iPhone is the new Film
May 14, 2016
Martin Moore
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The best thing anyone ever said about one of my photographs was “That looks like shit.” — “ That (meaning my photograph) looks like shit.” I think it was something I posted on DPREVIEW or one of those other sites. Anyways, where I posted the photo is irrelevant. What is relivant is that that comment changed everything I knew about photography. You see, back then I had just gotten the bad ass, see ya later Sony Cyber Shot, Nikon D3000. Now this thing had just come out. It was one of the first consumer DSLR’s that changed the game for amateur photographers, and boy you couldn’t take a bad picture with it if you tried. That’s what I thought anyways. That’s what a lot of photographers think when it comes to talking about gear, that it matters, and the truth is, it doesn’t.
Every time I have a conversation with the type of photographer who has to talk about their Hasselblad, or their Leica, or their Carl Zeiss Lens (as if those tools automaticaly make better pictures) or the worst of them all, how they only shoot on film because digital just can’t replicate what film can do, I want to gag. Every time I hear these buzz words from the types of people who like to use these buzz words, I want to stop listening and just walk away. The thing is, most photographers today actually talk about and understand how gear doesn’t matter, but somehow, they’ll be the same photographers who will rip apart iPhones, Instagram and gimmicky photo editing apps, and you know what, it’s because they’re jealous. They’re jealous that someone with an iPhone and an app can shoot a better photo than they can. I’ve visited hundreds of so called “Pro” photography portfolio sites, and there is a larger than average amount of just crap on those sites. It’s not Instagram’s fault your exposures suck, or that your composition sucks, or your subject sucks, your lighting is off, and most importantly, that your photo doesn’t tell a good story.
The introduction of the Kodak camera in May 1888 was a dramatic event. Although it cost $25 (a great deal of money in those days, but less than the cost of wet-plate cameras), it was easy to use, as Eastman made clear with his advertising slogan: “You press the button, we do the rest.” And people did press the button. By August, Eastman was having trouble filling orders as Kodak cameras made their way into the public arena. The appearance of Eastman’s cameras was so sudden and so pervasive that the reaction in some quarters was fear. (taken from The Kodak Camera Starts a Craze — PBS.org)
The invention of the first consumer film cameras by Kodak not only started the photography revolution, it changed the game, and this is exactly what Apple and the iPhone did in 2007. iPhones are accessible to everyone in a way DSLRs are not, and in the right hands can shoot a photo that rivals or even surpasses anything a DSLR can do. No MASP, no adjusting ISO, no adjusting Exposure, just point and shoot. They’re small effective little fuckers that scare the crap out of photographers like me. That’s why I’ve embraced the iPhone since day one. You see, it wasn’t long after someone told me the photo I shot with my D3000 “Looks like shit,” that someone told me a photo I shot on my iPhone 3G was “Brilliant.” Wait what?……. Thats when it all made sense.
Photography is about the story you’re telling through your image. Now try as you will, telling a good story through a photo, one someone other than you will care about, is a hard thing to do. Most photographers just don’t get this. It’s not about tack sharp photo’s. It’s not about the glass you’re using. It’s not about Film vs Digital or DX vs FX, it’s about the story, and the story is not held to anyone one set of tools. It can be told on everything from a Nikon FM to a D4, Leica or even an iPod touch using an app. The problem is photographers just get old fashioned jealous when they think someone is cheating with an app, or that using an iPhone isn’t real photography. Shooting pictures with an iPhone is just as real, and just as relevant, as shooting on any other format.
Alright. To whom it may concern. Are you sitting down? Good. Just because your photo’s look like shit and nobody ‘likes’ them on Facebook, doesn’t mean the other person who used their iPhone and an Instagram filter does too. You see, the thing is, when you finally understand this basic principle of photography (telling a story) it’s like a light switch gets turned on in your head. Your photo’s will stop being just photo’s and transform into being stories, and then, I assure you, people will appreciate it regardless of what it was shot on. So, don’t discard your smartphone as a another tool to tell stories; because great photographers take great pictures, no matter what they’re shooting on.
Shot On My iPhone
About The Author
Martin Moore is a commercial/wedding Photographer photographer, vlogger and writer based in Milwaukee. You can see more of him on his youtube, website, twitter and instagram. This article was also published here and shared with permission.
We love it when our readers get in touch with us to share their stories. This article was contributed to DIYP by a member of our community. If you would like to contribute an article, please contact us here.
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27 responses to “iPhone is the new Film”
Great article and awesome photos! . I would just like to ask, how do you get your photos so clean? Of course lighting is a big part but what else do you look to to “clean” your photos? Thanks
haha at the article :) Such a BS. Its all about who share the pic and what range it has. Not about picture quality at all.
“Likes” on facebook or Instagram aren’t the only measure of a good photo. In fact if that’s your main metric for success you’re in trouble.
Well said. If you’re prerogative in photography is FB or IG likes, then you’re doing something wrong.
its like i post on my instagram a GP win photo and get some likes. Beyonce will post her shit shot with iphone = bln likes
A perception, thankfully, not shared by everyone. If these are considered to be “clean” photographs, whatever that term means, I’ll take mine dirty, thank you very much.
I’m not sure what the point of this article was, but that seems like a lot of photos just to make it.
yeah, this article kind of sucked and for a guy who talks about stories in photos, his are a bit…plotless.
