I am not a gearhead, but I own some pretty nice camera gear.
Arguably one of the best DSLR cameras in the Nikon D810 and a heap of lenses. A nice GX8 mirrorless and a heap of other lenses for that. And other assorted gear.
But here's the big admission (and it's becoming the case with a lot of other photographers I know).
I take the VAST MAJORITY of my photos on my phone.
The HUGE advantage of this is:
Creativity is Spurred by Restriction
What do I mean by that? Well, give 10 well-equipped photographers a brief to photograph a subject and you will get 10 respectable shots.
Good lighting, good composition – all of the “good” photograph boxes ticked.
Good (and we should all aim for this level of skill), but… well… probably a bit boring.
Give them a pinhole camera made of cardboard….
You won't get the most technically “correct” photos, but wow you'll get some interesting shots. Shots that give people pause to stop and look.
Why?
Because restriction in gear makes photographers think.
And THAT is the big advantage of shooting with an iPhone.
You will have big problems with lighting, with motion, with shadows, with all of the restrictions of shooting with a phone, but it WILL make you a better photographer.
Because it will make you think…
And here is the kicker – with the technology improving constantly with your skills and all of the extra practice (cos you always have your camera with you), you will find yourself out ahead of 90% of other photographers in the skills race.
People who have been properly practicing with Phone cameras are taking some amazing shots. Take a look at some of these:
Now, shooting with a phone is obviously easy to start, but boy it's difficult to master.
And that is where iPhone Photography School excels. The images here are from their students.
They dive DEEP on shooting with a camera phone and mastering the use of various apps for editing. Things like these:
- How to actually see your screen in bright sunlight
- Why you should avoid zoom on a camera phone (and what to do instead)
- Using focus and exposure lock to improve sharpness in your photos
- Why your shots are always dark and how to fix it
- Nailing focus every time
Some of these things can be quite tricky on a phone, but when you master them, the shots it opens up for you to take make it all worthwhile.
Usually, the downside of IPS is that this course is so detailed that it is pretty expensive. The upside is that it is on a MASSIVE sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend so it's only $47 (which is over 90% off its normal price).
So grab it while it lasts because it hasn't been this low before and probably won't be for some time.
There are a couple of videos on this page from students so you can get it from the horse's mouth.
