Today’s Question: I have students asking me if there is an app that will show a histogram while one is taking photos with their iPhone. Do you know?
Tim’s Quick Answer: There are two options I would recommend for viewing a histogram for a photo on the iPhone. One option is the Photo Extension Histogram app, which enables you to view a histogram for images in the Photos app. The other option is to use the Lightroom CC mobile app.
More Detail: It is a little surprising to me how difficult it can be to view a histogram for photos on your iPhone. Fortunately, there are a couple of solutions that do work.
The Photo Extension Histogram app, which enables you to view a histogram for images in the Photos app. Since the Photos app doesn’t include a histogram feature, a separate app is needed for this purpose, which provides a workaround to view a histogram for any image. The process involves “sharing” a photo via the Photo Extension Histogram app.
So, just as you might use the sharing feature in the Photos app to send a photo via Messages or using AirDrop, so too can you share a photo to the Photo Extension Histogram app to view a histogram (both luminance and color) for the photo.
You can find this app in the Apple App Store by searching for “Photo Extension Histogram”. The app has a price of US$2.99.
Another option is to use the Lightroom CC app for mobile devices. You can view a histogram for any photo you manage within Lightroom CC. Note that you can also capture photos directly with the Lightroom CC app, which provides a convenient solution for streamlining your workflow. When you capture a photo using the camera within Lightroom CC, the photo is automatically added to (and synchronized via) your Lightroom CC catalog.
To access the histogram in the Lightroom CC mobile app, you need to switch to the Edit mode. You can then tap on the image with two fingers to bring up the info display. Tap again with two fingers to bring up the histogram display, and then tap a third time with two fingers to remove the histogram/info display.