iPhones Beginning To Get Some Love From Professional Photographers

Cameras on smartphone devices are so good nowadays that consumers now basically use them as their default tool for capturing images wherever they go. But are smartphone cameras already good enough to start being used by professional photographers? It might be so, at least based on the fact that popular magazines like Conde Nast Traveler, Billboard, and Bon Appetit have lately been featuring cover photos that were shot using an iPhone device. 

In the case of Bon Appetit, it might have been a bit expected. The food magazine, after all, is owned by Conde Nast, and some may remember that in Bon Appetit’s Culture issue a year ago, the images were photographed with the use of Apple’s smartphones (save for the cover photo). As explained by Alex Grossman, the creative director of Bon Appetit, it might not be that surprising to use an iPhone to shoot the cover photo for its May travel issue. Travel and photography are two things that are closely associated with each other, and for most travelers these days, using an iPhone is certainly more convenient. For the Bon Appetit cover, the image was captured using an iPhone 7 Plus. Showing a lady holding a strawberry Paleta, the photo was taken in the Tlacolula Market located in the city of Oaxaca in Mexico.

Of course, when shown the photo, most people will probably think it was shot using a pro camera. But considering that the iPhone 7 has very cool features like the new Portrait mode, some expert photographers will probably not mind using the Apple smartphone instead of their usual gear. And as pointed by Grossman, subjects are likely not to get nervous when they have their picture taken using a smartphone, as opposed to posing for a professional’s camera.

Of course, when pros use iPhone devices, the results often are amazing. For the Bon Appetit cover photo, the shot was done by Peden + Munk, which consists of spouses Taylor Peden and Jen Munkvold. Peden actually lauded the portability and ease of use provided by the iPhone, and if anything else, it sometimes liberates photographers from using a full crew. Moreover, the presence of the VSCO mobile app helps a lot, especially in editing images, which can be done by photographers while having their lunch or while sipping a drink by that cafe just around the corner. 

Sure, iPhones are not at the level of DSLR cameras yet, but in this day and age, the idea of a magazine cover photo shot with an iPhone no longer sounds that outlandish.