Alan Truly

Staff Writer

Alan is a photography and technology writer living in Nova Scotia, Canada. A tech-enthusiast since his youth, Alan stays current on what is new and what is next. With over 30 years of experience in computer, video, and photo equipment, you can expect useful tips and insights in his writing. Alan has a degree in programming, many years focused on design, editing, and animation. A period of managing logistics and e-commerce operations for a mobile accessories company rounds out a diverse background. Alan is a true jack of all digital trades in this ever-changing computer-enriched world. To stay flexible in mind and in body, he practices yoga, light cardio, and eats a whole food diet, based on minimally processed plants.

Articles by Alan Truly

How to Delete Duplicate Photos on iPhone

It's a common problem — dozens of nearly identical photos on your iPhone, eating up your storage and making it difficult to find what you're looking for. How does this happen, and, more importantly, how can you delete or merge those duplicate photos?

How to Contact Facebook Support

Facebook is one of the largest social media networks in the world, with about three billion active users. That equates to a massive demand for Facebook support. Like most prominent internet companies, Facebook tries to handle support with automated systems to reduce the burden on its representatives.

How to Delete Your Snapchat Account

Snapchat is a popular social media app that makes it easy to keep in touch with friends and quickly share selfies, photos, and videos. With 382 million daily active users, it's also a great place to get brand exposure.

PictureThis: The Best Plant Identifier Camera App

PictureThis is the most popular plant identifier app, and it works with the camera on your iPhone or Android phone. While the recognition of PictureThis isn't perfect, it generally proves to be remarkably accurate thanks to its well-trained AI.

How to Scan Photos on iPhone

Physical photographs can be scanned with an iPhone and it's easy to get good results with a little preparation and attention to detail. There are several apps that you can use to speed up and simplify the process, each with a different approach. The app that's best depends on your particular needs.

How to Reverse Image Search on iPhone

Reverse image search is an incredibly useful technology, allowing you to locate online photos that are an exact match or similar in some way to your own. It can also be used to search for products and places just by supplying a picture, even if it's an image that you found online. With the right app, it's possible to get a live result from your smartphone's camera.

How to Find Hidden Cameras

Hidden or inconspicuous cameras are fairly common in businesses with security concerns. Those black balls you see in ceiling corners or hanging from stems near checkout are undoubtedly watching and recording shoppers to make sure merchandise is being paid for.

Unsplash: What is It and How Does It Work?

If you work with stock photos, you might already be aware of Unsplash, one of the largest and most popular sources of free online images. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the service, this explainer will walk you through what exactly Unsplash is and how it works.

How to Blur the Background in iPhone Photos

Your iPhone can nicely blur the background to enhance a photograph or video. A similar effect works well with video chat software, eliminating distractions and putting the focus on the subject. Whether you want to blur the background during a FaceTime call, snap a beautiful portrait photograph with your iPhone, or edit the background blur in pictures you've already captured, we'll explain how it works to help you get the blur you want from your iPhone.

Does Instagram Notify When You Screenshot a Story?

When browsing Instagram, it could be tempting to take a screenshot of a Story, particularly since the content is always changing, advancing to the next Story after only a few seconds. If you give in to that urge, you might wonder if the owner of the account gets notified about your interest and that you saved an image from their story or feed.

How to Download Photos from iCloud

With Apple's iCloud, it's easy to download photos from your online photo library to any device. If you own an iPhone, iPad, or Mac this can be set up to happen automatically. From a Windows computer, there are a few more steps required and the same is true for an Android phone or tablet.

How to Delete All Photos from Your iPhone

Apple makes it very easy to delete a photo from an iPhone but removing all of them at once can be quite a bit more challenging. There are also some complications to be aware of, like accidentally deleting photos from iCloud. Knowledge is power and with a few tips, you'll be able to delete only what you'd like from your iPhone and make it take effect immediately.

How to Set the Timer on Your iPhone Camera

The iPhone has a built-in timer feature that can snap a picture a few seconds after the shutter button is pressed. This can be very helpful when you want to be in the photo and need the full quality and all of the options available when using the rear cameras. The front-facing camera isn't bad but doesn't capture as much light and that often results in a photo that's a bit flatter and softer.