Appreciate your feedback Piper
Honestly, this post is yet another going after the “gear doesn’t matter” thing, but I think behind it has a greater concept of “audience matters”.
Well, both concepts hammered time and time again in photography blogs… but if I were to choose a different perspective on Martin’s take, it’s this: the “this looks like shit” comment came from some dpreview (possibly) comment… a gear review website.
The “Brilliant!” one is not explicit, but perhaps a social media website?
Provided that smartphone photography technically came a long way since Nikon D3000 release times (2009), in which we had iPhone 3GS also being released, but honestly, in some photography blogs and camera gear review websites, you’d probably still get “this looks like shit” comments on photos taken by even the very excellent iPhone 6S Plus or equivalent high end Android phones.
There’s just too many variables on the table. Yes, technical aspects is part of it, but not that much relevant when tons of subjectivity are also into play. And yes, photography is all about telling a story, I agree. What professional gear offers are better options to tell that story, and it depends on the photographer is those options are needed or not. It also highly depends on the genre of photography we’re talking about.
But I’m going to play the devil’s advocate here, and say that technical aspects, despite not being all that matters, also matters. It’s just that we’ve come to a point that smartphone cameras these days can produce very good results, specially if you consider that the mainstream showcase medium these days is the Internet. Put simply, a smartphone camera can be good enough to tell a story with good results if it’s going to be seen on the Internet.
A technically superior camera might not matter that much when your photos are going to be displayed in uncalibrated fullHD LCD panels anyways. :P
It’s analogous to almost any other art form. Hey, you can produce very interesting art with say… Microsoft Paint. Or plain everyday use pencils on a notebook. You can make music that people will enjoy with a set of old pots and pans. Likewise, you can own the most expensive painting software, the most valuable instruments and studio equipment, and produce nothing of value. How you use the tools available is what matters.
But of course, the input you’ll get can vary a whole lot if you’re asking for a photographer’s opinion, or the general public opinion. This is yet another thing to care about. Lots of photographers on the Internet, ranging from amateur to pros, can get trapped by other photographers’ criticism when in fact they should be paying attention to a broader spectrum of viewers.
On the other hand, it’s sometimes good to take some advices here and there so you can also improve your craft.
I have a very simple take on gear: The best camera there is, is whichever one is within reach.
Click Bait.. For the amount of ranting I really expected to see some great shots at the end that told a story rather than just sharing a few of your favorite Instagram photos.
Appreciate your feedback Piizzi
Print it 100×150…
Actually, it’s more a case of “iPhone is the new Instamatic”, a camera for the masses to capture the moments of their lives and one which readily shows their talent or lack thereof for taking photographs.
Let me guess … the next article has a clickbait title and is a tutorial on how to oversharpen, hypersaturate, crop at 1×1 and just generally overprocess snapshots. i.e. create a snapshot portfolio.
Hei, you know that your photos looks like shit?
Appreciate your feedback Zell_89
What a dumb thing to say…
As I was reading this article I was very anxious to see some photos as proof to this photographer’s assertion. Thankfully, I was treated to some horrible and cliche out of plane window photos as well as some other uninspired shots: the classic pointing down at your shoes shot, out of a train window, some random transit signs, and a guy jumping. You are right, Martin, it isn’t the camera it is the photographer. Sadly, your photos look about as mediocre as anyone else’s. You might want to try film, slow down, compose, and shoot shots worth taking versus complaining about what other people care about.
Appreciate your feedback Steve.
Reading the comments, people STILL don’t get it do they? The fact that gear-heads don’t get it doesn’t matter, the author is still 100% correct in the eyes of everyone else.
Well done!
And the majority of responses to this thread are exactly what is wrong with photography. If you’re not using the latest and greatest gear, then you’re seen as an amatuer.
I recently travelled to Prague, where I was asked how good a picture my “Toy Camera” can take. I own an Olympus OM-D EM5ii by the way. The person asking had some giant Nikon, with the ever present penis replacement lens on the front. I basically replied with “It will take as good a picture as I tell it too, it’s not about what you shoot with, but how you look at the scene”. Mr DLSR had no response to this. He seemed intent on mocking my camera, even after i’d asked him why he had his flash on for landscape pictures LOL.
People need to accept, iPhones/Lumias/Androids etc etc, will be the future of taking some great pictures when you don’t have your fanciest gear with you. They are easy to carry, they are pretty much always with you and using them correctly, you can achieve some great results.
Don’t take life too seriously people, it’s not like you’re getting out alive. :D
Seriously??
Sorry, I can’t take anyone seriously who still tries to pretend the Iphone is the only smartphone with a camera.
Appreciate your feedback Deacon Blues
The renouned fashion photgrapher Ellen von Unwerth would shoot all her spreads with 35mm point and shoot most of the time using on camera flash. Yes,snapshots…but what snapshots! Many euro fashion photogs,mainly Italian Vogue,use 35mm. Kinda grainy and soft focus and get big bucks. Now,of course,many use iPhones with only a wide angle perspective and infinite dof which can be altered after the fact. Enter lytro the just take a shot and worry about it later. Fads come and go. To me,worst of all are selfies. It’s all about me,me,me.Great for snaps,memories and porn. A comment I get almost always when trying to recruit models is °my friends take pictures of me°.Well I’m not your friend something I’m not so sure they understand…..And sure,I have taken my share of sucky pictures…and still do..