Be your own photographer
Background
Project Overview
Team: Myself
Duration: 2 months
My Role: Research, ideation, user flows, wireframing, visual design, prototyping
Tools: Sketch, Photoshop, Draw.io, paper and pencil
Deliverable: MVP mobile app design prototype
Problem
How can people reclaim control over the photos taken of them when they are taken by someone else?
SolutioN
I gathered user feedback about common pain points derived from the lack of control people experience when having others take photos of them.
With that information, I worked through a case study to produce a mobile app design around the concept of syncing with another person’s camera app to control and see on your phone what they see through their’s.
With access to the camera’s controls and the ability to see what photos look like before they are taken, the subject can instruct their photographer on how to best frame the shot while they take care of the rest if they choose.
The result is that photos don’t come with any unwanted surprises and the subject gets exactly the shot that they are after.
Scenario
Jessica meets up with her friend David to take photos for her Instagram. As someone who takes her social media presence seriously, she is very particular about her photos and wants them to look precisely how she envisions them.
She pairs up with David and uses the Prism Camera app to give her control over how her photos turn out.
Jessica and David both open the app to the main camera viewfinder in Solo Mode containing:
1) flash, front/back camera, timer
2) manual controls
3) standard photo, portrait, and looping video modes
4) gallery
5) Link Photographer button
They see what is shown through their own cameras.
Jessica taps the spotlighted
‘Link Photographer’ button.
Jessica is now in the ‘Find a Photographer’ screen where she can request nearby Prism users like David to link cameras with her.
To see only those willing to provide photography assistance she looks at:
1) The proximity map indicating where other users are relative to her.
2) The user icons corresponding to each number figured on the map indicating who the users are.
Individuals can only see and be seen by others on the map when their
Discoverable toggle is set to ‘on.’
An alternative method of linking is through a QR code (Prism Code) for those that want to remain ‘off.’
She taps on the David’s spotlighted
user icon to get his help.
By tapping on David’s user icon, Jessica initiates a camera link request.
Her request shows up on his phone prompting him to accept or deny.
Since he has agreed to help her, he accepts her request by tapping on the spotlighted accept button.
Their phones are now in Linked Mode.
Jessica’s phone displays the identical viewfinder image and camera controls as David’s phone.
Any adjustments made are reflected live across both phones.
They can identify that their cameras are linked by:
1) the shift to a blue interface
2) David’s user icon indicating that he’s the
active photographer replacing the button to flip front/back cameras
3) new ‘Switch’ button to change whose phone is the active camera
4) new ‘Unlink’ cameras button
While he is the photographer, all photos taken are only saved to Jessica’s phone hence the blocked gallery on his end.
She can control any aspect of the camera if she chooses and by seeing through his viewfinder can direct him how to best frame the shot.
After seeing how great the photos turn out, David decides that he would like some of his own and taps the ‘Switch’ button.
Jessica switches into being the active photographer indicated by the user icon changing to her’s.
He instructs her how to frame the camera to get the composition to his liking.
David ends the session by tapping the ‘Unlink’ button causing both their cameras to revert to Solo Mode.
Both come out pleased with the shots they received since they were able to dictate how the photos appeared before they were actually captured.
Personas
Use Cases
Incorporating the personas, these are potential use cases to illustrate how Prism Camera can be helpful in common scenarios where users have photos taken of them.
1) Previewing how a photo of you looks before it is taken to adjust yourself accordingly
Ann links with her photographer to model for photos. She references her phone to preview the composition of the photo and see how her pose comes across on camera. This allows her to fix her pose and instruct her photographer on how to reposition the camera to get the best shot.
2) Ensuring everyone in a group photo is captured properly
Ryan goes on a trip with his wife and children and asks a fellow Prism Camera user to take photos of them. Since this will be a photo that he will look back on for years to come, he references the photographer’s viewfinder through the app to ensure that everyone is appropriately captured in the photo without being cut off.
3) Specifying what and/or how background elements should be included in the photo
On his travels, Ryan comes across many beautiful landmarks that he wants to commemorate through photos with his family. When he links with another Prism Camera user he is able to make sure that the picture taker not only includes everyone but also adequately frames the shot to include the desired landmark in the background as well.