When Was the Camera Invented?

Modern cameras are complicated pieces of technology but in the camera's earliest form, the concepts that led to its invention were formed in the most basic manner, simply the interplay of light, reflection, and shadow. Since our earliest history is unrecorded, we'll never know the exact date some of these techniques were first discovered and who deserves credit for any undocumented observations that contributed to this area of study in the distant past.

What is an FPV Drone? Everything You Need to Know

It's incredibly satisfying to capture awe-inspiring aerial shots with a drone, and while seeing the world from high above is always intriguing, some pilots make an exciting flight as big of a part of the experience as the beautiful scenery that's being highlighted.

What is a TIFF File? Everything You Need to Know

TIFF is a fairly common file type and is often requested by print agencies since it was made with printing in mind by a company that developed desktop publishing apps. TIFF has been around for a long time and is very versatile, handling black and white, various color spaces, such as CYMK, RGB, and even spot colors with ease.

How to Make a Video a Live Photo

A Live Photo can be made from a video, but this isn't a built-in capability of the iPhone. Instead, a third-party app is required. Alternatively, an iPhone can capture a Live Photo if the camera app is set up to do so. The iPhone’s default setting of Live Auto, however, leaves the decision to an Apple algorithm that might choose to snap a still photo instead. Thankfully, this setting can be adjusted to force Live Photo to be recorded every time if preferred.

U.S. Passport Cover with DSLR and iPhone

How to Take Your Passport Photo at Home in 2024

A passport is almost always a necessity when traveling outside your country, and a photograph is required along with identity documents, filling out a form, and paying a fee when applying. The photograph is potentially the most challenging part of the process. The good news is that the photo can be taken and printed at home as long as careful attention is given to the rules.

How to Hide Photos on Your iPhone

Apple makes it relatively easy to hide photos that are stored on an iPhone and this feature can be quite important when the phone might be used by anyone other than the owner of the device.

What is an HEIC File? Everything You Need to Know

An HEIC is a type of image file that contains compressed data, along with metadata such as the location a photograph was taken, the date it was created, and more. While it does reduce picture information, it typically results in a better representation of the original source than an image saved in JPEG format.

How to Recover Deleted Photos from an iPhone

It can be heartbreaking to discover a favorite picture on an iPhone or a photograph from a recent shoot has been unexpectedly deleted. The good news is that there are several ways to recover deleted photos, some quite simple and most can be done directly from the iPhone itself.

What is a JPEG? Everything You Need to Know

JPEG is, by far, the most popular image format for digital photographs and images in the world. An overwhelming majority of photos are stored and shared in this format, typically with a .jpg or .jpeg file extension, because it was a necessity of the early internet to keep file sizes smaller to enable faster transfer speeds.

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Computer in 2024

Transferring photos from an iPhone to a computer is a common task that doesn't have to feel like a chore, yet sometimes it can be frustrating if something isn't working or seems to be taking longer to complete than it should. Thankfully, Apple provides several solutions to move pictures from an iPhone to a computer.

How to Download Instagram Photos

Need to download a photo from Instagram? Perhaps you uploaded a photo long ago and have since lost the original file, or perhaps you are interested in downloading a public domain space photo from NASA to use as your phone's wallpaper. Whatever the reason, the good news is that it is easy to download Instagram photos.

How to Delete Your Instagram Account

Instagram is a wildly popular (and often lucrative) photo and video-sharing social network, but sometimes it can become a bit overwhelming, leading to the question of whether it's worth so much effort. It's easy to get drawn into endless scrolling through eye-catching photos when the intention was to spend just a few minutes.

How to Convert HEIC to JPG

Photographers have to deal with a variety of image types and new file formats appear from time to time, usually offering benefits that, while helpful, might not be immediately obvious. This can lead to frustration and hours lost when simply trying to complete a project. That's particularly true when a new camera or device saves images that can't be opened or edited in the normal workflow.