What’s old is new again. VSCO has unveiled a standalone camera application for iPhone, VSCO Capture.
Some readers may be thinking, “Hasn’t VSCO done this before?” Yes and no. VSCO, or Visual Supply Co., made its name through its film-inspired photo presets for photographers. The company then launched a mobile photography app that included image capture, editing, and lots of preset filters for users to choose from. The app quickly gained users, investments, and ultimately pivoted to a subscription model.
However, the platform then pivoted to a social media platform for photographers, moving away from image capture and editing to a photography community experience. VSCO has, in recent years, launched portfolio tools and services like VSCO Hub that help photographers get hired for jobs. The company also recently announced Canvas, an AI-powered creative mood board tool for artists.
With VSCO Capture, the modern VSCO recaptures some of what helped get it off the ground more than a decade ago. The new standlaone camera app, VSCO’s first standalone app in over 10 years, enters an increasingly busy camera app landscape. There are so many iPhone camera apps out there.
Unsurprisingly, Capture leverages VSCO’s legendary library of film-style presets, which promise to make it easier for photographers to quickly capture stylish shots ready to share on social media, whether that’s on VSCO’s platform or competing ones.
Bloomberg reports that VSCO Capture is launching in test markets this week, including Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, before hitting the Apple App Store in the United States later this summer.
VSCO itself describes Capture as enabling users to “shoot with a camera that follows your lead,” and touts the app’s more than 50 live presets, real-time film effects, and manual controls.
“VSCO Capture empowers you to bring your vision to life in real time. Designed for photographers who want a camera that moves with their creativity, VSCO Capture lets you see and adjust your style as you shoot,” VSCO promises. “Frame the world as you see it — anytime, anywhere.”
The app features precise manual controls, offers RAW image capture, and includes photographers to be creative with things like long exposure, different flash modes, and custmizable film effects (like bloom and halation).
“Photographers increasingly are moving away from using overly complicated editing software and are using apps that make it easier to get that right moment with a desired aesthetic right at the point of capture,” VSCO’s CEO Eric Wittman tells Bloomberg.
As Bloomberg‘s Chris Welch rightly notes, this follows a general trend in the iPhone camera space. PetaPixel has previously covered apps like Halide, which added a “Process Zero” mode last year to cleverly bypass the typical overly-processed look of smartphone cameras, and Adobe’s research group, Labs, just announced Project Indigo earlier this month with the promise that the camera app captures more natural-looking photos than standard iPhone camera apps.
VSCO Capture will be free, although a VSCO account is required to use the app.
Image credits: VSCO
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