There is a stigma around professional photographers and the equipment we use to create our images. We know this from personal experience that when working with clients or even other creatives, the camera and lenses you use can play a huge role in how you are perceived by others, and how you then perceive yourself. What we believe is important, however, is the end result.
Today we want to give you the top 7 reasons why its okay to be a photographer just using your camera phone, without judgment:
The biggest reason has to be, simply that it’s easy. Photography has come a long way over its near 2 centuries of history and today we are in the incredibly lucky position to have a tiny camera which we carry round with us everywhere we go.
Another reason is simply that iPhone cameras produce brilliant results. The latest Iphone has a 3 camera system giving you a ultra wide angle lens with a 1.8 aperture as well as a 26mm wide angle and a 52mm telephoto. All three cameras are 12mp and product amazing results for generic use images. To carry all of this equipment with your DSLR is going to come with a lot of weight and cost. And you don’t even need an iPhone; Sony, Google and Samsung are all producing brilliant phones with unbelievable cameras.
Phones with brilliant cameras are still cheaper than a full frame DSLR and hold everything else you need from your money to your contacts to your social media. By ditching the expensive camera gear, you can buy a much better phone which will serve not only your picture taking, but also your editing, your website building, your emails and virtually everything else you could possibly need to run your photography business!
The professionals are using iPhones. Don’t believe us? Look at Nick Knight, one of the worlds greatest fashion photographers has been shooting his Roses from my Garden series on Iphone for years and he even shot the Burberry campaign which was used globally on billboards all on his Iphone XR!
Live Photos provide the opportunity to document the moments just before and just after your shot so if you caught someone blinking or if a car gets in the way, you can change your frame and get the perfect shot.
Saving time. Your iPhone can take a photo, edit, and upload to your social media platforms or website in minutes or even seconds. As a photography business, you need to be in constant communication with your audience and using your phone will speed up a lot of these processes. Not to mention you can also print straight from your phone and use airdrop to get your images straight onto your laptop.
Digital photography is the future. Just take a look at experimental photography platforms like Beyond Photography. The rise of digital media is changing everything and this is something to be excited about. Smartphone photography means everyone can shoot and that the medium is evolving. As phones and apps develop, so do our abilities as creators to bring something new to the table.
We’re not saying that smartphones can and should replace DSLR photography or analog photography, but what we are saying is that we should de-stigmatize photographers using their smartphone for creative work because you can achieve excellent results! Every photographer’s needs are different and that means that ultimately, there will be things that you cant achieve with a smartphone and you will need full-frame, medium format, raw files, etc. But let’s start shooting more on our phones and explore this exciting new tool that we have available to us!
