If you have arrived at this site, you’re likely already a fan of iPhoneography. You may use your camera for all kinds of quick photos, and know you could do better if you put your mind to it.
So I urge you to check out this page on Apple’s website, called Shot on iPhone 6. Apple has crowd-sourced iPhone 6 photos from a variety of social photo sites, and offers us 77 photos gathered from 24 countries. They are amazing and inspiring.
Apple also labels the photos by photographer, location, and any software that was used. Many of the striking images are just using Apple’s built-in camera app. Others use Snapseed, Instagram, VSCO Cam® and all the usual suspects. There are landscapes, people pix, nature shots and abstract images. You’ll keep wondering if these were really shot with an iPhone, but of course they were.
According to several reports, the photos will also be used as part of an upcoming global ad campaign for Apple, including print, transit, and billboard media.
Why has iPhone photography exploded? There are, I think, a few reasons. First, it’s a good camera that has steadily improved since the first version in 2007. The iPhone 6 camera uses a solidly engineered sensor from Sony, and Apple has supported the hardware with software improvements in focus and exposure control, HDR, slow motion, time lapse and low light capabilities.
Mobile photography has almost killed the point and shoot camera business. Just ask Fuji or Canon or Nikon. The reasons are clear. The iPhone is a computer. Point and shoot cameras are just cameras. They don’t offer any real processing ability, and you can’t send the pictures off to family and friends from the camera. The iPhone changed all that, and when the iPhone opened itself up to Apps, iPhoneography simply exploded. In one small package, you can take a picture, edit a picture, share a picture, and oh, by the way, it’s a phone, navigator, browser and all the other things it does at the same time.
It’s been said many times that the best camera is the one you have with you, and the iPhone is a case in point. I have a wonderful Canon DSLR. It takes terrific images, but it’s not usually with me unless I am on a photo oriented outing. But my iPhone is always with me, and when inspiration hits, I’m ready to go. It might be a spectacular sunset, a sporting event, a birthday party, a pet or almost any of life’s savable events.
I doubt if Apple intended this back in 2007. Many cellphones had cameras, but they weren’t of very good quality, and just about all you could do was mail or text them. Steve Jobs originally didn’t want apps on the iPhone, and famously said web apps could fill any need. Luckily, he was convinced of his error, and now there are literally more than a million apps available, and thousands of apps for photography. Even Adobe has jumped in with a suite of editors.
It’s been a fascinating journey. What started as a little extra feature on the iPhone has been a key feature people consider when making a purchasing decision. I found that many days I take more photos on my iPhone than I make calls on it.
I’m not sure what the next few new iPhones will bring. Better lenses perhaps, higher resolution? But look at what the iPhone 6 can do in the hands of creative amateurs that are highlighted today from Apple and be inspired.
How has iPhoneography changed your life? I’d be interested in having you share your comments.
– Mel Martin
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- Shot by Gabby K. in Snoqualmie Pass, WA
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- Shot by Jun I. in Tokyo, Japan
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- Shot by Dawn D. in Portland, OR
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- Shot by Brendan Ó. in Copenhagen, Denmark
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- Shot by Renee M. in Union City, CA
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- Shot by Jeremiah C. in Amicalola Falls State Park, GA
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- Shot by Cielo D. in Alameda, CA
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- Shot by Austin Mann. in Storidalur, Iceland
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