Research & Process
Screener & Interviews
From my screener survey, I received answers from 39 respondents. I observed that the majority prefer to have photos taken of them when in a group setting with also most preferring to help others by taking photos for them. This showed me that Prism Camera has a potential market for people that want to be either photographers for others, included in photos, or both.
From those respondents, I was able to conduct interviews with 6 individuals mixed between in-person and over video chat. Across the board participants complained about how they don’t trust people they ask to take photos to return pictures that are desirable.
The most common complaint was poor composition and framing by either cutting off important subjects and/or poor angles. There was a split between comfort on asking strangers for photos however most expressed displeasure due to the uncertainty around whether they were being a potential bother.
Including any form of social media such as Stories, about how many days a week do you capture photos of people including yourself?
When you’re in a group of people and want a photo, do you typically prefer to get a group selfie or a photo taken of the group?
When given the choice, do you typically prefer to be in photos or the one behind the camera?
(Optional) Age
User Stories
As I user, I want…
• a way to see what my photos look like before they are taken to be sure that nothing is cut off and composition is right
• to be able to see how I look like on camera so that I can adjust myself accordingly
• a way to easily find people that are willing to take photos for me so that I don’t inconvenience the wrong people
• photos captured save to my phone so that I can keep them for use or viewing
• to ensure that my photos are not saved to anyone else’s phone to preserve my privacy
• my camera to be have zoom functionality so that I can capture the right content in my photos
• the option to use manual camera controls so that I can get photos to look exactly how I want them
• the option to have my camera display a grid to assist my photo composition and framing
I created my personas as archetypes derived from the responses I received from the interviews I conducted and kept them in mind as I created the user stories. From the interviews I tracked trends in what participants repeatedly expressed as their frustrations during conversation, converted those into user stories, and focused on what features could be implemented to best address them.
User Flows & Wireframes
When planning out the flow of Prism Camera, I focused heavily on ensuring all interactions would make sense reflected across 2 devices simultaneously since the core functionality is contingent on 2 linked users. To achieve this, I incorporated a User A and a User B in the user flows to determine at what points their inputs would connect.
This user flow demonstrates how Users A and B go from the Solo Mode state to Linked Mode. Steps between User A and User B that are touching on the diagram indicate that they are dependent on each other.
This user flow is what follows once Users A and B are in Linked Mode. At this point, all steps between the 2 users directly affect the other and only ceases when the cameras are unlinked.
Proximity Linking
I carried the same sentiment of designing every aspect for 2 users at the same time when I began sketching preliminary wireframes as well.
By going this route, I could account for how each interaction from one user would affect the other.
These sketches show how both users (divided by the center vertical line) go through the process of linking their cameras via the proximity map, initiating a camera link request, and being linked thereafter.
QR Code Linking
In recognizing that not everyone wants to have their location services on or be discoverable by other users, I planned out a secondary method of linking with another user via QR code scanning (referred to as Prism Code within the app).
(User A)
Solo mode viewfinder
(User A)
Find a photographer
(User B)
Linking requested
(User A)
Linked camera viewfinder, mirrors content of User B’s viewfinder
(User B)
Linked camera viewfinder
Outcomes & Lessons
User Feedback
challenges & Next Steps
The most challenging aspect of this project was designing a product that integrated 2 device inputs at the same time. I had to continually think about how any change on one user’s interface could potentially alter the experience for the other user. Handling this was also further complicated by the nature of this app being focused on switching perspectives.
Every design decision I had to make was was essentially doubled throughout this case study. There was also the limitation of not having prototyping software that could properly convey the that input of another user was what led to the on screen calls-to-action to display.
To expand on this product in the future, I would like to design a seamless way for users to select and easily verify who would receive the photos as they are being taken. Doing this would take into consideration the complexities of interacting with strangers, privacy, and user error. While this feature was part of my original plan when ideating this product, I ultimately decided that it was not a core functionality that needed to be included on its initial iteration.