24/7 Photo Buffet is my flagship app.

Four years ago, I saw the writing on the wall - after writing 36 books. Book sales were going down and e-publishing – apps, ebooks, on-line training - was going up!

Shortly after I made the realization, I met Dr. Dave Wilson - in a helicopter while flying over Maui no less. Dr. Dave, an amateur photographer and an app developer, and I became good friends. Four months later I had my first app: Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet. (I guess the moral of this story is to always have your radar on. Always be aware of what is happening around you.)

iHDR is a complete guide to HDR photography.

Four years later I have 10 apps. Check 'em out on my app page.

Keep in mind that my apps don't really do anything . . . except make you a better photographer and better businessperson.

I also have several courses on Kelby Training and an ebook - Rick Sammon's Travel and Nature from A to Z - with my friend Steve Dreyer. So I am totally into e-publishing.

Yes, you need an app developer if you want to have an app. But they are not as hard to find as you might imagine. I found Keith M. Kolmos, who developed my Social Media Marketing for Photographers app, after this tweet: I'm looking for a talented app developer. Please contact me.

Here are the 11 reasons why I moved to apps - and why you may consider the move, too.

1) You have total control over content - as long as that content meets Apple's standards.

2) You can instantly update your app - so unlike a book, it does not go out of date.

3) You can track your sales daily and get paid monthly - as opposed to getting a quarterly statement from a book publisher. You can also track worldwide sales daily.

With AppVis, you can easily track worldwide sales.

4) You have a worldwide audience - which you can reach through Google+, Facebook, twitter, etc.

5) You have more potential customers - because a $30 book can cost only $5 as an app on iTunes. In addition, a $30 book here in the US might cost $40 in Australia. So again, your potential customer base is increased.

6) You can have sales any time you want - which is good for promotion.

7) Your pictures will look great on an iPad or iPhone - and even on a Mac. Some apps, like my iHDR app for the Mac, can run on Macs.

8) Apps are better for the environment than paper books.

9) If you are a professional photographer (or any kind of artist really) it's a great promotional tool. Tell someone you wrote a book and they might be interested in looking at it, but are you really going to carry copies of your book around with you everywhere? With an iPhone app (or an iPad one) you have all of your products with you all of the time (who leaves the house without their phone these days). Apple also gives you the bonus benefit of promotional codes so you can send out a free copy to a potential client / business partner. Try getting extra promotional copies out of your publisher or paying the shipping on books via the post office.

10) You can do an app on anything you want just for fun. Who knows? It might get discovered and you'll have a hit on your hands. Such is the case with my Life Lessons We Can Learn From Mother Nature.

11) If you have content, the only "production cost" is your time and the app developer's time.

Social Media Marketing is my 10th app.

Good luck if you plan to enter the app world. It's good fun and can be a good business, too.

Of course, if you have a comment, please post your thoughts in the Comments section here on my blog.

To see all my apps, click here.

Explore the light,
Rick