick. Plus, it comes with the same flexible legs and the magnetic feet of our GorillaPod Magnetic.

Now go out there and make the world a better place by showing off your shake-free 6 second Vine masterpieces!

Share your masterpiece with us by tagging them #gorillapod. We’re @jobyinc on Vine if you want more GorillaPods in your feed!

In The Workflow Series: Details and Macro, you’ll join professional photographers (and JOBY Pros!), Varina and Jay Patel, as they discuss their vision, their thinking process, and the post-processing workflow they use for six of their most popular macro images.  Learn about circular polarizers, focus stacking, depth of field, and so much more! They’ll show how you can use a wide variety of techniques to create stunning macro and detail photographs!

The Vision – Varina and Jay invite you to join them in the field as they explain their thought processes and the challenges that arise when they are shooting. You’ll find tips and suggestions for improving your own photography! This is the next best thing to learning on location!

The Process – Take a look at rarely seen, un-processed images, and pick up tips and hints as the pros walk you through the process of preparing and finishing a photo!

The Result – When all is said and done, take a look at the finished product. Compare it to the original, scrutinize the changes that were made, and think about the decisions the photographer made in the field and while processing the image.

Check out the sample pages below and take home your copy (or give as a great last-minute gift) today!

Find the GripTight Mount here.

And here’s a tripod hot shoe adapter for just $4.00.

Questions about our camera straps? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.

Photographers Varina and Jay Patel share how a few point and shoot cameras paired with GorillaPod Original provided hours of summer fun for their family.  After a few hours of playing around with cameras and GorillaPods in the woods, their kids learned quite a bit about photography. From self-timer to macro shots, they were able to express themselves and share their parents’ passion. Happy kids enjoying your favorite hobby—now that’s a win-win!

Read the entire article and learn how you can recreate the experience at home with your family here. And for some quick tips on how to explain photography basics to your kids, check out this DIY guide, also by Jay and Varina.

So here we go …

1. Don’t forget a tripod!!! Bust out your iPhone + GorillaMobile or GorillaPod and position it appropriately to capture the action. Watch out for trees, buildings and other spectators who might block your shot.

2.  Turn off the flash! 

3. Use out our free camera app Frame X Frame.  Choose the Time Lapse setting. We’d set it to take 1000 shots at 2 second intervals to capture the most of the show as possible. Set yourself up for success, which means lots and lots of shots. Sit back, enjoy the show and let Frame X Frame do all the work for you!

4. Use a self-timer (also a feature on Frame X Frame) to avoid camera shake when you hit the shutter button.

5. Test out long exposures. An app like SlowShutter will do the trick.

What are your fireworks photo tips? Have a favorite fireworks photo? Share in the comments and we’ll add them into this post.